#dyke march 1994

[that-butch-archivist]

"Dyke March 1994" by Morgan Gwenwald

source: The Wild Good: Lesbian Photographs & Writings on Love, edited by Beatrix Gates

[thesludgeofbabylon]

Top 100 Films

Just wanted to put this somewhere for the sake of documentation, might do this once a year to see how much the overall list changes.

Not ranked, but the list is done by release date, earliest to most recent. Includes short and feature length films (plus one TV series, and two serials, if you want to be specific):

• The Musketeers of Pig Alley (1912), dir. D.W. Griffith

• Fantômas (1913), dir. Louis Feuillade

• Les Vampires (1915), dir. Louis Feuillade

• The Doll (1919), dir. Ernst Lubitsch

• Foolish Wives (1922), dir. Erich von Stroheim

• Sherlock, Jr. (1924), dir. Buster Keaton

• Die Nibelungen: Kriemhild’s Revenge (1924), dir. Fritz Lang

• Greed (1924), dir. Erich von Stroheim

• The Last Laugh (1924), dir. F. W. Murnau

• The Gold Rush (1925), dir. Charlie Chaplin

• The General (1926), dir. Buster Keaton, Clyde Bruckman

• Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans (1927), dir. F. W. Murnau

• The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928), dir. Carl Theodor Dreyer

• The Docks of New York (1928), dir. Josef von Sternberg

• The Wedding March (1928), dir. Erich von Stroheim

• Man with a Movie Camera (1929), Dziga Vertov

• M (1931), dir. Fritz Lang

• Vampyr (1932), dir. Carl Theodor Dreyer

• I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang (1932), dir. Mervyn LeRoy

• Gold Diggers of 1933 (1933), dir. Mervyn LeRoy, Bubsy Berkeley

• L’Atalante (1934), dir. Jean Vigo

• The Scarlet Empress (1934), dir. Josef von Sternberg

• The Thin Man (1934), dir. W.S. Van Dyke

• The Only Son (1936), dir. Yasujirō Ozu 

• Citizen Kane (1941), dir. Orson Welles

• Now, Voyager (1942), dir. Irving Rapper

• Meshes of the Afternoon (1943), dir. Maya Deren

• Day of Wrath (1943), dir. Carl Theodor Dreyer

• At Land (1944), dir. Maya Deren

• Ivan the Terrible, Part I (1944), dir. Sergei Eisenstein

• Notorious (1946), dir. Alfred Hitchcock

• Sunset Boulevard (1950), dir. Billy Wilder

• Monsieur Hulot’s Holiday (1953), dir. Jacques Tati

• The Wages of Fear (1953), dir. Henri-Georges Clouzot

• The Big Heat (1953), dir. Fritz Lang

• The Inauguration of the Pleasure Dome (1954), dir. Kenneth Anger

• Rear Window (1954), dir. Alfred Hitchcock

• Ordet (1955), dir. Carl Theodor Dreyer

• A Man Escaped (1956), dir. Robert Bresson

• Ivan the Terrible, Part II: The Boyars’ Plot (1958), dir. Sergei Eisenstein

• La Dolce Vita (1960), dir. Federico Fellini

• L’Avventura (1960), dir. Michelangelo Antonioni

• La Notte (1961), dir. Michelangelo Antonioni

• L’Eclisse (1962), dir. Michelangelo Antonioni

• The Exterminating Angel (1962), dir. Luis Buñuel

• Mothlight (1963), dir. Stan Brakhage

• Red Desert (1964), dir. Michelangelo Antonioni

• Gertrud (1964), dir. Carl Theodor Dreyer

• The War Game (1966), dir. Peter Watkins

• Au Hasard Balthazar (1966), dir. Robert Bresson

• Daisies (1966), dir. Věra Chytilová

• Lemon (1969), dir. Hollis Frampton

• The Conformist (1970), dir. Bernardo Bertolucci 

• The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie (1972), dir. Luis Buñuel

• F for Fake (1973), dir. Orson Welles

• Lancelot of the Lake (1974), dir. Robert Bresson

• A Woman Under the Influence (1974), dir. John Cassavetes

• The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974). dir. Tobe Hooper

• House (1977), dir. Nobuhiko Obayashi 

• Stalker (1979), dir. Andrei Tarkovsky

• Nostalgia (1983), dir. Andrei Tarkovsky

• L’Argent (1983), dir. Robert Bresson 

• Blue Velvet (1986), dir. David Lynch

• Heathers (1989), dir. Michael Lehmann

• Kiki’s Delivery Service (1989), dir. Hayao Miyazaki

• Baraka (1992), dir. Ron Fricke

• Satantango (1994), dir. Béla Tarr

• A Confucian Confusion (1994), dir. Edward Yang

• Chungking Express (1994), dir. Wong Kar-Wai

• Ed Wood (1994), dir. Tim Burton

• Whisper of the Heart (1995), dir. Yoshifumi Kondo

• Showgirls (1995), dir. Paul Verhoeven 

• Neon Genesis Evangelion: The End of Evangelion (1997), dir. Hideaki Anno, Kazuya Tsurumaki

• Gummo (1997), dir. Harmony Korine

• The Big Lebowski (1998), dir. Joel Coen, Ethan Coen 

• Outer Space (1999), dir. Peter Tscherkassky

• Beau Travail (1999), dir. Claire Denis

• Julien Donkey-Boy (1999), dir. Harmony Korine

• Yi Yi (2000), dir. Edward Yang

• Dancer in the Dark (2000), dir. Lars von Trier

• The Piano Teacher (2001), dir. Michael Haneke

• Mulholland Drive (2001), dir. David Lynch

• What Time Is It There? (2001), dir. Tsai Ming-liang

• Memories of Murder (2003), dir. Bong Joon-ho

• The Matrix Reloaded (2003), dir. Lily Wachowski, Lana Wachowski  

• The Village (2004), dir. M. Night Shyamalan

• Caché (2005), dir. Michael Haneke

• Southland Tales (2006), dir. Richard Kelly

• Inland Empire (2006), dir. David Lynch

• Zodiac (2007), dir. David Fincher

• The White Ribbon (2009), dir. Michael Haneke

• The Turin Horse (2011), dir. Béla Tarr

• Five Broken Cameras (2012), dir. Emad Burnat, Guy Davidi

• The Master (2012), dir. Paul Thomas Anderson

• Spring Breakers (2012), dir. Harmony Korine

• Song to Song (2017), dir. Terrence Malick

• Twin Peaks: The Return (2017), dir. David Lynch

• The Favourite (2018), dir. Yorgos Lanthimos

• Portrait of a Lady on Fire (2019), dir. Céline Sciamma

• We’re All Going to the World’s Fair (2021), dir. Jane Schoenbrun

(10/4/23)

[qnewsau]

'Unfinished business': What NSW must do now after apology

New Post has been published on https://qnews.com.au/unfinished-business-what-nsw-must-do-now-after-apology/

'Unfinished business': What NSW must do now after apology

On Thursday (June 6), Premier Chris Minns gave a formal apology on behalf of the NSW government for historical convictions of LGBTQ+ people in the state. With parliamentary debate on MP Alex Greenwich’s Equality Bill to come, more than two dozen LGBTQIA+ organisations have signed the following community statement.

In 1984 our love was finally decriminalised. Our brave elders walked out of the bars and into the streets to make this possible.

Ten years on, in 1994, we were mourning a generation, many of them young gay men, lost to the HIV/AIDS epidemic.

But our community organisations grew, and we learnt to work together for our own safety, health and happiness, particularly as those who were supposed to protect us let us down (as a Special Commission of Inquiry would much later find).

We carried whistles to ward off attackers and the Dykes on Bikes kept us safe as we learnt to celebrate our resilience and pride through the grief and fear marking the times.

The 90s would mark the beginnings of significant law reform – the first recognition of transgender identities and later all our relationships.

Within twenty years, by 2004, too many same-sex partners being ignored by hospital bedsides had led to our relationships finally being recognised by law, and an equal age of consent.

Three decades later, by 2014, many of our kids were legally recognised as part of our families. A scheme was also introduced to wipe old criminal records that should never have been crimes.

Now, in 2024, so much has changed.

We can marry thanks to the millions who stood with us, having come with us on the journey of acceptance and understanding for over forty years.

And earlier this year – with welcome bipartisanship across our NSW Parliament – those who seek to harm us, by attempting to change or suppress who we are, were the ones finally outlawed.

But many would be surprised to know that gay and trans teachers and students can still be legally fired or expelled from private schools. Trans people are denied ID that matches their identity unless they have invasive surgery that many can’t access or may not want. And not all of our families are recognised.

These issues are among the unfinished business of our times.

On this historic fortieth anniversary, on behalf of the communities we are proud to call our own, we thank those who have marched with us, voted for us and stood up for us.

As you deliver this historic and gracious apology, we now call on the NSW Parliament to honour the bravery of our rainbow elders and make it better for the next generation by also finishing the unfinished business of 1984.

Let’s make 2024 the year that NSW finally removes all the remaining discrimination facing LGBTIQ+ people in our laws.

Signed,

Read more:

NSW Premier issues apology for laws criminalising homosexuality

Mardi Gras tells MPs to pass Equality Bill or get out of Parade

NSW parliamentary inquiry clears way for Equality Bill

For the latest LGBTIQA+ Sister Girl and Brother Boy news, entertainment, community stories in Australia, visit qnews.com.au. Check out our latest magazines or find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.

[agelessphotography]

Women march in front of an "International Dyke March" banner in New York City, Viviane Moos, 25 June 1994

[opiatemasses]

Butch’, ‘dyke’, you name it… Why should female footballers face this ongoing derogatory labelling?

Women’s football is currently enjoying increased media coverage and an increase in wage for those playing in the blossoming professional Women’s Super League. But this hasn’t always been the case… Football for women was banished by the Football Association in 1921, deeming the game to be unsuitable for women. The Women’s Football Association was established in 1969 overturning the ban on women playing football. Now there being 1.2 million female football players in Europe. The question is, with this rise in popularity of women’s football and women’s sports now being described as a “safe sporting and social space for lesbians” by educators, why do results from a survey by Paddy Power and GAY TIMES suggest that 69% of participants believe that the FA should be doing more to prevent homophobia?

The image problem

Traditionally, females have been discouraged from participation in football by threats to their sense of themselves as ‘normal’ women, often protecting their identities. This idea of a normal woman was reinforced by Sepp Blatter in 2004 stating that women playing with a lighter ball creates a more “female aesthetic”. Does this signal the type of female footballer FIFA prefer? Femininity is foremost, often used as a code word for heterosexuality.

The emphasis on heterosexuality and femininity often perpetuates the myth that the LGBT community are dishonourable and that females should abide to Sepp Blatter by appearing and behaving in feminine ways. The Stonewall Chief Executive summarises the issue as “reverse homophobia” - “If a woman is unusually good at something [such as a sport] she must be a lesbian…if a man is gay, he can’t possibly be good at sport because he’s not masculine enough.”

Magdalena Eriksson, Chelsea and Sweden International describes her experience as coming out as accepting, but states “I wouldn’t have got the same reaction if I didn’t have long blonde hair”. Her fellow international teammate Nilla Fischer however had a harsh response, with attracting a large amount of abuse for being openly gay and having a more masculine presentation. Why should women have to protect and hide their lesbian image?

Commentators of women in sport have noted how various strategies are employed by female athletes to emphasize their heterosexuality and disassociate themselves from the lesbian label. Lou Englefield, director of Pride Sports and campaign director of FootballvHomophobia confirms this in her experience of coaching girls, “I saw on many occasions teenage girls being called names by teenage boys: ‘Oh you’re a man because you want to play football’. Words like manly and butch were thrown around. The policing of gender and policing of women happens from a really young age. And in reality, the reason girls gave up football was because of gender stereotypes. They didn’t want to be seen as butch or athletic or masculine because they wanted boys to fancy them.”

The Homophobia Problem

Homophobia is ultimately still thriving in society, especially on social media platforms. Andre Gray used the hashtags “burn”, “die” and “makes me sick” when addressing homosexuality. A Manchester United supporter claimed on twitter that Manchester United supporting stonewall, a charity to help tackle such issues that still exist within society and the LGBT community, “endorses immortality.”

Shockingly, at a Proud Canaries event which is an event held annually at Norwich City, when the LGBT Proud Canaries were doing a lap of honour a supporter exclaimed "don't clap them, shoot them".

Stonewall found that 43% of the LGBT community believe that public sporting events aren’t a welcoming space for themselves. New initiatives have been created to abolish this 43% figure such as the Stonewall Rainbow Laces campaign and the FootballvHomphobia Campaign. But most recently we have seen the Lesbian Visibility Week, a week targeted at LGBTQ+ women, to unite and support lesbians in all domains. The DIVA Media Group who created the national campaign, aim to “celebrate lesbians and show solidarity with all women in our community”. In April 2020, Sky Sports report on this fantastic campaign stating, “All this week, Sky Sports has been sharing stories to mark the first-ever Lesbian Visibility Week, a new awareness initiative celebrating women-loving women in the LGBT+ community.” Sounds great, finally a breakthrough to support females on their inclusion journey. But is this actually the first ever Lesbian Visibility Week?

Females in football are supposed to find their pride, but how is this possible when a British subscription television channel have missed this Lesbian Visibility day for the past 12 years?

Time for Change?

Pride in Football, an umbrella organisation that helps 46 affiliated groups focusing on improvements in areas, is helping to make a change. Aspects include Steward Training, Incident Reporting and Signage as well as generally promoting the visibility of their clubs’ LGBT fan-base via Banners displayed at grounds or club presence on Pride Parades. 

Gilly Flaherty, West Ham Women’s Captain, stated on BBC Three documentary Britain’s Youngest Football Boss; “we get quite a lot of openly gay football players, but I think we get quite a lot of openly gay female fans as well, it's just seen as like... it's just very inclusive.” This adds to the 37% of heterosexual football fans think that football is becoming a safer social space for players to come out as LGBTQ+. Are times changing? Since 2014 when England female football captain Casey Stoney came out as lesbian stating that “being gay isn’t a choice, it’s something that just happens”. It was an ultimate moment for lesbians in football. Contrary to her being “frightened of being judged, frightened of what other people might say.”, this was soon diminished through the support of her team, but also the women’s football community.

The homophobia of football reinforces this homosociable functioning of the teams, promoting the meeting of potential partners in a ‘secure’ place. Danielle van de Donk and Beth Mead are a prime example of the meeting of potential partners with the two Arsenal teammates having chemistry both on and off the pitch since 2017. Love can also end up in yellow cards when it comes down to challenges, in 2019 Danielle drove at the referee after her girlfriend Beth was tackled hard by Stringer.

Stepping into the mainstream for lesbian women footballers can be increasingly dangerous with fears of women’s football mirroring that of the men’s game. Educating fans and generally just those involved in sport is what Eric Najib, a former player and now manager of Stonewall FC, stated to enable a change in people's perceptions. A starting point could begin by pointing out the homophobic behaviour that exists within women’s football, to demonstrate that this exists on many levels of the game from grassroots right through to the Women’s Super League. The Football Association needs to shift this atmosphere in a positive direction both on and off the field to raise visibility by publicising LGBTQ+ events, forming partnerships or providing funding for teams.

As stated by Aneesha Dewshi, founding member of Romance FC, “It’s really important to listen to the LGBTQIA+ community and let them share their experiences, so you can empathise and understand. Educate yourselves on the history of Pride, the marches, the movement, and the struggle for basic human rights. If you ever hear any homophobic abuse, stand up and call it out.”

N0779476

References 

Crosset, T. W. (1995). Outsiders in the clubhouse: The world of women's professional golf. Sunday Press.

Halbert, C. (1997). Tough enough and woman enough: Stereotypes, discrimination, and impression management among women professional boxers. Journal of Sport and Social Issues, 21(1), 7-36. doi: 10.1177/019372397021001002

Hargreaves, J., & Females, S. (1994). Critical issues in the history and sociology of women’s sports.

Harris, J. (2005). The image problem in women’s football. Journal of Sport and Social Issues, 29(2), 184-197. doi: 10.1177/0193723504273120

Pfister, G. (2015). Assessing the sociology of sport: On women and football. International Review for the Sociology of Sport, 50(4-5), 563-569. doi: 10.1177/1012690214566646

[lesbians-vintage]

Second Annual Dyke March, New York City, June 1994 

source

[katyasthwooorp]

The lovely @zamo-95 tagged me in this!! Thank you so much you absolute sweetheart!! 

My top 10 female characters in no particular order:

1) Buffy (Buffy the vampire slayer, 1997)

2) Mulán (Mulán, 1998)

3) Lea Organa (Star Wars, 1977)

4) Clarice Starling (The silence of the lambs, 1991)

5) Elle Woods, (Legally Blonde, 2001)

7) Jo March (Little Women, 1994, yes Winona Ryder version)

8) Tira (I’m no angel, 1933, Mae West anyone??). 

9) Miranda Priestly, (The Devil wears Prada, 2006) 

10) Matilda (Matilda, 1996)

I tag @nataliakyle @chxrrybombtrix @connyhascontrol @glitter-dyke-rights @megmattel @no-bra-no-paanties @moonmemory @dykegoblins  @katyahoneyy  and anyone else that wants to do this. God sorry for so many tags I could not pick!! 

[blackkudos]

Bobby Short

Robert Waltrip Short (September 15, 1924 – March 21, 2005) was an American cabaret singer and pianist, best known for his interpretations of songs by popular composers of the first half of the 20th century such as Rodgers and Hart, Cole Porter, Jerome Kern, Harold Arlen, Richard A. Whiting, Vernon Duke, Noël Coward and George and Ira Gershwin.

He also championed African-American composers of the same period such as Eubie Blake, James P. Johnson, Andy Razaf, Fats Waller, Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn, presenting their work not in a polemical way, but as simply the obvious equal of that of their white contemporaries.

His dedication to his great love – what he called the "Great American Song" – left him equally adept at performing the witty lyrics of Bessie Smith's "Gimme a Pigfoot (And a Bottle of Beer)" or Gershwin and Duke's "I Can't Get Started". Short stated his favorite songwriters were Ellington, Arlen and Kern, and he was instrumental in spearheading the construction of the Ellington Memorial in New York City. He was a personal friend of Tom Jobim and was present during the composer's final days in New York City.

Early life

He was born in Danville, Illinois, where two of his school classmates were Dick Van Dyke and Donald O'Connor. He began performing piano in dance halls and saloons, and as a busker, after leaving home at the age of eleven, for Chicago, with his mother's permission.

Career

Short began his adult musical career in clubs in the 1940s. In 1968 he was offered a two-week stint at the Café Carlyle in New York City, to fill in for George Feyer. Short (accompanied by Beverly Peer on bass and Dick Sheridan on drums) became an institution at the Carlyle, as Feyer had been before him, and remained there as a featured performer for over 35 years. Short often performed impromptu all-night sets at his various favorite cafes and restaurants. He was a regular patron at Ted Hook's Backstage, located at Eighth Avenue and Forty-Fifth Street.

In 1971 Short published "Black and White Baby", a brilliant description of his childhood upbringingin the dance halls and saloons of Chicago and New York, and his family's fight for survival after the death of his father. He followed with "Bobby Short: The Life and Times of a Saloon Singer" in 1995 chronicling his career into the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s.

Short continued his career in the 1970s and 1980s singing for films and television. In 1972, he performed the theme song to James Ivory's film Savages. In 1976, Short sang and appeared in a commercial for Revlon's perfume "Charlie." In 1979 he performed a 25-song set that was released on DVD in 2004 as "Bobby Short at the Cafe Carlyle." In 1981, he made a cameo appearance on The Love Boat in a two-part episode. In 1985, he sang part of the opening theme for the NBC television show "Misfits of Science." Short continued working in films when, in 1986, he appeared in the Woody Allen film Hannah and Her Sisters. Allen later used Short's recording of "I Happen to Like New York" for the opening title of Manhattan Murder Mystery (1993).

In 1991, Short made a guest appearance as blues musician Ches Collins on the TV series In the Heat of the Night in the episode "Sweet, Sweet Blues". He also performed the theme song for the episode. He reprised the role of Ches Collins in the 1994 episode "Ches and the Grand Lady". Short appeared in his final film role, in Man of the Century, in 1999.

Later years

In 2000, the Library of Congress designated Short a Living Legend, a recognition established as part of its bicentennial celebration. The following year, Short's voice was featured in the 200th episode of the sitcom Frasier. In 2004, Short announced plans to end his regular appearances at the Café Carlyle by the end of the year. He continued to tour and travel until the end of his life.

Awards

Bobby Short was inducted as a Laureate of The Lincoln Academy of Illinois and awarded the Order of Lincoln (the State’s highest honor) by the Governor of Illinois in 1983 in the area of Performing Arts.

Personal life

Although Short never publicly declared that he was gay, it was well known among his friends, fellow musicians, and even among some of his fans. When asked by a friend why he hadn't taken part in any of the gay pride marches of the 1970s and 1980s, Short's response was, "I have a living to make! I can't afford to march in the Gay Pride Parade."

Short adopted Ronald Bell, of San Francisco, who was the son of Mr. Short's older brother William.

Death

On March 21, 2005, Short died of leukemia at New York Presbyterian Hospital. He is buried in Atherton Cemetery in Danville, Illinois, the city of his birth.

[lesbianherstorian]

a quote from ann stadler at the first santa cruz dyke march, published in the santa cruz sentinel, june 1994

[dr-archeville]

Upcoming Retro Films at the Carolina Theatre of Durham (January-June 2019)

All movies are on Fridays (unless otherwise stated) starting at 7:00pm (or so), and cost $9.50 for both films.  Most shows also have drawings for door prizes -- submit your name & a film you’d like to see, and you could win a fridge magnet with a scene from the night’s movie (or something else!).

You can also get a season pass for $80.00, which covers the RetroClassics, RetroFantasma, RetroNoir, and RetroTreasures double features, and the new Wednesday Cinema Overdrive shows (but does not include ActionFlix, Anime-Magic, FantasticRealm, or Mother’s Day Film Series, or the Wednesday MovieDiva Film Series).

January 18th-20th (Fri-Sun): Anime-Magic Film Series -- Bruce W. Smith’s Robin Harris’ Bébé's Kids (1992), Hiroyuki Morita’s The Cat Returns (2002), Isao Takahata’s Horus, Prince of the Sun (1968), Hayao Miyazaki’s Howl’s Moving Castle (2004), Masaaki Yuasa’s Mind Game (2004), Isao Takahata’s My Neighbors the Yamadas (1999), Haya Miyazaki’s My Neighbor Totoro (1988), Satoshi Kon’s Perfect Blue (1997), Isao Takahata’s Pom Poko (1994), Haya Miyazaki’s Porco Rosso (1992), Hayao Miyazaki’s Spirited Away (2002), and Katsuhiro Otomo’s Steamboy (2004). 

January 23rd (Wed Cinema Overdrive): Sergio Martino’s Torso (1973)

January 25th (RetroFantasma): Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner: The Final Cut (1982) and Geoff Murphy’s The Quiet Earth (1985)

January 30th (Wed MovieDiva): Alfred E. Green’s Baby Face (1933)

February 1st (RetroClassics): Pal Michaewl Glaser’s The Running Man (1987) and Marco Brambilla’s Demolition Man (1993)

February 3rd (Sun): Nevermore Fundraiser -- $12 to see The Wackhowski’s The Matrix (1999) and Mary Harron’s American Psycho (2000)

February 8th (RetroNoir): John Huston’s The Maltese Falcon (1941) and Billy Wilder’s Double Indemnity (1944)

February 13th (Wed MovieDiva ): Maerian C. Cooper’s King Kong (1933)

February 15th (RetroTreasures): Howard deutch’s John Hughes’ Pretty in Pink (1986) and Martha Coolidge’s Valley Girl (1983)

February 20th (Wed Cinema Overdrive): J. Lee Thompson’s 10 to Midnight (1983)

February 22nd-24th (Fri-Sun): FantasticRealm Film Series -- Terry Gilliam’s Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998), David Fincher’s Fight Club (1999), Ken Kwapis’ Sesame Street Presents: Follow That Bird (1985), Robert Rodriguez’s From Dusk till Dawn (1996), Dean Parisot’s Galaxy Quest (1999), Ivan Reitman’s Ghostbusters (1984), Richard Donner’s The Goonies (1985), Steven Spielberg’s Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984), Ridley Scott’s Legend: Director’s Cut (1985), Frank Oz’s Little Shop of Horrors: Director’s Cut (1986), Wolgang Petersen’s The NeverEnding Story (1984), Tim Burton’s Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure (1985), Robert Altman’s Popeye (1980), Mel Brooks’ Spaceballs (1987), Bob Spiers’ Spice World (1997), and Ken Kwapis’ Vibes (1988).

February 27th (Wed MovieDiva): Josef von Sternberg’s Shanghai Express (1932)

March 1st (RetroFantasma): Tobe Hooper’s Lifeforce (1985) and Harry Bromley Davenport’s Xtro (1982)

March 9th-10th (Fri-Sun): Nevermore Film Festival (20th Anniversary!)

March 13th (Wed MovieDiva): Wesley Ruggles’ I’m No Angel (1933)

March 15th (RetroClassics): Alfred Hitchcock’s Rear Window (1954) and Alfred Hitchcock’s North by Northwest (1959)

March 20th (Wed Cinema Overdrive): Menahem Golan’s The Apple (1980)

March 22nd (RetroTreasures): Mike Judge’s Office Space (1999) and Trey Parker’s South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut (1999)

March 27th (Wed MovieDiva): William A. Wellman’s Night Nurse (1931)

March 29th (RetroFantasma): David Cronenberg’s The Dead Zone (1983) and Rob Reiner’s Misery (1990)

April 12th (RetroNoir): W.S. Van Dyke’s The Thin Man (1934) and W.S. Van Dyke’s Another Thin Man (1939)

April 17th (Wed Cinema Overdrive): Walter Hill’s The Driver (1978)

April 19th (RetroTreasures): Albert Magnoli’s Purple Rain (1984) and Susan Seidlman’s Desperately Seeking Susan (1985) 

April 24th (Wed MovieDiva): William A. Wellman’s Love Is a Racket (1932)

April 26th (RetroFantasma): W.D. Richter’s The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension (1984) and Mike Marvin’s The Wraith (1986) 

May 1st (Wed MovieDiva): Victor Fleming’s Red Dust (1932)

May 3rd (RetroClassics): Brian De Palma’s Body Double (1984) and Brian De Palma’s Sisters (1973)

May 10th-12th (Fri-Sun): Mother’s Day Film Series -- Jon Avnet’s Fried Green Tomatoes (1991), Wayne Wang’s The Joy Luck Club (1993), Gillian Armstrong’s Little Women (1994), Lesli Linka Glatter’s Now and Then (1995), Mike Nichols’ Postcards From the Edge (1990), Emile Ardolino’s Sister Act (1992), George Tillman Jr.’s Soul Food (1997), Herbert Ross’ Steel Magnolias (1989), James Brooks’ Terms of Endearment (1983), Ridley Scott’s Thelma & Louise (1991), Danny DeVito’s Throw Momma From The Train (1987), and Jeff Kanew’s Troop Beverly Hills (1989).

May 15th (Wed Cinema Overdrive): Sergio Corbucci’s The Great Silence (1968)

May 17th (RetroTreasures): Robert Zemeckis’ Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988) and Joe Pytka’s Space Jam (1996)

May 22nd ( Wed MovieDiva): Michael Curtiz’s Female (1933)

May 26th (Sun): Fan Appreciation Day -- FREE showing (and FREE medium popcorn) of Peter Lord & Nick Park’s Chicken Run (2000) and Steven Spielberg’s Saving Private Ryan (1998)

May 31st (RetroFantasma): John Irving’s Ghost Story (1981) and Ken Russelll’s Gothic (1986)

June 5th (Wed MovieDiva): Edgar Selwyn’s Skyscraper Souls (1932)

June 7th (RetroNioir): Quentin Tarantino’s Reservoir Dogs (1992) and The Wachowski’s Bound (1996)

June 12th (Wed Cinema Overdrive): David Durston’s I Drink Your Blood (1971)

June 14th (RetroTreasures): John Landis’ Trading Places (1983) and John Landis’ The Blues Brothers (1980) 

June 19th (Wed MovieDiva): Marvyn LeRoy’s Gold Diggers of 1933 (1933)

June 21st (RetroFantasma): John Carpenter’s Prince of Darkness (1987) and John Carpenter’s In the Mouth of Madness (1995)

June 28th-30th (Fri-Sun): ActionFlix Film Series -- Luc Beeon’s The Fifth Element (1991), Stanley Kubrick’s Full Metal Jacket (1987), Guy Hamilton’s Goldfinger (1964), Iain Softley’s Hackers (1995), Mark DiSalle & David Worth’s Kickboxer (1989), John Huston’s The Man Who Would Be King (1975), Bruce Malmuth’s Nighthawks (1981), Quentin Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction (1994), Andrey Konchalovskiy’s Runaway Train (1985), and Steve Barron’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990).

So many amazing films!!!

Carolina Theatre of Durham 309 W. Morgan St., Durham, NC http://www.carolinatheatre.org/

[creativepractice]

7. Interview Preparation #1

I secured an Interview with Dyke, Camera, Action! director Caroline Berler. This interview will take place on the 18th March over zoom. 

This week I will be caring out research on documentary interview techniques.

So far since finding out about the Interview I have watched these films that are mentioned in Dyke, Camera, Action!:

The Incredibly true adventure of 2 girls in Love (1995)

The Watermelon woman (1996)

The Vampire Lovers (1970)

High Art (1998)

Saving Face (2004)

The Children’s Hour (1961)

Go Fish (1994)

D.E.B.S. (2004)

[papermoonloveslucy]

WHERE IS MY WANDERING MOTHER TONIGHT?

S6;E23 ~ March 11, 1974

Directed by Jack Donohue ~ Written by Madelyn Davis and Bob Carroll Jr.

Synopsis

Lucy is upset because her children have left the nest. Kim decides to invite her mother to stay for the weekend, but when Lucy overhears Kim's phone conversation about her ‘mother-smothering’, Lucy goes missing to give her daughter some space.

Regular Cast

Lucille Ball (Lucy Carter), Gale Gordon (Harrison Otis Carter), Lucie Arnaz (Kim Carter)

Guest Cast

Jack Donohue (Dirty Jack) was the director of the very first and the final episodes of “Here's Lucy” as well as 33 episodes in between. He also directed the very first and the final episodes of “The Lucy Show” with 105 episodes in between. He also directed Lucille Ball's 1964 TV movie “Mr. and Mrs.” Donohue is making his third on-camera appearance on “Here's Lucy” after having been seen in two episodes of “The Lucy Show.” He will also direct and appear in “Lucy Gets Lucky” (1975) and “Happy Anniversary and Goodbye.” His final collaboration with Ball was the TV special “Lucy Moves to NBC” in 1980.  

Dirty Jack is the proprietor of Dirty Jack's Paradise Cafe.

Brian Cutler (Brian) was a stage actor who made his TV debut in 1965 with “The Long, Hot Summer.” He is probably best remembered for playing Rick on the short-lived superhero series “Isis” (1974-75).

Cindy Barnes (Cindy)

In “Lucy is N.G. as an R.N.” (S6;E17) Kim mentions asking Cindy to take care of her cat. 

Shirley Anthony (Dirty Jack's Patron, uncredited) makes the 12th of her 13 appearances of “Here’s Lucy.” From 1994 to 1999 she played Sally on “The Rockford Files” TV movies.  

Bob Whitney (Dirty Jack's Patron, uncredited) appeared with Lucille Ball in The Facts of Life (1960). He played one of the jurors (unnamed but credited) in “Lucy and Joan Rivers Do Jury Duty” (S6;E9).

Marl Young (Marl, Dirty Jack's Piano Player, uncredited) was also the “Here’s Lucy” musical director and often appeared on camera when episodes included music.

The other patrons of Dirty Jack's Paradise Cafe are played by uncredited background performers.

The title of the episode is a paraphrase of the song “Where is Your Wandering Mother Tonight?” written in 1951 by Red Foley and made famous by The Andrews Sisters. Patti Andrews guest starred on a 1969 episode of “Here's Lucy” where Kim and Lucy stood-in for Maxine and Laverne, although this song was not included in their medley.

PR memos about the episode an a description of the publicity photos. 

The same evening this episode first aired, ABC broadcast the TV special “Free To Be...You and Me,” which was created by and starred Marlo Thomas. Thomas is the daughter of frequent Lucy guest star and Desilu employee Danny Thomas. The show also starred the child of another frequent Lucy guest actor, Alan Alda, son of Robert Alda.

Also that evening, “Here's Lucy's” follow-up on CBS “The New Dick Van Dyke Show,” ended its run after three seasons on the air. Like Ball, Van Dyke had re-invented his original sitcom to create a 'new' version. Both ended within a week of one another leaving CBS without its two most bankable stars.  

In her DVD introduction to the episode Lucie Arnaz remembers that the episode was “funny and touching” and “very believable.” She says she wouldn't have minded a few more scripts like this one.  

In this episode, Lucie Arnaz sports a short (and very mature) hairstyle. In the next and final episode of the series, Kim's hair is covered by a kerchief and then a large, curly wig. Lucie’s wardrobe is provided by ALROE, who likely also dressed Cindy in her yellow pantsuit. 

Lucy is upset because Kim lives five miles away and hasn't called her in ages. Harry reports that Kim is very busy working, going to school two nights a week, and doing a play with her little theatre group. Lucy guesses the title as “I DON'T Remember Mama”.  This is a reference to a 1944 play called I Remember Mama by John Van Druten based on Kathryn Forbes' novel Mama's Bank Account, which was loosely based on her own childhood. The play was made into a film in 1948 starring Irene Dunn and a television series on CBS (simply titled “Mama”) starring Peggy Wood that ran from 1949 to 1957, concurrently with “I Love Lucy.” While “I Love Lucy” was filmed, “Mama” was on kinescope rendering it unavailable for syndication. An unsuccessful Broadway musical adaptation in 1979 starred Liv Ullman and had music by Richard Rodgers.

Harry tells Lucy to go have coffee with Mary Jane. Mary Jane (Mary Jane Croft) is not in the episode, having made her last appearance on the series (appropriately enough) in “Mary Jane's Boyfriend” (S6;E20).

To remind a sarcastic Lucy who she is, Kim states her weight – at birth!  Seven pounds, six ounces!

Kim, then Lucy, consult a yoga instruction booklet to guide them into the lotus position. Although it is difficult to say for sure, it was likely written by Kareen Zebroff, who wrote books about Yoga and hosted a Yoga instruction television show from 1971 to 1977.  

In her final bit of physical comedy on “Here's Lucy,” Lucy gets stuck in the lotus position while trying to do yoga. She was 62 years old at the time of filming. 

After Lucy's great struggle getting out of the lotus position, Kim tells Cindy they are going to the movies to see The Great Struggle. Although there was a 1931 film simply titled The Struggle, there was no film titled The Great Struggle. Lucy is not eager to see The Great Struggle because it has an 'R' rating. “I've heard about 'The Great Struggle.' From what I hear the women didn't struggle enough.”  Lucy suggests they go see Robin Hood. Lucy is referring to the 1973 animated version by Walt Disney. Coincidentally, it features the voice talent of Phil Harris (above left), who guest-starred on “Here's Lucy” two episodes earlier.

Lucy says Kim's favorite food is pot roast and potato pancakes. After dinner, Lucy suggests a game of backgammon, one of Lucille Ball's favorite pastimes. The series has always depicted Lucy Carter as a fan of games, particularly in the recent episode “Milton Berle is the Life of the Party” (S6;E19, above).  

Trying to keep busy, Lucy “fluffs” the bean bag chair and says “Love this chair. Chair has a sense of humor.”  This sounds very much like Lucille Ball speaking, not Lucy Carter.

Kim suggests her mother watch television. Lucy wants to watch a spooky show called “The Beast Who Ate Boston.”  With the sound channeled through an earpiece, Lucille Ball reacts in silence to the horror movie until she explodes with “Get your claws off Bunker Hill!”

Dirty Jack suggests that he and Lucy dance. He does a few hip gyrations while the piano player (Marl Young) plays “As Time Goes By,” written by Herman Hupfeld in 1931. The song became most famous in 1942 when part of it was sung by Dooley Wilson in the movie Casablanca. It became a number one hit for “Here's Lucy” guest star Rudy Vallée when it was re-released to tie in with the film. It is also the theme of Warner Brothers Pictures, who had just released Lucille Ball's 1974 musical film Mame. Jack Donohue got his start in show business as a dancer in the Ziegfeld Follies of 1927.

The costuming of Dirty Jack (Jack Donohue) resembles that of the Skipper (Alan Hale Jr., inset) on “Gilligan's Island” (1965-67). Alan Hale Jr. played Moose Manley in “Lucy and Wally Cox” (S2;E21). Coincidentally, John Gabriel, the original Professor from the unaired series pilot, was recently seen as “Mary Jane's Boyfriend” (S6;E20).  

The episode ends with Lucille Ball (Lucy Carter) slapping Jack O'Brien (Dirty Jack), her director!  

While there is no sign of Harry, Kim's cat, last seen in “Lucy is N.G. as an R.N.” (S6;E17), the apartment is decorated with ceramic cats. Unusual ceramic cats have been seen in “The Carters Meet Frankie Avalon” (S6;E11) and “Lucy and the Ceramic Cat” (TLS S3;E16).  

Apparently, when Kim moved out her mother gave her the playing card ice bucket from her home kitchen. It was previously seen in “Lucy’s Replacement” (S4;E19, right) and “Dirty Gertie” (S5;E10). 

Lucy's attempt to make her legs 'obey' her while getting into the yoga position is reminiscent of when Lucy Ricardo's leg got stuck on the barre in “The Ballet” (ILL S1;E19), also written by Madelyn (Pugh) Davis and Bob Carroll Jr. “A bas! A bas!”

At Dirty Jack's Lucy has seven cups of coffee and the bill comes to $8.00. Jack says it includes $5.00 entertainment tax. In “First Stop” (ILL S4;E13) the Ricardos and the Mertzes were charged eighty cents entertainment tax by Mr. Skinner of One Oak Cabins and Cafe when they were served stale cheese sandwiches and treated to an off-key rendition of “I’m Afraid to Come Home in the Dark.” 

Location! Location!  Location!  Kim must have moved apartments since we lasted visited her Marina Del Rey digs in “Kim Cuts You-Know-Whose Apron String” (S3;E24). The view, formerly of sailboats at the Marina, is now of high rise buildings and trees. The floor plan of the apartment, while similar, has been altered. The nautically-themed Dirty Jack’s Cafe suggests Kim still lives near the Marina. 

What Kind of Room? When Kim goes off to change and returns to find her mother knotted like a pretzel, she tells Cindy she was in “the dressing room” instead of “in the bedroom”. No doubt Lucie Arnaz was thinking about where she went to change clothes, not Kim!  Unfortunately, she repeats the error twice. When Cindy asks why she didn’t answer the door promptly and then (to be consistent) to explain her mother’s knotty position! 

“Where is My Wandering Mother Tonight?” rates 4 Paper Hearts out of 5

I have to agree with Lucie Arnaz. If the series had concentrated on the mother / daughter relationship in a realistic way, it might have been a totally different show. The moment Lucy overhears Kim talking about her on the telephone brings a lump to the throat. It is one every parent and child knows. The first scene, in the office, is typical “Here’s Lucy” - Harry bellowing and Lucy whimpering. Seeing director Donohue get slapped makes it all worthwhile!  

[mrjeremydylan]

My Favorite Album #224 - Lilly Hiatt on Pearl Jam ‘No Code’ (1996)

East Nashvillian singer-songwriter Lilly Hiatt draws as much from the fundamentals of 90s guitar rock as she does from Americana storytelling, and today she joins me to celebrate ‘No Code’ - the album that cemented the legacy of one of the all-time great rock bands, Pearl Jam.

Listen in the player above or download the episode by clicking here.

Subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts here or in other podcasting apps by searching ‘My Favorite Album’ or copying/pasting our RSS feed -http://myfavoritealbum.libsyn.com/rss

My Favorite Album is a podcast on the impact great music has on our lives. Each episode features a guest on their favorite album of all time - why they love it, their history with the album and how it’s influenced them. Jeremy Dylan is a filmmaker, journalist and photographer. He directed the the feature music documentary Jim Lauderdale: The King of Broken Hearts (out now!) and the film Benjamin Sniddlegrass and the Cauldron of Penguins.

If you’ve got any feedback or suggestions, drop us a line at myfavoritealbumpodcast@gmail.com.

LINKS

- Lilly Hiatt on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Get her new album ‘Trinity Lane’ here.

- Buy ‘No Code’ here.

- Jeremy Dylan’s website, Twitter, Instagram and Facebook page.

- Like the podcast on Facebook here.

- If you dig the show, please leave a rating or review of the show on iTunes here.

CHECK OUT OUR OTHER EPISODES

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[dorothybart]

It's been yrs since we've been to the Dyke March! This is our 25th Anniversary since the 1994 Committment Ceremony with Carol Migdon and Cecile Williams performing the ceremony of 300 couples at SF Pride! We love Jeneieve and Cin! Happy Anniversary to all the couples from 1993 and 1994! 600! (at Dolores Park) https://www.instagram.com/p/BzcDVPCD1xZ/?igshid=1t0vcs5tt6hdr

[furederiko]

A bit later than planned, but today's Random-News-Digest is MAINLY (yes, not all) occupied by Disney-related news. Owing that to the Disney D23 Expo 2017 that took place over the weekend, of course. So... as the San Diego Comic-Con International 2017 officially kicks off today (July 20th, PST), let's take a quick detour to see what hit the world by storm last week...

Disney Live Action

During the D23 Expo 2017, Disney announced and confirmed several of its upcoming live action remakes. Niki Caro's "Mulan" has entered production, as well as Tim Burton's "Dumbo". Dwayne Johnson is also set to headline "Jungle Cruise", while "The Nutcracker and the Four Realms" has been given an official release date.

Cast for "Dumbo" has been confirmed to consist of Colin Farrell, Michael Keaton, Danny DeVito, Eva Green, as well as Nico Parker and Finley Hobbins. Roshan Seth, DeObia Oparei, Sharon Rooney and Douglas Reith round up the set in supporting roles. Farrell is set to play Holt Farrier, a former circus star who has a rough life following the war, while Parker and Hobbins are set to play his children. DeVito's Max Medici is an owner to a struggling circus, who then hires Farrier to be the caretaker of Dumbo, the elephant with oversized ears. Keaton plays V.A. Vandevere, and Green plays Colette Marchant, both who are interested in turning Dumbo's aerial ability into fame.

A life-size statue of Dumbo was showcased during the panel, though I'm not sure if it's from the movie or just a replica from the 1941 animated movie. Burton is bringing MANY of his previous collaborators on "Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children" and "Alice in Wonderland" to work on this movie. That alone is enough to give us a sense of 'what to expect' from it. The movie will be filmed entirely in England, and it is set to be released on March 29th, 2019.

"The Nutcracker and the Four Realms" will star Keira Knightley as The Sugar Plum Fairy, Helen Mirren as Mother Ginger, Morgan Freeman as Drosselmeyer, and ballerina Misty Copeland. As the title suggests, the movie will feature four different realms, and two of them are called the 'Land of the Flowers' and the 'Land of the Snowflakes'. Charles Riley is in charge for CG creation and motion capture, and it will be released on November 2nd, 2018.

Three lead actors for Guy Ritchie's "Aladdin" have been announced. Will Smith has been confirmed to play the iconic Genie. Joining him are Canadian-raised Egyptian actor Mena Massoud... who will obviously playing the titular character, and actress Naomi Scott in the role of Princess Jasmine. While Massoud is poised to be getting a bigger buzz due to his upcoming involvement in John Krasinski's "Jack Ryan" series, Scott is the more well known one for the time being, having had her high-profile big screen debut through Lionsgate's recent "Power Rangers" remake.

Apparently, this casting was harder than it looks. A few days before the announcement (on July 11th), The Hollywood Reporter ran a coverage describing 'the struggle' that the House of Mouse faced in their global search to find the right actors for the characters. Around 2000 actors and actresses from London, Egypt, Abu Dhabi, and India have read for the lead roles, but without any easy result. The process even dragged the project so much, that apparently Ritchie had to go back to the drawing board multiple times. "The test process was a mess", said one agent... whose client obviously didn't go through. The team even consulted with musical veterans Marc Platt and Chris Montan to solve this issue.

Coming from a credible site that rarely made a mistake, this report obviously became a hot topic of debate, putting Disney's supposed-effort into a giant question mark. Because seriously though, was it really THAT hard to find natural brown-skinned Middle Eastern actors who CAN sing and dance? Especially considering Disney ended up casting an Egyptian actor and half-Indian actress for the role instead of going full-on Arabian? I mean, don't these countries have talent shows (like "India's Got Talent") that almost always features young aspiring talents who CAN dance and sing? Not just that, the glaring fact that Bollywood is FAMOUS for its MUSICAL movies had me scratching my head. No offense to Massoud, but we have so many aspiring young South Asian or Middle Eastern actors who ARE popular as both singer and dancer while also looking more appropriate for the part. Just throw in names like Shahid Kapoor, Sidharth Malhotra, Hritik Hroshan (who is yes, prolly too old, but he nails Aladdin's look perfectly), or even Turkish hot-throbs like Emre Kivilcim and Serkan Cayoglu with vast TV experiences. And I'm positive you'll find yourself slapping your own face in confusion for why Disney needed to even... 'struggle' to find one. They can even cast one of those young and undeniably handsome-looking Arabian princes from the royal palace! And I'm NOT kidding.

It's more than clear than Disney, Ritchie, and casting director Randi Hiller (also white) only searched those who have a North American and/or Hollywood presence, because the names being talked about was none other than the likes of Riz Ahmed, Dev Patel (which would've been fantastic), and Tara Sutaria. They've also seemingly focused more on non-natives who grew up in Western countries, like Dutch Achraf Koutet, American George Kosturos, and also Massoud and Scott themselves. This clearly made many questioned... why call it a 'Global Search' then? For the time being, the studio is also in search for a well known name for the antagonistic role of Ja'far. Should we even make a wild guess who they are going to cast? I won't be surprised if Disney returns to Sir Ben Kingsley for the part *sigh*. I mean... who else, right? Aaah... Riz Ahmed!

Anyways, let's just hope this casting is good and that it won't generate negative whitewashing feedback. I've repeatedly said that I do NOT think Smith is a good choice for the Genie, because even an Oscar-calliber like him would have a genuine hard time following the footsteps of the late Robin Williams' iconic performance. However... as much as I dislike that particular decision, I'm willing to let it slide if Massoud and Scott can nail their parts gracefully. According to Massoud, Williams was his inspiration to pursue acting, and I'm pretty sure that will be winning the hearts of "Aladdin" fans. If not one of the reason why Disney turned their heads towards him, of course. LOL. I'm now hoping we'll be seeing a different casting scenario with "Mulan", because I fully expect an ACTUAL global cast for that movie. Come on Hollywood, there ARE gazzilions of Asians around the world who CAN sing and dance! So if you're ever spout nonsense like 'difficult to find' and all, I'll belt out a tune and make a man out of you guys. For real! Crossing my fingers that Caro will get it... 'better' than Ritchie, though I'm not that particularly certain about it. It's a white world after all, right? "Aladdin" is set to begin production in August for a 2018 release. Probably for August 3rd.

Actress Emily Blunt and director Rob Marshall were present to debut the first look for "Mary Poppins Returns". The footage grabbed the crowd's attention, and despite being absent on stage, Lin-Manuel Miranda's performance brought out their wildest cheer. As has been widely reported, this movie serves as a sequel to Julie Andrews' original classic. The movie takes place in a familiar, but different setting: Chery Tree Lane. Ben Wishaw and Emily Mortimer are playing Michael and Jane Banks, the kids from that first movie who have grown up to be adults now. Michael is also a windower with three children. Colin Firth is set to play a heartless bank manager, who brings trouble to the dark and gloomy London, as well as the Banks family. Miranda plays Jack, a lamplighter who helps Michael's eldest son Georgie to get his kite. Meryl Streep is playing Mary's eccentric cousin Topsy, the great Angela Lansbury as the Balloon Lady, and Dick Van Dyke returns as the bank Chairman.

According to various report, the footage gave off an 'Old Hollywood' style with high production value, dance sequences, and grand musical numbers. There's also a 2D animation/live-action hybrid scene, sounding very similar to the first movie. Blunt said that she only saw 15 minutes of that movie, so that she can try to deliver her own version of Poppins. "No one is ever going to out-Julie Julie Andrews. She’s just unbelievable. There will never be anyone else like her. So I just had to do my version of her and I think we were very loyal to the books.", she said praising Andrews' performance. Will Andrews be making a special cameo appearance in the movie? This is Disney, so highly likely, but we'll see. "Mary Poppins Returns" will arrive in Christmas 2018.

Vying for attention, was Jon Favreau's "The Lion King". He didn't announce the cast (which I've been waiting for, particularly with that speculation of Hugh Jackman being approached to play the antagonist Scar!!!), but did bring out a footage to please and WOW the audience. Said footage was the exact mirror recreation of the 1994 animated movie's opening scene, where the baboon Rafiki introduced a lion cub Simba to Mufasa's animal kingdom, on top of the Pride Rock. Complete with Elton John's "Circle of Life" playing in the background too! The only difference was that it looked photorealistic, as if it's a scene taken from Favreau's massive-hit Oscar-winning "The Jungle Book" from last year. There were plenty of animals of all kinds depicted in their own nature, but an ultra-adorable baby Simba was undeniably the scene-stealer.

Favreau received similar, if not greater thunderous applause to when he debuted the footage for "The Jungle Book" two years ago. He made the audience went wild this time, eventhough it was Anaheim California, and not the African savannah. "We know how important this is", he said, assuring fans that his team will be delivering the best live action retelling they can muster. I'm a huge fan of "The Jungle Book", so I have huge faith in him. I personally can't wait to see this footage online, but I'm not sure it will be released in the near future. Not to mention, the movie itself is still two years away from release! Ouch!!! I guess we just have to practice patience and... wait. "The Lion King" arrives on July 19th, 2019.

The last but equally attention-grabbing piece of the panel, was Ava DuVernays' "A Wrinkle in Time". Buzz for this project have been really huge and loud even before production began, so expectation have been high. During the panel, DuVernay along with several core cast members delivered the first official teaser trailer while an official poster was released via social media. And it looked... weird but mesmerizing. We saw Storm Reid's Meg Murry, adventuring with brother Deric McCabe's Charles Wallace and classmate Levi Miller's Calvin O'Keefe to find her missing dad. Mr. Murry, played by Chris Pine, was seemingly trapped after discovering a new planet and travelled there using the 'tesseract'. Meg then encountered three Astral Travelers on her journey, Reese Whiterspoon's Mrs. Whatsit, Mindy Kaling's Mrs. Who, and Oprah Winfrey's Mrs. Which, who would somehow guide the trio in their journey. One that's likely involving the many other characters played by Zach Galifianakis, Michael Peña, and more. As well as CG actions with monsters and all... because the trailer suggests that.

Now... not unlike many folks, I'm not familiar with the novel, nor what it's all about. So I can't really describe how I feel about this. Somehow, those three Astral beings reminded me of the fairies on "Sleeping Beauty", if not the three Ghosts of "A Christmas Carol". That is, in both puzzling and creepy ways. The teaser also reminded me of "Doctor Strange" and/or "Legion" which was a good comparison, but at the same time, it also gave off a strange "Tomorrowland" vibe, which was NOT a good comparison. Then again, my mom immediately said "This looks amazing" (paraphrasing from our native language...) after seeing it... and that's totally saying much. As in, I'm definitely checking this one out when it hits theatres! For now, you can check out a few official stills from the movie, debuted by Entertainment Weekly as part of their 'First Look' season. "A Wrinkle in Time" will premiere on March 8th, 2018.

Disney Animation

It's Disney Animation Studios and Disney Pixar time! I somewhat expected Pixar's "Coco" to be getting all the big attention this year, but surprisingly that's not the case. Two other titles stole the attention on this Animation panel instead!

Fans have been asking for sequel to 2004's "The Incredibles" for many years, more than a decade even! Thus when it was finally announced, anticipation for "The Incredibles 2" has been growing like crazy. That must've been the reason why it's one of the two most talked-about title of the panel. Writer/director Brad Bird attended the panel alongside Disney Animation Chief John Lasseter, as they delivered official concept art, first raw footage, and give hints of what we can expect from Pixar's very own Fantastic Four-esque team.

For start, while many fans have been voicing their hopes to see a 10 years passed after the first movie (with all the kids grown up), Lasseter revealed that this sequel will instead works as a direct continuation. "It starts right as the first one finishes, so it just carries on", he said, confirming that only a minute have passed after the arrival of John Ratzenberger's Underminer. Family, is still the major theme of this movie. "One of the unique things about the Incredibles is it’s really a story of a family set in the world of superheroes. This one carries on that theme. It’s awesome, the idea we came up with — simple as that. … We love to really look at our own lives and look at what’s going on, and find themes that we know will resonate with the audience", he stated. Bird also reiterated that "It's fundamentally a story about family".

The main star for this one will also be Holly Hunter's Elastigirl alongside their children Violet and Dashiell (voiced by Sarah Vowell and Huck Milner, taking over from Spencer Fox), as Craig T. Nelson's Mr. Incredible will spend more time taking care of baby Jack Jack who's developing his unique powers. If it wasn't obvious enough from his social media shoutouts, Samuel L. Jackson has been confirmed to reprise his role as Frozone, while Bird himself will reprise his role as the famed superhero costume designer Edna Mode. "The Incredibles 2" opens in less than a year, on June 15th, 2018. Here's hoping Pixar will release a trailer soon! Perhaps on SDCC?

The other title that gained a huge amount of cheers and praise came from Disney Animation Studios, in form of "Ralph Breaks the Internet: Wreck-It Ralph 2". Similar to how "The Incredibles 2" put more focus on the female lead, it seems this one also shifts the primary attention to Sarah Silverman's Vanellope von Schweets. Namely, due to her being acknowledged as a Disney Princess... alongside, the previous Princesses! Yes, Silverman and directors Rich Moore and Phil Johnston presented a clip from the movie, where Vanellope stumbled upon a website called OhMyDisney.com. That's where she runs into all the Disney Princesses, who was having slumber party filled with rapid-fire meta jokes about their histories and tropes.

But that's not even the best thing, because most of the Princesses are voiced by their iconic voice actresses! To prove that, Disney brought out these dream team on stage: Jodi Benson (Ariel of "The Little Mermaid"), Paige O'Hara (Belle of animated "Beauty and the Beast"), Linda Larkin (Jasmine of animated "Aladdin"), Irene Bedard (of "Pocahontas"), Anika Noni Rose (Tiana of "The Princess and the Frog"), Mandy Moore (Rapunzel of "Tangled"), Kelly Macdonald (Merida of "Brave"), Kristen Bell (Anna of "Frozen"), and Auli'i Cravalho (of "Moana"). Creating a historic meeting, that obviously caused a prolonged ovation and wild cheers from audience of around 7000 people. I simply can't imagine how the audience would react, had other confirmed but absent voice actresses like Ming-Na Wen (of "Mulan") and Idina Menzel (Elsa of "Frozen") were able to attend as well! With the first movie focusing on the love of retro-video games that in a way also felt more directed for 'boys', this one is definitely a conscious and brilliant decision to captivate the 'girls' as well!

As for how and why John C. Reilly's Ralph and Vanellope get to meet them? That's because the plot forced them to. How is that possible? Apparently, the Sugar Rush game had an unexpected break down, so both Ralph and Vanellope alongside the other characters have to explore to the world 'wild' web to find replacement parts required to fix and keep it alive. There, they will run into Yesss, a trend-aholic algorithm who is voiced by Taraji P. Henson. Yess is the savvy, smart and sexy owner of a trending site called Buzzaholic (obvious nod/pun to Buzzfeed, eh? *grins*). According to Henson via an external statement, Yesss "knows about everything cool and on trend. And she does spell her name with a triple ‘s'". This is the character who would guide Ralph and Vanellope toward the various sites, including OhMyDisney (that also includes reference to other Disney's properties from Marvel and Lucasfilm). What a really interesting premise! The subtitle might have hinted that the sequel to 2012's favorite is set to break the internet, but to be honest, it already is... LOL. "Ralph Breaks the Internet: Wreck-It Ralph 2" officially breaks the theatres next year, on November 21st, 2018.

By the way, Bell and co-star Josh Gad refused to let it go, as they brought news for the sequel to everyone's favorite animated movie. The as-of-yet un-subtitled sequel of "Frozen" became the talk of the town, eventhough the duo's intention was totally to promote the upcoming "Olaf’s Frozen Adventure", a holiday-themed short set to debut alongside "Coco". A special clip from this short was screened, and Gad sang one of the four new songs set to debut in it. Directors Chris Buck and Jennifer Lee along with the core cast are all confirmed to return, and "Frozen 2" is set to hit theatres on November 27, 2019.

There were other minor bits from both Pixar and Disney Animation Studios. Dan Scanlon who did "Monsters University", is currently developing a personal project on Pixar based on his own experience of not knowing his father (who passed away when he was just one). This project is currently untitled, and doesn't have a release date for now. Scanlon was inspired to make this, after discovering a recording of his late father. It will be a mix of fantasy and mundance, set in a world where unicorns are said to be a norm of everyday's life. Josh Cooley has been announced as the sole director for "Toy Story 4". He was supposed to co-direct with Lasseter before. Lasseter himself remains as producer for the June 21st, 2019 movie. And Disney Animation Studios is working on a spin-off of "Cars", spotlighting a plane (but NOT part of the "Planes" franchise) that will go all the way into space. This untitled movie will be released on April 12th, 2019.

Last but not least, "Coco" did get the utmost privilege to wrap off the entire presentation via an elaborate musical number. Director Lee Unkrich, producer Darla Anderson, and writer Adrian Molina arrived on stage to preview a new clip from the movie. They revealed that music for this movie will combine the talents of songwriter Germaine Franco, the "Frozen" couple Robert and Kristen-Anderson Lopez, with Michael Giacchino composing the score. Newcomer Anthony Gonzales is playing the lead character Miguel, with Benjamin Bratt, Gael Garcia Bernal, and Edward James Olmos lending their voices to the others. "Coco" is set to arrive in a few months, on November 22nd, 2017!

Star Wars

Lucasfilm didn't deliver a new trailer for Rian Johnson's "Star Wars: The Last Jedi" during D23 Expo 2017 as fans expected. But the cast did bring a special behind-the-scenes video that... well, in a way showcased many things as well, and delighted avid "Star Wars" fans nonetheless. You can visit Collider to get screengrab images of this video. Official posters for the movie have also been released via social media. The one featuring late Carrie Fisher's General Leia seemed to breaking many fans heart. Overall though, there's a sense of danger looming through this posters, as everyone is shaded with the color of blood-red. Is it a sign of death? Oh no...! "Star Wars: The Last Jedi" will arrive on December 15th, 2017.

DC Films

Let's have a quick intermezzo from Disney, as we visit the other side of the... fandom. Yes, Warner Bros gets their category here! Though admittedly, I only included them to avoid postponing too much for the next R-N-D. LOL. Anyway, it'll be a quick one.

First, director Jaume Collet-Serra is said to be the frontrunner to helm "Suicide Squad 2". Yes, it's been an unanimous verdict that the first movie was... bad, and I personally don't see any reason for this sequel to exist. But money talks louder, especially to WB, so the studio is making one anyway. Think of it like the "Transformers" franchise. I'm not that familiar with Collet-Serra, and I haven't even seen "The Shallows". But even if I HAVE seen "Non-Stop", I can't really say if this is a right choice or not. Those movies and "Suicide Squad" are completely different in genre. Both Will Smith and Margot Robbie are poised to return though, so there's that.

Matt Reeves has publicly stated that he won't be using Ben Affleck & Geoff Johns' script for the tentatively titled "The Batman"! He said this himself on Josh Horowitz's Happy Sad Confused podcast while promoting the critically-acclaimed "War for the Planet of the Apes", practically confirming previous report by Slash Film that many had considered to be false. Perhaps, script issue was the problem that broke down Reeves' negotiation with WB before? With the script being rewritten from scratch, many have wondered what will happen to the news we have heard so far, particularly about the casting of Joe Manganiello as Deathstroke. There's always a possibility that Manganiello will no longer appear in the solo movie, right? I'm sure we'll hear more about this in WB's upcoming panel on SDCC 2017 tomorrow.

One last thing, WB have also somewhat bullishly announced two more release dates for the year 2020. Yes, they are now planning to release FOUR effing movies that year, as if making two bad ones a year wasn't enough. Looks like someone hasn't really learned from their past mistake, huh? I can't really remember the previous two dates (if I'm not mistaken, they were reserved for "Cyborg", and "Green Lantern Corps"), but the new ones are set for February 2nd, 2020 and June 5th, 2020. It is speculated that the June one will be a sequel to this year's "Wonder Woman", due to its achievement of inching closer to become the most successful Summer movie of the year. The February one, might be a bit tricky considering WB has so many DC Films projects on the works, that even I had lost count of it for a long time now. Could it be that "Gotham City Siren", because it's a Valentine's Day release? Or Joss Whedon's "Batgirl". How about "The Flash". Hmmm. Maybe SDCC 2017 will help enlighten us if this bad.... news. Not that I could care any less though...

Marvel Studios

Back to Disney! Let's first talk about the biggest news of them all. Because while items and props from "Thor: Ragnarok" and "Black Panther" were put on display at the Marvel booth, they weren't on par with what transpired on the Live Action Panel.

Yep, Kevin Feige attended the D23 Expo 2017, and as expected he wasn't alone. Nope, far from it, because he brought a HUGE number of guests. In order of appearance; Josh Brolin, Paul Bettany, Elizabeth Olsen, Pom Klementieff, Karen Gillan, Dave Bautista, Don Cheadle, Sebastian Stan, Anthony Mackie, Benedict Cumberbatch, Tom Holland, Chadwick Boseman, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, Robert Downey Jr., and co-director Joe Russo; all joined him on stage, because they were celebrating Marvel Studios' 10 Years. With a new Anniversary Logo... and also first teaser for next year's "Avengers: Infinity War" that easily brought the crowd of 7000 people on their feet, driving them wild and overpouring with emotions.

Said footage began with around two minutes of clips from roughly 13 previous movies that have been produced by the studio, before continuing with a completely new scene. It started of with Hemsworth's Thor crashing into the Guardians of the Galaxy's spaceship, followed by a reel of action-packed sequences, and was wrapped with Thanos having a fully assembled Infinity Gauntlet in his hand, about to pummel his enemies using debris in space. Various sites (ComicBook, THR, Daily Super Hero, Collider, Buzzfeed, and many more) have published their rundown of the sequence, revealing plenty of tidbits from the mindblowing Avengers sequel. Each one complemented the rest, by filling up missing details that was missed by one another, so do take your time to visit them and read them on spot. Seriously though, reading them alone has already made me giddy and anxious. So much that I'm actually really glad Marvel Studios hasn't put it up online. Otherwise I'd probably suffered an instant heart attack and died before the movie even arrives.

After the rousing panel presentation, the Marvel booth officially unveiled additional characters for the movie. Joining the huge life-size statue of Brolin's Thanos that has been decorating the hall since day one, were four of his right hands... the Black Order. Brolin himself was on hand for the official unveiling of the team, that will instead be called 'The Children of Thanos' in the movie. Confirming theories gathered by fans after seeing the set pieces in Scotland and Atlanta, this antagonistic team consists of Corvus Glaive, his wife Proxima Midnight, the super intellect with manipulative ability Ebony Maw, and the Hulk-like Cull Obsidian.

Some of the core cast like Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner (who suffered an unfortunate injury on set), Paul Rudd, and many others were notably absent, including co-director Anthony Russo who remained in Atlanta to work on tentatively-titled "Avengers 4". Yes, "Infinity War" had just wrapped on the first day of D23 Expo 2017 (the Russos announced this themselves), but the production team are now moving on with the next giant project! WOW, talk about marvelous dedication to work. But surely, we can expect them to appear this weekend on SDCC, right? "Avengers: Infinity War" opens less than a year from now, on May 4th, 2018.

Presumably because production has only begun for "Ant-Man & the Wasp", none of its cast were present at the D23 Expo. The event officially revealed the first look for Hope van Dyne's the Wasp on one of the hanging-banner though, and actress Evangeline Lilly herself happily shared this news. Also actor Walton Goggins has officially joined the cast. I'm not familiar with this actor, but I've read many folks were excited about him, because apparently he's a terrific actor. His role is currently undisclosed, and speculations are saying that he might be playing the villain of the movie. Clearly he's not playing that character rumored by That Hashtag Show, right?

Which reminds me... that site reported an 'exclusive' saying that the studio is actively looking for an African-American actor between the age of 55 to 65 for a highly intelligent role. Everyone's easy guess is Dr. Bill Foster, a.k.a. Goliath who's in a way connected to Giant Man. Since Rudd's Scott Lang did demonstrate that ability in "Captain America: Civil War", linking it to Foster would be fantastic. Then again, That Hashtag Show isn't particularly a credible source, having falsely reported many stuffs in the past (Shang-Chi? Pffftttt). So I wouldn't really bet on their horses. Anyhoo, here's hoping the cast will stop by on SDCC this weekend, if only to have an actual confirmation or two. "Ant-Man & the Wasp" will arrive on July 6th, 2018.

"Black Panther" didn't have a huge presence (Boseman and director Ryan Coogler had a signing session), but that's because it already made a separate headline earlier that week (on July 11th). By showing up as the cover story of EW! The magazine ran a detailed coverage of the movie, dishing out the many aspects from the many lores of Wakanda, the various characters, and what to expect from the story.

Wakanda produces and is riched with a nearly-mystical metal called Vibranium. The people has mined it, experimented, and used it to develop medicines, technology, and others. Its fields also grows the Heart-Shaped Herb, a plant that grants superhuman strength to its leaders. That's the reason why it has closed itself from the whole world. John Kani's T'Chaka's death in "Civil War" will shake the illusive African-country's ground, as threats coming towards Boseman's T'Challa from inside and outside. The outside refers to Michael B. Jordan's Erik Killmonger, an aspiring prince who is colluding with Andy Serkis' Ulysses Klaue (with a new hand, in form of sonic mining equipment) to bring down T'Challa from his throne. The inside refers to the turmoil that fears T'Challa might be engaging too much with the outside world, just like T'Chaka. This might be where Winston Duke's M'Baku (who will NOT be addressed as Man-Ape) enters the equation. Coogler compared his movie to politics, saying that there's an ambiguity of who's good and bad. "The film very much plays with those concepts, looking at conflicts and different motivations, and who’s with who", he stated.

Producer Nate Moore, likened the movie to a fusion of "The Godfather" and the "James Bond", serving as tribute to both franchises. It's "a big, operatic family drama centered on a world of international espionage. So hopefully we’re getting the best of both worlds", he hoped. Boseman also stressed out, that Wakanda is "a very matriarchal society", hinting that the female characters in this solo movie shouldn't be taken for granted. This refers to Angela Basset's Queen Ramonda, Lupita Nyong'o's Nakia who is an undercover spy with a knack on 'Ring Blades', Letitia Wright's genius and intellectual Shuri, to the Dora Milaje guards like Danai Gurira's Okoye and Florence Kasumba's Ayo. Meanwhile, Forest Whitaker is playing Zuri, a shaman who is also the keeper of the Heart-Shaped herb. His character roots the movie in a unique element of spirituality, the way it's always been depicted in the comics. "Black Panther" will premiere on February 16th, 2018.

Marvel Studios might have left quite a massive impression last week, with "Spider-Man: Homecoming" running in theatres, the EW cover story for "Black Panther", and a D23 Expo presence that many people might still be talking about until now. Not to mention the pairings of characters, on set interactions, talk of future movies, actor's fancasting, etc. But that doesn't mean its hype is ending soon. This Saturday (precisely tomorrow evening, US time), the studio will return to SDCC 2017's Hall H for a special presentation with extended duration. Perhaps, that "Infinity War" footage will be delivered online for every fans to see? Or should we hope for another version, because Rufallo had openly teased something mind-blowing in the event. I'm merely spitballing here, but I'm positive we'll at least be seeing the cast of "Ragnarok", "Black Panther", "Ant-Man & the Wasp", and most definitely "Infinity War" on the panel. All I can say, we need to brace ourselves for another tide (or tsunami) of Marvel Studios news in the next few days. Because whether you like it or not, it's a great time to be a Marvel fan! Excelsior!!!

Marvel TV

It was a bit odd that Marvel's "The Inhumans" wasn't heavily showcased in D23 Expo 2017. I mean, excluding that Lockjaw's goodies available on Marvel booth, or the only three character posters that can be found on their official Twitter account. After all, ABC is still part of Disney, thus it felt odd that it wasn't even getting proper 'spotlight'. Of course, the series will have its own panel at SDCC 2017, so that might be the case. Nevertheless, the cast of the series continued to share details about the mini series outside of the panel.

Eme Ikwuakor confirmed that his character Gorgon as well as Ken Leung's Karnak, will be similar to the comics. "I act 5 times before I start thinking. I think that plays into a lot of the dynamics as well, especially with Karnak who is the exact opposite who think 5 times before he acts" he said. Sonya Balmores likened her Auran's job as the Royal Family's secret service. She works very closely with the King and Queen, and acts as their eyes and ears eventhough she's not related by blood. Serinda Swan praised her character, because "The great thing about Medusa is that she’s taking on two roles, not molded into one. That’s what makes her such an interesting character". She also affirmed that audience can expect to see Medusa's hair-play in amazing action sequence, likely to ease fans' concerns that has been growing rapidly ever since EW debuted her first look. She even added that "You will definitely see her hair have moods. There will be some moody hair because that’s her". Let's just hope that she's not giving us false hope.

Anson Mount revealed that the intricacies of Black Bolt was the reason he was drawn to portray this character. That's why he immediately agreed when Marvel TV Head Jeph Loeb personally offered this role (outside of auditions), and has even dedicated time developing it with sign consultant and all. He stated that the major theme of the movie is about family, namely about his somewhat Shakespearean love-hate relationship with brother Maximus, played by Iwan Rheon. Rheon by the way, is the most famous actor on the show, hence we can expect him to be more than just an antagonist.

Problem is, Mount also talked about why his character and also the entire series needed to be 'grounded', in order for them to be... "more accessible to a viewing audience than a reading audience". This one, is easily the part that rubs me off the wrong way. Grounded this, grounded that? I'll be honest, all these 'grounded talks' is making me feel iffy. Why shy away from going all out bizarre and outlandish? It's okay to do that with the Inhumans on Marvel's "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D." considering they are Earth-bound (then again, even they weren't afraid with the visuals)... but the Royal Family? They should be larger than life! Embrace all the weirdness and fun, not unlike the Guardians of the Galaxy. And don't ever forget! Scott Buck's idea of 'grounded' tends to be... 'different' or a 'bit warped' than what you and I had in mind. It means the mystical dragon Shou Lau is two bulbs of red-light for Marvel's "Iron Fist"! A proof that someone clearly didn't learn from the mistake done to that series.

Isabelle Cornish who plays Crystal, also brought a different but equally interesting notion. She revealed that audience can expect the IMAX 'movie'-size feature to be... "just really introducing us as a family and discovering the characters in the first 2 episodes. Seeing how we all mix together, how we intertwine, the different powers we all have. I mean, its such a large family. We’re essentially cousins. To have cousins that are brothers, its kinda cool and different.". Wait, WHAT? You're kidding, right? WHY would I waste my money on IMAX theatres just to see a prolonged intro? Isn't that like... NOT the point of filming a movie in IMAX format? I'm sure Christopher Nolan and his "Dunkirk", and even the Russo Brothers would be completely angry to hear this kind of treatment.

I've honestly lost all kind of goodwill and faith for this show. You can even say that I've joined a weird group among Marvel fans, essentially becoming a naysayer, because that's more or less accurate. The trailer, and every cast interviews so far, eerily reminded me of the whole "Iron Fist" scenario. Things haven't been looking good on my gut feeling, and I simply refuse to be fooled twice. But of course, my opinion doesn't necessarily apply to every Marvel fans out there. After all, there are those who actually enjoyed "Iron Fist" sooo much more than I did. With that said, perhaps it's indeed a wise decision for me to have such a really low expectation to this show. Who knows? It might flip me upside down and win me over instead...

Netflix

Similar to "Black Panther" that was featured by EW's First Look exclusive, Marvel's "The Defenders" got their share of publicity via a new poster released by the outlet, and also through UK's Empire Magazine. I'm sure we can expect the coverage from these magazines pretty soon. The EW poster, along with an exclusive one designed by Joe Quesada for Jon Bernthal's Marvel's "Punisher", are set to be available at Marvel's booth during SDCC 2017. Don't forget, "The Defenders" is also expected to have a huge presence at the Con, so prepare to hear more details as well as hopefully a new trailer for the mini-series. All 8 episodes of "The Defenders" will arrive on August 18th, 2017.

On a side note, actress Lucy Liu has been confirmed to direct the Season 2 Premiere episode of Marvel's "Luke Cage". Could she have a role in the series too? I certainly hope so. I personally want to see Liu joining a Marvel Studio movies for a significant role. But even if that's not the case, her appearing in one of the Netflix series sounds right too.

"Stranger Things" unveiled a sinister new teaser early last week, with a tagline "1984 only gets stranger". The teaser also confirmed that the 2nd Season will be available on October 27th, 2017. There weren't any details about this new season following that, but we can expect ones in the upcoming SDCC 2017.

Last but not least, I can't believe I missed this last month, but turns out the 3rd Season of "Voltron Legendary Defenders" has had an official release date! Via the trailer that... I oddly couldn't find on Netflix' official Youtube channel, it was revealed that the new season will arrive on August 4th, 2017. That's... really fast! Possibly due to the delay on Season 2 (it was meant to be released last year, but got delayed to January this year), I honestly didn't expect it to arrive so early. But who am I to complain! We need the 3rd season right away, especially after how the 2nd season abruptly ended. LOL. Also... if this teaser is any indication, things aren't looking good for the team. Because while the Paladins can't form Voltron, Emperor Zarkon's son Prince Lotor has taken command of the Galra Empire and starts brewing trouble in the galaxy. Here's hoping we'll get a longer and better trailer when the showrunners and cast members hit their SDCC 2017 panel this weekend!

Disney XD Series

New sneak peak clip for "DuckTales" was released during D23. Taken from the episode entitled "Daytrip of Doom!", the clip showed Huey, Dewey, and Louie having a dart gun fight against a very serious Webby, that caused plenty of... chaos in Scrooge McDuck's Manor. Many fans seemed to be annoyed with how the nephews sound when they saw the First Look before, a sentiment that was very understandable. For me personally, at least their new voices are growing in me, to the point that I no longer feel that much bothered by it. Many seems to have been voicing criticism to the Carl Barks-inspired design too, but I personally never had any issue about it. Most of the comics I've seen was drawn in that style anyway. LOL. "DuckTales" is set to premiere with a one-hour TV movie on August 12th, 2017, before starting its series on September 23rd.

Disney XD also unveiled the first look for "Big Hero 6 the Series". Based on the one and only Oscar-winning superhero movie so far, this much-anticipated series will tell the story of Hiro Hamada along with Baymax and friends, as they become the heroes of San-Fransokyo. Similar to "Tangled the Series", the design might not work with everyone, especially those who were expecting lush CG animation like the movies. The "Big Hero 6" one was very close, and clearly inspired by the actual 2D character designs from the movie's production though. So in a way, it's accurate. You can catch the series Main Title on Youtube!

Kamen Rider

The first official image for the 19th Heisei Rider "Kamen Rider Build" has been revealed! The image clearly showed that Build shared similar dual-colored design of "Kamen Rider W", but one that utilized a combination of technology and biology.

As rumored before, his initial form with the color Blue and Red is a fusion of Tank and Rabbit respectively. These powers will be accessed through the season's collectibles, Full Bottles, as the hero inserts a pair into his Build Driver. His transformation catchphrase for this initial mode will be "Using 2 Bottles, Find the Best Match! ​Are You Ready?! Moonsault of Steel! Rabbit Tank! Yeah!". Different Full Bottles can then be mixed and matched to produce a variety of forms. The biological side revealed so far includes Rabbit, Gorilla, Hedgehog, and Hawk, while the technological side includes Tank, (Vacuum) Cleaner, and Gattling. It's safe to say we can expect a lot more in the future. The picture also teased the antagonist Knight/Night Rogue, and the second Rider called Kamen Rider Claws/Close.

The story is said to take place in a post-apocalyptic world where souls are bound to bottles. "Second Build" is the cause, as it destroyed the world 10 years before. Kamen Rider Build will then have to deal with evil souls called "Builders" who seek to commit crime. Surprisingly, while it was previously assumed that "Build" will start airing as the "Kamen Rider" franchise changes timeslot in October, it has been revealed to debut much sooner. The currently airing "Kamen Rider Ex-Aid" has been confirmed to end with 44 episodes (with episode 45 serving as a bridge to the next), thus "Build" is set to begin in September. Is it because "Ex-Aid" isn't doing well in the toy department? Hmmm...

If you ask me, the overall concept, design, and story premise of this new series is solid, and they are more than enough to make me want to see it. I was actually sold thanks to the FireHedgehog form! LOL. Of course, execution doesn't always rhyme well with expectation, so it's still unclear if I will end up following to the end or not. Heck, the actor casting might also play as a make-or-break situation for me! So it's definitely not set in stones. But for now, I honestly want to see this show in action.

Square Enix

Since the "Kingdom Hearts" franchise is a mixture of their original characters as well as Disney world, of course Square Enix was present at the D23 Expo 2017. And as promised, the company introduced a new look and trailer for "Kingdom Hearts III". The new trailer particularly unveiled a new "Toy Story" world, while teasing an action adventure in the world of Disney's "Hercules"! Other confirmed new worlds include Disney's "Tangled", "Big Hero 6" and the "Olympus Coliseum" world.

The "Toy Story" part will have Sora, and his travelling companions Donald Duck and Goofy exploring Andy's room alongside Woody, Buzz Lightyear, and the other toy characters. They need to investigate the disappearances of their fellow toys, and also Andy himself. Both director Tetsuya Nomura and Pixar Animation Studios story supervisor Jason Katz have confirmed that it will be a brand new storyline, but is still on par with Pixar's standard of storytelling and animation quality. In terms of timeline, it will take place after the events of the "Toy Story 2" movie. Nomura expressed his excitement for this world, because he had always wanted to include one on "Kingdom Hearts II".

The company also confirmed that the game will be released in 2018, which is probably not a concidence. It will be available for PlayStation 4 and XboxOne, with Nintendo Switch being considered. A second playable character will also be available, but apparently the director thought that's information for another time. LOL.

Pocket Monsters

Niantic is set to hold their first "Pokemon GO" real-world event this very weekend, with the "Pokemon GO Fest Chicago" taking place on July 22nd, 2017. They have posted details surrounding the big event happening on location, revealing that players from all around the world will also be able to 'contribute' during the same timetable. During three Challenge Windows at the event from 11:00AM to 08:00PM Chicago Time, players worldwide will help attendees to unlock rewards, and vice versa. Later, if players at the Chicago event catch enough Pokemon during the Catch Challenge, a special Mystery Challenge will be unlocked for the last hour of the event. If said Challenge is completed, then an 'extra special bonus' will be given for players around the world in form of Global Reward on July 23rd-24th.

This sounds a bit complicated to understand, and the gap between time zones alone is already feeling unfair to some parts of the world who have to stay up during midnight to dawn to participate. Response to this has been mixed as well, due to various reasons. But despite constantly getting server issues over the past week, Niantic is working hard to appeal its players. One of it, is by directly flying high-level Pokemon GO Youtubers from all around the world into Grant Park Chicago to participate in the live event. Many have been speculating that the Global Reward will be the first official reveal of Legendary Pokemon. We'll have to wait and see if that's really the case.

Those in Europe can then participate in a "Pokemon GO Safari Zone" events, in partnership with Unibail-Rodamco shopping centers. Copenhagen and Praque will be holding one on August 5th, Stockholm and Amstelveen on August 12th, and Oberhausen, Paris and Barcelona on September 16th. These events will give European players the opportunity to catch variety of Pokemon, among them are those only available as region-locked like Kangaskhan and Tauros. Unique and powerful Raid Bosses will also be available. For the United Kingdom area, Niantic will be holding a "Big Heritage Festival" event in Chester on July 22nd-23rd. This is a joint collaboration with UK heritage organization, Big Heritage.

Last but not least, Yokohama area is set to have a "Pikachu Outbreak" event on August 9th- 15th. It has been an annual event for The Pokemon Company, but this time, it will also include a Pokemon GO experience.

Tekken

I did NOT see this coming!

Geese Howard, who was recently revived by SNK Corp for "The King of Fighters XIV", has been announced as the new DLC character for "Tekken 7: Fated Retribution"!!! Bandai Namco unveiled this via one thrilling and intense trailer, during the Evolution Championship Series 2017. It just felt... right seeing Geese pummeling the Tekken characters one by one (particularly Heihachi, who is a natural jerk just like him), and sending them to misery. LOL. Geese will be available in Winter 2017, along with his own unique 'Geese Tower' stage.

The company did already state that they will be adding exclusive guest characters from other video game franchise, following the game's release on June 2nd, 2017. But I honestly didn't expect them to actually go with fans' wishes that openly called out Geese with the reasoning that his fighting style and 'badass' mannerism will be a great fit to "Tekken 7" (it's accurate, though). With "Street Fighter" very own Akuma already in the title, "Tekken 7" is growing to be a rendesvouz spot for powerful characters from various franchises. Now... who will the next DLC be for Spring 2018? Someone from "Dead or Alive"? "Mortal Kombat"? "Guilty Gear"? This is exciting...

Street Fighter

The 4th "Street Fighter V" DLC character for Season 2 has been revealed! And continuing the trend since Gouki/Akuma, it's a supposedly-new character that is also NOT really a new one... *sigh*. NEW, because the "Street Fighter" franchise hasn't had them as playable characters until now, but NOT new, because they have already existed as either supporting characters in previous games, or from entirely different game. Proof? No explanation necessary for Akuma, Kolin was Gill's right hand in "Street Fighter III", and Ed showed up in "SFV" various Story Modes since the very beginning. The fourth character joining them, hails from CAPCOM's very own "Final Fight" series. In form of big brute Abigail.

Yoshinori Ono announced Abigail during the Evolution Championship Series 2017, and an official reveal trailer for the character immediately hit the internet. This towering Mad Gear Leader that's even taller and bigger than Hugo albeit with a goofy personality, has attacks based on armors. The face paint is said to be an homage to King Diamond, who is a heavy metal musician. He is set to be released next week on July 25th, 2017, alongside his unique new stage called the 'Metro City Bay Area'. You can visit Gematsu to read a detailed description of this new DLC character.

Intriguingly, this reveal didn't surprise fans, because his name has been repeatedly rumored and reported before. The Event Hubs user who goes by the name of Flowtron has gotten his 'leaks' proven with the reveal of Akuma and Ed, and now his street cred had just gotten much higher with the confirmation of Abigail. Assuming his leak are all true, then the remaining two DLC characters will be Menat and Zeku. Menat is supposed to be that Egyptian-looking 'Fortune Teller' who already and rather pointlessly debuted in Ed's Story Modes. I also had the exact same suspicion, the moment I saw her design on that ending sequence. Not to mention, it fits with CAPCOM's goal to increase diversity in the game (with Rashid's inclusion). Zeku on the other hand, is Guy's teacher. Meaning he's also a "Final Fight" alumn. I have a feeling we'll be seeing a confirmation to his inclusion in Abigail's Story Mode.

Flowtron also stated an insider information regarding the 3rd Season DLC characters. According to him, Sagat and Sakura Kasugano are pretty much confirmed, but they won't play out like their "Street Fighter IV" counterparts. The previously rumored characters like Oro, C. Viper, Q, and Necro aren't accurate. For now, these should be treated as rumor until proven otherwise. But let's just say, I will not be surprised if it turns out to be true.

As for the real deal, CAPCOM will be releasing new special stages and costumes on July 25th as well, as part of the game's 30th Anniversary. This includes: Classic Ryu's "Suzaku Castle" stage from "Street Fighter II", Capcom Pro Tour 2017 Exclusive "Ring of Pride" stage (the Kanzuki Family Stadium), Nostalgic Costumes (for Alex, Ibuki, and Juri), and The Champion's Choice costume designed by CAPCOM Cup 2016 winner Du "Liquid|NuckleDu" Dang (for Ryu, Ken and Guile). Do visit Event Hubs to see their pricings.

Marvel vs Capcom

Meanwhile, "Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite" officially added Jedah from "Darkstalkers" series as playable character. This was revealed during the Evolution Championship Series 2017 tournament. Following this sequel's odd tradition, Jedah debuted during one of the fight and was not officially announced via individual trailers. You can visit Gamespot's Youtube channel to see him in action. "Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite" is set to be released on September 19th.

ARIKA

Many fans have been itching to see characters from "Street Fighter EX" to spring back into action. But considering ARIKA no longer collaborates with CAPCOM, that seems like a wishful thinking. Well, until now.

A new currently untitled 'EX' Fighting Game was showcased during The Evolution Championship Series 2017. The teaser video (provided through ARIKA's official Youtube Channel) showcased favorite 'EX' characters like Kairi, Shirase/Hokuto, Garuda, Skullomania, and Darun Mister. ARIKA officially announced that it will be the newest entry in the 'EX' series.

It was announced that there will be a limited time beta/server test at the end of 2017, and it has been confirmed to be a worldwide PlayStation 4 release for 2018. It is expected to be playable on April Fools, and pre-order has been made available for Japan players. Considering the company DID first tease this several months ago on April Fools 2017, I think we can safely assume that April 1st, 2018 will indeed be the release window for the title. Hopefully we'll hear more about this in the near future...

[sunwisher-blog]

Collective Soul – The World I Know

Collective Soul – The World I Know

Call 1-855-637-4055 for our Psychic line as low as 66¢/min lyrics: Has our conscience shown? Has the sweet breeze blown? Has all kindness gone? Hope still lingers on. I drink myself of newfound pity Sitting alone in New York City And I don’t know why. Are we listening? Hymns of offering. Have we eyes to see? Love is gathering. All the words that I’ve been reading Have now started the act of bleeding Into one. So I walk up on high And I step to the edge To see my world below. And I laugh at myself While the tears roll down. ‘Cause it’s the world I know. It’s the world I know. About Collective Soul: Collective Soul is an American rock band originally from Stockbridge, Georgia. Now based in Atlanta, the group consists of vocalist Ed Roland, rhythm guitarist Dean Roland, bassist Will Turpin and lead guitarist Joel Kosche. Drummer Johnny Rabb is a touring member of the band. The band broke into mainstream popularity with their first hit single, “Shine.” They have recorded seven Number One rock hits. Before forming Collective Soul, singer Ed Roland studied music composition and guitar at the Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts. Since the mid-1980s Roland was involved in Atlanta’s underground music scene making demos and performing. He also worked at Real 2 Reel Studios in Stockbridge, which was owned by bassist Will Turpin’s father. Roland’s duties were producing, mixing and engineering for local Atlanta artists. He recorded his demos and released an independent solo album Ed-E Roland in 1991. Roland recruited keyboard player and backing vocalist Christopher Dykes, drummer Tony Caporale, and bassist Skip Godwin to play live in clubs and showcase for A/R personnel from various record companies. At this time the group was simply known as “Ed-E”. They played several local shows, played a part in a CBS “Movie Of The Week”, and were guests on the local Atlanta television program “Music Peachtree Style” where local Atlanta based artists were interviewed and profiled. That initial version of the “Ed-E” band dissolved in the mid to late ’80’s due to musical tastes among other differences. Roland subsequently formed Marching Two-Step which included original Collective Soul drummer Shane Evans, Michele Rhea Caplinger, and Matt Serletic. Marching Two-Step were a local gigging band for a few years, but never managed to grow beyond the club scene. Roland’s early attempts to be signed to a recording contract by a label faced rejections. Caplinger would become a music industry publicist and was later appointed executive director of the Atlanta Chapter of the Recording Academy in 2000. Matt Serletic would go on to become a Grammy winning producer for Collective Soul, Matchbox Twenty, Blessid Union of Souls and Edwin McCain, and obtained executive positions with record companies. “The World I Know” is a song by the American alternative rock band Collective Soul, originally released on their 1995 eponymous album. Written by lead singer and guitarist Ed Roland and guitarist Ross Childress, “The World I Know” peaked at #19 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart when released as a single, and spent four weeks at the #1 spot on the Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart. Their album Blender offered three more radio heavy smash hits with “Why, Part 2,” “Vent” and “Perfect Day,” a duet with Sir Elton John. On September 18, 2001, Collective Soul released their greatest hits compilation Seven Year Itch: Greatest Hits, 1994-2001 including the song: “Forgiveness” Originally from their album: “Disciplined Breakdown”. Click here to return to positive music list Read the full article