#first image is based off that scene in that one short film

[peppersfromhell]

let me call you “sweetheart”,

i’m in love with you.

[kimberleyjean]

The Ineffable Detective Agency Presents: What Happened in Before the Beginning?

Hello Good Omens clue hunters and detectives! I’m super excited to share what we’ve discovered in Before the Beginning. Read on if you want to see what no one else has spotted yet!

To put a long story short, something is “up” about Good Omens - Season 2 in particular. While the eagle-eyed have documented a number of odd things in Season 2 already (summarised here), I’ve never seen anyone call into question what was presented during the Before the Beginning scene. Let’s take a closer look shall we?

Remember this scroll to start the nebula? Well, guess what - it changes!

Here’s the first scroll we see on screen, I’m going to call this the “new” scroll. Note the straight edges and completely pristine look, like brand new paper:

Then suddenly, here’s what it looks like as they start up the nebula:

Whoa, that’s looking pretty old and ragged! It’s got rips, a bit of discolouration, several wavy bends running through it. That’s a significantly more worn scroll than we were just shown. Let’s show that in close up just to be sure:

Yup, that’s certainly not meant to be the same scroll!

During this scene, the old scroll is seen again during the close up of Aziraphale holding it. However, once Crowley instructs him to put it down, it’s the new scroll again. (And then at this point it disappears into hammerspace like in a cartoon, or drifts off into space, never to be seen again).

So... there's TWO scrolls?

Well, yes, but also, no. If you're wondering, “Are they both real scrolls? Are you telling me they had two on set?” the short answer is no, this was done with VFX. To explain why we know this, I’m going to hand over to our resident Art Director, @noneorother:

Hi all, @noneorother here. Sure. So it's mostly to do with the shadow inside the scroll curls and under the right hand side curl. You can see when it's the real scroll that the shadows are all orange or brown, because of sub-surface scattering:

It happens when light partially passes through a thin porous object like skin or paper. So when the scroll is new, it's real. Where they've added "scroll is old now" VFX on top of the shots, it's very well tracked, but there's no more sub-surface scattering because it's VFX, not filmed. So the shadows are now base-black inside the curl and to the right hand side of the image. This is the VFX scroll here:

They already perfectly tracked the astronomy animation into the center of the scroll, so they had all that tracking info just sitting around. It wouldn't have been very expensive to add the "old scroll" the way they did it (the cheap and dirty way).

Thanks @noneorother! So there we have it folks, the Good Omens team have intentionally designed some shots with the old-looking VFX scroll and some without. They had the assets created for the old scroll and the tracking to place it correctly, so how could they possibly make the “mistake” of adding it sometimes but not others? This wasn’t a budget thing. If it were budget related, they wouldn’t have created the old scroll VFX in the first place.

Personally, I think this discontinuity was to tell us, the dedicated rewatchers, that what we initially saw in S2 was not the whole story. There is something else at play during S2. Something that, depending on what we find, may make S3 even more enjoyable.

So, why do this? Is this scene being conveyed from different perspectives? Are we viewing different characters’ memories of the same event? If so, why would that be important? Is someone tampering with past events? Did “Before the Beginning” happen multiple times and we’ve seen a spliced together version? What do you think?

One More Question...

The other question worth asking here (which Aziraphale helpfully asks for us) is “which way up” does the scroll go? Look closely at the central rings.

Is it the top version (small rings to the right)?

Or the lower version (small rings to the left)?

... and what happens if you create a nebula upside down, I wonder? Here I’m reminded of the Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square lyrics:

The moon that lingered over London Town Poor puzzled moon, he wore a frown How could he know we two were so in love The whole darn world seemed upside down

In a season where something is going "Down in the Up", and the answer to Gabriel’s mystery is achieved by turning the delivery box upside down, this is yet another up-down reversal we can add to the list!

..................................................................................

If you’ve been following our Good Omens posts up until now, you’ll be aware that this is not the only time scenes have been inconsistent or discontinuous. If this is new to you, please check out my summary post on Season 2 discontinuity here. For more of our posts, plus a collection of Clues and metas from all over the fandom, see here.

However, there is still more to come, so watch out for future updates. If you’re not currently puzzling over Good Omens and would like to join in, please do! We’d love to hear what you find - you can use the tag #ineffable mystery.

Special thanks to @noneorother, @embracing-the-ineffable, and to all the other lovely people at @ineffable-detective-agency (@theastrophysicistnextdoor, @ghstptats, @somehow-a-human, @lookingatacupoftea, @dunkthebiscuit @havemyheartaziraphale, @komorezuki, @251-dmr, @maufungi).

[rhysdarbinizedarby]

Our Flag Means Death Season 2: Exclusive First Look

Vanity Fair joins Stede, Blackbeard, and the rest of the cast on set in New Zealand for an exclusive early look at the second season, debuting on Max in October.

BY SARAH CATHERALL (AUGUST 24, 2023)

Only the fans of Our Flag Means Death can determine whether they’ll be satisfied with the show’s second season, which debuts on Max in October. But if you ask Fernando Frias, who directed three of the season’s episodes, he sounds pretty confident: “If my life depended on saying whether it’s yes or no, I would say yes.’’

It’s December 8, 2022, and the principal actors on Our Flag Means Death as well as the 800-plus extras and crew members have three days left of their three-month shoot for season two. Things are starting to get emotional. “You’ve been the most amazing crew I’ve ever worked with,” says one actor as he wraps his final scene. Frias says it’s like leaving “a long summer camp,” adding, “it’s like a family.”

Rhys Darby as Stede Bonnet. COURTESY OF NICOLA DOVE/MAX.

The series created by David Jenkins was a surprise breakout hit when it debuted in the spring of 2022, building a fiercely devoted fan base with its silly yet emotional deadpan, and defiantly queer take on the adventures of real 18th-century pirates. Everyone involved in Our Flag Means Death is eager to preserve the surprises in store for season two, which kicks off with gentleman pirate Stede Bonnet (Rhys Darby) and softhearted bad boy Blackbeard (Taika Waititi) ruefully separated after finally realizing their love for each other at the end of season one.

It’s “going to be unexpected and surprising, but also very pleasurable and satisfying for those who like the show,” promises executive producer Garrett Basch. It “doesn’t follow the expected route,” teases Con O’Neill, who plays Blackbeard’s devoted enforcer, Izzy. All that means is we’re not at liberty to share too much about what happened on set that day, which included emotional conversations, new cast members, banter with the Kiwi crew, and some seriously killer costumes.

But these exclusive new images give a hint of what is in store. There are fresh faces—Minnie Driver will guest-star as the real-life Irish pirate Anne Bonny, and Ruibo Qian joins the cast as the mysterious merchant Susan—and a lot of New Zealand actors and locations, now that the production has decamped across the Pacific.

“The viewers will see the scope of their world has expanded based on the fact we’re able to get to these amazing locations within a short travel time,” says executive producer Antoine Douaihy. “You will notice a marked difference between the two seasons in terms of the scope and the scale.’’

Minnie Driver joins the cast this season as Anne Bonny. COURTESY OF NICOLA DOVE/MAX.

There will be plenty of familiar faces too, of course. On set that day in Kumeu, New Zealand, a rural area about 20 miles outside of Auckland, are Waititi and Darby along their fellow returning cast members O’Neill, Vico Ortiz (Jim), Kristian Nairn (Wee John), Joel Fry (Frenchie), Matthew Maher (Black Pete), Leslie Jones (Spanish Jackie), Samson Kayo (Oluwande), Ewen Bremner (Nathaniel Buttons), Samba Schutte (Roach), and more. New onboard are two Kiwi actors, Madeleine Sami (most recently of the Australian mystery-comedy Deadloch), and Samoan-born Anapela Polataivao. And there’s one returning figure impossible to miss on the soundstage: The Revenge, the stately ship that Blackbeard—a.k.a. Ed—commandeered at the end of season one. In real life it was carefully transported across the Pacific Ocean from the show’s original Los Angeles soundstages.

The Revenge is vast and impressive, much larger in real life than it appears onscreen. But it’s not the only stunning scenery in store. There are around 50 sets involved in the production of season two, including the 30-acre forest behind the Kumeu Film Studio, Piha Beach, and the wild, black-sand Bethells Beach.

Waititi, who also executive produces the series, was part of the push to film season two in his native New Zealand. “Taika is an extraordinary talent and what’s really great about him with his international success is he’s remained very committed to New Zealand and very loyal to our industry,” says Annie Murray, the CEO of the New Zealand Film Commission. “The beauty of filming in New Zealand is that you can find incredible varied locations within a very short driving distance. [And] when you get to those locations you can turn your camera in any direction.’’

Rhys Darby as Stede Bonnet, filming at New Zealand’s Bethells Beach. COURTESY OF NICOLA DOVE/MAX.

The scope of the season is very evident back on set, as well. There’s a whole other pirate ship in addition to The Revenge, plus sets for a floating market, Stede’s cabin (empty when we visit), and the Republic of Pirates first glimpsed in season one. Behind the scenes it’s a maze of wardrobe, wig rooms, and dressing rooms. In another facility, props are stacked on shelves, ready to be taken away to storage as soon as filming wraps—vases, plates, antique furniture, and piles of mannequins replicating dead bodies which were used in one of the battle scenes.

Costume designer Gypsy Taylor joined the production this season and has designed hundreds of costumes, checking with everyone on set that day to make sure everything is in place before cameras roll. Taylor says each of the principals have six to eight looks in this season, and that every item—every leather belt, wig, bit of jewelry, even a mermaid tail—has been made by her 60-strong workshop. The costumes this season have a “Mad Max, ‘streets of New York’ feel,” says Taylor. “David Jenkins was keen to give the series a cool rock-and-roll vibe…so we had these rock-and-roll elements with an 18th-century twist.’’ As is evidenced in the image below, even Stede’s crew winds up with some unexpected new looks over the course of the season.

Wherever it is these Revenge crew members have found themselves, there’s something that surprised them. COURTESY OF NICOLA DOVE/MAX.

Two armies are part of the action in season two, all of them needing elaborate costumes—around 150 Chinese pirates and a fleet of 100 navy officers. Even the breeches are in studded black leather, and punkified. Says Taylor, “The theory behind their costumes is they would’ve stolen from other pirates…. Although our Wee John has started to become quite the seamstress, so he’s knitting this season.’’ True enough: Nairn is wearing what looks like a hand-knit sweater on set that day.

Wee John isn’t the only pirate getting into crafts. Nancy Hennah, who has managed the hair and makeup for both seasons, points to Blackbeard’s wig—made in London—and tattoos as Waititi works on set. With 14 tattoos on his right arm and 10 on the left, plus plenty of scars, he needs at least an hour in the makeup chair. “Taika wanted most of the tattoos to look like he’d done them himself,” Hennah says. “Like on slow days on the boat when there’s nothing much to do, they sit around and give each other tattoos.”

She gives a hint of a storm in one episode: “One of the hardest days here in makeup was when they were caught in a storm on the back of the boat. [The cast] were saturated for a whole day, which caused havoc with things like tattoos and hair, wigs and beards.’’

Taika Waititi as Blackbeard, who begins the season with a broken heart. COURTESY OF NICOLA DOVE/MAX.

By mid afternoon, Con O’Neill is taking a break in his trailer. He pulls his slim, leather trousered legs up to a corner seat. A candle blazes on the kitchen bench as the veteran actor talks about the physical endurance required during the shoot. “It’s been frantic,’’ he says. His signature gray hair barely moves, frozen by the team of hair stylists who arrived on set around sunrise. (All interviews with actors in this story took place before the SAG-AFTRA strike). 

Izzy “goes on a remarkable journey” this season, says O’Neill. “He understands what love is and whom he’s in love with.’’ On a series featuring a variety of joyful queer relationships—not just Stede and Blackbeard, but Black Pete and Lucius (Nathan Foad), Jim and Oluwande, and Spanish Jackie and her many husbands—Izzy’s unyieldingly straitlaced devotion makes him an odd man out. By the end of season one many fans speculated that Izzy was driven by something at the intersection of love and obsession. This season, according to O’Neill, Izzy gets even deeper into that dynamic. “Physically it’s been quite demanding, and also emotionally it’s been quite demanding to be playing a man enraged by unrequited love, who’s basically a hopeless romantic, and to be able to play all that and also remember that this is fundamentally a comedy.’’

Though the show is often warm and fuzzy when it comes to feelings—one of Stede’s mottos in season one is that when faced with challenges, “we talk it through as a crew”—Izzy represents the darker, more violent side of pirate life, which the show doesn’t shy away from either. “What I love about this show is it does allow itself to swing between the two,” O’Neill says. “We’re almost operatic in our darkness at times, and then we swing back to the sweetness of the simplicity of the love of our two guys. It’s been challenging just to get the tone right.”

“We’ve gone further this season than we did last season with those tones,” he continues. “So sometimes it’s quite interesting to remind yourself that you have to take your foot out of the tragedy—literally, your foot—and put it back into the comedy.”

With a season behind them to build the dynamics between the characters and the actors alike, on set there’s been “a lot more spontaneity and script revisions based on what’s happening day-to-day,” says Douaihy. “The cast are so comfortable with one another and their characters, that they move through it naturally.’’

Leslie Jones as Spanish Jackie and Taika Waititi as Ed a.k.a. Blackbeard. COURTESY OF NICOLA DOVE/MAX.

The way O’Neill puts it, they’ve also built trust with Jenkins, their showrunner, to follow some bigger swings. “I don’t think David Jenkins is ever going to follow an expected route. I’d hate to drive in a car with him.” Thinking of the fans who will greet the series when the show returns in October, O’Neill continues, “I think they’re going to appreciate what [Jenkins] wants. Season two does stick to the original premise that we created in season one, which is take it on to other levels.’’

One character leveling up in a major way this season is Jim, the quiet badass (there are knives involved) played by the nonbinary actor and activist Vico Ortiz. “Jim really evolves in season two,” they say. “They’re a bit more chatty and a bit more conversational…. Most of the first season you see Jim in disguise, hiding, but in this one you see them a bit more [thinking,] Oh, this is my chosen family, and I feel good. There’s a bit more zaniness and a bit more softness.’’

Like O’Neill and several other castmates, Oritz had attended their share of fan events by the time season two began filming, and the entire cast and crew returned to the high seas with a strong sense that their show had taken on a life of its own. “It’s so beautiful to see that people are finding community within the fan base. It’s about creating spaces where we feel safe and seen, and it’s so great to see that so many people watch the show and feel validated in their experiences, whatever that may be,” says Ortiz. “A lot of people that watch the show are like, “Yeah, I’m a guy and it’s good to see all these dudes being vulnerable.’ We can just shake up [ideas about gender].’’

Ruibo Qian joins the cast this season as Susan, a merchant with secrets of her own. COURTESY OF NICOLA DOVE/MAX.

Basch admits the fan following surprised some of the team, “but it made a lot of sense” too. After years of television shows and movies that built up the potential of queer romance only to stop short, Basch thinks the fervor for Our Flag Means Death “says that shows in the mainstream aren’t delivering that promise or that setup, and we have. That’s really why the fans have gone wild for it.”

That promise, it’s safe to say, is kept in season two, and then some. On set that day in December, for example, there was a major romantic moment between two key characters. But we’d risk Ed Teach’s wrath if we told you any more.

Source: Vanity Fair

[realyauza]

Non-Japanese speaking players of Yakuza 4 have been robbed! These two newspaper issues you can get through the game are as genius as unreadable (thanks for the low texture resolution).

Saejima Taiga is an alien from Japan's Area 51! Want to know more? Read these hot articles from "Nihon Sports"!

Long story short (not really):

The first issue was about:

"A three-meters-tall alien was captured on film in Kamurocho. A security camera installed on the roof of a building in Kamurocho accidentally captured a scene of what appeared to be an alien creature knocking five strong men unconscious in an instant. The scene of five strong men being knocked out in an instant was captured by chance. The creature, which appeared to be an alien, was more than three sheets tall and appeared to be the same kind of monster as the Big Foot found in the Himalayas, but information from the International Okinawa UFO & UMA Research Institute, which conducts UFO research in Okinawa, revealed that the creature was an alien returned from a mysterious facility called “Area 51 Japan” in Okinawa."

"Surrounded by high walls, the island is said to be a UFO advance base and stands eerily still, giving an intimidating impression to its surroundings. From time to time, sounds like screams and high-pitched metallic clangs can be heard." - an image capture

Then there's a short info about what types of aliens we already know. Saejima is the "beast type" and "Since these aliens have been found not only on the rooftops of buildings, but also in underground parking lots and in sewers, it is thought that they are vulnerable to sunlight." There was also an eyewitness, who called him a Green Alien and was knocked unconscious soon after: The journalist asked one more time, “Would you like to meet the an alien again?" Tanaka answered, “That's not an argument! Of course I don't want to see this again!“ He shook his shoulders and repeated, “Of course I don't want to see anything like this again!"

"We should think about why aliens came to the earth. It is not possible for them to come from a distant celestial body just for the purpose of sightseeing. They must be waiting for some purpose to come to Earth. Depending on the purpose, it is not surprising that they may have brought weapons to Earth. A “beast-type” figure suddenly appeared in front of God. Perhaps he is the first of the aliens to invade the earth." - a professor of astronomy at a famous university summed up to the author of this article.

The second one:

Is it related to violent aliens? - says the title. This newspaper we can get only after Tanimura's meeting with Katsuragi. The main photo captures this moment.

A group of people in mysterious suits on a night trip. This magazine, which was the first to report on UFOs, has once again come up with a scoop: people trying to call UFOs (unidentified flying objects) have been moving deeper and deeper into Kamurocho, which has won the title of Japan's most famous district. At first glance, the scenery appears to be the same as usual, but people with the same characteristics are clearly visible. Dressed in what appear to be uniforms, they are marching towards a point. They appear to be performing some sort of divine ritual.-main image description

A photo of an UFO described as: A UFO suddenly appeared in the sky over Kamurocho. This photo was taken by a photographer of this magazine while he was reporting on aliens. The article was about a small village in Illinois, U.S.A., in 1988.

"He was cool. I was getting tangled up with five thugs, and he helped me out. And they just took our stuff, and they paid us off!” The aliens helped the man. We were shocked to hear this, but it's the truth. What is this alien's target? The story goes on and on. - written next to the Saejima's back

I noticed that a group of men in suits had gathered around the two men who were having a secret conversation. Immediately afterwards, the group "began to mutter and mumble all at once around the man they had seized," and then they "began to walk away. I had an eerie feeling about the ritualistic child, but I could not help wondering what they were doing in the square. Aliens were speaking some mysterious language no one could understand. They contacted an UFO specialist Morikawa to get more bullshit valuable info about this event and reasons why did they come here:

"The Mendurians are not only large, but also very intelligent," he said. If I had told my fellow travellers that I was being held in the Japanese version of Area 51, they would have been very concerned about the situation," he said. As for the group of people in suits who were at the scene, I think it is very likely that they were brainwashed by the Mendoules to call for UFOs.

I hope the next interview will be more interesting. I would like to remind the readers of this article that if you are unfortunate enough to find yourself on the road to Mendul, you are not the only one. If you are unfortunate enough to encounter a Mendurian, seek shelter in a well-lit area immediately, or apologize sincerely from the bottom of your heart, and you may be rehabilitated.

So,where's the truth?

[ominoose]

I personally think you should write a whole paragraph on Basil. I'd read it.

You don't have to ask me twice.

First off lets start off with the themes of the short film Lightninface.

The first thing we hear is "Just one week ago, even the word everything meant something else entirely", it's a film about change and evolving. We then see Basil, with a crisp shirt, slicked back hair smiling into the mirror as if laughing at something, he's practicing. Then the smile fades and he swallows sadly. He's crafting an outward persona, first indication he's someone that cares about outside appearances and he literally says "I thought I knew who I was, but I knew nothing" aka this man had a secure identity he cared about but that changed!

Then he's hit by lightning! And what's his first set of reactions? Go to a hospital, call 911, do any sort of medical care? No! It's cry about how he has a facial scar which is gonna impact how people view him and now directly clashes with his current standard of living and go crazy. How is he gonna attend board meetings and dinners with the parents and go out with his girlfriend now?! He can't, so obviously the only choice is scream, wreck the apartment, have a tantrum, take tons of pills, quit work, break up with the gf and leave the country.

The director portrays the entire breakdown as silly. With the music, the childlike tantrum, the noises, the antics, it's goofy. He breaks up with his girlfriend of three years that he's obsessed with, acknowledging she's cheated on him with a good friend but completely brushes that aside and clarifies that's not why they're breaking up! Basil's someone who doesn't care she's cheating because he's not only obsessed with her, but with the appearance she brings. With her he's a guy with a long term girlfriend! A hot one! And then he "has to dump" her because of his scar.

So we've established he's quite narcissistic, shallow, cares deeply about his outward appearance and how others perceive him and his life. Moving on, the whole monkey thing can be summarized as evolving, the theme presented at the start.

Modern man loses it all because of his scar and breaks down, so whats the solution? De-evolve, go back to the basics, go back to ape. Become what you are not, tear yourself down to the most basic concept and then build yourself back up as something new. As... well he doesn't name himself, but he lets us do that for him, and we call him Lightningface.

Also I gotta mention the tidbit scene with the records. He's playing the classical music, and that's been the soundtrack thus far. It's classy, posh, elegant. Then he pulls out this metal record thats not been listened to before, it's still in plastic, and when he plays it he's hesitant. Then he's loving it, thrashing around, metal head moment. Something that's not fitting with his previous image but he's tried it and embraced it.

The second phone call with his ex where he goes "I'm kinda freaking out... I'm fine, nevermind." He's manic, he's unsure of himself, of what to do and he has nothing at all to guide him, Basil can't rely on outward trends or influences to base himself on and is forced to craft a new version of himself from within.

"You will no longer find refuge in what you once were, but what you will become."

Does this go well? No!

If I was to summarize or conclude his personality it would be narcissistic, needy, manic, fanatical, defensive and curious. He's a people person, he is quickly engaged by new ideas, he's excitable, he's erratic and giddy and most importantly imaginative. And regardless of how that credits scene played out, he is still alive in my heart.

[quinseparable]

If I could only use 1 song to describe Joanna and her story it would be this one.

Yes, that story mentioned in a post that has nearly 1000 notes now (WOW) is about a battered woman in the late 1800s/early 1900s who killed her husband in self defense, was on the run - both from the law and then her former in-laws, and now is a fucking bounty hunter.

Her story is based on my Red Dead Redemption 2 character. My friends and I play, and all have backstories on our respective characters that come together to form an origin story. Now, while the three of them continue on their way as a group, Joanna goes her own way, running into them here and there but she's not integral to their story save for bringing them together initially.

I don't think any of us intended on writing about them initially, but it just kind of happened. My bff writes screen plays and short films (hell we even filmed a scene of them all meeting for the first time), his cousin draws, and the three of them are working on graphic novels. I am a novelist so my talent is more in prose than anything. Perhaps that's why I ventured off a bit with my girl here. But whatever the case, I love her, and I love her story. And I hate that I really have NO IDEA what I am doing for this story, I'm winging it as I go (save for a few scenes I have in my head that I have to somehow get to lmao). But I am having the time of my life doing it.

Hell I even have a character playlist if you wanna check it out.

(And the great thing about RDR2 Online is that I get to have actual visual images of my girl since, y'know, I am no artist. She has a tendency to hide the scar on her face with her hair and I now realize just how fucking hard it is to get a good pic that shows her scar too. Whoops. But look at my child <3 )

[maximumwobblerbanditdonut]

Remembering David McCallum- Scottish actor and musician.

David McCallum, who became a heartthrob in the hit series ‘The Man From U.N.C.L.E.,’ Dies at 90 💔 So sad a fine actor a great talent and a true gentleman.

An experienced character actor, he found fame in the 1960s as the enigmatic Illya Kuryakin. The British actor who played the mysterious secret agent Illya Kuryakin alongside Robert Vaughn’s Napoleon Solo in the 1960s hit spy drama The Man From U.N.C.L.E. was a secret international counterespionage and law-enforcement agency called U.N.C.L.E. (United Network Command for Law and Enforcement). The series premiered on September 22, 1964, and completed its run on January 15, 1968. The role turned the actor into a global sex symbol.

The success of the James Bond books and films had set off a chain reaction, with secret agents proliferating on both large and small screens. Indeed, Bond creator Ian Fleming contributed some ideas when the series was being developed, according to Jon Heitland’s book, The Man From U.N.C.L.E.: The Behind-the-Scenes Story of a Television Classic (special introduction by Robert Vaughn)

David McCallum took his place among one of the most iconic casts Hollywood ever assembled, nothing in the film’s title, The Great Escape, He was playing naval officer Eric Ashley-Pitt in the 1963 Second World War epic about the mass escape of British and Commonwealth POWs from German Stalag Luft III camp, through another POW turn in Colditz (1972-1974).

David McCallum with Steve McQueen on the set of the WWII epic. The Great Escape brought him to a US audiences. (Image: Moviestore/REX/Shutterstock)

In 1975, he had the title role in a short-lived science fiction series, “The Invisible Man,” and from 1979 to 1982 he played Steel in a British sci-if chiller “Sapphire and Steel” (1979-1982). Over the years, he also appeared in guest shots in many TV shows, including “Murder, She Wrote” and “Sex and the City, a romantic comedy-drama television series filmed in New York.

Later, in the 2000s as an eccentric medical examiner on “N.C.I.S.” he reached a new audience as Dr Donald "Ducky" Mallard, the medical examiner in US TV drama NCIS. McCallum was known for playing a pathologist on the hit CBS TV programme NCIS, which went on to generate several spinoff series, for twenty years. NCIS is the third-longest-running scripted, non-animated primetime television series in the U.S that is currently on air.

He was a true Renaissance man — he was fascinated by science and culture and would turn those passions into knowledge. For example, he was capable of conducting a symphony orchestra and (if needed) could perform an autopsy, based on his decades-long studies for his role on NCIS.

The Scottish-born actor died in New York on Monday 25th September 2023. He lived in Manhattan. David Keith McCallum was born on 19th September 1933 in the Maryhill (Scots: Maryhull - Scottish Gaelic: Cnoc Màiri) area of Glasgow, to a father who was the first violinist for the London Philharmonic and a mother who was a cellist.

David won a scholarship to the University College School in north London and took up the oboe with a view to a classical music career. Thus he originally pursued a career in music, training on the oboe and studying for a time at the Royal Academy of Music, though he soon left and enrolled at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. After RADA he started performing with repertory theatre companies.

David McCallum was drafted into the British military in 1951 and served two years, including 10 months in what was a small-arms expert. Not long after his discharge, he signed with the Rank Organization, a British production company, and began acting both in movies and on television.

David McCallum a classically trained musician, created arrangements of popular songs of the day alongside a few original pieces and made four albums with forward-thinking producer and composer David Axelrod. Those groovy productions have been sampled a lot by trip-hop artists and more. In particular, “The Edge” from 1967’s

“The Edge” from 1967’s Music: For those who might have heard this song sampled elsewhere, you could have heard it in various places. From Masta Ace (“No Regrets”) to John Legend (“Actions”) his original was used in Edgar Wright’s Baby Driver, the 2017 film starring Ansel Elgort.

Check out the video below and listen for that familiar intro:

David McCallum - From The Man from U.N.C.L.E. to NCIS, and all performances in between, he was a multifaceted talent during 7 decades and 100 films and TV shows a True Legend.

R.I.P David 💔

1933-2023

#DavidMcCallum #Scottishactor #Britishactor #U.N.C.L.E. #IllyaKuryakin #TheGreatEscape #navalofficer #EricAshley #NCIS #secretagent #Edge #music #Ducky #DoctorMallard #actor #talent #gentleman #Legend #ripdavidmccallum

[londonspirit]

Only the fans of Our Flag Means Death can determine whether they’ll be satisfied with the show’s second season, which debuts on Max in October. But if you ask Fernando Frias, who directed three of the season’s episodes, he sounds pretty confident: “If my life depended on saying whether it’s yes or no, I would say yes.’’

It’s December 8, 2022, and the principal actors on Our Flag Means Death as well as the 800-plus extras and crew members have three days left of their three-month shoot for season two. Things are starting to get emotional. “You’ve been the most amazing crew I’ve ever worked with,” says one actor as he wraps his final scene. Frias says it’s like leaving “a long summer camp,” adding, “it’s like a family.”

The series created by David Jenkins was a surprise breakout hit when it debuted in the spring of 2022, building a fiercely devoted fan base with its silly yet emotional deadpan, and defiantly queer take on the adventures of real 18th-century pirates. Everyone involved in Our Flag Means Death is eager to preserve the surprises in store for season two, which kicks off with gentleman pirate Stede Bonnet (Rhys Darby) and softhearted bad boy Blackbeard (Taika Waititi) ruefully separated after finally realizing their love for each other at the end of season one. It’s “going to be unexpected and surprising, but also very pleasurable and satisfying for those who like the show,” promises executive producer Garrett Basch. It “doesn’t follow the expected route,” teases Con O’Neill, who plays Blackbeard’s devoted enforcer, Izzy. All that means is we’re not at liberty to share too much about what happened on set that day, which included emotional conversations, new cast members, banter with the Kiwi crew, and some seriously killer costumes.

But these exclusive new images give a hint of what is in store. There are fresh faces—Minnie Driver will guest-star as the real-life Irish pirate Anne Bonny, and Ruibo Qian joins the cast as the mysterious merchant Susan—and a lot of New Zealand actors and locations, now that the production has decamped across the Pacific. “The viewers will see the scope of their world has expanded based on the fact we’re able to get to these amazing locations within a short travel time,” says executive producer Antoine Douaihy. “You will notice a marked difference between the two seasons in terms of the scope and the scale.’’

There will be plenty of familiar faces too, of course. On set that day in Kumeu, New Zealand, a rural area about 20 miles outside of Auckland, are Waititi and Darby along their fellow returning cast members O’Neill, Vico Ortiz (Jim), Kristian Nairn (Wee John), Joel Fry (Frenchie), Matthew Maher (Black Pete), Leslie Jones (Spanish Jackie), Samson Kayo (Oluwande), Ewen Bremner (Nathaniel Buttons), Samba Schutte (Roach), and more. New onboard are two Kiwi actors, Madeleine Sami (most recently of the Australian mystery-comedy Deadloch), and Samoan-born Anapela Polataivao. And there’s one returning figure impossible to miss on the soundstage: The Revenge, the stately ship that Blackbeard—a.k.a. Ed—commandeered at the end of season one. In real life it was carefully transported across the Pacific Ocean from the show’s original Los Angeles soundstages.

The Revenge is vast and impressive, much larger in real life than it appears onscreen. But it’s not the only stunning scenery in store. There are around 50 sets involved in the production of season two, including the 30-acre forest behind the Kumeu Film Studio, Piha Beach, and the wild, black-sand Bethells Beach.

Waititi, who also executive produces the series, was part of the push to film season two in his native New Zealand. “Taika is an extraordinary talent and what’s really great about him with his international success is he’s remained very committed to New Zealand and very loyal to our industry,” says Annie Murray, the CEO of the New Zealand Film Commission. “The beauty of filming in New Zealand is that you can find incredible varied locations within a very short driving distance. [And] when you get to those locations you can turn your camera in any direction.’’

The scope of the season is very evident back on set, as well. There’s a whole other pirate ship in addition to The Revenge, plus sets for a floating market, Stede’s cabin (empty when we visit), and the Republic of Pirates first glimpsed in season one. Behind the scenes it’s a maze of wardrobe, wig rooms, and dressing rooms. In another facility, props are stacked on shelves, ready to be taken away to storage as soon as filming wraps—vases, plates, antique furniture, and piles of mannequins replicating dead bodies which were used in one of the battle scenes.

Costume designer Gypsy Taylor joined the production this season and has designed hundreds of costumes, checking with everyone on set that day to make sure everything is in place before cameras roll. Taylor says each of the principals have six to eight looks in this season, and that every item—every leather belt, wig, bit of jewelry, even a mermaid tail—has been made by her 60-strong workshop. The costumes this season have a “Mad Max, ‘streets of New York’ feel,” says Taylor. “David Jenkins was keen to give the series a cool rock-and-roll vibe…so we had these rock-and-roll elements with an 18th-century twist.’’ As is evidenced in the image below, even Stede’s crew winds up with some unexpected new looks over the course of the season.

Two armies are part of the action in season two, all of them needing elaborate costumes—around 150 Chinese pirates and a fleet of 100 navy officers. Even the breeches are in studded black leather, and punkified. Says Taylor, “The theory behind their costumes is they would’ve stolen from other pirates…. Although our Wee John has started to become quite the seamstress, so he’s knitting this season.’’ True enough: Nairn is wearing what looks like a hand-knit sweater on set that day.

Wee John isn’t the only pirate getting into crafts. Nancy Hennah, who has managed the hair and makeup for both seasons, points to Blackbeard’s wig—made in London—and tattoos as Waititi works on set. With 14 tattoos on his right arm and 10 on the left, plus plenty of scars, he needs at least an hour in the makeup chair. “Taika wanted most of the tattoos to look like he’d done them himself,” Hennah says. “Like on slow days on the boat when there’s nothing much to do, they sit around and give each other tattoos.”

She gives a hint of a storm in one episode: “One of the hardest days here in makeup was when they were caught in a storm on the back of the boat. [The cast] were saturated for a whole day, which caused havoc with things like tattoos and hair, wigs and beards.’’

By mid afternoon, Con O’Neill is taking a break in his trailer. He pulls his slim, leather-trousered legs up to a corner seat. A candle blazes on the kitchen bench as the veteran actor talks about the physical endurance required during the shoot. “It’s been frantic,’’ he says. His signature gray hair barely moves, frozen by the team of hairstylists who arrived on set around sunrise. (All interviews with actors in this story took place before the SAG-AFTRA strike.) 

Izzy “goes on a remarkable journey” this season, says O’Neill. “He understands what love is and whom he’s in love with.’’ On a series featuring a variety of joyful queer relationships—not just Stede and Blackbeard, but Black Pete and Lucius (Nathan Foad), Jim and Oluwande, and Spanish Jackie and her many husbands—Izzy’s unyieldingly straitlaced devotion makes him an odd man out. By the end of season one many fans speculated that Izzy was driven by something at the intersection of love and obsession. This season, according to O’Neill, Izzy gets even deeper into that dynamic. “Physically it’s been quite demanding, and also emotionally it’s been quite demanding to be playing a man enraged by unrequited love, who’s basically a hopeless romantic, and to be able to play all that and also remember that this is fundamentally a comedy.’’

Though the show is often warm and fuzzy when it comes to feelings—one of Stede’s mottos in season one is that when faced with challenges, “we talk it through as a crew”—Izzy represents the darker, more violent side of pirate life, which the show doesn’t shy away from either. “What I love about this show is it does allow itself to swing between the two,” O’Neill says. “We’re almost operatic in our darkness at times, and then we swing back to the sweetness of the simplicity of the love of our two guys. It’s been challenging just to get the tone right.”

“We’ve gone further this season than we did last season with those tones,” he continues. “So sometimes it’s quite interesting to remind yourself that you have to take your foot out of the tragedy—literally, your foot—and put it back into the comedy.”

With a season behind them to build the dynamics between the characters and the actors alike, on set there’s been “a lot more spontaneity and script revisions based on what’s happening day-to-day,” says Douaihy. “The cast are so comfortable with one another and their characters, that they move through it naturally.’’

The way O’Neill puts it, they’ve also built trust with Jenkins, their showrunner, to follow some bigger swings. “I don’t think David Jenkins is ever going to follow an expected route. I’d hate to drive in a car with him.” Thinking of the fans who will greet the series when the show returns in October, O’Neill continues, “I think they’re going to appreciate what [Jenkins] wants. Season two does stick to the original premise that we created in season one, which is take it on to other levels.’’

One character leveling up in a major way this season is Jim, the quiet badass (there are knives involved) played by the nonbinary actor and activist Vico Ortiz. “Jim really evolves in season two,” they say. “They’re a bit more chatty and a bit more conversational…. Most of the first season you see Jim in disguise, hiding, but in this one you see them a bit more [thinking,] Oh, this is my chosen family, and I feel good. There’s a bit more zaniness and a bit more softness.’’

Like O’Neill and several other castmates, Oritz had attended their share of fan events by the time season two began filming, and the entire cast and crew returned to the high seas with a strong sense that their show had taken on a life of its own. “It’s so beautiful to see that people are finding community within the fan base. It’s about creating spaces where we feel safe and seen, and it’s so great to see that so many people watch the show and feel validated in their experiences, whatever that may be,” says Ortiz. “A lot of people that watch the show are like, “Yeah, I’m a guy and it’s good to see all these dudes being vulnerable.’ We can just shake up [ideas about gender].’’

Basch admits the fan following surprised some of the team, “but it made a lot of sense” too. After years of television shows and movies that built up the potential of queer romance only to stop short, Basch thinks the fervor for Our Flag Means Death “says that shows in the mainstream aren’t delivering that promise or that setup, and we have. That’s really why the fans have gone wild for it.”

That promise, it’s safe to say, is kept in season two, and then some. On set that day in December, for example, there was a major romantic moment between two key characters. But we’d risk Ed Teach’s wrath if we told you any more.

[emilyasinghpho101]

Documentary of 10 images 3/9

I chose to write a documentary of my boyfriends set ups in his room. These imagined contain Star Wars figures and books, a work desk for animation and a building stand with tools. The first five images are based off pf star wars collector items, the greatest one is the stormtrooper helmets which are rare collector items. As you may see he put biggie's crown on the black one which I believe is iconic. The second image shows Jabba the Hutt's Sail barge, a character in Star Wars. This barge has about twenty five figures inside that he has collected over many years since he was a child. His father got him in to Star Wars and this became something he loves very deeply. The best part of this ship is the close up photo I took of Captain Rex, Anakin Skywalker, and Ahsoka, three popular character in. Star Wars. In the third image it shows an item I specifically bought for him for this birthday because it was a scene from one of his favorite Star Wars movie, "A New Hope". In this scene there is Darth Vader and stormtroopers fighting. He has many books in order that were read many times, I couldn't believe it myself. The most interesting part of his room is his animation studio shown in the sixth picture. This studio is where he edits short films and draws animations on the tablet to the right. Next to the tablet there is a a Loopdeck which is an editing tool. Other items on this desk include a blueprint of a short film he is working on for his film class in college, his game console and a rubric cube which he can amazingly solve in under 2 minutes. Now this part of his room to me is very handy which is his tool station that includes a 3-D printer and various tools etc. He once told me that he created an entire Mandalorian armor suit from Star Wars with his 3-D printer which is very talented. Lastly the famous Millennium Falcom ship from Star Wars. He has 2 replicas of this ship, one in his room and one unopened in his basement because this its the fastest shit in Star Wars. Overall I've decided to do my documentary on my boyfriends room because I believe this is something that should be shared with others and shows how smart and interesting of a person he truly is. He is able to build design, draw and more and his room is a perfect example to prove it.

[buzzdixonwriter]

George Lucas Is A Lousy Storyteller, Episode One

Let’s talk about the naked emperor elephant in the room:  George Lucas is a lousy storyteller.

He’s been lucky in his personal career, fouling out with his first feature, hitting a respectable double with his second, and then a grand slam bases loaded outta-da-park home run for his third.

The considerable media empire he started typically succeeds better when they hand over his projects to more skillful storytellers than to rely on Lucas’ own storytelling abilities. 

The ancillary successes of Star Wars hinge off side projects he provided little direct input into.  The more closely involved he is, the less likely a project is to succeed.

And to those of you thinking this is sour grapes, no:  This evaluation is based solely on Lucas’ own words and on his own films.

Lucas seems supremely disinterested in the basic structure of storytelling.  His interest as a filmmaker lies more in sight and sensation as opposed to a coherent story (and by coherent story I mean one where characters and theme work together to form the plot, not one where they are a jumble of discordant elements thrown together).  Carrie Fisher famously observed Lucas did not know how to direct actors, not even to the most basic degree of helping them shape their performances. 

Lucas himself long boasted of his disdain for conventional filmmaking and storytelling, a boast clearly evident in his earliest films.  He ignored USC’s film school rules, adding unapproved elements to his films to overshadow fellow students who followed school constraints.  When USC got him a chance to work on a making-of documentary short about the 1969 film MacKenna’s Gold, he turned it into a meandering, pointless, and unfocused -- in every sense of the word -- string of desert landscapes and obscure behind-the-scenes shots where one couldn’t tell what was going on.

In fairness, MacKenna’s Gold isn’t a very good movie, but if the task at hand is to tell people about it, Lucas failed miserably. 

Let’s start at the very beginning, with his USC student films:

Look At Life (1965) is a photo collage film, a series of fast paced intercuts of various contemporary images against a music backtrack, ending with an ironic comment.  The technique goes back to the early experimental film makers of the late 1920s and early 1930s in Germany, later reintroduced in America with Bruce Conner’s A Movie in 1958.  It seems every young filmmaker at some point dose a movie like this because they’re cheap / fast / easy.

Herbie (1966) is an abstract film showing the play of light on cars.  To be fair, every young filmmaker also shoots a movie like this at some time.  Call it a rite of passage.

Freiheit (1966) shows a frightened young man in a white shirt and a tie running through the woods.  He sees an object (a sign?  Surviving prints are too murky to make this out clearly) and runs towards it, only to be gunned down from off camera.  A soldier comes out to examine his body while various voice overs talk about how important freedom is.  Presumably, Lucas intended this as some sort of comment on the draft and the Vietnam war, but it seems more pretentious than profound and frankly looks amateurish.  The title is German for “freedom”.

1:42.08 (1966) is a short documentary about a driver making a time trial run in a sports car.  It’s well directed in terms of camera placement and editing, but it’s nothing but a guy getting in a car and driving around a track.  It’s the kind of footage that would serve well a as a show reel for someone wanting a job shooting commercials or sports videos as it focuses entirely on motion and sensation, not story.  While other students in class were limited to black and white film, Lucas shot his in color, giving him an unfair edge.  His passion for cars comes through, however, and from this short one can see how he visited the topic in American Graffiti.

Electric Labyrinth THX 1138 4EB (1967) is Lucas’ most famous student film and to be frank, it does mark the highwater mark of his college career.  Assigned the task of instructing USAF officers in the basics of filmmaking, Lucas dragooned them into making a dystopian sci-fi short using real locations such as Los Angeles International Airport (yes, back then you could simply go to the airport late at night and shoot a sci-fi film in the empty corridors without a ton of security descending on you).  The film does run a bit longer than truly necessary to tell the story, and the story is very basic (guy flees oppressive society by running through empty corridors until he finds a door leading outside), but the sound design really helps sell the mood and sense of the future.

The Emperor (1967) is a short documentary about then popular LA DJ “Emperor” Bob Hudson.  It’s essentially a pretentious puff piece and the best elements in it seem to be taken from commercials shot by somebody else, but Lucas intercuts between Hudson and young people on the streets of Los Angeles.  Hudson boasts of his appeal to young people and perhaps in the day he really was thought of as a counter-culture figure, but 55 years later he seems more like a mellower, less toxic Rush Limbaugh.  Without the context of the era, the importance of radio in general and Hudson in particular is lost on modern audiences while the !960s sexism wears thin.  This short is notable for the first glimpse of how Lucas would later handle Wolfman Jack in American Graffiti.  For reasons known only to him, Lucas inexplicably puts the credits at the midway point of the film.

Anyone Lived In A Pretty How Town (1967) is about a magical (?) photographer popping in and out of existence as he follows a young couple, taking their picture yet never finding an image that satisfies him.  This film feels like a throwback to Lucas’ earliest efforts, with a very amateurish look and performances.  It seems heavily inspired by Carson Davidson’s Help! My Snowman's Burning Down (1964) and Jim Henson’s Time Piece (1965), both of which were well known to film students of the era.

6.18.67 (1967) is the aforementioned abortive making-of documentary and we needn’t repeat ourselves.

Filmmaker (1968) is a behind the scenes documentary on Francis Ford Coppola’s The Rain People (1969) and boy howdy, it sure didn’t do Coppola any favors in how it portrayed him and his sixth or eighth feature film (depending on whether one wants to count The Terror and Battle Beyond The Sun as actual Coppola directed features).  It depicts a chaotic, unfocused production with a lot of waste, not the sort of thing one hopes major studios would take note of.  The end titles are over a group shot of The Rain People’s cast and crew, and Lucas zooms in tight on himself standing on a truck, towering above the others as bombastic music plays.  Keep that image in mind.

Bald:  The Making Of THX 1138 (1971) seems to me to be the most disturbing of Lucas’ short film.  It’s another making-of doc, this one about the feature version of his award winning student sci-fi film.  It focuses on the actors Robert Duvall, Johnny Weissmuller Jr., and actresses Maggie McOmie and Irene Forest getting their heads ritually shaved by a sardonic barber dressed in black, and dwells with sadistic glee on the discomfort of the two actresses as their hair is shorn off.  Remember this was shot in 1971, and during the 1960s long hair marked a cultural sea-change in the US and around the world.  For the actors of THX 1138 to shave their heads marked no small emotional trauma (Sid Haig excepted; that was his look from Spider Babyonward).  Lucas never shied away from exploiting actors, he just stayed careful enough to do it in a not so obvious manner.  This film is genuinely painful to watch and diminishes enjoyment of the feature.

Which leads us to his first three features:

THX 1138 (1971) expanded his student film.  It’s not a bad film, it deserves praise for a lot of what it achieved, but it’s ultimately soulless and by the numbers, the sort of dystopian sci-fi tale found in Ace Doubles through the 1960s.  In a very odd way it’s the mirror twin of Zardoz (1974), with each film in that pair doing right what the other did wrong and vice versa.  It’s another film that doesn’t quite jell and lacks the panache to steamroll through those patches.  In 2004 Lucas released an expanded director’s cut that added CGI special effects, thereby undercutting one of the original version’s chief strengths, that it looked and felt real because much of it was filmed in real futuristic looking locations.  This is another example of Lucas’ weakness as a storyteller, a belief that making things Bigger!  Brighter! will also make them better.  Keep that in mind when we get to Jar Jar Binks.

American Graffiti (1974) marked Lucas’ first box office success, not on the scale of blockbusters that followed, but a solid hit nonetheless.  Lucas found a balance between his interest in car culture and rock & roll with Gloria Katz and Willard Huyck’s thoughtful and poignant screenplay.  Lucas is never able to rise above his collaborators, and the better his crew, the better his productions.  A far more low key and more human /humane film than THX 1138, American Graffiti put him in excellent field position for his next and career-wise most important film.

Star Wars [none of that sub-titled / roman numeral / retconned / CGI enhanced crap but the original theatrical Han-shoots-first version] (1974) was the lucky break every creative soul dreams of.  Famously, Lucas wanted to get the rights to Flash Gordon but couldn’t cut a deal (he previously included the trailer for the old Buck Rogers serial at the start of THX 1138).  Frustrated by their refusal, he wrote several drafts of a script originally called The Star Wars.  Comparing them and early production art to the final film show Lucas doesn’t think creatively in terms of clear and consistent storylines but rather disjointed scenes and characters.  When at the top of his form (as with the original Star Wars) it produces a light-hearted audience pleasing romp that easily sidesteps its own plot holes.

When not at the top of his form, however, we get The Phantom Menace / Attack Of The Clones / Revenge Of The Sith.

 © Buzz Dixon

[twdmusicboxmystery]

Based off of Emily’s insta, it looks like she’s in Montreal Canada. Thoughts?

Um...yeah. My fellow theorists and I talked about this, and decided it's super weird. There's about three different ways we could go on it. I'll explain them and then I'm going to give you some other weirdnesses from Emily's insta that came right after she posted this.

So, could this be a latergram? Sure. Really no way to tell. One of the weirdest things about it is that she posted this the day after Thanksgiving. I mean, who is working the day after Thanksgiving, you know? And of course she hasn't announced any particular projects that she might be doing in Canada.

And I know some of you will ask something along the lines of, okay, but if she's filming TWD, shouldn't she be filming in France with Norman?

Not necessarily. Emily was in France several months ago and I think it's very probably that she filmed any and all France scenes she had back then. That way, it wouldn't negate any possibility of her being "seen" in France while the spinoff is officially filming.

But why would she post something about Montreal randomly? One possibility that comes to mind is that in the episode of Tales of the Walking Dead called "Davon," Montreal is specifically mentioned. And it's a French-speaking part of Canada.

I don't know how that would all fit together, but it seems entirely too coincidental to not connect in some way.

Then came two other things she posted to her stories right after this, that got an even bigger side eye from me. First, there was this one:

She gave no caption or explanation for it. I took a screenshot because it so clearly represents the idea of the "songbird."

Then, a day later, she posted a reel that had part of an old Tom Hanks interview. In it, he talks about perseverance and how things are hardest for him when he's not working. He says, "I'm not in a play, I'm not in a movie..." and then the reel cuts off. So, obviously that's not the end of the interview, but Emily only posted that clip of it.

(You can watch it here: https://youtube.com/shorts/G1uOtzvLO0k?feature=share)

So, here's how I would interpret this. First, perseverance by definition means not giving up. So, perhaps a hint for TD to not give up on seeing Beth. Then, she keeps in where Hanks says he's not in a play or a movie. Those are two of the three main vehicles in which an actor can be seen. The third, of course, is a series or TV show. So, it's almost like she leaves that possibility hanging in the air. "I'm not in a play or a film, but...." *waits for us to fill in the blank*

And this in conjunction with the songbird image, and a picture that might suggest she's in an actor trailer in Montreal. A French-speaking part of Canada mentioned in a mysterious episode of Tales. All while Norman is filming the spinoff in France.

Of course I can't know for sure this is what it means. I could be wrong. But again, it just all feels a little too coincidental to actually BE a coincidence.

Feel free to come up with your own interpretation. Hope this helps, though. Xoxo! 🎅🏻💗

[saucy-mesothelioma]

out of any horror movie you’ve seen with monster villains which one would you say has the best design out of any of them (and the term monster that i’m using is any type of creature that doesn’t resemble a human outside of walking on two legs)

I hope you weren't expecting a short answer because boy do I have several. And since I'm a slut for practical effects, the majority of these are done practically. Strap in, because here we go.

First up are the Killer Klowns from Killer Klowns from Outer Space!

These funky fellas are from an underrated horror classic that's such a fun watch oh my god it is so off the walls. They were achieved with puppets and animatronics that were designed by the legendary Chiodo Brothers, with the animatronics being built by Dwight Roberts. Even though this is often considered a B-movie, the design and mechanics are genuinely so incredible and are so overlooked in my opinion. They're creepy as all getout, and are honestly pretty fuckin terrifying to watch. Fuck Pennywise (not really, Tim Curry's Pennywise is fantastic), these boys were the og horror movie clowns.

Next, the Tarman from Return of the Living Dead

Believe it or not, this movie is where the idea of zombies eating brains comes from. It also doesn't get that much attention nowadays, so I'm happy to give it some well-deserved recognition. The suit was designed by production designer Bill Stout, built by effects artist Bill Munns, and and worn by the 6'2 actor/puppeteer Allen Trautman. To achieve the melting flesh look, hot melted vinyl was poured onto sheets of aluminum foil and then attached it to the suit in layers, finishing things off by covering it in goo before each take.

The Cenobites from Hellraiser are up next!

I'll only be talking about the og gang here, but there are several newer Cenobites that also have some damn fine designs (haven't seen the 2022 film but holy hell I love those designs). I could go on and on about the practical effects in this movie, especially Frank Cotton's resurrection because oh my fucking god the effects in that scene are beautiful, but I'll keep my focus on these fine freaks. We have the Lead Cenobite aka Pinhead (Doug Bradley), Female Cenobite aka Deepthroat (Grace Kirby), Butterball (Simon Bamford), and Chatterer (Nicholas Vince) who were designed by Clive Barker himself and lead make-up artist Bob Keen, and were brought to life by the make-up team at Image Animation and costume designer Jane Wildgoose. I also want to call to attention to Frank (Cotton) the Monster, who was played by Oliver Smith, because the various stages of reconstruction are genuinely fantastic.

Up next on the roster, The Moder from The Ritual

She's the first of only two mainly CGI monsters that I have on this list, but I fell in love with her design the second I saw her. She was created by director David Bruckner and concept artist Keith Tompson who took inspiration from Norse mythology, specifically a Jötnar clan of giants that were known as shape-shifters that sometimes combined human and animal qualities. This quote from Bruckner honestly sums up my feelings on the Moder's vibes perfectly: "How would you obfuscate the difference between animal and human, and how could an animal form read with a human intelligence?” Although she is primarily animated with CGI, a physical model for reference and some prosthetics were made courtesy of Russell Efx for when the Moder interacted with the actors. The Moder is a fuckin queen in my book <3

Next up is another eldritch queen, Jean Jacket from Nope

JJ is the only other CGI monster on this list, but she's Jean fuckin Jacket just LOOK at her (ironically). The plot twist of Jean Jacket being the alien itself and not the spaceship was such a wonderful one; I can still remember the audible "oh shit" I let out when it was revealed. She was designed by Peele and his team with the help of Caltech professor John O. Dabiri and was based on various sea creatures (primarily a jellyfish) in the way she moves and eats her prey, with other inspirations being the 10th Angel from Neon Genesis Evangelion, biblical descriptions of angels, Robert Mapplethorpe's orchid photographs, and apparently Marilyn Monroe's dress. Guillaume Rocheron worked with the team for JJ's CGI as well as for the practical effect of the dust whenever JJ flies too close to the ground. A fun fact I also love about the creation of Jean Jacket is that researcher Kelsi Rutledge actually created a scientific manuscript for JJ that would hold up to academic standards. It has everything from details about JJ's anatomy and behavior to a goddamn scientific name (Occulonimbus edoequus).

This one is a recent hyperfixation of mine, but it's one I love dearly: the Graboids from Tremors!

Thank you Zoran Gvojic for introducing me to this beautiful film; I couldn't be more grateful. The graboids were designed by Tom Woodruff Jr and Alec Gillis and this film was actually the first one their company Amalgamated Dynamics worked on. The design was based off of snapping turtles, slugs, and rhinos, and were completely done with practical effects in the first film (although CGI with some practical effects would be used to varying levels in the later films). Since the graboids were so large, quarter scale models were seamlessly blended with full scale ones in order to get all of the shots they wanted, as well as a mixture of animatronics and puppets. Tom Woodruff Jr actually puppeteered the full sized graboid named Stumpy from underground, with only an oxygen tank and flashlight down there with him. What a fucking king.

Also I just wanted to include this picture of Michael Gross with some graboid tongues because I like it

And last, but could never could possibly be least

John Carpenter's The Thing, my beloved!!!!!!!!

To say that I adore The Thing and its creature designs is the understatement of the century. My partner can attest that I am completely feral about this movie I love it so much. It's thanks to special effects artist Rob Bottin that we were blessed with these absolutely incredible designs, which were made with latex and foam rubber which were then covered in creamed corn, strawberry jam, mayo, and KY Jelly. Bottin spent 10 days with Norris's actor with Charles Hallahan creating different torsos, facial expressions, and even body hair patterns for Norris's transformation. Fake arms were created with wax bones, gelatin flesh, and rubber veins and hydraulic jaws were made to rip a torso in half. This movie is full of marionettes, prosthetics, hydraulics, and puppetry, and if I had to choose my favorite horror movie I would choose this movie

[byneddiedingo]

Germaine Dermoz and Alexandre Arquillière in The Smiling Madame Beudet (Germaine Dulac, 1923)

Cast: Germaine Dermoz, Alexandre Arquillière, Madeleine Guitty, Jean d'Yd, Yvette Grisier, Raoul Paoli, Armand Thirard. Screenplay: Germaine Dulac, André Obey, based on a play by Obey and Denys Abiel. Cinematography: Maurice Forster, A. Morrin, Paul Parguel. 

Mme. Beudet (Germaine Dermoz) really doesn't have much to smile about. She's married to a gargoyle of a husband (Alexandre Arquillière) who bullies her, and when he doesn't get his way likes to pull a gun out of his desk drawer and pretend to be about to commit suicide. He mocks her interest in playing Debussy on the piano, and when he goes out to the theater with friends one night -- she has declined to accompany them -- slams down the lid on the keys and locks it. No wonder that she daydreams about a handsome tennis player she sees in a magazine and fantasizes his getting rid of her husband. She knows one secret about his familiar suicide ploy: The gun is unloaded and he keeps the bullets in a separate drawer. So she surreptitiously loads the gun. Then one day he calls her into his study to harangue her about household expenses, starts to pull his usual suicide ploy, and then points the gun at her. It goes off, missing her, and a startled Beudet runs to his wife, thinking that she loaded the gun to kill herself. He hugs her tearfully, but her expression is the usual one of glum misery. Germaine Dulac's short film is often called the first feminist movie, although that seems too superficial a label. What does distinguish it is Dulac's use of superimposed images, such as her fantasy of the tennis player, to give further insight into the characters. In the climactic scene in which Beudet hugs his wife, a picture in the background changes to what seems to be the proscenium of a puppet theater whose curtain falls. Dulac seems to suggest that The Smiling Madame Beudet is a kind of puppet show, with the squabbling Beudets as her version of Punch and Judy.

[qu-film-history-to-1968]

Maniac: Why?

For this week, I decided to start it off by watching Maniac, which was released in 1934. After watching Maniac, I would describe it to someone as what we might today call and experimental or independent horror film. It was directed and produced by Dwain Esper, a director and producer known for exploitation films.  No major company produced or distributed it. This can be guessed via viewing the film alone, let alone researching it. 

Upon further research, the film was found to relative unknown. What was known was that it was negatively received. In fact, by some,  it is even considered one of the worst films of all time.   

The quality of the film wasn’t exactly stellar, with the audio and image being iffy at times. The editing was also on the rough side. There were certain scenes that went back and forth from the action to text describing  paranoia and mania. The transition between the two was jarring and sudden, definitely quite rough.The film was also short, around 50 minutes. This fact combined with everything else tells the audience that it is a “B” film rather than an “A” film. 

The cast of the film seemed to be relatively unknown, except for the crazy doctor, who had a decent amount of fame. Given the film’s nature, I would definitely say the genre was unique. Esper, the director, definitely had a lot of influence in this area. The genre was a mixture of horror and science fiction with the indie and experimental vibes mixed in.  

The story itself was unique. It at first seemed like a typical science fiction movie. The story plot of the mad scientist trying to bring people back to life as well as the patient going crazy and kidnapping a woman was very much reminiscent of Frankenstein. The identity theft, blackmail and double-crossing were nice surprises that helped heighten the plot. The ending, had the women safe and the crazy assistant behind bars. While it was not a happy ending, I half expected it to end in disaster. The film heavily features cat’s, which I thought was unusual, although upon further research I discovered the film was loosely based off of Edgar Allan Poe’s short story “The Black Cat.” 

There were also certain scenes that definitely seemed out of place and unnecessary to the overall story.  It was an interesting experience viewing this film. If I’m being honest, my final review of Maniac is that it is just simply weird and strange. 

By: Callahan Coffey

[nbmsports]

Gilgo Beach murders: Man charged over deaths of three women linked to unsolved serial killings featured on Netflix documentary | US News

A wealthy architect has been charged with murdering three women linked to the unsolved killings of 11 people, which was the subject of the Netflix film Lost Girls.Rex Heuermann, 59, was arrested as the prime suspect in the historical Gilgo Beach murders - in which human remains were found along a New York beach highway more than a decade ago.He is charged with the murder of Melissa Barthelemy, 24, Megan Waterman, 22, and Amber Costello, 27, whose remains were discovered during the search for another missing female in 2010.He pleaded not guilty to all three charges. Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

0:38 A man has been charged with murdering three women linked to the unsolved killings of 11 people. It is believed 11 individuals fell victim to the murders, many young female sex workers. Their remains were discovered in 2010 and 2011.The New York-based architect lives in Massapequa, a community in Long Island around 15 miles away from where the victim's remains were found.Detectives who tailed the suspect recovered DNA from a pizza crust he threw away, then matched it to a hair found on a restraint used in the killings, police said.Another key part of what led to his arrest was his car - a Chevrolet Avalanche - which a witness said the killer was driving after the disappearance of Ms Costello, according to NBC.

Image: (L-R) Melissa Barthelemy, Megan Waterman and Amber Lynn Costello. Pic: Suffolk County Police Heuermann was taken into custody late on Thursday after his house was raided by police. His "first-generation Chevrolet Avalanche" was also towed away from the scene, NBC reported. "Ladies and gentlemen, Rex Heuermann is a demon that walks among us - a predator that ruined families," Suffolk County police Commissioner Rodney Harrison said.Police also believed that the suspect was from Long Island because of a mobile phone tower ping - which came from Ms Barthelemy's phone after her death.A man who said he was the killer used the phone to call and taunt Ms Barthelemy's sister after she had disappeared in 2009.

Image: Selfies which appear to have been taken by Rex Heuermann. Pics: Suffolk County Court The individual allegedly claimed to have killed Ms Barthelemy, related details of her murder and made sexually explicit comments down the phone.It was previously reported that the same phone briefly pinged off a tower in the town of Massapequa - where Heuermann lives.

Image: Heuermann was seen on CCTV at a mobile phone shop in Manhattan on 19 May 2023. Pic: Suffolk County Court The Gilgo Beach investigation began after police launched a search for 24-year-old Shannan Gilbert following her disappearance in the coastal community of Oak Beach in 2010.The body of a different woman - Ms Barthelemy - was then discovered by a police dog and officer during the search. Within days, three other bodies were found, all within a short distance of one another.The victims included Ms Waterman, Ms Costello and Maureen Brainard-Barnes, 25.Several of the bodies were found in thickets along the sandy stretch of land.By 2011, police had discovered four additional sets of human remains, those of Jessica Taylor, Valerie Mack, 24, a female toddler and an unidentified Asian man.Ms Gilbert's remains were finally discovered in December 2011, 5km (3 miles) east of the other discoveries.

Image: (L-R) Shannan Gilbert, Maureen Brainard-Barnes, Jessica Taylor and Valerie Mack. Pic: Suffolk County Police Police were left puzzled as to how the victims were killed, and in 2020, the unsolved murders became the subject of the Netflix film "Lost Girls".Heuermann's charges come after a task force, made up of the FBI, New York State Police and Suffolk County authorities was set up in February 2020 to "reinvigorate" the investigation.In May 2022, police released 911 audio related to Ms Gilbert's disappearance. She initially called police from inside the home of a client shortly before 5am."There is somebody after me," she told the dispatcher multiple times. "Somebody's after me - please," she said.On Friday morning, the district attorney said there had been a "significant development in the case" but declined to comment any further.Neighbours of Heuermann told NBC that the family "kept to themselves" and were "like loners".Patrica Maressa, 64, said Heuermann lived in the home with his wife, a son and a daughter. He worked at a Manhattan architecture firm and was a member of an NYC-based networking group known as The Dream Team, NBC reported. Source link Read the full article

[heliumcrm]

Social Media Marketing Tools Your Way To Success

Social Media Marketing Tools Your Way To Success Social media marketing tools have changed our lives in less than ten years. The websites where you first posted your clubbing images have since been dominated by your mother's and your baby's pictures.

Excellent social media doesn't appear anywhere. There are more than a few mentions and a little amount of eternal content. Sadly, there isn't a secret to success in social networking. Like any other marketing plan, great social media is crafted, measured, managed, and based on a solid and clear strategy. You must stay current with the latest trend, methods, and tools to fulfill your strategic goal.

Social media schedulers reduce our burden and open the door for greater influence by making it easier for us mortals to stay active and engage on social media.  

You should give the following marketing resources a major factor if you wish to freshen up your social media networks.  

1. Buffer  

Buffer began off as a Twitter scheduling tool. Currently, it works with all the main social media platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, LinkedIn, and Google+ (for the one person who still uses it.) Let's look at it.

With Buffer, you can do some cool things:

Use the Chrome extension to share content while you're on the move or add articles and other web content to your Buffer queue.

Automatically shortens shared URLs. You can link your accounts if you use Bitly

Post original images and videos (or use ones pulled from the article you shared)

Use analytical models to track the effectiveness of your material

Plan out your postings so that they happen at different times during the day.

Comment on posts using Buffer

Expand the team

Without spending half your time logged into Facebook and Twitter, a social media dashboard like Buffer allows you to fill your social media feed with interesting and relevant content.

2. Biteable  

An important factor of the game is creating content for social media. Good visual content may help you progress your campaign since it receives three times more engagement on Twitter than plain text does.

You can make interesting, funny, and educational short movies with Biteable to post on social media.

Biteable is a gift for anybody who wants to produce studio-quality content without having expensive resources like film or sound recording equipment since it offers a wealth of free video templates, footage, music, and animated scenes.

Biteable was created to be among the most affordable tools of its kind on the market and simple to use. The majority of features are accessible even with free accounts, and subscribing to Premium is often cheap, so why not add some more excitement and spark to your social media content by making a few quick, shareable videos?  

3. Buzzsumo  

A major component of marketing is research. You need to know what your competitors are doing and whether what you're doing is effective if you want to succeed and beat them out.

With the help of the social media marketing tool Buzzsumo, you may find out how well your content is performing and who is sharing it.

Sometimes you're fired up when you sit down to write content. Other times, it seems like you're pulling teeth and you're happy the deadline was fulfilled. Success cannot be guaranteed, but a social media marketing tool like Buzzsumo can help you improve your chances.

One of the most effective research tools available, it has the following features:  

Find content that is most shared on social media platforms - you may enter your own or another person's domain and see what has been shared socially.  

Track down influencers on certain topics.  

Get alerts based on keywords, domain, author names, brand names, or links.  

Keep close tabs on competitors and do an analysis based on their writings.  

Use it to look for keywords and popular topics that attract your target audience. It may be used to look for engaging new posts to share or to look for content ideas based on what's doing well.  

Buzzsumo Pro is a powerhouse for competitor research if you're willing to spend some money.  

Bonus: A few platform-specific tools

If you use Twitter frequently, FollowerWonk can provide you with a thorough analysis of your analytics. Since the tool is a part of the Moz toolkit, it is worth looking into if you use Moz for analytics reporting.

Check out Tailwind and Buffer's new Pinterest scheduling tool if you use Pinterest often.

Facebook users who want to better understand their customers and community and develop engaging social media marketing campaigns must use Facebook Audience Insights.

Greater corporate reach and targeted solutions

Social media marketing tools, when used properly, have the power to transform your brand. You can create, curate, publish, schedule, analyze, and do so much more with the appropriate tools. Additionally, it translates into greater business by bringing in new customers, raising brand awareness, and boosting engagement.

Are you prepared to rule the social scene? Start stocking your toolkit with the proper equipment. Try a free trial of Helium or contact one of our social media experts right now if you need help deciding where to start!

The article was originally posted on:  Social Media Marketing Tools Your Way To Success