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queensgaybeach1d · 4 years ago

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HELLOOO, I just discovered your blog, shame on me. So, I read your masterpost about the stunts in the industry (great work btw) and was wondering how to tell if something is real or purely pr. Would you mind giving me a few pointers ?? Answer however and whenever you can.

Hello Sweetie,

Thank you so much for your lovely words. I would love to help you dig deeper into the PR industry. In fact, I did some research myself and I stumbled upon a great confirmation on how everything works. I think it is just the right fit for you, sweetheart.

Please take your time reading the post and if you have any questions or suggestions, please do not hesitate to ask me. Have a great day and enjoy!

Kisses,

Suman 😊

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How to spot a PR relationship?!

This post is made for everyone who would like to learn how to spot a fake relationship in Hollywood. This information is supported by a very reliable source. The name of the source is Jack Ketsoyan, he set up two PR relationships himself. If you would try to compare this to your favourite Hollywood couple, you might be surprised of the outcome. I wish you all the best while reading this and if you have any questions/suggestions please do not hesitate to ask. Enjoy! :)

This is the link of the podcast about the PR relationships (skip to 5.40). I will make a little summary of the very important things Jack said. There is also another man who is speaking about this subject. His name is Christopher and he is a lawyer who has worked with cases like these for a long time.

(Please note that I am in no way hating on anyone. I have a strong dislike for all ‘’beards’’, but what they do with their lives is their responsibility. Therefore I mean no harm to any of these people. It would be very sad if any of these people would do it because they needed money for their families. If that was the case I would truly feel sorry for them, but the thing is they want to become famous by dating someone else who put his/her hard work in his/her career. That it just not fair. There are plenty of ways to become famous by dedication, hard work and staying yourself.)

I want to give compliments to the lovely @Totallylost4you on twitter. She made me aware of the podcast.

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-’’To hide the artist’s sexuality; boosting of the careers.’’ --> (Louis, Harry, Zayn, Liam and Niall. Also, Kristen Stewart, Cara Delevigne and Taylor Swift) -->

‘’It is more common on the male side than on the female side. There are certain celebrities who were, back in the day, in the closet and it was not okay to be out. We live in a completely different time nowadays, these days being gay is okay. So back in the day that was the biggest secret, it was a big taboo, if a certain high profiled male, the heartthrob is all of a sudden gay, they were not going to get the bigger roles anymore. They were going to be type casted, so that was the big way of hiding things. Them hiding their sexuality was dating a female who would keep them in the limelight basically and cover it up.’’ [about closeting] ‘’Times have changed, it still happens, but a lot has changed.’’ --> There are still people who would not like attending a Harry Styles (the heartthrob) concert when he comes out as gay.

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-’’To be able to sell the hype of it.’’ --> (Whenever a picture of Taylor and Tom or Louis and Eleanor comes out, people are quick to retweet, post and talk about what happened. Within no time the pictures have traveled through the internet. Which automatically means that a lot of people have seen it. All of this gives the label/couple/artist attention and money. --> Whether it is bad attention or good attention, attention means money.) a few examples of these couples are also: Haylor, Zigi and Elounor.

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-’’To sell tickets to concerts or movies.’’ --> 1D world tours and solo tours. That is also why beards like Camille Rowe, Eleanor Calder and Maya Henry attend their concerts. As for movies think about Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart (who is gay) fake dating, moments after Twilight came out. Think about 1D bringing their fake girlfriends to the world premiere and Zayn and Perrie getting engaged a second after. The purpose of these events are attention. Sweethearts, whenever people go to these shows/movies all they will focus on is 1D and their ‘girlfriends’. Photos will spread faster than ever and people will talk about how ‘real’ they are. Their aim is to kill two birds with one stone; making them look like a ‘real’ couple whilst promoting their movie/album.

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-’’To sell albums.’’ --> (Zigi, Chiam, Elounor, Hamille, Nailee, Haylor.) Let us be honest, are they not the biggest reasons why antis buy the album? Just to see what stuff they write about their fake girlfriends/boyfriends. Just to see how ‘Camille’ pronounces ‘’Coucou’’or just because Gigi Hadid starred in Zayn’s music video. Or maybe to finally know the ‘truth’ about Taylor’s fake relationships.

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-’’It's all about the hype at the moment. Especially with the social media world.’’ --> I am going to point out an important thing Jack said. He said ‘’especially with the social media world.’’ Remember when there were only rumours of Louis and Eleanor being back together? The whole fandom tweeted about it. This made it popular and that was the solid moment 1D’s label knew that Elounor 2.0 would do it for them. They would earn a lot by it. The same thing counts for Zigi, Chiam, Haylor, Hamille. Hamille is a good example too. When all of you heard that Harry wrote a song about her and that her voice was going to be included in his song, what happened? Exactly, everyone went nuts and made sure to listen to that exact song. That is exactly what they want. They want that power over you, that is what gives them the money. Another example, how fast do you think solo Zayn stans and Directioners tweeted about a ‘power couple’ when the news broke that Zayn and Gigi are ‘expecting a child’? How fast did people open their social media accounts when Kylie Jenner was pregnant for the Kardashian’s 10th anniversary? (Social media does A LOT. Whenever a picture of Eleanor (beard) and Clifford (Louis’ dog) arrives on the internet, people automatically assume they are together in a room. This, is not the case. That is how convenient social media is to arranged relationships. Why start a rumour by hiring newspapers instead of posting a message on social media? It is much cheaper and more people will know about it in less than four hours.)

Promoting certain brand like Coca Cola (Elounor), YSL, Gucci, Vogue (Zigi) and Hugo Boss are also a part of it. Celebrities wearing those brands make their fans want to buy it too, think of the Kardashians promoting Adidas and other expensive brands. Also think of people like Briana Jungwirth promoting flat tummy tea. This is called ‘celebrity branding.’

Tell me, how many times do you get HQ pic of your PR couple on your phone? People tend to go out of their mind when pictures come out. That is the immediate effect Hollywood has on social media/ you. That gives them the promo they need, even during quarantine the beards post pictures of themselves, making you think they are together when in reality they are not. :)

{About why Jack hooked an arranged relationship up himself} --> ‘’It was more of a mutual agreement between the agents. {Tells a story about an actor getting bad reviews for a movie and in order to let people focus on something else they got the actor a girl, so the media would focus on the girl instead of the bad movie.}’’ --> ‘’Just a one year deal. Basically they finished of the press and the international press and then they went their separate ways, because she did not want to do a two year deal.’’ {interviewer asks if it worked} --> ‘’It worked.’’ --> A few examples of (approximately) a one-year deal: Calvin Harris and Taylor Swift, Niall Horan and Hailee Steinfield and Louis Tomlinson and Danielle Campbell. It is also good to point out that the beard can decide whether she wants to continue or not, but the celebrity has to do what the agent arranges.

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{Interviewer asks what reasons people might have to agree to one of these PR relationships} --> Different reasons, that could be to deflect attention away from a controversy (damage control. think of something Larry or Ziam related happening and the next day Zigi and Elouno are papped. Or fans finding out Louis is in the same country as Harry and the next day they will let Elouno do a pap walk. Another example is when Ziammies find out a Zigi picture is photoshopped, the next day you will see Zigi in person. This happens when their stunts fail). So if an actor has drugs and alcohol problems they may want to give the appearance that they have settled down and are in a committed relationships so that they can banked for films. Or they are going to be able to get bonded and get work and people will trust them, because they have settled down. It also could be done to create a brand. Two celebs getting together and 'now there's this tremendous interest about them being a power couple.' [...] We create strong provision against the disclosure of any negative facts against the celebrity - with consequences. So these agreements need to be structured with a hold back of money so that over time if they have complied with the agreement and not disclosed ehh no personal information and violation the agreement then they would be entitled the payment, so under the agreement. " --> The last part might be difficult to understand, because the lawyer uses difficult words, but what he is actually saying is very important. He says if the celebrities who are in the PR relationship have done their part (parading around with each other) then they will receive their money (please correct me if I am wrong). The host also confirmed that contracts like these are the reason why a lot of celebrities do not admit they had a PR relationships.

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Clues on how to spot a PR relationship:

-‘’The main clue you would see is if, you know, a certain high profiled male is dating a female (or when a high profiled female is dating a regular male), who was not high profile. All of a sudden, she is, overnight, the most talked about girl in Hollywood and everyone want a piece of them. That is the biggest thing, you know, it is such a career boost for the female that some females end up taking the deal.’’ --> Zigi, Elounor, Chiam, Brouis, Haylor, Taylor and Calvin. How does the world know Eleanor Calder? Because of Louis Tomlinson. No one knew her before, except her family. How did Gigi gain so many followers? Because she started dating Zayn Malik. Gigi already had a platform for herself, but she gained a lot of followers by dating Zayn. Zayn also gained followers by dating Gigi. Gigi needed promo and Zayn was in the spotlight, because he just ‘left 1D.’ This made him the perfect target. I hope all of you also notice that when beards/fake girlfriends post pictures of them with their fake boyfriend, it gets way more likes than their usual pictures.

{What was the benefit for the girl in the scenario?} --> ‘’Ehm, she has a huge career at the moment. She benefit from that by becoming a household name (someone that is well known) and getting bigger roles than she would have. She would use to be the 3rd or the 4th lead in any auditions or any jobs that she was getting. She then became the first lead. She got a great career boost out of it, for sure.’’ --> Gigi Hadid, Eleanor Calder, Sophia Smith, Cheryl Cole, Maya, Camille Rowe and Kendall Jenner are just a few examples.

How did the world know Townes? Because ‘Harry named’ her in one of his songs. How did the world know about Maya Henry? Because Liam Payne started dating her. Before this, she was just a fan. How did Cheryl Cole get the attention back? Because of baby gate and by fake dating Liam Payne. How did Briana gain so many followers? Because Louis Tomlinson fans gave her the attention and because she participated in faking a pregnancy. How did Shawn and Camilla become a couple in the spotlight? Because people have always shipped them, ever since the beginning and their label gave the fans what they wanted. How did Kim Kardashian become famous? A *** tape of her and Ray J leaked and she became famous. Now, she is a lot richer and more famous than he is. A quick note, not many people know how Kim Kardashian became famous. They only really know her from Keeping Up With The Kardashians. The newer generation does not know about the tape scandal, and that is what they do. You need to dig a little deeper to see that. This all is an on-going cycle and it will not stop unless we all stop believing it. 😊

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What do they do in order to make a PR relationship look real?

{Interviewer asks what the clauses in an arranged relationships contract are} --> ‘’An arranged relationship is estranged by definition. So certainly we are going to see requests that are equally odd. They are certainly going to have requirements as to how they hold themselves out to the public as a couple. This would mean appearances at award shows, parties or events together as a couple and that there would be requirements maybe for specific events.’’ --> Eleanor attending Jay’s wedding and being ‘maid of honor’, Calvin and Taylor at Award shows, Elounor at the fashions show 2013, Haylor and their NYE ‘kiss’, Zigi at the MET gala and Chiam at the Brits, celebs at after parties with their ‘girlfriends’. All of these couples have also pictures with each other’s family members. That made a lot of you think they are close and real, well my loves, now you finally know that it is all part of a PR stunt. The fake girlfriends also have to look supportive, that is why they have to be there at concerts, soccer matches, award shows etcetera. 😊

Remember when Eleanor (beard) posted a picture of herself and in the background you could see a picture of her and Louis in 2012 and ‘Louis’ written on a board? Remember when she posted a picture of herself with her and Louis’ boots in the background in 2018? All of these things are there to make it look like they truly live together and that they truly own each other’s stuff. The same thing counts for Haylor’s airplane necklace. Do you genuinely think they did that by accident? No, that is the purpose of the whole picture. 😊

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‘’Then there is going to be particularly some none disclosure issues surrounding them as to what cannot be said about the relationship and what needs to be said. There could be a script even as to what they have to say if asked about the relationships. There would be photo sessions showing them as a couple. And then I have seen issues of sexual relationships and specific whether this would happen or not happen in an agreement. But if it is truly a PR relationships then sex would not be a part of that relationship, because it is not real.’’ --> Loves, do you remember a moment when someone asked a celebrity about his/her relationships and they stuttered and looked uncomfortable, or they just said something wrong or embarrassing or tried to talk themselves out of it? Well, that happens when you have to make up stuff that never happened. Louis Tomlinson confirmed his interviews are scripted, so this one is just an extra thick layer of confirmation. I also recall Gigi doing a live and someone asked about Zayn and she just stuttered and looked away, not knowing how to answer a question. (I think there have definitely been times when two people who were in an arranged relationship gave different answers to the same question, why? Because they do not know anything about each other.) Here is an example of a moment that is repeated and scripted about Louis’ ‘relationship’ with Eleanor, even know we have legit proof that is not what happened:

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Now I can hear all your lovely brains working and thinking whether a celebrity is willing to sign a contract like that or if their label is making them sign it. Well, if you have read my previous masterpost about the music industry you can see confirmations of the label making the artist their puppet. They own you, so if they think you should have a girlfriend to hide gay rumours then they will give you one. ‘A label cannot force you anything’, but it does make you sign a contract. When you sign the contract without reading it carefully, then your label will mess you up. In those contracts they do not write ‘’Taylor Swift has to agree to arranged relationships.’’ They write stuff like ‘’When signing the contract, Taylor Swift allows the label to make changes in order to get her to fame.’’ Of course Taylor (and other artists) would think that they mean changing her outfit and looks, but no. The label thinks being gay is something that will not get people enough fame. So what do they do? They change her, they change her sexuality. They closet her and even though Taylor and other LGBTQ artists do not want that. You cannot deny because when you do so, the label will show you the contract you signed. A contract like that is never written literally, they can manipulate their words. To the label ‘’being gay or a part of the LGBTQ+ community’’ falls under ‘’making changes’’ in order to make her famous. Of course there are celebrities who willingly closet themselves for various reasons. I hope to create a single post about how devious these contracts are for you all! 😊

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Here are a few things I hope you have learned from this: 😊

- Fake relationships still exist and they will always exist. It has been confirmed, so no one can deny this anymore.

- The girl and boy have to go to special events, such as award shows, family dinners and weddings in order to make it look real.

- Homophobia is still a thing and the biggest reason why arranged relationships exist.

- The beard has a contract too, so your idol has no say in how long she can or cannot stay. If she does good then she will stay. (I see many people say that Louis chose Eleanor because they are friends and that is why she is back, but he actually has no say in anything. Your idol is their product to sell. Your idol is basically a marionette.)

-The PR team does everything to make it look like they are truly together, think of photos of each other in each other’s homes and ‘personal gifts.’

-Celebrities get an enormous boost on their social media accounts when they start being part of an arranged relationship. Something I have always thought was a bit odd, is the fact that Eleanor never created an insta account until her and Louis’ ‘relationship’ had its peak; in the middle of June 2012. When in reality, insta was created in 2010. She also created twitter in 2012. Exactly when the first few big events were attended by them. (I genuinely think she did that, because everyone wanted to see more of her. Plus, she has always wanted to be a fashion blogger and this was her ‘big moment’ to do so.)

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The credits for this post go to @Totallylost4you. They made me aware of the podcast and they continue to shine light on hidden treasures like this one. They also hardly get credits for their solid hard work and I hope they will continue doing this! Thank you!

Thank you so much for your attention. If you have any question/suggestion, please do not hesitate to ask/tell me! I wish all of you the best and please stay safe. Have an amazing day!

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greatqueenanna · 4 years ago

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A Grain of Salt: The Rumors Surrounding the Frozen Franchise

When a film releases, and becomes popular, its only natural for fans and others to try and dig deep to find out what the film could’ve been. Throughout the Frozen Franchise’s 6 year life, many people began to spread rumors of possible alternate versions of both Frozen and Frozen 2, with very shaky sources and claims. The following claims have been dis-proven and/or do not have physical, substantial proof other than a few empty claims.

Now let’s talk about a few of these rumors and have good laugh.

The Aurora Princess Claim

The above is part of a concept art piece by Scott Watanabe. Someone started up a rumor, I believe here on Tumblr, that claimed that this art was supposed to be an early concept of Anna having powers over the Aurora Borealis. This was proven to be false, as both Jen Lee and Chris Buck have confirmed a few times that Anna’s only superpower was unconditional love. Thus, the above picture was simply misinterpreted by hopeful fans, when it was simply a visual concept art meant to invoke a feeling. On top of this, it was actually never confirmed who the girl in the drawing was, and if this girl was actually controlling the Northern lights or maybe just witnessing some strange phenomenon.

The Good Guy Claim

This one is a made up of two claims, but both with the same idea. Some fans could not accept that Hans was always a villainous character. Many tried to claim that Hans could’ve originally been a good guy, using the above concept art by Bill Schwab as proof of a previous version of Frozen where Hans and Elsa were meant to be a couple. Then of course, there was the popular rumor started here on tumblr and later picked up by popular you-tuber MattPatt, that the Troll’s were somehow involved in making Hans do the terrible things he did. All of these claims were proven false, as Jen Lee and Chris Buck talked about the troll theory in this interview, saying “I have to say, we have to give Hans all the credit for what he did" . Jen Lee also confirmed this via twitter, stating that “He was never quite good, but for a while he was just sort of dumb. Sociopaths are more interesting.” As for the concept art, it was proven to be Anna, not Elsa. As we can see in this concept art, Anna is wearing the same outfit and has the same hairdo, only her braids are down. Thus, depicting the typical concept that Anna meets a dreamy guy and has a dance with him.

The Permanent Death Claim

This controversial claim is actually still widely believed, claiming that in Frozen 2 Elsa was meant to be killed off permanently, with no revival. The rumor states that this previous ending was seen at early showings with test audiences back in June-July, and that it was too sad for the audiences so the Disney executives demanded that it was changed. While the creators themselves have yet to outwardly disprove the claim, concept art and early scenes do disprove it. In the Art of Frozen 2, the last piece of art features the ending we see in the film with only slight differences. There are also a few designs and concepts of Elsa’s Fifth Spirit dress. Since it takes over six months to a year to write, edit, and publish a book, it is not possible that this ending was last minute. On top of that, a bit of personal jest, why would they design a new, marketable dress for Elsa if they planned on killing her off? Also, there is an earlier version of the ending released in Elsa Reveals the Truth. This proves that the intentions of the creators were always to have Elsa survive and live in the Enchanted Forest. For them to have a set ending, then change it to make Elsa’s death, then change it again to feature the current ending is very unlikely. To also accomplish all of this within 5 - 6 months is a bit much to accomplish in such a short amount of time.

*UPDATE 6/29/20*

Thanks to Into the Unknown: The Making of Frozen 2, we now have physical evidence of Elsa being alive since June in this incomplete version of Frozen 2 that was made for the June audience screening. We also now know that the supposed March audience screening did not happen, as it was for Disney professionals only. June was the first time the film was shown to a general audience. We also now know the reason for the serious delay in April and why the ending of the Frozen 2 books were so vague. It was due to issues with Show Yourself, because they couldn’t figure out who the voice was and how to make the scene visually make sense. It was not because they were redoing the ending to keep Elsa alive. Lastly, in the first episode, one of the directors that were criticizing the film asked “What does Elsa Become?” further showing that Elsa was alive. This was in late 2018.

The Redemption Story Claim

Ever since an interview with Santino Fontana, the voice actor of Hans, where he states that the creators of Frozen wanted to ‘redeem’ him, many Hans fans were anticipating that Hans would have a redemption arc. When it was hinted that this wasn’t going to happen, many fans clinged onto a claim by someone on Twitter. They stated that there was indeed an early version of Frozen 2 where it was centered on a Hans redemption, even releasing a full synopsis. This was supposedly supported by Disney releasing two doll sets with Hans and Elsa as a test, as this version of Frozen 2 featured the two becoming a couple. This one has also yet to be disproven by the creators, however this can also be disproven easily. The Hans and Elsa dolls were not meant to be shown as romantic, as they were a part of a Disney Fairytale Designer Collection featuring Heroes and Villains. Also, in the Podcast Inside Frozen 2, Robert and Kristen Lopez both state that All is Found and The Next Right Thing were the first songs written for Frozen 2. Official work on Frozen 2 did not begin until around 2017 - 2018, and this is when the songs were also starting to be written and recorded. Before this, the team took a trip to Norway where Jen Lee had journals for Elsa and Anna. It is not possible that with everything that they were doing to plan for this version of Frozen 2 and with other projects the creators were working on that there was another alternate version.

*UPDATE 6/29/20*

Thanks to Into the Unknown: The Making of Frozen 2, we now know a bit more details on the timeline of Frozen 2′s development. 2015 is when Jen Lee and Chris Buck were brainstorming story concepts and writing/drawing journals for the sisters. This is also when they took their research trip with the whole crew to Scandinavian countries like Iceland. 2015 - 2016 is when the story started to form and 2017 - 2018, as I mentioned, was when the hardcore work began with scenes being made and thrown out, music being written, ext. 2019 - 2020 is when they had the story pretty much planned out the way it is now, just with some issues with some scenes (Like Show Yourself and See the Sky). Thus, we can conclude, that this Frozen 2 was the only version for the past 5 years of development.

These are all the claims for now, I will be adding more as I find them and updating these if new, valid information comes out.

#greatqueenanna/analysis #Frozen #Frozen 2 #Long post

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kolbisneat · 4 years ago

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MONTHLY MEDIA: December 2020

And so concludes another year! Maybe not the most ideal 12 months on record, but certainly memorable. I dunno. Anyway here’s how I wrapped up the year.

……….FILM……….

Gremlins (1984) Every time I watch this I just marvel at the fact that it was made. The practical effects are fantastic, the characters are so over-the-top that I think the Gremlin-sized mallet is the most believable part of the whole film. It just has that energy of a live-action cartoon and for that, I love it.

Gremlins (1990) This and Aliens fall under the category of sequels I didn’t like at first (for the hard turn in tone) but have come to really appreciate and enjoy. The opening with Bugs and Daffy really sets the tone for the whole thing and in hindsight, I appreciate how it manages to do all the same stuff that was loved about the original while making it feel bigger and different. Not necessarily better or worst, but definitely different.

Happiest Season (2020) It really felt like Harper was written to be the villain, right? Anyway it was a solid Christmas movie for a modern era, Kristen Stewart was a solid lead, and Dan Levy’s comedic timing is unreal. All-around fun watch.

The Family Stone (2005) Claire Danes and Luke Wilson are the only redeemable characters in this movie and while I don’t think they’d work out as a couple, it’s a shame they never get a chance to chat and just say “hey all of our family members are awful, right?!?” Actually Thad and Patrick are decent people, but I suppose they’re overshadowed by everyone else. Oof what a movie.

……….TELEVISION……….

Ted Lasso (Episode 1.01 to 1.10) Never have I more sincerely connected with a character’s outlook than Ted Lasso. It doesn’t matter if you know anything about Premier League soccer, what you get is an optimistic, heartfelt comedy that doesn’t punch up, punch down, or really punch at all. It’s gentle and kind and the sort of tv we need more of right now.

The Queen’s Gambit (Episode 1.01 to 1.07) Dang I thought I knew a little bit about chess but like...none of that helps here. It felt like a Rocky miniseries only chess instead of boxing (and I mean this all as a compliment). Given that the show doesn’t expect a knowledge of the grame, credit to the actors for communicating what’s happening in a game just through facial expressions. Worth checking out.

The Bachelorette (Episode 16.08 to 6.13) You know what, this was a pretty good season! It’s a shame we didn’t get any follow up after the proposal, but it was refreshing to see a group of guys who all got along and were just generally mature!

Mad Men (Episode 7.12 to 1.14) And so ends a pandemic-long viewing of Mad Men. First time watching it and I knew a little of how the series ended and honestly, I think it was fine! We got to check in with most of the cast and while I wish we could’ve kept going with these characters, it really did feel like they were all headed off in different directions anyway. Great series would highly recommend.

Neon Genesis Evangelion (1.07 to 1.11) It wasn’t until Asuka showed up that I realized this show is a metaphor for puberty and thus, is super horny all the time. Viewing through that lense, it’s an interesting allegory and the robot fights are cool.

The Mandalorian (Episode 2.01 to 2.08) For me, this show works best when it’s doing its own thing and just kinda existing in the world. The frog lady stuff, the random tasks, even the first ep did a good job of walking the line between fan service and the confidence to tell a new story. But dang if that last ep didn’t throw it all out the window. I’m just not a big enough Star Wars fan that I need to see all the old stuff again. It’s lazy writing and that’s what bums me out the most.

……….READING……….

Ring Shout by P. Djèlí Clark (Complete) Really great! I don’t read much modern(ish) day fantasy but the ideas and worldbuilding in this are so economic that it felt immediately familiar. Plus who doesn’t love the idea of a sword-wielding heroine cutting down monstrous klansmen?

Illuminatus Part III: Leviathan by Robert Shea and Robert Anton Wilson (Complete) After reading all three parts I can say, with confidence, that I have no idea who 90% of the characters are. Maybe it’s the similar names (John, George, Joe, etc.) or that every character talks like a philosophy student, but I just couldn’t separate them from each other. The plot and illuminati stuff was fun, but I’d seen so many great reviews and high praise that I was expecting it to be more fun.

Richard Stark's Parker: The Hunter by Darwyn Cooke (Complete) Darwyn Cooke’s effortlessly cool style elevates Stark’s pulp story to something that walks the line between classy and cruel. A murderous criminal is a tricky lead to follow but somehow you still want to see how it all shakes out. If you dig this first book then I recommend getting all 4 of Cooke’s interpretations of Stark’s work.

Scott Pilgrim Vol. 6: Scott Pilgrim’s Finest Hour by Bryan Lee O’Malley and Nathan Fairbairn (Complete) Still love this series after all these years and rereading them in color has been great. I still think the “glow”, as a twist/reveal, doesn’t really work and is somewhat convoluted, but it’s one misstep in what’s a consistently great run. The color version only adds to the quality of the book.

Dragon Ball 3-in-1 Vol. 2 by Akira Toriyama (Complete) This is the sort of light-hearted, good-natured comic I like to read around the holidays. There’s just something about a world where a criminal organization can be a mix of humans, bears, and a monster made of jelly that feels right, you know?

……….AUDIO……….

Song Exploder (Podcast) I’ve only listened to a handful of episodes so far but it’s really giving me a new perspective on music and the craft that goes into composing! I recommend starting with songs you like and then expanding from there.

……….GAMING……….

Neverland: A Fantasy Role-Playing Setting (Andrews McMeel Publishing) A small seasonal interlude! I’ve posted a longer recap on Reddit but the group has temporarily resolved the issue of the island flood and have moved on to an escaped Fairy causing wintery havok and significantly dropping the overall island temperature.

D&D Homebrew Adventure (Menace of Merlin) And so concludes the adventure! I think I could’ve made the final showdown against Merlin a little more climactic, but live and learn. Now we’re taking a break as the group makes up new characters to play in this world!

And that’s it! We did it! Goodbye 2020 and here’s to a bigger and brighter 2021!

Happy Thursday!

#Monthly Media #Rambles #Kolbisneat #Andrew Kolb

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chrisharnick · 4 years ago

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2020

So, you left your job in the middle of a pandemic and started a whole new chapter? Yep, I did. But, you still wrote some stories you’re really proud of before moving on? Yep, I did. While this year has been pretty abysmal in many aspects, I want to celebrate some of the not horrible parts.

I covered the end of my beloved Schitt’s Creek with a profile on Annie Murphy, said farewell to Moira Rose with Catherine O’Hara (and talked all about her iconic wedding look), talked about the show’s legacy of love with Annie Murphy and Dan Levy and picked Dan Levy’s brain about the big finale.

This year also saw the end of The Good Place, one of TV’s smartest and funniest shows. I watched the finale in a conference room (hid my tears) and then talked to Kristen Bell, Ted Danson, Manny Jacinto, D’Arcy Carden, William Jackson Harper and Jameela Jamil.

Talking to Eve Plumb and Maureen McCormick in a joint interview was something else. I grew up watching endless reruns of The Brady Bunch and was so nervous about this interview for their new HGTV project.

Another show I have fond memories of from childhood: The Secret World of Alex Mack. This was the second time I interviewed Larisa Oleynik (this time for her new Netflix series) and it was just as much of a blast as the first interview many years ago.

Feel Good was one of the most pleasant surprises of TV released early in the pandemic, so I talked to creator and star Mae Martin about it.

Greg Daniels returned to TV with two streaming shows — during a pandemic. He’s also the man partially responsible for one of my favorite shows, King of the Hill, so naturally I asked him about reviving that and a little show called The Office.

In April, I introduced my niece to Xena: Warrior Princess over Zoom. She then got my chakram from childhood and dove into the world of Xena and Gabrielle. This year was also the 25th anniversary of the series premiere and I took part in a podcast all about the show and its enduring fandom.

Had the pleasure of chatting with queen Regina King about one of the finest shows I’ve ever seen, Watchmen, in conjunction with the boxed set release.

I had my first psychic reading (over Zoom) and it was an experience. He nailed some things, but I’m a skeptic and think it was pure luck and just general assumptions. More details about that experience are here.

The last public event I went to was the first preview of Company on Broadway. Patti LuPone, as expected, blew me away. Her performance in Hollywood, Ryan Murphy’s Netflix miniseries, was equally great. Talked to her about that here and Ryan Murphy about the series and the big plans for Macaulay Culkin on American Horror Story.

Right before everything changed and shut down, I returned to Law & Order: SVU to reprise my role of “Reporter No. 2″ from the season premiere. The episode wasn’t intended to be the season finale, but because of the pandemic it was. Leaving E! was a tough choice, mostly because of the relationships I’ve cultivated while covering SVU.

Early in the pandemic, the creators of Getting On gave their pitch on how the show (one of my all-time favorites) would have handled coronavirus.

One of the last, and most treasured interviews I did at E!: Sara Bareilles. We Zoomed, I told her how often I sing Waitress after a few drinks, it was lovely.

And at HBO, I got my feet wet talking to Luca Guadagnino about We Are Who We Are.

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crowdvscritic · 4 years ago

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round up // JANUARY 21

New year, not-so-new Crowd vs. Critic! It’s another batch of films, TV, music, and reads that were new to me this month and think you would enjoy, too. As we cozy up inside for the winter, nothing warms you up like a good piece of pop culture.

January Crowd-Pleasers

Wonder Woman 1984 (2020)

Does this sequel reach the heights of 2017’s Wonder Woman? No, but I wish more superhero movies were like this one. I explain why at ZekeFilm. Crowd: 9.5/10 // Critic: 8/10

21 Bridges (2019)

A solid action crime thriller with a solid Chadwick Boseman at the center. Crowd: 8.5/10 // Critic: 7.5/10

The Lethal Weapon Series (1987-98)

I watched the first Lethal Weapon in 2017 for ZekeFilm, but now I’ve a decade’s pleasure of progressively over-the-top action sequences and progressively more absurd ways to destroy Roger Murtaugh’s (Danny Glover) house. The Murtaugh/Riggs bromance holds this progressively sillier series together, and an supporting cast of charismatic actors (Jet Li, Darlene Love, Chris Rock, Rene Russo) are game for whatever comes their way. Joe Pesci is the true MVP. Series Crowd: 9/10 // Series Critic: 7/10

The High Note (2020)

Tracee Ellis Ross’s Grace Davis is a diva in every sense of the word. A high-strung and highly successful singer, she’s also highly demanding of her assistant Maggie (Dakota Johnson), who wants to step out of her shadow and become a music producer. This rom-com-adjacent flick is one of the most fun escapes I’ve had from a 2020 movie, and it’s perfect for a girls’ night in. Crowd: 8.5/10 // Critic: 7/10

Double Feature—Rom-Coms With a Magical Twist: Just My Luck (2006) + When In Rome (2010)

Disclaimer: These movies are not good. In fact, they’re junk, but they’re my kind of junk. In Just My Luck (Crowd: 7.5/10 // Critic: 6/10), Lindsay Lohan loses her life-long lucky streak when she kisses schlimazel Chris Pine. And When in Rome (Crowd: 8/10 // Critic: 6/10), Kristen Bell attracts unwanted admirers (Will Arnett, Danny DeVito, Josh Duhamel, Jon Heder, and real-life future husband Dax Shepard) after she steals their coins from a wishing fountain. To their credit, both of these movies know they’re silly, which means you have permission to just sit back and laugh along with (or, honestly, at) them.

WandaVision (2021)

I sometimes fear for the world of entertainment when I think of how much intellectual property Disney has gobbled up, but WandaVision is evidence the company is a benevolent dictator at least for now. This odd delight is a send up and a tribute to sitcoms like I Love Lucy, I Dream of Jeannie, and The Brady Bunch, and Paul Bettany and Elizabeth Olsen are so charming and weird I don’t need whatever mysterious sub-plot they’re building.

Robin Hood: Men in Tights (1993)

If you want to make the most of watching Robin Hood: Men in Tights, first watch Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991), an action flick I saw last February and didn’t include in my monthly Round Up. This Mel Brooks spoof is a direct response that self-serious Kevin Costner adventure, even down to copying its costumes. While I wish I could find a Mel Brooks comedy with any substantial female character (in every movie I’ve seen so far, the joke is either, “She’s got a great rack!” or “Wow, she’s an uggo!”), I still couldn’t stop laughing at this 104-minute version of the Robin Hood scene in Shrek. Crowd: 9/10 // Critic: 8/10

Aliens (1986)

Peak ‘80s action. Peak alien grossness. Peak girl boss Sigourney Weaver. Crowd: 9/10 // Critic: 8/.510

Big (1988)

After talking about Laverne & Shirley with Kyla on SO IT’S A SHOW?, I had to check out Penny Marshall’s classic. While a few moments haven’t aged so well, its heart is sweet and the script is hilarious. And that Tom Hanks? I think he’s going places. Crowd: 9.5/10 // Critic: 8/10

Unstoppable (2010)

I’ve laughed at SNL’s spoof of this movie for a decade, so it’s about time I got around to enjoying this action thriller very loosely based on the true story of a train that got away from its conductor. Denzel Washington (“You’re too old!”) and Chris Pine (“You’re too young!”) are our heroes in this over-the-top ridiculousness, and their chemistry is so extra it makes me hope they team up for another movie again. Crowd: 9/10 // Critic: 7/10

January Critic Picks

Double Feature—‘90s Space Adventures: Apollo 13 (1995) + Contact (1997)

I have no desire to join Tom Cruise as he films in space, but I know I’ll be pumped to watch whatever he makes because I love sci-fi and space adventures. Apollo 13 (Crowd: 9/10 // Critic: 9/10) tells the story of an almost-disastrous NASA mission in the ‘60s, and it taps into our hope for the human spirit to overcome obstacles. Contact (Crowd: 8.5/10 // Critic: 8.5/10) surmises what might happen if we received communication from extraterrestrial life, and it taps into our struggle to reconcile faith and science.

McCartney III by Paul McCartney (2020)

I spent January catching up on the albums on Best of 2020 lists, and the one I listened to for hours and hours was Paul McCartney’s latest solo album. Catchy, thoughtful, and musically surprising, it ranges from pop to rock to folk in 45 minutes and still feels like it’s over too soon. Like Tom Hanks, this Paul McCartney guy is going places!

The Thin Man Series (1934-47)

Like Lethal Weapon, I watched the first installment of The Thin Man awhile back, and Kyla and I even covered the series on our podcast. But thanks to a full series marathon on TCM earlier this month, I’ve now laughed through all five. When you talk about great chemistry, you’ve got to talk about William Powell and Myrna Loy, who make Nick and Nora’s marriage feel lived in and romantic as they solve crimes together. Witty, suspenseful, and jaunty, this series is still sexy cool over 80 years later. (Also, Asta? Still one of the cutest dogs in cinema.) Series Crowd: 8.5/10 // Critic: 8.5/10

The King and I (1956)

Here’s your regularly scheduled reminder Hollywood works differently now, and many casting decisions of the ‘50s wouldn’t fly today. What has aged well in this film: The Rodgers and Hammerstein music and the sumptuous costumes and set design. I love extravagant musicals of yesteryear—perhaps it’s time for Hollywood to revisit and remake The King and I for modern audiences?

youtube

Inauguration Day

In a year with no major televised events with celebrities in a room together, Inauguration Day felt like the most exciting cultural event in ages. We’ve been missing major fashion, but then we got Lady Gaga! We’ve been missing live performances, but then we got Amanda Gorman! And I got a lot of tears during that poem—not just me, right?

Good Reads

Writing that made me think and smile this month:

Steven Soderbergh’s list of everything he read, watched, and listened to this year, Extension765.com (2020) – An indirect inspiration for these monthly Round Ups!

“My Year of Making Lists,” NewYorker.com (2020) – I made a lot of lists in 2020, so I feel this author’s #mood

“Betty White Says She Will Spend Her 99th Birthday Feeding Two Ducks Who Visit Her ‘Every Day,’“ CBSNews.com (2021) - “Betty is a treasure,” I say as I watch The Proposal for the 99th time

“A Sculpture’s Unusual Journey to SLAM [St. Louis Art Museum],” SLAM.org (2020) – With a casual mention of an attraction I never knew about in St. Louis

“The Culture Is Ailing. It’s Time for a Dr. Fauci for the Arts.” WashingtonPost.com (2020) – An idea that occurred to me a few months ago: Why don’t we have an Arts Cabinet?

“The Arts Are in Crisis. Here’s How Biden Can Help.” NYTimes.com (2021) – Partly in response to that Washington Post piece, a historical look at how artists have made it through difficult times in the past and how we can revive artists’ livelihoods mid- and post-pandemic

“The Right’s Message to Silicon Valley: 'Free Speech for Me, But Not for Thee,'” TIME.com (2021) – A more thoughtful and less reactionary take on a volatile moment in the history of modern technology

“'It Makes Me Sick With Grief': Trump's Presidency Divided Families. What Happens to Them Now?” TIME.com (2021) – A study on how politics has done damage to family dynamics in America

“Help, the Only Cinema I Can Handle Is Zac Efron Prancing Angrily in High School Musical 2,” Vulture.com (2021) - In a lot of ways, same

“50 Easy Things To Do When You are Anxious,” ShopTwentySeven.com (2021) – I especially endorse coloring, puzzling, and watching happy movies!

Double Feature—Miss Marple Mysteries: Murder at the Gallop (1963) + Murder Ahoy (1964)

Remember when I was all like, “Watch these Agatha Christie movies so you’re not sad Death on the Nile is delayed”? Remember when I said I was just a few movies away from becoming an Agatha Christie junkie? Well, I think I’m there because I can’t stop with the murder mysteries! Margaret Rutherford is a treasure whether she’s solving a murder at a horse ranch or on a boat, and a cast of colorful supporting characters (including Rutherford’s husband) makes these breezy instead of heavy. Crowd: 8/10 // Critic: 8/10

8½ (1963)

File this with 2001: A Space Odyssey—I don’t know if I really understood this film, but I think I liked it? Federico Fellini’s surrealist, male gaze-y drama blurs the lines between reality and imagination, love and dysfunction, and the past and maybe some future that involves clowns? What resonated with me was the story of a director with creative block, wondering if he’s already peaked and if he’ll create anything worthwhile again. Crowd: 6/10 // Critic: 9/10

Sense and Sensibility: The Screenplay and Diaries by Emma Thompson (1995)

Sense and Sensibility is not just one of my favorite Jane Austen adaptations—it’s one of my all-time favorite films. One of the co-hosts of one of my favorite podcasts has raved many-a-time about Emma Thompson’s journals from the making of film, so it was only a matter of time before I read them myself. Witty, informative, and all-around lovely, Thompson’s journals are an excellent insight into the filmmaking process and how novels are adapted.

Also in January…

I reviewed the new-ish documentary Flannery for ZekeFilm, which is all about the writer Flannery O’Connor and feels a little like going back to high school English class.

In addition to the Lethal Weapon and Thin Man series, I rewatched all of the X-Men series this month. You can see everything I am watching on Letterboxd, including favorites I love returning to (i.e. X-Men: Days of Future Past) and the movies I try that don’t make my monthly recommendations (i.e. The Wolverine).

Photo credits: Paul McCartney, Zac Efron, Sense & Sensibility. All others IMDb.com.

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alwaysraineh · 4 years ago

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Tagged by @tributeofasgard! Tysm this was so much fun!!! 🥰

Rules: Answer 30 questions and tag 20 blogs you are contractually obligated to get to know better.

Name: Rachel

Gender: Currently up for debate lol previously I would have said woman but now I think the most accurate descriptor is woman-adjacent???? Idk man I’m still very comfortable with she/her pronouns but I’m trying out she/they currently!!

Star sign: Libra

Height: 5’10” (which I think is 177 cm??)

Time: 9:16 as of starting to type this

Birthday: October 6

Favorite bands: The Amazing Devil, Marianas Trench, Queen, P!atD, MCR

Favorite solo artists: Hozier, Harry Styles, Jon Bellion, David Bowie, Elton John

Last movie: honestly I’m not sure. I think it might have been Tarzan??? Tho I am planning on watching something with Kristen Stewart this weekend and just haven’t decided what quite yet

Last show: technically it was Jeopardy but as that doesn’t have a plot to it I’ll also say I recently finished a re-watch of Derry Girls

When did I create this blog: aaahhahah I had to check but it was March(?) 2013. that’s eight years baybeee!!!

What I post: a lot of bullshit, mostly

Last thing I googled: lyrics for Work Song bc I forgot a line while singing to my cat last night

Other blogs: I have one from 3-4 ish years ago that I made for school bc I was studying abroad and we were required to have a travel blog and I discovered I’m bad at travel blogging

Do I get asks?: sometimes!!! mostly from jared and marie and jo tbh

Why I chose my url: uhhhhh y’know at this point I don’t remember all the details of the origin story but I do know it started on foopets when I was 10 or 11 and it became the root of all my urls across all platforms and now its been over a decade and rain is deeply entrenched in my identity

Following: 350 (far more than I thought but also somehow less?)

Followers: 365

Average hours of sleep: ahaha probably like 4 or maybe 5?? insomnia is not my friend

Instruments: once upon a time I played percussion in the high school band and I’ve been taught the basics of piano, but I don’t actually actively play anything

What I'm wearing: pj pants and a really old t-shirt!! the pants are fuzzy and have bears and moose on them and my mom got them for me

Dream job(s): author!!! (or wildlife photographer, sheep herder, bog witch, etc.)(but seriously, author. I want to create something worthy of publishing so so so so so badly)

Dream trip: I want to travel the entire world!!! But rn my top destinations are the cloud forest in Costa Rica, the Scottish highlands, the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, and to return to Peru!!

Favourite food: I suddenly forget everything I’ve ever eaten when asked this question

Nationality: don’t make me say it. please. (American)

Favourite song: My Spotify wrapped would have you believe it’s Like Real People Do by Hozier but it’s ACTUALLY ……… Shrike. by Hozier. because he owns my entire soul.

Last book: Last Night I Sang To The Monster by Benjamin Alire Saenz, and it made me cry multiple times and it hurt my heart but in a really good way and I absolutely recommend it but I also warn that it deals with some extremely heavy themes and is not the best to read if you’re not prepared for it

Top 3 fictional universes: like to live in?? or to write/create content about?? either way I have to say lotr bc, come on, it’s middle earth. also probably any universe that exists within mcelroy podcasts and idk if I’m allowed to say it but my owwnnnnnn universe lol I really enjoy the worldbuilding I’ve done for the setting of Oslasil

I don't have 20 people to tag but I'm gonna tag as many as I can think of!! And even if I don't tag you, feel free to do this and say I did tag you!! I crave interaction!!! 🥺

@catladymarie @scorcherman13 @khprisun @jofngve @thisgayneedscoffee @little-bi-kingtrashmouth @magicdecat @gingernastyy @spacegaylra @great--googlymoogly @aph-wisconsin @resident-of-remnant

#tag game #about me #very fun!!! also exposing how i am an idiot lol

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carolinesiede · 4 years ago

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Reflecting on 2020

The strangest thing about 2020 was how familiar much of it felt: Working from home, extended periods of isolation, weeks and months blending together. To a much lesser degree, those are things I experience each year as a freelancer. And while I suspect it will take awhile before the full extent of the trauma we’ve all lived through this year fully sets in, right now I’m mostly focused on gratitude. I’m grateful for the health of my loved ones. Grateful I already had a work-from-home routine to maintain during the pandemic. And grateful that I was able to quarantine with my family for much of the year—which had its challenges but also its rewards too.

In my 2019 year-end post I wrote about feeling like my career was finally on an upward trajectory after several years of plateauing. This year obviously offered some new wrinkles in that regard. I made significantly less money and felt familiar fears about how sustainable this career actually is. But having less work also gave me more time to focus on the actual craft of writing. I feel like I reached a new level in terms of voice, clarity, and the ability to self-edit. I'm the sort of person who constantly (arguably, obsessively) strives to be better, and it’s rewarding to feel like that hard work is finally slowly starting to pay off.

In addition to devoting my quarantine time to mastering a favorite curry recipe, getting really into the Enneagram, finally learning to French braid hair, and rewatching all of New Girl, I also had some really cool opportunities scattered throughout the year. I interviewed John Barrowman about his surprise return to Doctor Who, which felt like a real milestone for me. I also contributed to the Los Angeles Times’ list of TV shows to binge-watch during quarantine, which appeared both online and in print. And thanks to everything going virtual this year, I was able to attend a press panel for the fifth season of This Is Us, which is the sort of thing I’m not usually able to do as a Chicago-based critic.

My career is always a juggling act between film and TV, and this year made me appreciate how valuable it is to be able to move seamlessly between both worlds. I took on new TV assignments covering the first season of Stargirl and the second season of The Umbrella Academy, both of which were a blast to write about. And while I didn’t watch quite as many films as I did in my insane catch-up year last year, I did fill in some more major blindspots. I also contributed to The A.V. Club’s list of the best films of 2000 and shared my own ballot over on Letterboxd. Oh, and I set up a Letterboxd this year too!

Elsewhere, I made my debut on Bustle and The Takeout, and ended the year with a Polygon article about “Kind Movies” that pretty much sums up my entire ethos on storytelling. I was also named a Top Critic by Rotten Tomatoes, which was a real honor. But the pride and joy of my career remains my rom-com column, When Romance Met Comedy. I devoted a whopping 49,000 words to analyzing 25 different romantic comedies this year. And I’m really pleased with how the column has grown and with the positive feedback I’ve received.

I have to admit, I sometimes worry that year-end highlight reels like this one can make my life seem easy or glamorous in a way that doesn’t reflect what it’s like to actually live through it. I'm tremendously lucky to get to do what I do, but I also struggle a lot—both with the logistics of this career and with bigger questions about what value it brings to the world. My goal is to approach 2021 with a greater sense of intentionality. I want to be more thoughtful in my career choices, more purposeful in how I use social media, and more active in my activism and politics. I’d also like to do 20 push-ups a day everyday for the whole year, but we’ll see how long that resolution actually lasts.

Finally, on a sadder note, one other defining experience of the year was the loss of my dear internet friend Seb Patrick, who I’ve known for years through the Cinematic Universe podcast. Seb created a wonderfully positive nerd space online, and was a big part of my early quarantine experience thanks to the Avengers watchalongs I did with the CU gang in the spring. I’m so grateful for all the fun pop culture chats we got to have throughout the years, several of which are linked below. Seb is tremendously missed, and there’s a fund for his family here.

As we head into 2021, I’ll leave you with wishes for a Happy New Year and a roundup of all the major writing and podcasts I did in 2020. If you enjoyed my work, you can support me on Kofi or PayPal. Or you can just share some of your favorite pieces with your friends! That really means a lot.

My 15 favorite films of 2020

My 15 favorite TV shows of 2020

Op-eds, Features, and Interviews

Women Pioneered The Film Industry 100 Years Ago. Why Aren’t We Talking About Them? [Bustle]

2020 is the year of the Kind Movie — and it couldn’t have come at a better time [Polygon]

Make a grocery store game plan for stress-free shopping [The Takeout]

What’s Going On: A primer on the call to defund the police [Medium]

Doctor Who’s John Barrowman on the return of Captain Jack Harkness [The A.V. Club]

Episodic TV Coverage

Doctor Who S12

This Is Us S4 and S5

Supergirl S5

Stargirl S1

The Umbrella Academy S2

The Crown S4

NBC’s Dr. Seuss’ The Grinch Musical!

When Romance Met Comedy

Is The Ugly Truth the worst romantic comedy ever made?

Working Girl’s message is timeless, even if the hair and the shoulder pads aren’t

You’ve Got Mail and the power of the written (well, typed) word

Love & Basketball was a romantic slam dunk

How did My Big Fat Greek Wedding make so much money?

America eased into the ’60s with the bedroom comedies of Doris Day and Rock Hudson

I can’t stop watching Made Of Honor

Notting Hill brought two rom-com titans together

It’s time to rediscover one of Denzel Washington’s loveliest and most under-seen romances

Something’s Gotta Give is the ultimate quarantine rom-com

20 years ago, But I’m A Cheerleader reclaimed camp for queer women

On its 60th anniversary, Billy Wilder’s The Apartment looks like an indictment of toxic masculinity

The Wedding Planner made rom-com stars out of Jennifer Lopez and Matthew McConaughey

After 25 years, Clueless is still our cleverest Jane Austen adaptation

William Shakespeare invented every romantic comedy trope we love today

Edward Norton made his directorial debut by walking a priest, a rabbi, and a Dharma into a Y2K rom-com

The forgotten 1970s romantic comedy that raged against our broken, racist system

His Girl Friday redefined the screwball comedy at 240 words per minute

Before Wonder Woman soared into theaters, the hacky My Super Ex-Girlfriend plummeted to Earth

Dirty Dancing spoke its conscience with its hips

The rise of Practical Magic as a spooky season classic

In a dire decade for the genre, Queen Latifah became a new kind of rom-com star

Years before Elsa and Anna, Tangled reinvigorated the Disney princess tradition

Palm Springs is the definitive 2020 rom-com

Celebrate Christmas with the subversive 1940s rom-com that turned gender roles on their head

The A.V. Club Film & TV Reviews

Netflix’s To All The Boys sequel charms, though not quite as much as the original

The Photograph only occasionally snaps into focus

Jane Austen's Emma gets an oddball, sumptuous, and smart new adaptation

Pete Davidson delivers small-time charms in Big Time Adolescence

Council Of Dads crams a season of schmaltzy storytelling into its premiere

In Belgravia, Downton Abbey’s creator emulates Dickens to limited success

Netflix’s Love Wedding Repeat adds some cringe to the rom-com

Netflix takes another shot at Cyrano de Bergerac with queer love triangle The Half Of It

We Are Freestyle Love Supreme is a feel-good origin story for Lin-Manuel Miranda’s first troupe

Sara Bareilles’ melodic Apple TV+ series Little Voice is still finding itself

Netflix’s sexist rom-com sensation gets a minor upgrade in The Kissing Booth 2

With Howard, Disney+ movingly honors the lyricist who gave the Little Mermaid her voice

The Broken Hearts Gallery tries to find catharsis in heartbreak

Netflix’s ghostly musical series Julie And The Phantoms hits some charming tween high notes

After We Collided slides toward R-rated camp—but not far enough

Holidate is a bawdy start to Netflix’s holiday rom-com slate

Kristen Stewart celebrates the Happiest Season in a pioneering queer Christmas rom-com

Isla Fisher gets her own Enchanted in the Disney Plus fairy tale Godmothered

Podcast Appearances

Debating Doctor Who: “Orphan 55”

It Pod To Be You: The Wedding Singer

Reality Bomb: Defending Doctor Who’s “Closing Time”

The Televerse: Spotlight on Doctor Who Season 12

You Should See The Other Guy: The Ugly Truth

Only Stupid Answers: Stargirl’s season finale

Motherfoclóir: Ireland and the Hollywood Rom-Com

Called in to Nerdette’s Clueless retrospective episode

Cinematic Universe Appearances

Cinematic Universe: Superman IV: The Quest For Peace

Cinematic Universe: Birds of Prey

Cinematic Universe: Infinity War watchalong

Cinematic Universe: Endgame watchalong

Cinematic Universe: Terminator 2

Cinematic Universe: Josie and the Pussycats

Cinematic Universe: The Cuppies 2020 (Cuppies of Cuppies)

And here are similar year-end wrap-ups I did in 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, and 2013.

#Best Of #Year End #2020

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thestray · 4 years ago

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The 62 2020 Movies Releases I Watched During 2020 Ranked

Like the awkward title says, I’m going to rank (and talk about) all the 2020 movies I watched in 2020. This is not meant as any empirical list of what was best, it’s ranked by what I liked the least to the most, and my main criteria is what kind of impact it had on me and/or how much I enjoyed the experience of watching it.

Little bit about myself, I went to art school for animation, then after art school I went to a community college where I studied screenwriting. Never ended up pursuing either thing professionally, but I still write screenplays in my free time and read screenwriting books and listen to screenwriting podcasts. I'm the type of person that loves special features, seeks out behind the scenes information and director interviews, and watch youtube videos analyzing films. I love film, and thinking about film and talking about film and sharing the films I like, and maybe one day making films of my own, who knows.

Ranking and reviewing 62 movies was a more ambitious and challenging task than I anticipated, I rearranged this list swapping titles back and forth so many times, and then I’d remember a movie I forgot I watched and have to add that and figure out where it ranks. I started this on January 1st and am just now ready to post it on the 17th, I was still switching rankings right up until posting this. Even looking at it now there are some kinda want to switch but I’ve accepted that this is more or less arbitrary, lol.

The more I learn about film and what goes into creating a movie the more lenient I am about them. It’s not like I’m never critical of films, but I try to consider both the good and the bad of a movie instead of thinking in a binary of films are either amazing or trash. Some of these films aren’t great, but I typically still enjoyed them to some degree. Except Mulan, lol. I’m sorry Mulan. Speaking of Mulan...

62. Mulan

I'm going to try to say something nice about all these movies even if I didn't like them at all. So... I like the cast, and there are some nice visual moments. I actually was looking forward to this movie before reviews started coming out, it has 2 of the martial arts G.O.A.T.s in it, Donnie Yen and Jet Li, and also Jason Lee as the bad guy, so I figured it might at the very least have some decent action, but they were all underutilized. There’s not a single moment in the film where I felt anything at all. I think all these Disney live-action remakes are doing is making a case for how effective animation is for storytelling.

61. Color Out of Space

I heard a lot of good things about this movie, and it’s really cool visually, and I love Nicolas Cage always, but I really couldn’t get into it. I guess my main issue is that it starts off already too campy for any of to the Lovecraftian horror to really hit. It felt like a B-movie with great production value, and maybe that’s what they were going for? I really wanted to like this but I really just did not feel invested in anything going on, did not relate to anyone in the family, so I don’t think I got much out of it besides the cool visuals.

60. Bloodshot

I think the main flaw of this movie is that is that Vin Diesel was a producer on it, and Vin Diesel should be kept away from making creative decisions on movies. How Did This Get Made did a great podcast episode on this movie. It’s absolute nonsense, it has a couple of cool sequences and special effects in it, and Lamorne with a British accent is great, he’s the main redeeming value of this movie.

59. The Midnight Sky

It seems like this movie wants to be Interstellar, it’s structured in a very similar way, but it just didn’t quite have that same emotional punch. It looks very good, it’s well-acted, it has it’s moments.

58. The New Mutants

It's not as much of a trainwreck as people make it out to be in my opinion, I think the cast is good and it has some good character interactions, but it mostly suffers from the fact that it's way too predictable, from the beginning you're way ahead of the characters, and it doesn't help that they're in this confined setting so there's not a lot for them to actually do. But I appreciate the attempt at using mutants to do a horror breakfast club thing, good concept.

57. Vampires vs The Bronx

Vampires as a gentrifiers taking over the hood, great idea. Mero is in it, the brand is brolic. It was a fun set up, but it was neither funny enough or scary enough in my opinion. The vampires die so easily it's like okay whatever. It's like a really long Goosebumps episode.

56. Freaky

I don't think the execution lived up to the great concept, but Vince Vaughan was really great in those sincere moments playing a teenage girl. Horror fans will appreciate the gory kills. I'm not going to spoil anything but I do think there are some narrative issues that keep this from being stronger than it could've been. If you made the killer a creepy janitor at the school or even one of the teachers, then I think that would've created more interesting situations.

55. Eurovision

I love Will Ferrell, I even love some of his flops like Casa De Mi Padre and Kicking and Screaming, and even the House I think had a lot of really funny moments. This was definitely one of the least funny movies he's done to me. I think the director David Dobkin couldn't commit to being silly the way Adam McKay can cause there's a lot of this movie that just has no jokes, and the movie is over 2 hours long which isn't normal for comedies so you spend a lot of time watching unfunny scenes and extended musical numbers.

54. The Wrong Missy

I'm not a big fan of most Happy Madison movies, the jokes are very hit or miss for me. I'm a big fan of Lauren Lapkus though so I watched it to support her, and she plays an absolute psycho in this. It's so over the top it's like this character is not a human being, but I have to admit there are a few moments where she made me laugh pretty loud. I'd never watch this movie again, but maybe I'd look up certain parts on youtube.

53. The Platform

High concept dystopian sci-fi horror. Reminds me of the Cube. It's one of those things that makes you think about what you'd do in the same situation. It's a very on the nose allegory, so by the end of it my only takeaway was "Yeah, it really be like that."

52. Archenemy

Another high concept movie. Joe Mangienello is good in it, but Glenn Howerton and Paul Scheer are my favorite parts of the movie, it's fun to see comedy actors play bad guys. My main problem with the movie was that I did not find the teen character to be interesting or relatable at all, in fact he can be kind of obnoxious. In his introductory scene he's REALLY bothering this random guy minding his own business, not respecting his boundaries at all. Then the rest of the movie is about him exploiting a homeless man and being really pushy for likes on some app, and he doesn't really have a character arc. Also wasn't a big fan of the animated sequences but I forgive that knowing this was a low budget movie and those sequences were done by a team of just 3 people.

51. Power

Jamie Foxx is great. I think he makes almost anything he's in watchable to some degree. The idea of this movie is fun but I think the action sequences are kinda underwhelming, but Jamie makes it worth watching in my opinion.

50. Birds of Prey

This movie was all style and absolutely no substance. When your main character doesn't have a solid purpose or goal you're really just watching shit happen, and that can be okay if the shit that's happening is occassionally fun or funny, but it doesn't really make for a memorable story in my opinion.

49. Wonder Woman 84

The most panned movie of 2020 maybe? It's got flaws for sure and some narrative choices I just can't understand why they made. It has some fun performances though and I ultimately appreciated that our superhero wins not by using her fists but by appealing to goodness. I feel like you rarely see that kind of idealism any more. It may not be realistic but I think that's one of the things fantasy is good for, showing us a way things could be better to strive for. But yeah, the Steve Trevor things was fucking weird, why'd they do that? And neither Steve or Diana seem concerned with about this random guy's fate. I'd probably rate this film higher if they had Steve simply appear out of thin air, I mean why not? It's magic. But I loved Kristen Wig and Pedro Pascal in this. Pedro is performing with his whole body, did he film this after season 1 of the Mandolorian? Maybe being under that helmet for a season made him want to be really expressive. The films overall kinda campy but I didn't necessarily mind that.

48. Peninsula

Sequel to the already classic Train to Busan, this film decides the up the scale, which is what sequels often do, but I think it was a mistake in this instance. This is more of an over the top action movie than a character-driven horror film like the first. There's a climactic Mad Max-esque car chase scene that is almost entirely CGI. I don't think it was a bad movie, it's an okay popcorn flick, but it definitely doesn't live up to the original.

47. The Old Guard

In terms of action I don't think it did anything interesting, but I like how they explored how horrific and heartbreaking it would be to be immortal. Coming to terms with your own mortality is a tough thing to do, but we often don't consider the idea that death is a blessing we take for granted.

46. Sputnik

A Russian sci-fi thriller about a young doctor being tasked with trying to figure out how to separate an alien parasite from a Cosmonaut that's returned from earth. Good performances, creepy vibe, and lots of interesting questions about ethics. It has a sort of epilogue ending with a reveal I didn't quite understand the significance to the story, but didn't take away from either. Solid.

45. The Invisible Man

Fun sci-fi thriller about toxic abusive relationships and gaslighting. Elizabeth Moss is great in it and my favorite sequences are before her character actually catches on and you have moments where the camera is just focusing on a random place, very creepy and effective.

44. Sonic the Hedgehog

Personally I would've preferred a fully animated film taking place in Sonic's world. I don't know why they always feel like they need to make these movies about human characters and then spend a lot of time having to hide your CG character and having people do comical reactions to them. It feels very played out to me. BUT Jim Carrey is great in this, of course. Jim Carrey is the reason to watch this movie. He makes the movie. And it goes without saying thank God they changed that character design.

43. 2067

What I liked about this dystopian future is that the cause was basically everything. War, famine, ruining the environment, pandemics, just all our collective fuckery has resulted in a world where the human race is on the verge of extinction, plants are extinct, and oxygen is synthetic. Enter time travel, a young man is tasked with traveling into the future to bring back the solution to saving the human race. Very timely obviously. I liked it.

42. Monsters of Man

Some asshole tech bros let some killer robots loose on a remote southeast asian village as a trial run. It has lots of flaws but I give it some leeway because this is the first film of a guy who wrote, directed and was the cinematographer by himself, he didn't have a huge budget or much experience, so it's hard to expect perfection. My biggest criticism is that the film centers a white guy living in this village and some westerner medics, not the actual Asian people of the village. Could've been so much more of interesting commentary about racism and eurocentrism dropping these robots in a village of brown people no one will miss just for practice. That aside though I think it was a solid enough thriller and the robots looked pretty good.

41. Family Romance LLC

An interesting movie about a Japanese entrepreneur who has a business where he'll play whatever role in your life you need. Father, husband, coworker, etc there's a scene where someone even pays him to be scolded in his place by his boss. The main thrust of the film though is him playing the role of a girl's absentee father, pretends to reconnect with her and take her out on the town for activities. It's shot very documentary style, and there are a mixture of first time actors and non-actors. Sometimes there are long awkward conversations that feel just as awkward as real life. I really liked the premise, and the only thing that keeps it from being higher on my list is it doesn't have a strong enough conflict nor does it really have a satisfying conclusion.

40. Over the Moon

Directorial debut of animation legend Glen Keane, I really liked this visually. It was sufficiently enjoyable, but it doesn't have that emotional gut punch that Pixar or Disney films tend to have. But I guess cartoons don't NEED to make you bawl your eyes out to be good. I think there were some missed opportunities narratively, like I guess this is spoilery so just scroll ahead if you don't want to know, but she gains a step brother that she doesn't like and doesn't want to spend time with, once the adventure starts on the Moon they get separated very early on, and don't ge reunited until towards the end, but she somehow now cares about him and considers him her brother. I didn't feel like that was really earned, they should've been together throughout the adventure getting to know each other. But I otherwise liked the story aside from that nitpick. Loved the colors of this movie, almost everything in the moon world is luminescent which provides some nice visuals. Hope to see Glen direct more in the future.

39. The Croods 2

Nothing revolutionary but it has some solid physical comedy and great voice acting. All of Nicolas Cage's overacting is perfect for animation, and I liked Peter Dinklage as Mr. Betterman as well. There's a lot going on thematically but it all works pretty cohesively.

38. #ALIVE

Another Korean zombie thriller. I really liked this because I felt like as far as zombie outbreaks go this is the most realistic scenario. Once you realize what's going on you will just stay in your house rather than risk going outside and fighting zombies. But that poses the problem of a limited supply of food and water. The main thrust of the movie is not how this character survives though it's about him trying to retain his will to live. It's the perfect pandemic isolation allegory.

37. Love and Monsters

It looked kinda corny but I actually enjoyed this more than I thought I would. I like Dylan O'Brien, I love Tom Holland as Peter Parker but I've always felt like Dylan O'Brien would've been a great choice too, he has a good everyman relatable quality. There's also a dog in the movie that I loved. Put a dog in peril in a movie and I will be on the edge of my seat guaranteed. It's a fun movie with some interesting creatures in it and a solid character arc for our main protagonist.

36. Extraction

I love the trend of stunt coordinators directing films. That's the main reason why the John Wick series is so good, and the reason why this also has some very solid action. Nothing crazy here in terms of story or themes, everything is an excuse for Chris Hemsworth to fuck people up and it delivers on that. There's one scene where he slaps around some kids attacking him that I found hilarious as well. Fully welcoming an Extraction 2.

35. Save Yourselves

A couple decides to take a break from social media and get away to a cabin outside the city. While they're disconnected from the world an alien invasion occurs, furry little basketball sized poofs. This movie was pretty funny. I'm a little ambivalent about the ending but I enjoyed these hipsters arguing about what to do about aliens.

34. Bill and Ted Face the Music

A most bodacious movie. Fun gags and a robot that steals the show. It's not as good as the first 2 but I don't think that's any surprise. I think it borrows a little bit too much from the previous films, like the collecting legendary musicians thing, could've done without that. It was a fun movie though, and the daughters really worked.

33. An American Pickle

Seth Rogen playing an orthodox Jew who's been preserved in pickle juice for 100 years and his modern day app developer grandson. I think this may be Seth Rogen's best acting role, as silly as this movie is he's kind of endearing as this character from 100 years aro, and as the grandson he's a lot more understated than he usually is in movies.

32. Tenet

Tenet! Is it controversial that this is not higher up on the list? I really like Nolan's films, actually been a fan since watching his first film Following in a film class. Nolan likes playing with time in his movies so it was inevitable that he'd do something that addresses it very directly eventually. I love the time travel genre and I think this is one of the most ambitious and unique approaches to it to ever done. I actually braved theaters to see this because I did not want to miss the opportunity to see it on the big screen. I did it as safely as possible and booked a reserved seating theater where I knew I wouldn't be sitting by anyone, had a mask, gloves, antibacterial gell on deck, sanitized my seat with wipes, etc, there only 2 other people in the theater all of us sitting way for from each other. Weirdest moviegoing experience I've ever had but glad I saw it on the big screen because the visual spectacle of this is excellent. The reason it's not higher on the list is because as conceptually cool as it is as I did not feel invested. Just on a story level having a character we know very little about pursuing a goal he knows very little about for no clearly defined reason makes it feel like... we're just watching events unfold as opposed to watching a character-driven story. There's a moment at the end that you can tell was meant to be an emotional moment, but I felt nothing. They try to introduce some emotional stakes with the female character, but idk, since it wasn't tied to the inciting incident it felt more like a b-plot than fundamental to the story. So it was a really fun cool looking puzzle, more like watching a cool Rube Goldberg machine, but not something I really thought much about after it was over.

31. Guns Akimbo

I really have been enjoying Daniel Radcliffe's post-Harry Potter career, he'll do some solid dramas he seems to prefer doing fun weird shit like Swiss Army Man, Horns, his role on Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, etc. This is in that vein of fun weird shit, a guy who gets guns bolted to his hands and is running around the city in a robe trying to survive essentially a real life video game. A lot of the movies lower on this list had fun concepts but were lacking in execution, but this is one that is just as fun as the idea sounds, even more fun actually, it's funny, the action is good, and there are some great visuals. I found it all around enjoyable.

30. Let Them All Talk

Glen Close as a celebrated author who invites her nephew and 2 estranged best friends on a cruise with her. It's a very light-hearted movie with some underlying conflicts that the characters are afraid to address head on. Glen Close is great, obviously, she plays this pretentious self-important woman with affectations but is still likable and warm. It's a fairly pleasant almost slice-of-life until the 3rd act where everything comes together. To me it was a movie about communication, saying what you mean, saying what you feel, and those unspoken assumptions of what those around you are thinking or feeling about you. I know I can relate to the idea of wanting an apology from someone who might not even be cognizant of the fact that you feel slighted by them, or vice versa finding out someone's had a long standing problem with you when you thought you were cool. One sided grudges do no one any good.

29. True History of the Kelly Gang

I've heard of Ned Kelly, but I've never seen the Heath Ledge or Mick Jagger movies about him and I don't know much about him other than he's a famous Australian outlaw and something of a folk hero to some. The performances and cinematography if this are great. George MacKay from 1917 is the lead and he's amazing, sometimes vulnerable and soft, other times a madman. It spends a lot of time in his childhood and the child actor who plays Ned is great as well. It's gritty and sometimes surreal in it's imagery. From what I can gather previous films seemed to focus more on what happened with him and his gang, while this movie seems to focuses more on everything in his life that led up to him becoming who he is and forming that gang. Like a 3rd of the movie is spent in his childhood, and once the gang is actually formed things move at a pretty brisk pace, seemingly skimming over the exploits of the gang to the conclusion. The film feels very raw and gritty and very fuck the police which I always appreciate.

28. Lucky Grandma

A stubborn grandma in New York's chinatown gets her fortunte read and is told that she's going to be very lucky and come into a fortune, she then comes into possession of a bunch of money that belongs to a gang and she decides to try to keep it feeling it's owed to her by the universe. A funny crime drama with the unlikeliest of protagonists.

27. Da 5 Bloods

Spike Lee is an icon but he can honestly be a little hit or miss for me. I don't always enjoy every choice he makes, for instance he uses real footage of war attrocities in this, and it's really upsetting to see REAL people, including children, be killed, when you're not expecting that. I understand it's meant to be upsetting, but it does make the movie something I'll probably never rewatch. Spike Lee's films to me can also feel at times heightened to the point that it feels a little cheesy (Miracle At St Anna), and there moments in this that kinda took me out of it to be honest, but overall I enjoyed it. The performances were great, Delroy Lindo in my opinion is one of the most underrated actors of all time, he's just always good no matter what he's in, everyone else in it is good too, but of course I have to mention Chadwick Boseman who was great. At the end of the day it gave me a lot to think about in terms or race, war, America, forgiveness, trauma and so many other things.

26. The Devil All The Time

There's a LOT going on in this movie, maybe a little too much, it's like 2 or 3 movies smashed into one, but... I really liked it, and that's probably because Tom Holland is so good in it. Really liked Robert Pattinson in it too. I can’t really think of more to say about it say I won’t. Next movie.

25. Bad Education

A true crime movie about school district officiala who stole from the budget of a highschool. Hugh Jackman is great in this. I loved Jackman as Wolverine, but now that he's done with that I'm excited to see him other stuff cause he's always interesting to watch; The Fountain, Prisoners, The Prestige, he's always solid. I enjoyed this, it was done with nuance, it doesn't let them off the hook for what they did but it doesn't paint them as absolute monsters either. I really have to ask myself, if I could get away with stealing money that no one would miss... I don't know, I think I'd not do it out of fear not altruism, lol.

24. My Octopus Teacher

This is a documentary on Netflix about a diver who immerses himself in the world of underwater life and documents the life of an octopus. It's really beautiful, both in terms of visuals and in content. There's not a lot to talk about because it's fairly straightforward, but it was really fascinating to learn about this octopus and see the bond they mutually formed, and again I can't talk about how great this movie looks, it's like you're in a different world. This is something I could put in and mute while I draw just for the ambiance.

23. Kajillionaire

A quirky dramedy about a family of really obtuse poor scam artists. As absurd as their behaviour is I can totally imagine a trio of weirdos like this living in Los Angeles ( I can say that cause it's my hometown and where I lived most of my life. It's Evan Rachel Wood's best role, I never would've imagined her doing something like this but she's great as "Old Dolio". It's funny, at time sad but not in a hammy melodramatic way, and I feel it had the perfect ending.

22. The Gentleman

Guy Ritchie doing what he does best. It's fun, stylish, witty, has layers and twists and reveals. Everybody's good in it. It doesn't have anything poignant to say, but it's fun to watch the entire time

21. Run

A thriller about a wheelchair bound teen who suspects her mother is drugging her and tries to get to the bottom of it. You can tell this director is a Hitchcock fan because it definitely has that Rear Window vibe but takes it a step further, and in many ways it's even shot and paced like Hitchcock. The lead actress is actually wheelchair bound herself so it really adds to the realism of all the things she does in this film. Oh, and Sarah Paulson is the mom, when is Sarah Paulson ever not good?

20. Horse Girl

Alison Brie is an awkward neurotic woman getting over recent grief and a history of mental illness in her family, she starts to have weird dreams and then notices people from her dreams in real life, starts blacking out and having gaps in time, and starts to believe it's due to alien abduction conspiracy. Is she losing her mind or is it really happening? Alison Brie is really really good in this, and she co-wrote it too, it has a lot of moments where you really feel sorry for her or scared for her and you start to question what's real yourself.

19. Swallow

I found this movie really fascinating, it's like what if you turned one of those My Strange Addiction episodes on TLC into a movie. It's about this woman who ostensibly, at least from appearances, has the perfect life (at least by societal standards), she came from nothing and is now housewife to a rich successful man, and behaves almost like a Stepford wife. Then develops a compulsion to swallow inedible things, like marbles and batteries and thumbtacks, which is a real condition called pica. Its the kind of movie that gives you a lot to think about but no easy answers.

18. Time to Hunt

A Korean heist thriller set in the near future. A bunch of childhood friends rob the wrong person and have an Anton Chigurh-esque killer sent after them to retrieve the money and kill them. It's a really tense cat and mouse thriller with good performances. The ending seemed to turn a lot of people off based on a lot of youtube comments I read, but I didn't mind it. My only real gripe is that they set this in the near future but aside from some imagery in the beginning it doesn't seem to come into play that much, this all could've taken place in modern day or even the past with no alteration of the story. I think the future setting was more just for some social commentary that maybe went over my head a little bit because I'm not from Korea, but I think if they were going to do near future they could've added some futuristic weapons or something. But that's just nitpicking, while the future setting didn't add to the story much it didn't take away from it either.

17. Tigertail

As I get older one of my worse fears is making decisions that I will regret for the rest of my life, so this movie really hit home as a cautionary tale. It's a kind of quietly devastating movie. There's no huge tragic horrific even, just a huge miscalculation. Decades of your life of work and unhappiness go by and all you can do is wonder what things could've been. I also especially appreciated the cinematography and music of this film.

16. Mother

It's been a while since I hated a character this much, but this titular mother really pissed me off. She's a neglectful mother who only sees her son as a tool, but he sticks by her cause he loves her. It's definitely not a fun movie to watch, but it made me feel a lot and meditate on the idea of love and whether it in itself has innate value.

15. Call

I went into this movie cold, having no idea what it was really about other than that it was a thriller that revolved around a woman getting mysterious calls. I'm glad I had seen no trailers and did not know the gist of the plot becuase it went places I really was not expecting. One of the most fun thrillers I've seen in a while. So, I'm not going to talk about the movie but what I will say is that Jeon Jong-seo, who played the woman in Burning is in this, she was great in Burning and she's great in this. After watching it I googled her to see what else she's been in that I can watch and this is only her 2nd film. Apparently Burning was her first audition EVER and she BOOKED IT! Like, one a million success story right? But she deserves it cause she's great and I look forward to seeing what else she does.

14. Possessor

This was directed by Brandon Cronenberg, the son of David Cronenberg, big shoes to fill, and I think he's going to fill them fine cause this is already a cult classic in my opinion. The visuals in this, which look like they were mainly created with practical and in camera effects. There is some very graphic very realistic violence in this. The movie is about an assassin who works for an organization and uses some type of scientific process to "possess" people to carry out hits. When she's in a body for too long who's in control starts to blur. It's really fucking trippy, like a fucked up Black Mirror episode.

13. Borat 2

Been a fan of Sacha since the old Da Ali G Show days when Borat was just a side character. I'm amazed with out Sacha can stay in character the way he does, especially when later on in the movie he shelters in place with some Qanon conservatives with who knows how long staying in character. Maybe they'll reveal they were paid actors who knows, but whatever I fucking laughed a lot at this movie. There's a black woman in this movie that I hope to god was not an actress cause I loved her and her reactions so much. It was a breath of fresh air to watch something that's just goofy in 2020 because it wasn't a good year for comedy. As much as I love film sometimes I got a little fatigue from watching so many things with very heavy themes, this also had heavy themes it was satirizing, but also chimp pornstar jokes, so.. a fun time.

12. A Sun

A drama about a family's eldest son going to juvenile detention for his involvement in a violent crime. We see how his father, his mother, his brother and his pregnant girlfriend all deal with this. I found it very engaging. My only gripe is that there are some moments of levity where they use this really generic comedy music score it and it really takes you out of the film. No music at all is better than bad generic music. Other than that I really loved it and the ending is great. I really thought this would end up in my top 10 but the following films just had more personal relevance or were more fun to watch.

11. Ma Rainey's Black Bottom

R.I.P. Chadwick Boseman, this movie is like an acting showcase for him, he has so many great monologues here, the ending really took the wind out of me. It's also packed with really still relevant commentary on race.

10. Onward

You already expect a Pixar movie to make you cry, but this came from angle I was NOT expecting and I bawled hard at this. This movie was so applicable to my life experience it's like they specifically engineered it to make me personally cry. Honestly there are better movies lower on this list, but movies are just like any other art, when a song touches you on a personal level it doesn't need to have complex instrumentation cause it's how it made you feel that matters.

09. Palm Springs

A comedy released during a pandemic about trying to find stimulation and meaning when every day is the same thing? Ya don't say! Another take on Groundhog Day, which at this point I feel like it's its on genre with the amount of times the concept has been done, but I'm not complaining, I typically enjoy a good time loop movie (or show; Russian Doll). I don't know what else to say besides that it's really funny and Andy Samberg and Cristin Milioti are both charming and great in it.

08. Scare Me

This movie was funny, creepy, the performances were great, and it's just really unique and clever. Written, directed, produced, and starring Josh Ruben, who I know primarily does really idiosyncratic "impressions" on instagram. It's 2 people alone in a cabin telling each other scary stories, they don't cut away to the stories you just watch them act it out. 4 people in the cast, one location, and it still manages to be a fun ride of a movie and manages to touch on some good themes in the overall story. I really hope to see Josh Ruben direct more films because I think he's really creative.

07. Ride Your Wave

A romantic comedy about a woman trying to find joy and purpose in her life. I often go into movies very cold, so I didn't know much about what this movie was about, just knew that it was from an animation studio and director that I really respected. It's very beautiful, very grounded, until it's not. Kind of movie that breaks your heart so it can uplift you later.

06. Uncle Frank

I really did not expect a lot from movie, not that I thought it would be bad, I just thought it be your middle of the road movie. It's about a teenage girl who really looks up to her uncle who she learns is a closeted gay man, in an era where that was potentially dangerous to be. They go on a road trip home when his father dies and learn about each other and themselves, it sounds kinda cookie cutter, but it really surprised me. Paul Bettany is so very good in this, and it made me cry. Easy way to get on high on this list is to make me cry lol.

05. Children of the Sea

This film had to be in my top 5 because I'm an animation nerd and this is one of the most beautiful animated films ever. Ever. It's right up there with Akira and the Ghibli catalogue, and the works of Satoshi Kon, and all the Disney movies and everything else. It focuses on details and nuances in a really gorgeous way. The story is VERY ambiguous and gets very metaphysical towards the end, the climax is like watching an acid trip. It's about a girl who meet 2 young boys who have adapted to living underwater, and they form a bond, and then... uh... there's no way I can concisely explain it. The creator has said it's not supposed to be understood logical, instead it's supposed to be felt. There's a lot of symbolism and metaphor, it's very philosophical and explores themes of connection and the cycle of life. It's produced by Studio 4°C, which is my favorite animation studio because they really push the envelope, they're responsible for Mind Game, Tekkonkinkreet, and the recent Mutafukaz, and other, if you've never heard of any of those definitely look them up, they're unlike any anime you've ever watched before. Anyway, beautiful movie and the cryptic plot allows for you to rewatch it multiple times and take different things away from it. I can't wait to own it on blu-ray.

04. 37 Seconds

I saw this very early in the year and love it. It's about a young woman with cerebal palsy who is also an aspiring hentai artist trying to get laid. Her mother who takes care of her like a child smothers her, so it's not only about trying to get laid but trying to have some independence. Firstly the performance of this woman who actually does have cerebral palsy and is a first time actor is so natural and endearing, secondly there are things they portray with an uncomfortable amount of realism and awkwardness that it really draws you in to the nitty gritty of her reality and what it can be like for someone who is wheelchair bound to try to have sexual experiences. I like that there were 2 films this year about characters in wheelchairs that used unknown actresses that face the same things their characters do, it adds to the authenticity of either film. Films like this are why I think diversity in film is not just about doing something for the demographic you're depicting but also giving everyone else not of that demographic new unique stories and perspectives.

03. Soul

I guess spoilers if you haven't seen this because it's easier to talk about why I liked it if I talk specifically about the plot. I wasn't expecting much from this when the initial trailer dropped, it made it seem like it was going to largely take place in this imaginary soul place with these blue things, and for most of the first act it seemed like that's what it was going to be, but when they come back to earth and the story really starts I really started enjoying it. This movie tricks you into thinking the film is about finding or fulfilling your purpose, only to throw a curveball that living life in and of itself is the "purpose", and this movie resonated so much with thoughts that were already on my mind. I relate so much to Joe as a creative person myself with so many unfulfilled dreams, at 36yrs old, having to put many of my goals on the backburner just to survive, and generally having that feeling that I'm still waiting to live life because I'm not fulfilling my "purpose". Sure reaching for goals is great, but I think our culture breeds this idea that happiness is a destination, an accomplishment, a certain amount of recognition, a monetization of your passion. I really loved how the film depicted that there's a dark side to focusing on your passions and how it can become a source of stress and unhappiness. This movie is just about savoring life itself, which people have been expressing through platitudes since forever but this film illustrated it in a way that words fail at, and that's what makes film such a great form of art.

02. Sound of Metal

This movie had one of the best trailers of 2020, I couldn't wait to watch this movie. FIrst of all I love RIz Ahmed and think he's an underrated and underutilized actor, he's fucking amazing in this, he needs an Oscar nom FOR SURE. His frustration is so palpable and he feels so natural in this movie. It follows a metal punk drummer who loses his hearing and goes to stay in a deaf community to acclimate. One thing I think is absolutely brilliant about this movie is the sound design. I'm not deaf so I can't speak from any type of experience, but they try to replicate what going deaf sounds like, what the audiologist tests sound like, what hearing aids and cochlear implants sound like, it's very immersive. I almost think of it like a companion piece to Soul, cause I had almost the same take away, it's just coming from it at a different angle.

01. I'm Thinking Of Ending Things

Okay, so I’m going to have a lot to say about this movie.

Maybe a very controversial pick for my number one because so many people absolutely hated this movie, lol. I am biased given that I'm a huge fan of Charlie Kaufman, he's my favorite screenwriter, and his films have only gotten weirder and weirder, so I know to expect the unexpected when going into one of his films. I can understand how this would be an offputting experience if you're expecting the conventions of normal narrative structure. It was surprising and perplexing to me how this film unfolded but I've watched non-narrative and experimental films before so I was intrigued rather than frustrated. You think it's about a woman who is thinking of breaking up with her boyfriend as they head to meet his parents. Once we get to his childhood home things start getting surreal, and that surrealism just escalates to the point where you realize this film is not at all attempting to depict reality and doesn't even have any continuity. This is the most a movie has ever felt like one of my dreams. I don't know how other people dream but this was so much like every weird nightmare I've ever had where I feel trapped in a situation.

There's a scene where the family is talking about art, the dad says he hates abstract art because it takes no skill, he prefers paintings that look like photographs because that takes real skill, the son asks why make a painting look like a photograph when you can just take a photograph, the woman states she paints pictures of landscapes and tries to imbue them with a sense of interiority, capturing the way she feels, the dad asks how can a landscape be sad if you don't have a person in it looking sad. I felt like this was a bit of meta commentary on the film itself. After I watched this movies I had my own theories, I watched some analysis videos on youtube that confirmed a lot of my ideas and gave me insight on other parts of the film, I watched the film again and formulated more ideas, it's so dense with things to project meaning onto and interpret it. I went on instagram and ended up having lengthy discussions about what the film meant both with people who loved it and hated it. Everybody I spoke with had slightly different interpretations and takeaways. One woman who initially did not like it came away with an appreciation for it after we had a lengthy discussion about it's meaning.

All of this is why it's my favorite film of the year, not only did I relate to it on a personal level because I'm in a stage of my life where I'm approaching middle ages and afraid I'm going to end up like the guy in this film, but I can't remember the last time a film led to such meaningful conversation about life, death, love, mental health, loneliness, trauma, etc. So like the scene where they're talking about art, I think this movie is neither intended to be abstract or realistic, it's supposed to be imbued with a sense of interiority. I know I sound way pretentious right now, but I just really appreciated Charlie Kaufman for making something unabashedly expressionist and serving it up to mainstream audiences. I really feel like I grow as a person and an artist every time I watch one of his films.

------------------------------------------------

So there ya go. That’s it. That concludes this arbitrary exercise in ranking the movies i saw last year, thank you for wasting your time on this, lol. I think it was a very good year for movies.

If there was a movie you were expecting to see on the list and it’s missing I just didn’t get to it in 2020, I may do an unranked follow up list of 2020 movies I missed in 2020, maybe.

That’s it.

End of post.

Bye.

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writemarcus · 5 years ago

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Watch This Space: Playwrights Train for All Media

As dramatists begin to write for all media, the nation’s playwriting programs are starting to teach beyond the stage.

BY MARCUS SCOTT

In 2018, a record 495 original scripted series were released across cable, online, and broadcast platforms, according to a report by FX Networks. And with the growing popularity of streaming services such as Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon (not to mention new players like Disney and Apple), a whopping 146 more shows are up and running on various platforms now than were on air in 2013. So how does peak TV relate to theatre?

Once a way for financially strapped playwrights to land stable income and adequate health insurance, television has since emerged as a rewarding venue for ambitious dramatists looking to forge lifetime careers as working writers. Playwright Tanya Saracho is the current showrunner for “Vida” on Starz. Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa is the series developer of “Riverdale” and “Chilling Adventures of Sabrina.” Sheila Callaghan is executive producer of the long-running black comedy “Shameless.” Sarah Treem, co-creator and showrunner of “The Affair,” recently concluded the Rashomon-esque psychological drama in November.

To satiate demand for more content, showrunners have sought to recruit emerging playwrights to fill their writers’ rooms. It’s now common practice for them to read plays or spec scripts penned prior to a writer’s graduation.

Many aspiring playwrights have caught on, enrolling in drama school intent on flirting with virtually every medium under the umbrella of the performing arts. Several institutions around the country have become gatekeepers for the hopeful—post-graduate MFA boot camps bestowing scribes with the Aristotelian wisdom of plot, character, thought, diction, and spectacle before they’re dropped into the school of hard knocks that is the modern American writers’ room. Indeed, since our culture has emerged from the chrysalis of peak TV, playwriting programs have begun training students for a career that includes not only the stage but multiple mediums, including the screen.

Playwright Zayd Dohrn, who has served as both chair of Northwestern University’s radio/TV/film department and director of the MFA in writing for screen and stage since 2016, said versatility is the strongest tool in the kit of the program’s students.

“We offer classes in playwriting, screenwriting and TV writing, as well as podcasts, video games, interactive media, stand-up, improv, and much more,” he explained. “There’s no one way to approach the craft, and we offer world-class faculty with diverse backgrounds, professional experiences, and perspectives, so students can be exposed to the full range of professional and artistic practice.”

Dominic Taylor, vice chair of graduate studies at UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television in California, also agrees that multiplicity is the key to the survival of a working writer. “In the industries today, whether one is breaking a story in a writers’ room or writing coverage as an assistant, the ability to recognize and manipulate structure is paramount,” Taylor said. “The primary skill, aside from honing excellent social skills, would be to continue to study the forms as they emerge. Read scripts and note differences and strengths of form to the individual’s skill set. For example, the multi-cam network comedy is very different from the single-cam comedy—‘The Conners’ versus ‘Modern Family,’ let’s say. It’s not just the technology; it is the pace of the comedy.”

Taylor, a distinguished multi-hyphenate theatre artist working on both coasts, said that schools like UCLA offer a lot more than classes, including one with Phyllis Nagy (screenwriter of Carol). UCLA’s program also partners with its film school, and hires professional directors to work with playwrights to develop graduate student plays for productions at UCLA’s one-act festival, ONES, or its New Play Festival. Taylor also teaches four separate classes on Black theatre, giving students the opportunity to study the likes of Alice Childress, Marita Bonner, and Angelina Weld Grimké in a university setting (a rarity outside of historically Black colleges and universities).

Dohrn, a prominent playwright who is currently developing a feature film for Netflix and has TV shows in development at Showtime, BBC America, and NBC/Universal, said that television, like theatre, needs people who can create interesting characters and tell compelling stories, who have singular, unique voices—all of which are emphasized in playwriting training.

“Playwrights are not just good at writing dialogue—they are world creators who bring a unique vision to the stories they tell,” Dohrn emphasized. “More than anything else, a writer needs to develop his/her/their unique voice. Craft can be taught, but talent and creativity are the most important thing for a young writer.”

For playwright David Henry Hwang, who joined the faculty at Columbia University School of the Arts as head of the playwriting MFA program in 2014, success should be a byproduct, not a destination. “As a playwright, I don’t believe it’s possible to ‘game’ the system—i.e., to try and figure out how to write something ‘successful,’” he said. “The finished play is your reward for taking that journey. The thing that makes you different, and uniquely you, is your superpower as a dramatist, because it is the key to writing the play only you can write. Ironically, by focusing not on success but on what you really care about, you are more likely to find success.”

Since arriving at Columbia, one of Hwang’s top priorities was to expand the range of TV writing classes. This led to the creation of separate TV sub-department “concentrations,” housed in both the theatre and film programs. All playwriting students are required to take some television classes.

“We are at a rather anomalous moment in playwriting history, where the ability to write plays is actually a monetizable skill,” said Hwang, whose TV credits include Treem’s “The Affair.” “Playwrights have become increasingly valuable to TV because it has traditionally been a dialogue-driven medium (though shows like ‘Game of Thrones’ push into more cinematic storytelling language), and playwrights are comfortable being in production (unlike screenwriters, some of whom never go to set). Once TV discovered playwrights, we became more valuable for feature films as well.”

Playwrights aren’t the only generative theatremakers moving to the screen. Masi Asare is an assistant professor at Northwestern’s School of Communication, which teaches music theatre history, music theatre writing and composition, and vocal performance. The award-winning composer-lyricist, who recently saw her one-act Mirror of Most Value: A Ms. Marvel Play published by Marvel/Samuel French, said that the world of musical theatre is not all that different either; it’s experiencing a resurgence in both cinema and the small screen: Lin-Manuel Miranda, Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez, Justin Hurwitz, and Benj Pasek and Justin Paul have all written songs that were nominated for or won Oscars. The growth of YouTube, Instagram, and Twitter have offered new ways for musical theatre graduates to market and monetize their songs and build an audience.

“The feeling that a song has to ‘work’ behind a microphone in order to be a good song is really having an impact on young writers,” said Asare. “The song must sound and look good in this encapsulated video that will be posted on the songwriters’ website and circulated via social media.” She noted that in this case, the medium of video is also changing the medium of musical theatre itself. “Certainly it may lead to different kinds of musicals—who knows? New experimentation can be exciting, but I think there is a perception that all you have to have is a series of good video clips to be a songwriter for the musical theatre, a musical storyteller. I think that does something of a disservice to rising composers and lyricists.”

Some playwriting students, of course, are not interested in learning about how to write for television. But many who spoke for this story agreed that learning about the different ways of storytelling can be beneficial. One program in particular that has its eyes on the multiplicity of storytelling mediums is the Writing for Performance program at the California Institute of the Arts. Founded by playwright Suzan-Lori Parks in 2001 as a synergy of immersive environments, visual art installation, screenplay, and the traditional stage play, the program has helped students and visiting artists alike transcend theatrical conventions. Though Parks is no longer on the CalArts faculty, her spirit still infuses the program. As Amanda Shank, assistant dean of the CalArts School of Theater, puts it, “Every time she came to the page, there was a real fidelity to the impulse of what she was trying to communicate with the play, and the form followed that. It’s not her trying to write a ‘correct’ kind of play or to lay things bare in a certain prescribed way.”

That instinct is in the life fiber of CalArts’s Special Topics in Writing, a peer-to-peer incubator for the development of new projects that grants students from across various departments the opportunity to develop and produce writing-based projects. Shank defines the vaguely titled yearlong class, which she began, as a “hybrid of a writing workshop and a dramaturgical project development space.” A playwright and dramaturg, Shank said her class was born of her experience as an MFA candidate; she attended the program between 2010 and 2013, and then noticed her fellow students’ lack of ability to fully shepherd their projects.

“I was finding a lot of students that would have an idea, bring in a few pages or even bring in a full draft, but then they would kind of abandon it,” said Shank. “I wanted a space [that would] marry generative creativity, a place of accountability, but also a place that was working that muscle of really developing a project. Because I think often as artists we look to other institutions, other people to usher our work along. Yes, you need collaborators, yes, you need organizations of supporters—but you have to some degree know how to do those things yourself.”

Program alum Virginia Grise agrees. Grise has been a working artist since her play blu won the 2010 Yale Drama Series Award. She conceived her latest play, rasgos asiaticos, while still attending CalArts. Inspired by her Chicana-Chinese family, the play has evolved into a walk-around theatrical experience with some dialogue pressed into phonograph records that accompany her great uncle’s 1920s-era Chinese opera records. After developing the production over a period of years, with the help of CalArts Center for New Performance (CNP), Grise will premiere rasgos asiaticos in downtown Los Angeles in March 2020, boasting a predominantly female cast, a Black female director, and a design team entirely composed of women of color. Her multidisciplinary work is emblematic of the direction CalArts is hoping to steer the field, with training that is responsive to a growingly diverse body of students who may not want to create theatre in the Western European tradition.

“You cannot recruit students of color into a training program and continue to train actors, writers, and directors in the same way you have trained them prior to recruiting them,” said Grise. “I feel like training programs should look at the diversity of aesthetics, the diversity of storytelling—what are the different ways in which we make performance, and how is that indicative of who we are, and where we are coming from, and who we are speaking to?”

As an educator whose work deals with Asian American identity, including the play M. Butterfly and the high-concept musical Soft Power, Hwang said that one of his goals as an educator is to train a diverse body of students and teach them how to write from a perspective that is uniquely theirs.

“If we assume that people like to see themselves onstage, this requires a range of diverse bodies as well as diverse stories in our theatres,” Hwang said. “Institutions like Columbia have a huge responsibility to address this issue, since we are helping to produce artists of the future. Our program takes diversity as our first core value—not only in terms of aesthetics, but also by trying to cultivate artists and stories which encompass the fullest range of communities, nationalities, races, genders, sexualities, differences, and identities.”

The film business could use similar cultivation. In March 2019, the Think Tank for Inclusion and Equity (TTIE), a self-organized syndicate of working television writers, published “Behind the Scenes: The State of Inclusion and Equity in TV Writing,” a research-driven survey funded by the Pop Culture Collaborative. Data from that report observed hiring, writer advancement, workplace harassment, and bias among diverse writers, examining 282 working Hollywood writers who identify as women or nonbinary, LGBTQ, people of color, and/or people with disabilities, analyzing how they fare within the writers’ room. In positions that range from staff writer to executive story editor, a nearly two thirds majority of this surveyed group reported troubling instances of bias, discrimination, and/or harassment by members of their individual writing staff. Also, 58 percent of them said they experienced pushback when pitching a non-stereotypical diverse character or storyline; 58 percent later experienced micro-aggressions in-house. The biggest slap in the face: When it comes to in-house pitches, 53 percent of this group’s ideas were rejected, only to have white writers pitch exactly the same idea a few minutes later and get accepted. Other key findings from the report: 58 percent say their agents pitch them to shows by highlighting their “otherness,” and 15 percent reported they took a demotion just to get a staff job.

But there was more: 65 percent of people of color in the survey reported being the only one in their writers’ room, and 34 percent of the women and nonbinary writers reported being the only woman or nonbinary member of their writing staff; 38 percent of writers with disabilities reported being the only one, and 68 percent of LGBTQ writers reported being the only one.

For Dominic Taylor, the lack of diversity and inclusion in TV writers’ rooms can be fought in part by opening up the curriculum on college campuses, which he has expanded since joining the faculty at UCLA. “Students need a comprehensive education,” Taylor pointed out. He noted the importance of prospective playwrights being as familiar with Migdalia Cruz, Maria Irene Fornés, James Yoshimura, Julia Cho, and William Yellow Robe as they are with William Shakespeare, and looking at traditions as vast as the Gelede Festival, the Egungun Festival, Shang theatre of China, as well as the Passion Plays of Ancient Egypt.

“All of these modes of performance predate the Greek theatre, which is the starting point for much of theatre history,” explained Taylor. “It is part of my mandate as an educator to complete the education of my students. Inclusion is crucial to that education.”

After all, with the growing variety of platforms for story and expression, why shouldn’t there also be diversity of forms and voices? Whatever the medium of delivery, these are trends worth keeping an eye on.

Marcus Scott is a New York City-based playwright, musical writer, and journalist. He’s written for Elle, Essence, Out, and Playbill, among other publications.

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doomedandstoned · 5 years ago

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Hand To Hand Combat In Band Marketing!

~Bacon's Blog~

Photographs by Kristen Wrześniewski

An idea that I’ve been touching on a lot lately in these articles is that while social media is a one-to-many platform, you want to make it feel like a one-to-one platform. This was a concept that I learned from my dear friend Jeff Wilson of the band KOOK. I think it’s a really good way to frame your approach to social media, and a topic worth a deep dive. It really summarizes (in a very brief way) what my approach to social media is.

In this article, I‘m going to dig in and give you some thoughts on how you can create one-to-one feeling experiences on social media, without being cheesy. I’m not going to ask you to be someone’s weird friend who won’t stop sending messages that say "Hey, how are you?" all the time. Instead, I want to get into meaningful ways to show people that you are a real individual, a one-of-a-kind person who is going to be legitimately interested in them, and whose work they should be following.

The first thing to bear in mind when posting to social media is that it’s essential that you reply to every comment. It’s about ensuring that people see that not only are you seeing their comments, but that you’re actively excited to see them too. It’s about helping people understand that you’re excited to engage with them as individuals. When people see that you engage with every comment, then they’re more likely to comment themselves. Remember — people think musicians are cool. Even if you think guys in bands are just a bunch of fat dudes with a hobby, there’s a centuries-old cultural cachet that people associate with the craft and adventure of a musical life. People want to feel loved and like they’re being connected with. If you reply to your comments then they will internalize that sentiment. Creating conversations is what social media is for and what Facebook has been pushing lately, so empower people with the ability to connect and feel connected with.

One of my favorite tricks to really double down on the one-to-one aspects of social media is to do what I call the ‘pop in’. This means is that whenever I see a Facebook or Instagram post from someone I haven’t talked to in a while, I go and send them a quick message just to see how they’re doing. I try not to do anything self-serving with it, I just want to remind them that I exist and that I care. It’s really as simple as that. Odds are, if you had a good relationship with the person in the past, then you’ve already laid the foundation for a nice little out-of-the-blue conversation in the future. For the record – going to a lot of festivals is another great way to "pop in" on people. You will definitely see folks you haven’t seen in a while at bigger festivals, and that face to face interaction can be incredibly valuable.

II by KOOK

Tied into the "pop-in" is sometimes just commenting on random relevant shit. I’ve talked in the past about my 100 comments a day strategy, and that certainly works. However, if you’re just trying to get started in the world of one-to-one marketing, or as some call it, hand-to-hand combat, then don’t be afraid to just get in there and comment on random stuff from your friends. So often, I’ll just comment on one of my dude friends’ nice looking selfies with a sultry "Daddy" and get a ton of great comments. Just remember that people have an innate sense for authenticity. If something is not authentic, then they are going to be able to tell, and they are not going to respond. Worse, they might call you out for it. So, if you make a point of dropping a fair amount of genuine comments, people will start to realize who you are, and it will help to encourage your long term growth in the scene.

Then of course, you have the hypertargeting aspect, something I’ve touched upon in many an article. This is essential when you’re trying to grow in your scene and working to connect with people directly. Literally, what I suggest you do to run effective regional ads is to think of some relevant regional joke — maybe it’s around a saying or a landmark — and then run an ad based around that. Your ensuing contextual relevancy makes you seem much more like "one of the people," and establishes you as someone that people want to connect with. It’s how you show people that you are the real deal. People love things that make them feel personally catered too – we all know this. So why are you running ads to people in your hometown, acting like you’re a big rock star? It’s dumb. Think about the things that they like, that they do, that they personally connect with, and then send them advertisements based around these very simple concepts. This used to be very hard to do, but now in the world of Facebook and Instagram ads you can pinpoint things down to the mile – so fucking do it!

Giving people a sense that they’re loved and a part of something greater is how scenes are built. When scenes are built, bands rise up. Remember that a rising tide lifts all ships, and if you don’t work with that in mind then it’s just a colossal waste of time. People like to act like they’re too cool for school and that social media doesn’t impact them. People act like it’s not a relevant way to connect. Those people are wrong. Countless huge bands have been launched in the past decade thanks to social media. You can either start acting like it and adapt, or keep living in the past and fall by the wayside. Fans are legitimately surprised and in love with one-to-one experiences, so indulge them and they’ll forever appreciate you.

Understanding that and operating with the idea of giving people one-to-one experiences in mind will set you apart from the pack, so take note. Keeping the idea of giving people one-to-one experiences at the core of your social media strategy will definitely set you apart from the pack.

☀

Matt Bacon (IG: mattbacon666) with Dropout Media is a consultant, A&R man, and journalist specializing in the world of heavy metal. Matt also co-hosts the Dumb & Dumbest podcast with Curtis Dewar of Dewar PR.

#Bacon's Blog #Matt Bacon #Dropout Media #Advice #KOOK #Doomed & Stoned

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thegoodplacepodcasts-blog · 6 years ago

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Ch. 2: Allison Jones and Ben Harris, Casting Director, Alan Yang, Writer

Ch. 2: Allison Jones and Ben Harris, Casting Director, Alan Yang, Writer Featuring the voices of host Marc Evan Jackson (MEJ), casting directors Allison Jones (AJ) and Ben Harris (BH), and writer Alan Yang (AY). Intro and outro features D’Arcy Carden (DC) as Janet, and Ted Danson (TD) as Michael. Clips from 1X2 of The Good Place include the voices of Kristen Bell (KB) as Eleanor Shellstrop, and William Jackson Harper (WJH) as Chidi Anagonye.

Ding!

DC: Hi there, I’m Janet. Welcome to The Good Place, the podcast.

TD: Janet, what is a podcast?

DC: It’s like the radio but there’s no music and literally anyone can do one at any moment about any subject. And, there’s a billion of them!

TD: Sounds great! Hope you enjoy this week’s episode!

[Opening music]

MEJ: Welcome to The Good Place, the podcast. I’m Marc Evan Jackson, I play Shawn. Today we’re talking about episode 1X2, “Flying”. In the aftermath of the chaos, Eleanor tries to avoid suspicion, Michael is distraught and believes he’s made a mistake in his first neighbourhood, Tahani puts together a group of volunteers to clean the neighbourhood, but anyone who participates will miss out on flying day, Chidi volunteers Eleanor, but Eleanor hides trash quickly in order to fly which causes a trash storm and ultimately Chidi refusing to help her. Eleanor feels guilty and cleans the entire neighbourhood herself so Chidi changes his mind. The cliff-hanger of this episode is Eleanor receiving a mysterious note under her door that she doesn’t belong in the Good Place. This episode features guest cast Allyn Rachel, Amy Okuda, Susan Park, Jorge Diaz and Steve Berg, and today my guests are casting directors Allison Jones, Ben Harris, and the writer of the episode Alan Yang. Allison Jones, Ben Harris, Alan Yang, welcome! Everything is fine.

AY: Thanks for having us.

BH: Yeah.

AJ: Thank you.

AY: Also just wanna say, amazing hearing Marc just read that intro. That, that was the first take guys, no editing on that just amazing elocution.

MEJ: I appreciate it, does it bring back any memories – do you now recall the episode?

AY: I recall that episode, also yeah thanks for that recap. I was just telling these guys, it feels like we did this so long ago, ‘cause since then we did the second season, I was telling them I remember the episode I directed season 2, and you know, I also work on some other shows… so I think since then we did season 2 of Master of None and season 1 of this Amazon show that’s not out yet but yeah so, so thank you for that recap, otherwise man, I would have no idea what was going on.

MEJ: Of course, of course, so I guess to get us started, Alan, you had been – you know, you were in the room for season 1…

AY: I was! I was there for a lot of it, so the way that sort of happen was – you know I’d finished season 1 of Master of None, which was a show I did with Aziz Ansari and then I came back to LA, you know, we shot the show in New York and I have a bungalow on the Universal Studios lot with Mike Schur, the creator of The Good Place and my good friend, so we were both writing stuff in the bungalow and he was working on a show and gradually, as we’d walk together to go eat lunch, de would start giving me bits and pieces about the show and he was, ‘like what do you think of this? What do you think of this?’ and I would give him an opinion here or there, and he was like, ‘oh that’s interesting, that’s interesting’, then he pitched the whole pilot to me and I was like, wow that’s really good, and then eventually he was like, ‘What if you helped out on it a little bit’ and I was like ‘okay’ and he was like, ‘what if you were in the writers room a little’, I was like ‘okay’ and he’s like, ‘how about you write episode 2’ and I was like ‘okay’ so suddenly I was on this – I was on the staff. So yeah, it was really fun and, and I was excited to help out.

MEJ: Now what were the marching orders following the pilot – because obviously, the pilot establishes a bananas world, and what was the goal of episode two? I mean, you know, you had to play off that she found herself there incorrectly –

AY: Well, the whole season I would say was kind of broken as this… very cohesive, almost movie-like single narrative, and that is – so much of it comes from Mike’s brain. You know he had the pilot, I believed he pitched not only the pilot but a good amount of the first season when he pitched the show, so when he came into the room it was a fun – just a fun group of people, a lot of old Parks and Rec people, you know I worked on Parks and Rec for the whole run of that show as well, so it was a lot of old friends and y’know, a lot of what was in Mike’s brain – so he sort of had kind of the ending, which is you know, crazy twist ending.

MEJ: Mmhmm.

AY: And then along the way it was very important to him, you know, some of the inspirations for this show – and I think he said this before – were some of these Damon Lindelof shows and these buddies were ____ (?) , so like Lost and The Leftovers and stuff like that, and so each episode it was important not only to establish the characters – and there’s a lot of character combis like there was in Parks and Rec, The Office, but a lot of cliff-hangers and so the cliff-hanger at the end of episode 2 was the start of many, many, many cliff-hangers to come.

MEJ: Oh my goodness yes, cliff-hangers including some brilliant cast that were discovered, found, searched for, gathered by Allison Jones and Ben Harris. Part of the magic I think of these people is that they weren’t household names prior, these were people I think specifically of the character of Jiayu – later Jason Mendoza – that’s a person we have to buy as someone who could be a silent monk, right?

AJ: Yeah.

MEJ: If that had been an actor that we’d seen on The Office or Parks, you’d go, ‘I’ve heard that person talk before, I don’t – ’

AJ: Yeah.

MEJ: He’s gonna talk eventually, right, he’s the gun over the fireplace (?) or whatever. Tell us everything that goes into finding geniuses.

AJ: The writing first of all.

MEJ: Okay.

AJ: It starts with the writing, period, in every, every occasion. Secondly, it is in pilots – there’s a lot of legwork involved where you’re meeting a lot of – you do what’s called a breakdown and you send out agents a description of the character and you read many, many, many people, hoping to find a new face in TV pilots. That’s always the best thing to do, Mike Schur loves to do that, Mike Schur loves a challenge.

MEJ: Mmhmm.

AJ: That one required a lot of leg work and a lot of pre-reading and a lot of guys, and I was not sure of many of the future actions of these particular characters, especially him being a silent monk…

MEJ: Right.

AJ: This one was fun because he was actually supposed to be an idiot, so it was really funny to read them and then have them do the stupid dialogue.

MEJ: Mmhmm.

AJ: Which was truly funny, we had about 5 great guys for that, Ben and I remember reading Manny in our office –

BH: Yeap.

AJ: And Jordan Rodrigues and all these good guys who once they opened their – they looked pious and serious

BH: Rene Gube.

AJ: Rene Gube… they looked pious and serious but then they could do the dumb really well.

MEJ: [Laughter]

AJ: Which is always a delightful thing to cast.

MEJ: That was the step of not only “I don’t always want to be a DJ in Jacksonville…”

AJ: Oh my god.

MEJ: “Maybe I’ll be a DJ in Tampa.”

BH: Yes.

AJ: Yeah we heard that a lot, yeah.

BH: A lot.

AJ: We heard a lot of those, I don’t know if you were in it, you weren’t in on the pilot initially…

AY: No, not for this show, for other shows I’ve been –

AJ: It was terribly funny, we went with a lot of different diverse choices blah blah blah blah, but you really want someone to believably be a Thai monk…

MEJ: Mmhmm.

AJ: And it was just delightful having to find someone who could get the comedy, and also do it without seeming fake.

MEJ: Now the – Alan, do you remember, at all, if you put anything in the stage direction at one point, still as Jianyu he comforts Ted silently, he comforts the character of Michael and sort of puts his reassuring hand on… Were there any thoughts that you offered the character, like what he means to be saying silently?

AY: I think there was a lot of stage direction for Manny because he doesn’t even have lines for a long time! We were putting stuff in the script to get him stuff to do but you know he also – he, he made that character something really great, especially y’know, after the reveal happens, and – and man it was really fun writing those dirtbag Florida lines. I know there was a lot, and later the Jacksonville Jaguars stuff.

MEJ: Oh the Bortle stuff.

AY: Yeah, the stuff that happens in season 2. It’s really funny because then the Jaguars got really good.

MEJ: They got good, somehow.

AY: But yeah –

AJ: – The budhole was my favourite –

AY: – yeah exactly! And it ended up in Many and Joe Mande going to Florida, going to Jaguars games and playoffs, which was great.

BH: Aw right!

MEJ: I saw that.

AY: But yeah just a delight to write for him, and – and man working with him on set was great. You know season 2, I was on set more so it was really, really great to work with him.

MEJ: The… it was it deserves lauding, his ability to you know, convey so much silently because it, it would be tempting as an actor, I tell you, to really ham up those lines and sort of be doing a lot of facial-ness as though you’re saying like, ‘this bank is being robbed please call the police’ you know, like trying to convey a lot with your eyebrows, and he was so subtle and great. About some of the other characters I – it’s my understanding from Mike that you saw everybody in the world for Janet, it could have been a child, it could have been an old person, is that true?

BH: Yeap, very much so. I mean just for – actually just for Mike we probably auditioned 50 people?

MEJ: Is that right?

BH: And that’s, you know, then we’d also pre-read, just Allison and I in our office.

AJ: It’s also years of trying to find funny women who didn’t have to be gorgeous. With all due respect to D’Arcy, ‘cause she’s pretty –

MEJ: Sure, she’s very pretty (?)

AJ: But we didn’t have to have the funny gorgeous woman. We didn’t have to have – we could just have the woman who was the funniest.

MEJ: But a very ef–

AJ: So we thought that would be easy, and it wasn’t easy.

BH: It was not it was actually the most –

AJ: No, ‘cause there were so many good women.

BH: – difficult role to cast.

MEJ: I can’t imagine.

AJ: Mmhmm.

MEJ: It’s my understanding that from D’Arcy that it the breakdown didn’t even include sort of a Siri or Alexa kind of thing.

BH: No.

AJ: They didn’t want anybody to know –

BH – that it was robiotic

AJ: – anything about those points

MEJ: Interesting.

AJ: Yeah.

MEJ: But often oftentimes the breakdown includes like, gender and an age range kind of thing, and that wasn’t – you were saying you were told to go find what?

BH: It was pretty all over the –

AJ: Funny.

BH: Yeah it was just, we were just looking for funny.

MEJ: That’s amazing.

AJ: And for us, that’s the dream.

BH: Yes, that is ideal.

AJ: So we were, like can we bring in 10 more women for you please, yeah. And out of that group we have cast a lot of the other people on the show too.

BH: – and I –

AJ: Because we, we’ve seen, Mike always remembers who he likes.

BH: – and I think –

AJ: And will use them again.

BH: – with the pilot, Mike had written dummy sides.

MEJ: Right, fake.

BH: Right, fake sides for –

MEJ: Little bits of script that aren’t really going to be in the show.

BH: – and with Janet instead of saying Alexa – I, he had her being a, I think it was like a ph- an operator.

MEJ: A helpline.

BH: Yeah a helpline, and that was I think how he tried to get the Alexa or Siri.

AJ: We even brought in JJ Totah, who then went on to star in NBC’s Champions.

BH: That’s right.

AJ: And he was hilarious and Mike was going to use him for something, but I believe that’s a part that possibly you got instead.

MEJ: Is that right?

AJ: Yeap!

MEJ: I like that.

AJ: One of the bad guys.

MEJ: I’m happy with the recasting.

AJ: [Laughter]

MEJ: So it’s my understanding as well that Jameela, I know that she was a BBC presenter but not an actor prior to this, what… how did you, or had you been aware of her prior?

AJ: Oh god no, that was a, that was a tough one.

BH: That was also ___ (?)

AJ: that had to, that was pretty specific, a British-Indian beautiful actress and so we did a breakdown and read quite a few women, and she came on a Saturday – ‘cause in pilot season you’re frequently working on Saturdays, you can read people on Saturdays ‘cause they’re not working on other things.

MEJ: Oh wow.

AJ: And she came in and she was this giantess, personality-wise and physically and –

MEJ: [Laughter]

AJ: I think she intimidated everybody in the waiting room.

BH: Very much so.

AJ: And she was, she was great, I think she freaked out everybody when she first auditioned, Mike’s like, ‘woah!’ and then it was basically, how do you say no to Jameela ‘cause she was delightful.

MEJ: She is, she is a force of nature.

AJ: Oh my god.

AY: It’s hard to know where Jameela ends and Tahani begins.

AJ: Yeah.

AY: Because in the show she knows everyone famous, and then in real life she like – I, I –

AJ: Same thing.

AY: I know! I directed this Jay-Z video last year and I was talking to Jameela about it and she’s like, oh I know Jay and Beyonce and then, and then this – I went to this, I went to this party that, this Oscar party that Jay-Z and Beyonce threw and I walk in and Jameela’s there and…

AJ: No way!

AY: Of course I’m like, oh there, there you are and she’s like, she knows everybody there.

AJ: I didn’t know that.

AY: Her boyfriend is James Blake the singer and like yeah, she’s regularly hanging out with these people so alright.

BH: And I believe she told me this, I think it was her first audition like for –

AJ: I think it was.

AY: Well, good for her!

AJ: I didn’t know, I don’t know what a presenter is.

MEJ: A host.

AJ: I always am asking my British friends ‘what is a presenter’ and ‘do you look down on them acting wise’ and they’re like, ‘yes we do!’

MEJ: [Laughter]

AJ: I asked this great British casting director Lucy Bevan, ‘Do you know Jameela Jamil?’ and she said, ‘I looked her up, I think she’s a presenter’ and I don’t even know, there are so many of them on British television…

MEJ: Right.

AJ: But she is instinct, her timing is incredible, her comedy timing is incredible.

MEJ: She’s also fearless, like I saw her interviewing Russell Brand and she mopped the floor with Russell Brand.

AJ: Yes, I’m sure she did.

MEJ: Which is not an easy task.

AJ: She has more of an Essex accent, like she has a great London, East London type of accent naturally I think, and so she – she caught the posh accent for Good Place and it really works.

MEJ: Mmhmm.

AJ: I forget what the reason was for why she has the British accent though, on the show, and nobody else does.

AY: There is some in universe lore for that, yes, there an explanation.

AJ: I know there is an explanation, yeah.

AY: I think, I think it’s if you want to sound like that you can, I think the theory was she wanted to keep it or something.

MEJL It’s mentioned?

AY: Yeah, I think so.

BH: Yes.

AJ: Yeah.

BH: They address it.

AJ: ‘Cause we interviewed some great British actresses for that over there, and here there’s, there’s a number of them and they were great, but she was just a, a force of nature and funny and sort of shocking, and she’s pretty dirty in person. She’s pretty dirty-mouthed, potty-mouth, yeah…

MEJ: She’s a bit of a dude.

AJ: Oh, yeah.

MEJ: Yeah, I think that’s why we hit it off so well immediately. I mean all of these people are, are delightful. We, we talked before, we in recording, you know Mike has a policy – like Mike curates just great people, cast and crew.

AJ: Yeah, mmhmm.

MEJ: There doesn’t appear to be a lot of drama. William Jackson Harper, how did he come across your desk?

BH He was –

AJ: Same thing.

BH: Yeah he was out in New York.

AJ: Yeah, his agent taped him in New York.

MEJ: Did you know immediately?

AJ: No, never a shoo-in.

MEJ: Is that right – is that a, across any –

AJ: I have to say – that’s… to dispel that myth. For me it’s never a shoo-in.

MEJ: That’s fascinating.

AJ: They’ll say it is but it, it never is and if a director goes ‘that’s the one I want!’ then it’s probably going to tank.

MEJ: That’s the kiss of death, really?

AJ: I don’t think the kiss of death but I don’t, I don’t ever think someone is a shoo-in. I never would have thought he was a shoo-in for that.

MEJ: Interesting.

AJ: And Mike and Alan, you all see what you want – what you like in the character and then how you can fit that into the world you’re creating. William Jackson Harper was just a damn good actor when he came in. Really good. He had some stiff competition, too.

BH: I’ve said besides Ted and Kristen…

AJ: Yeah.

BH: Everyone else all those other roles that we would actually test and find a new face. They were all – it was not an easy decision.

AJ: No, Mike – Mike, he was tortured a bit.

BH: Yes, very much so:

AJ: Yeah, ‘causewe got some good choices.

BH: But after the test I think it was, you know, Mike was –

AJ: He had us over there one night to talk about it.

BH: Yeah.

AJ: And we couldn’t help him on that one.

BH: It was, it was a laden night.

AY: You might say a Chidi level of indecision.

BH: Yes –

AJ: Yes.

BH: – Very true.

AY: Agonising, it was causing chest and stomach pains…

AJ: Completely, absolutely.

AY: Yeah. William – William was as skilled an actor you know, he’s able to do the dramatic stuff and the comedic stuff and you know sort of working with him reminded me of Adam Scott on Parks and Rec where he’s really able to do the straight man stuff, but also be so – so funny and yeah he really, he’s really been great in the show.

AJ: Mike’s always been willing to see someone who is not particularly right for the part, and who may not knock you out at first, and then you think about it and he’s like, ‘that’s who I want to write for’. I have to assume writers look at this and say, ‘who do I want to write for?’

AY: It’s al– I always feel like the best stuff is when the actors own personality starts imbuing the character.

AJ: Yeah.

AY: And sort of informs the character.

AJ: Yeah, especially in comedy.

AY: Especially in comedy and especially in television where it’s a long developing role, and you’ve seen that in, in a lot of the stuff that I’ve worked on, stuff with Mike especially. but you look at how Nick Offerman informed Ron Swanson you look at how Chris Pratt informed Andy Dwyer and all of it, all of the actors on that show – but as you’re doing 20, 30, 40, 50, 100 episodes, you would be a fool not to draw from the characters experiences, and then that’s how it was on Master of None too and then and these are all sort of shows in the same family. But yeah, I mean those characters are just the actors on some of these shows so you just pull from them, their assets (?)

AJ: I know, I agree. And always in TV you find new faces, just don’t even – just find the new faces and the payoff is much, I think much bigger creatively and also for an audience.

MEJ: It keeps it from being one note I suppose, you can – especially playing someone dumb or you know an __ character like a grumpy separatist (?)

AY: But yeah, the specificity makes it real, right. The specificity makes it real and the realness makes it funnier, because there’s nothing better than the real stuff, man! There’s nothing better than the real life experiences, so I like meeting with actors and talking with them about their lives and it really informs a lot of the stuff I have written.

AJ: I try to have the role fit the actor, not the other way around. They don’t try to squeeze the actor into what they have in their head, they’re open to – I mean they ____ and Larry David and ___, Alan Yang, and Aziz (?) and Mike Schur and Greg Daniels, it happened in the past – in the casting and the pilot as well, they see what they have there and then how they can work them into the role, vice versa.

BH: Exactly.

AJ: They don’t care about line readings, they want someone who is going to be good to write for., who’s sort of fascinating to watch, and who’s just inherently funny – in any different way they find funny, inherently funny.

AY: We write, we write to the person.

AJ: Like William – yeah.

AY: We write to the person.

AJ: William Jackson Harper is not funny in the way Ted Danson is funny, but he’s funny.

MEJ: In a completely different – I think about Will that you, you believe he’s having a stomach-ache.

AJ: Oh god, yeah!

MEJ: He’s not playing – it’s not, it’s not something he slips into, like he looks tortured.

AJ: His agony is… yeah.

MEJ: He looks, yeah, his agony is palpable through the screen and –

BH: And while the roles of Chidi and Tahani and Janet, the – you know, those were all three had such stiff competition, but it’s very difficult to imagine anybody else now.

MEJ: Forget it.

BH: Yeah.

MEJ: I mean –

BH: You can’t imagine it.

AJ: Bad Janet is everyone’s favourite character.

MEJ: Oh, I I hosted an Emmy panel of – the other day and never got to this but on my list was to say that I adore D’Arcy, I love janet, I love love Bad Janet.

BH: Yes.

MEJ: I mean for her to get to sink her teeth into something like that…

BH: And I’m sure the writers love writing for Bad Janet.

AY: Idiots and mean people are always, always fun to write, yeah.

MEJ: I think it was in the episode of season 2 that you directed that we did a no– Shawn and Bad Janet did a no-look high five hand slap, that was pretty amazing.

AY: Oh yeah that’s right, we did a couple of oners too, that was fun. I remember getting Marc to do that.

MEJ: Pretty great. Alan, do you share Mike’s hatred for Florida and Arizona?

AY: I don’t know what’s up with that, man, I don’t know what’s up with that@ I think it’s, it’s fun because Florida’s one thing, but also just jokes about Arizona, you don’t just – you don’t just see that many of them, so it’s nice to, to get that, although I did watch this other thing this other day where Charles Barkley was making fun of the food at the Phoenix Suns Arena, it was very, very specific but yeah, no… I – it’s, it’s funny you know, like, ‘cause you, you wanna – I feel like one thing you wanna do is, is play some jokes where there ain’t. You know, ‘cause like Arizona jokes, but – Florida jokes may be lower hanging fruit but it’s, it’s more fun to do original jokes than to play on well tread ground.

MEJ: I feel like the audiences imagination could fill in some blanks after the pilot about how bad a character on earth Eleanor Shellstrop was. Was it difficult – what are the things did you consider, how did you arrive at her ditching her duties as a designated driver over and over again in these flashbacks?

AY: Yeah, that was a real push-pull ‘cause that’s the kind of thing that a writers room is good for, I think, because you wanna hear people’s opinions on how far to push the line, and you know that first season I think I always was pushing for Eleanor to be a little worse, a little worse, a little worse, you know, ‘cause there’s, there’s more comedy that way. You want – you know, also for the eventual twist where you want her to be really bad, so… But Mike has a really great instinct which I think was borne out in Parks and Rec and, and somewhat on The Office too you know, where he has this fundamental humanistic sort of optimistic generous view of humanity that I think comes through in all of the shows he’s created, and I, I honestly – like that has been influential on me as well. I’m a more optimistic happy person, as is all these guys now and so, so that comes out a lot but it’s not always comedy comedy, you know.

MEJ: Right.

AY: It’s the common thing to do in comedy, is to make your people real asholes.

BH: If they’re despicable, they’re despicable.

AY: Yeah, exactly, and it’s just, it’s just some… Somehow its, it’s a little easier to write sometimes to make people good people, so that I don’t know, there’s always a push and pull in the writers room about how far to push the line, right. It’s the same like how dumb do – do we make Andy on Parks or you know, it’s like that kind of thing where, where you talk about it.

MEJ: There’s a fun bit on the bottom of this episode 1X2, where it appears as though she’s learned her lesson and is cleaning up the neighbourhood in secret by herself, and then of course she’s instructed Bad Ja– instructed Janet to put the garbage in in someone else’s – Antonio’s bedroom or whatever.

AY: Yeah, yeah.

MEJ: Pretty terrible. Eleanor struggles to be a good friend to Chidi, as you will hear in this clip.

WJH: Tell me one fact that you know about me – and we spent the whole day together, you must remember something. What country am I from?

KB: Is it racist if I say Africa?

WJH: Yes! And Africa is not a country. I am from Senegal. Do I have any siblings, where did I go to college?

KB: Trick question, you didn’t.

WJH: I was literally a college professor! Do you not remember one single thing about me?

KB: Dude, things have been nuts around here! I bet you don’t know anything about me.

WJH: You were born in Phoenix, you went to school in Tampa, you were an only child, your favourite show was something called The Real Housewives of Atlanta and your favourite book is Kendall Jenner’s Instagram feed.

KB: How did you know all that?

WJH: Because you are constantly talking about yourself! You’re the most self-obsessed person I’ve ever met!

KB: You should see Kendall Jenner’s Instagram feed.

WJH: Okay, this is my fear about you, Eleanor. You are too selfish too ever be a good person.

KB: Well, I think you’re wrong1

WJH: What country am I from again?

KB: Sen…sodyne.

WJH: That is a brand of toothpaste.

MEJ: This clip comes from episodes found on Amazon, Google Play and iTunes, and watch recent episodes on the NBC app. Did you receive promotional consideration from Sensodyne toothpaste?

AY: Lifetime supply, baby! It’s just every day, grab it for lunch and dinner, Sensodyne.

MEJ: It’s such a, it’s got to be such a fun puzzle to try to you know, have her try to improve and fail so miserably over and over again.

AY: Yeah I mean that’s another thing that I think Mike is really skilled at doing, is you want there to be change in the characters but you can’t progress them so rapidly that you’re left with nowhere else to go, and one thing I think he’s been really good about doing is having characters grow and change over the course of the season, and then still having room to progress and that’s really difficult, and I think, I think season 1 you know they, it just – the plot moved, it moved really quickly and that is not easy to do so.

MEJ: It’s got to be difficult to accomplish because as you say you want them to progress not too fast but you still want to be ahead of the audience, you want to surprise them.

AY: Yes, and there are a lot of charts and graphs in the writers room.

MEJ: Is that right? How many writers are there, who’s in the room?

AY: Man, season 1 got… man, I can’t even remember, like 10 or so…? I could be wrong, I don’t remember how many exactly it was, some 8 to 10, something like that probably, and there literally was a graph of a chart showing the 4 main characters and, and just how they were torturing each other and because of the eventual twist that they were in the Bad Place was oh , how is each one specifically torturing someone else and there’s a lot of talk about you know, circles of hell and all that stuff which is really crazy. I don’t think it happens in a lot of sitcom writers’ rooms.

MEJ: Oh, I’d imagine that.

AY: Lot of talk about Aristotle and Jeremy Benthan and John Stuart Mill, John Rawls…

MEJ: And did you have any background in this prior?

AY: …so it was a lot of fun. I took a class or two in philosophy in college but I didn’t remember any of that. Who remembers what they did from college? I was a biology major, I don’t remember anything, so yeah.

MEJ: I would guess that Mike Schur remembers a lot of things from college.

AY: He was reading a lot of books, man! He was reading a lot of books, that bother. He gave me some packets, I was like, ‘yeah, I’m gonna read these.’

MEJ: What goes into casting the afterlife and when you’re, when you know at this point in the show’s trajectory, we all believed that that was indeed the Good Place and it was you know, a utopian society full of frozen yoghurt, so you want it to look like planet Earth presumably. What… what were you offered as guidelines for that?

AJ: Funny.

MEJ: Okay.

AJ: Funny and my – Ben’s and my instincts are always to go with people who could do more than what they’re given in the first episode, because these people do come back.

MEJ: Sure.

AJ: And they all sort of have a comic identity. Susan Park has her own identity, Amy Okuda has her own identity, Steve Berg, all good improv people, all – definitely good improv people, John Hartman, the one who plays the, the guy asking her for money in a flashback and she says smell my farts or something…

MEJ: Eat my farts.

AJ: Yeah, eat my farts, great because they have a lot of reactions to do as well, which is hard to do and everybody that Mike seems to pick that we like brings in – including yourself – is a great reactor as well, which I think also helps Kristen and Ted but it also defines the character and the afterlife. I think it was all sort of, I of course probably didn’t remember as much as Ben did, that they were actually demons.

MEJ: So you did know that at least.

BH: We knew.

AJ: Yeah, we knew, and I guess I, I knew and with a few lines somebody who can make a difference and somebody who is cheerful looking I literally really truly – cheerful looking…

MEJ: Yes, of course.

BH: Well, I think at this point –

AJ: ‘Cause Jorge and Steve both a cheerful couple, yeah.

BH: All, all – I mean Susan Park and Amy Okuda, I think, they are funny was first and foremost, I think. Second, at this point, the audience doesn’t know yet that they’re demons, right, and so I think we were looking – or I think Mike was probably looking for the, the positivity and you know levity.

MEJ: This happens later, but he definitely hits it with Tiya Sircar, you know she comes in and saying like, ‘Chidi don’t!’ then when he goes, ‘Vicky, stop’ like, she can turn and be like, ‘aw man!’

AJ: Yeah, definitely.

MEJ: It’s really satisfying.

AJ: That’s what D’Arcy can do.

MEJ: Oh, for sure.

AJ: Even in like episode 3, where she just – Michael had told her not to be flirty with somebody and she turns all pouty and nasty, it was hilarious.

MEJ: Yeah have, have you found that improvisation is something newer for the past ten to fifteen years in casting? That like, it, it’s a different skill set, it like –

AJ: 100%, yeah.

MEJ: It’s, it’s fairly recent, right?

AJ: I would say since I started working with Judd (?) Judd sort of brought that into the fore in my, you know, career, I would say that used to be you could deliver a joke and if you went off the lines, people were horrified.

MEJ: Right.

AJ: Like, oh my god, he can’t remember the lines!

MEJ: That was the case in my – I’ve lived in Hollywood for about 17 years and I can remember I came from the second city, I came from an improv background and I would spice things as I saw fit and some people would go, ‘did you, were you handed new pages?’

AJ: Yeah exactly.

MEJ: In a ‘how dare you’ sense.

AJ: Yeah I was never – I never thought that was gonna transpire until I was doing one pilot where Amy Sedairs who was from (?) Chicago and she ad-libbed and she was funnier than anything that was written, and the late great Chris Thompson said, ‘I like that girl. She’s funny.’

MEJ: Yeah.

AJ: And I was like, ‘but she didn’t stay within the lines!’ ‘Nope, she’s funny.’ And she got the part and that was probably 25 years ago, but I think Judd with the onset of hiring people like Steve Carell where they’re funnier than anything anybody could write definitely stated the trend, in my minimal casting section. Now everybody should – everybody wants to know if they can improvise, and most people can.

MEJ: Right, that’s so interesting.

AJ: In comedy.

MEJ: And I’m thankful for it because I think it does – and I can tell you as an actor, it’s a quicker way to showing the writers and producers and directors what I might bring to the role. Forget what’s on the page right now, but this is who, this is how I find funny and here’s something I hope you can rewrite to – at some point.

AY: Exactly and, and tying back to what we were talking about earlier about writing towards the actor, certainly for the larger roles on Master of None, we would have, we would do the scenes and then we would just have a scenario and say like, ‘okay you are hooking up with Aziz and the condom broke, now just improvise this scene and just do it for 2 minutes, 3 minutes, and…’

MEJ: See what you find.

AY: Yeah, exactly, see what kind of person that is, and then if you end up casting them like we ended up casting Noel we just hung out there a lot and tried to rewrite for her. So I think that’s just so valuable because you just know more about the person. It’s not, it’s not the case with every role, you don’t need it for every role necessarily, but sometimes if you got those – also if you got those Gatling guns, use them! You know you would be a fool not to let them go in some scenes, you know they don’t do it in every scene but some of the scenes where it’s like, ‘hey let’s do one where you guys are a little looser and you know they give us stuff that we again, could never have come up with on our own.

MEJ: In the writers’ room, did you have a lengthy and epic conversations about what heaven might be like? What perfection might be like, because I don’t know, that I feel that must be very universal because it definitely strikes a chord with me. I would love to fly.

AY: Yeah I think flying was always up there. .It was at one point – I believe the episode was going to be about gardening, and we were like no it’s not going to be gardening that’s crazy that’s –

MEJ: That’s not heaven.

AY: Yeah exactly, so whatever, it’s flying, everyone wants to fly so yeah I think there are some pretty… Look, the, some of the difficulties with a show like this where your world-building is man, there, there – because there are no limits, you can really talk about it forever. It can be anything so… so that in some ways, sometimes the constraints help you, right, because you can just spiral off into madness and so yeah I mean, totally.

AJ: Art direction and set direction. I mean, kudos to their art director…

MEJ: Crazy, right.

AJ: Yeah, oh my gosh, yeah. I would love to live in the place where they live.

MEJ: Me too.

AJ: I would love to live in – I would even take –

MEJ: A clownhouse?

AJ: Yeah the clownhouse, no, I would, I would…

MEJ: You mean the town square.

AJ: Take a lot of Jameela’s furniture – Tahani’s furniture, for sure.

MEJ: Oh I mean it’s (an) epic mansion.

AJ: Yes but as opposed to most television shows, this one is really a product of some incredible visual imagination.

MEJ: And Mike talked about that in the last episode of this podcast, to say that it was important to them – as in the writers room – to exploit the infinity possible, you know, that they wanted everybody to be in stripy clothing, to have giraffes walking through, and madness – shrimp falling from the sky because you have that ability so pull that trigger.

AY: Yes, it’s a kind of like the problems of the premise right, if you’re gonna do a show like this, you know, make use of what you have, otherwise it would just could just be another show of people sitting in an office or friends hanging out watching TV, so…

MEJ: And I think of another example of the brilliance of the balance in the show is that you have that you know, unlimited anything that you want and then the specificity of Eleanor’s thing that brings her joy being people puking on rollercoasters, or that you know, cups – to go cups where the lid fits so tightly it doesn’t leak at the seam, like that’s so earthbound and specific.

AJ: That’s my favourite thing in the show in three seasons, because like I come out of my favourite coffee place, Go Get ‘Em Tiger, and I have drips of coffee all here and I’m like, why can’t they figure out a coffee cup where the water doesn’t leak out when you drink it? It pisses me off.

MEJ: Right.

AY: I would say this –

AJ: And I thought that was genius – was that your thing?

AY I would say this – I don’t think that was, but there’s, but it is you know, a good balance of observational and absurd, right. Like you want, you want the imaginative stuff and you want the real granular Seinfeldian observational stuff so – by the way, great shoutout and slam of Go Get ‘Em Tiger.

BH: Yeah, that was what I was about to say as well.

AJ: Exactly.

AY: You love it, and hate it.

AJ: Yeah, but also for example, great slam and shoutout of season 8 of Friends too.

AY: Yeah.

AJ: That stuff is what’s great about that show.

MEJ: Another thing that I love about this is that early on establishes so much about Eleanor, I think that she is a person who would say ‘in my defence…’ and then say something about herself completely damning. You know like, ‘in my defence, I did it ‘cause I’m selfish’ right, ‘cause basically you know she kind of comes off as…

AY: Very little self-awareness. Also by the way, very different from Kristen Bell in person.

AJ: Oh yes, yes.

MEJ: For sure.

AY: That’s an example of a character being different from real –

MEJ: She is, she is fairly saintly.

AY: Yeah she is, you know she sets a good tone – her and Ted both really are just, just being super professional and generous and kind and you can’t say that about everybody, so really want to shout out those two. No slam, just a –

BH: No slam, only positive (?)

AJ: I want to shout out to you, Marc.

MEJ: Please.

AJ: Just as a as a (?) to Mike Schur’s appreciation of humour, you tested for – and I didn’t know you until we tested for the cop role…

BH: Brooklyn Nine-Nine.

AJ: In Brooklyn Nine-Nine pilot and you were outstanding, and it was another thing where he talked and he chidi-like talked and talked and talked, ‘do we go with Joe or do we go with Marc, do we go with Joe or do we go with Marc?’ Either way – and he, he basically extrapolated what your character would become in the first couple seasons as a cop and what Joe would become and he went with Joe for whatever reason but –

MEJ: Because Joe is Charles Boyle. I mean, it’s like he’s the Chidi of the – like there is no other way…

AJ: Exactly, but then he started using you all the time.

MEJ: Thank you, yes.

AJ: He did not remember you, and you were one of the rare things that comes in: someone who’s – you were not known before, you were in your early 30s or mid 30s and you freaking killed it.

MEJ: Thank you.

AJ: Yeah but it was a totally different version of the character.

MEJ: I would tell you that, that’s true, I tested for the role opposite Joe Lo Truglio for Charles Boyle on Brooklyn Nine-Nine and did what I can do like, that character was written as kind of sad-sack, kind of slobby. I am C3PO and cannot do that, it would be foolish for me to try.

AJ: And he said that that you were the opposite of how he thought of that role.

MEJ: Right, Mike Schur wrote the kindest email to my then-manager and said, ‘Just want to let you know, Marc couldn’t have done anything different or better, this – he, you know, was just 180 degrees from what, how the character’s written but we kept bring–‘ Like, and my manager wrote, forwarded it to me and said, ‘I don’t get these a lot.’ Like, Mike’s a special type.

AY: Marc, you are Mike’s, you’re like Mike’s favourite actor, you’re in everything he’s ever done. I’m pretty sure if he did a movie next year, it’s between you and Daniel Day Lewis, he’d be like Marc, man, Marc’s my man, Marc’s my dude…

MEJ: I’m certain. What movie are we doing next year? I’m available, I’m available.

AY: I don’t know, I bet he would though, I bet he would, man, he loves you.

MEJ: Oh that’s so kind, thank you.

[What’s good?]

MEJ: Thank you all so much for being here today, we like to finish off with a segment that we call What’s Good, something that makes you happy, a charity you support, the feeling of otters holding hands, that sort of thing. Anything come to mind and – something positive, something optimistic, something Mike Schur.

BH: My little niece, Mary-Ann (?)

MEJ: Oh that’s nice, how old is she?

BH: She just turned two.

MEJ: Very cool. Has she chosen a college?

BH: She… They’re, she’s between Harvard and Yale.

MEJ: Oh okay, she can commute (?)

BH: Let’s see if Alan Yang has anything to say.

MEJ: For you, anything come to mind?

AJ: Yeah, the instance where in the Harbour (?) fires just north of California recently, and that man jumped up and down and risked getting on fire himself to save the bunny.

MEJ: That little bunny.

AJ: That killed me.

MEJ: There was a video.

AJ: I thought that guy was heroic.

MEJ: It was on a roadside, he had gotten out of his car to rescue a wild hare right?

AJ: He couldn’t prevent himself, he saw the little hare in pain and he rescued it.

MEJ: I love that.

AJ: Yeah.

MEJ: Alan?

AY: I guess something way more indulgent (?) We were talking about – right before we started the podcast, there’s a restaurant in downtown LA called majordōmo that my friend Dave Chang does and Ben was talking to me about it so… yeah. Go there and get the lamb or get any of the large __(??) dishes, make yourself happy.

BH: Yeah, that –

AY: Do something good for yourself.

BH: Treat yourself.

MEJ: Allison Jones, Ben Harris, Alan Yang, thank you so much for being with us.

AJ: Thank you Marc Evan Jackson.

AY: Thank you very much.

MEJ: This has been The Good Place, the podcast, I’m Marc Evan Jackson. Now, go do something good.

[Closing music]

DC: Hi there! The podcast is over. I think what I’m feeling is… sadness.

TD: Oh, don’t worry Janet! This podcast is the most perfectly engineered invention since the paperclip.

DC: Fun fact, the man who invented the paperclip is in the Bad Place. For tax evasion!

TD: It’s available on Apple Podcast, and all major podcasting platforms, or wherever you get podcasts.

DC: Stop saying podcasts!

TD: Hosted by Marc Evan Jackson.

DC: Produced by Graham Ratliff (?).

TD: Written by Lizzie Pace.

DC: Music composed by David Schwartz. Yay!

Ding!

what’s good?

majordōmo

A restaurant in LA serving California cuisine inspired by the different food cultures present in Los Angeles and the bounty of Southern California products. Located in 1725 Naud St. Los Angeles, CA, 90012.

#the good place #the good place the podcast

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drsallygrissom · 6 years ago

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Why We Love ars PARADOXICA

Back in 2016, the fandom made a list of 43 reasons why we love ars PARADOXICA in honor of the 73rd anniversary of Dr. Sally Grissom’s first audio diary on October 29, 1943. When I learned that the podcast was going to end after its third season, I decided to pull together another list that was double the length of the first.

However, the fandom was so passionate that we blew past our goal, and reached triple the length of the original list!

Without further ado, here are the 129 of the reasons why we love ars PARADOXICA:

Helen Partridge, my beautiful, beautiful wife

I just love Kristen’s laugh and it never fails to make me smile.

Mischa’s outros! “Brought to you by the internet:”

The TimeSwimmers episode. That whole thing was a masterpiece

Sally and Nikhil's friendship

Petra, my sassy troubled daughter

The effort that went into making such a truly unique and ambitious take on time travel-based fiction

Sally, my favorite disaster ace

All of the characters are just so beautifully flawed in their own ways and are so well depicted it’s hard to pick a favorite

Every episode makes me feel SO MANY EMOTIONS

The sound effects are just so well done that I feel like I’m right there with the characters

The subtle yet mind blowing foreshadowing

The way it endlessly inspires me to create fan content

The decryption team, who I don't understand yet love to watch unravel codes

The ability to make us both love and hate a character at the same time as much as we do Esther Roberts.

Jack Wyatt

The sass, and in general wonderful interactions with the fan base on social media.

The schoolyard brawl!

Very obviously not being afraid to have fun with ads/sponsored content.

Actually making me want to listen to the version with ads even though I'm a patron

Buttsticks…

Plasticity

The outro music is simple but so, so good

Lemon drops and Limestone

My curiosity about what Esther wrote in the letter

Golden boi and his devils lettuce

With three episodes left it felt like there was so much story left to be told and such little time to tell it

The generosity to keep us entertained between seasons

The subtle symbolism of Esther's mind being represented with card games

The heart-wrenching ups and downs of Esther and Bridget's relationship

Esther and Sally’s lesbian/aroace solidarity

Bridget, my mom

Sally's #relatable ace anxieties and Nikhil's comforting response

The super cool theme song by Mischa "i do not play piano" Stanton which they apparently HEARD IN A DREAM?!

The found footage pieces between scenes

The amount of detail put into it, and being able to notice new things on each relisten

Easter eggs like QDAM

Seemingly infinite pop culture references

The commitment to posting a transcript for each episode

The GOLDEN BOY smokes the devil’s lettuce?!

The Super LUminal Recursive Processor

All of the machine code names really

Mischa’s wonderful sound design that makes me feel like I’m actually in the location the episode takes place at and made me realize how wonderful podcasts could truly be.

Sally Grissom. The wonderful disaster ace and the first ace rep I ever found.

The sound design of the show, especially the tapes adding to world building, all those clunky sounds.

Sally Grissom, ‘I wonder what would happen if I...’, Mad scientist.

This show has the most complex, humanistic portrayal of aromanticism I’ve ever experienced

I appreciate the aP creators’ dedication to nuanced portrayal of and discussion about violence

All of Curses, of fucking course

Keeping the humanity of people who do bad thing while not trying to justify them

Their commitment to “all killer, no filler”

Reminding me that science is cool, dammit!

Petra is a lovely and nuanced, complex character that I adore with my whole heart and soul.

[BLUE BLUE 09 13 18 15 26 08 04 12 20 24 05 18 14 09 17 04 05 12 01 05 The weather in Tulsa today is: Drought. At the tone, the time will be: 5400 hours]

The creators are so so fantastic and fun! I love that they interact with fans.

Sally is the disaster stoner physicist we all need in our lives. also she’s relatable as hell

The show is not afraid to tackle issues like race, gender, or sexuality and it doesn’t overstep its bounds.

The codes are so fun (even if I don’t understand all of them)!

I love how excited scientists get when they’ve discovered something-it feels like real scientists I know

How Bridget criticizes Sally for making puns under pressure even though she does exactly the same thing

The way characters interact with one another, and grow, and learn, and develop is so fascinating and beautiful.

Plasticity might have been the first podcast episode to make me cry.

I love Sally “I only know anecdotal biology and chemistry” Grissom and how her science knowledge actually makes sense??

As a huge huge physics nerd and aspiring computer scientist, I love love love the way Sally talks about science! It’s like Kristen DiMercurio is narrating my inner monologue!

The thrill of trying to keep up with the diverging timelines

☭S̶͜͞ ̀͜҉̀͢Í͠ ̸̸͟҉X̵͘͢ ̢T̷̶͞ ̢̨͟Y̧̛͘ ̨͟͢ ̴̨͜҉S̷̶͢ ̴͝Í͢͟ ҉̢̛͝X̕͝͝☭

The consideration and dedication shown in not only writing an aro-spec ace character, but addressing issues and worries often faced by people in that community.

The mind-boggling task of trying to piece together everything that’s happening when for all we know every scene could be from a different, rewritten version of the timeline.

Anthony Partridge, the most melodramatic math nerd to ever play Tetris in a bubble outside of time.

The optimism of the show and ultimate faith it shows in both science and humanity, despite all the characters’ failings.

Sally giggling over meeting her future self both times that it happens

Sally’s book (and her attempts at pronouncing NaNoWriMo).

Maggie Elbourne, because as much as I love all my the more morally ambiguous scientists it’s nice to see one who actually stood up to ODAR’s shenanigans almost as soon as she figured out what was up.

Everything about the road trip.

TimeSwimmers was already mentioned but specifically TIME DOLPHIN RYAN LOCHTE

Characters that grow and change and learn

The 77s getting name dropped in Plasticity, way before we knew who they were

Sally calling out the English language for being problematic (“oh, you mean like morally upstanding?”)

“The weather in Tulsa today is: uhh I dunno”.

It has been quite possibly the most human exploration of time travel I’ve ever seen/heard.

Reaching a happy ending I couldn't even imagine

The weather in Tulsa is: sppoookyyy

The ever changing ways the codes were presented in season 3. Giving the feeling that the anchorites were both on the run and broadcasting these messages from different points in time.

Sally’s ace representation is the best I’ve ever seen and it makes me feel so #valid.

The sound design and detail in the writing make me feel like I’m truly immersed in the story, and it feels so authentic. Are you sure you don’t secretly have a timepiece?

The characters are people I CARE about and wanted to cry over during work all the time because they’re all wonderful and I love them.

The integration of the different storylines into Sally’s, especially Petra’s, is amazing.

Petra’s characterization was really well done, and it made me really care about her, even as she was trying to more or less destroy the world.

Out-of-date pop culture references that fit seamlessly into the dialogue despite being from literally a different time period and most of the characters having no idea what it meant. They just added an extra level of hilarious.

You may not actually know a single thing about tachyon fields and gluon walls (are they even real?) but you could definitely convince me that you know exactly what you’re talking about (or at least that Sally Grissom does).

The enDING WAS JUST REALLY WELL DONE AND I LOVE A GOOD CIRCULAR ENDING AND IT MADE ME GENUINELY GO TO THE BATHROOM DURING WORK TO CRY BECAUSE IT WAS JUST BEAUTIFUL.

The fact that the whole show is wrapped up by the revelation that the entire show is actually Nikhil and Mateo curling up with board games and snacks trying to form a story out of these tapes, patching together timelines to make it all cohesive, it just feels very right.

This story fits the medium so well, and so the fact that we don’t learn that Whickman has an EYEPATCH is absolutely wild but also wonderful because as soon as I heard that I knew that that was how it belonged, like of course he has an eyepatch, that’s a very Chet thing to have.

The ending was so perfectly, painfully beautiful. It was the ending we needed but never would have imagined.

Petra’s and Sally’s relationship being so complex and real.

Nikhil and Mateo using the archive to create the framing device for the whole podcast.

The sound the timepiece makes.

The final destruction of the timepiece.

Putting time travel in a Cold War setting makes perfect sense, and they go together like peanut butter and chocolate.

Did anyone mention Helen Partridge as a character? How beautifully she was set up and the fact that she pursued her own her life, and also, how BEAUTIFULLY Susanna Kavee can sing? Because damn.

I just. Really love this show. And everyone involved. So much.

The child characters were really well done-both the actors and the writing felt real.

To me, the show feels a bit like one of those camp friendship bracelets everyone used to make, with all these colors and threads--all of the timelines, woven together, messy but beautiful.

TEETRIS

Grissom’s Gizmo Gals!

Mateo’s non-stop flirting, even in the worst of situations

Sally “It’s Dr Grissom”ed HERSELF.

The way both the story and the characters reflect a complex view on the world with people making horrible decisions and horrible things happening to them, and yet always maintaining a positive outlook, offering the possibility of change and improvement.

The top-notch voice acting from everyone involved, helping to create the wonderful characters we all love.

Sally finger-gunning her way out of a conversation with a pun about a friend almost killing her.

All the minisodes!!

Any time Bridget, Nikhil or Lou acts like they want to adopt Petra

The series ending with two characters who had been at odds coming together

The characterization of the different Petras, because they all seem like different people even though in fact they are not (and Sylvia deciding she doesn't want to follow the legacy of Petras)

How Kristen can play 2 of the same character and make them sound different (how does she do that???)

Anthony’s will to save everyone, sacrificing himself, when the world didn't do anything good for him…

... and the constant struggle to save his friends (like when he was literally the only one aware of the Anchorites and the way their plan could have ended)

The way the show can go from time travel shenanigans to heartfelt character moments is a real testament to the talent of the writing team.

The Vegas episode, which I listened to after the finale and cried, because they were so happy and naive and everything wasn’t messy and bad and complicated.

The way gun violence is handled by the creators with respect and care

The way PTSD and mental health is handled (through Sally) is beautiful and respectful.

Partridge being named after a bird and living out his life in a cage. YOU GUYS ARE MEAN

Susanna Kavee’s absolutely amazing singing and Tau Zaman’s lyrics are an absolutely combination.

The ceaseless, unwavering commitment to puns

I love how important their friendships are to the characters (well, most of them anyways).

Sally’s conversation with Nikhil in season 3 reflects a lot of common anxieties of aromantic people, and his understanding responses

The entirety of the trial episode, which just really sort of showed the full extent of how terrible the Red Scare was by putting Esther, a Jewish woman, through it, and just shows you how defamed people in that time were.

In so many of the fictional and non-fictional representations of history, marginalized people have diminished, distorted, and stereotypical roles-but not in ars PARADOXICA. Thank you for making so many people feel seen.

All the amazing writers who started it all. 💜

Here are the signatures of some of the fans who contributed:

Signatures

Lindsay (ioniluna/drsallygrissom)

Khanan Abayev

SJ (your friendly neighborhood slauthor)

Dave (mondas-mania)

Noah (kindadisappointed)

Sana (i-am-delta-s)

Tina (espressonist)

Meaghan (lafgl)

Katherine (Rubywolfsbane)

Artimis (jp-blindperson/ap-blindperson)

Luke (martianboyy)

Ellie (joan-and-jane-and-esther-roberts/shewrites)

Bridge (cornerandchair)

Lem (aceparadoxica)

Esme (starsparadoxica)

Glory (mercutiglo)

Carly (guardianbob)

Emese (mse)

Ben (Q)

Special thanks to the ars PARADOXICA discord for being so helpful! From the time it was just a dozen people with a spork in a shoebox, this community was a shining star that helped me through tough times. Thank you for your silliness, cleverness, and support.

Brought to you by the internet: It’s weird! It’s fun! It loves you very, very much!

#ars paradoxica #aP creators #surprise!

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