#i love matt damon but he was a bad casting choice here | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

livlepretre · 4 years ago

Note

I was just catching up with your blog, and I saw your klonnie post. It just got me thinking about how literally anyone in the narrative would have been more logical to pair Klaus up with than Caroline. I’ve read all your posts regarding why Klaroline does not make sense. 100% agree. I feel like Caroline is just who they went with because committing to a real Klaus love story would have taken way more time than the show had, and Caroline was the one who had the least commitments elsewhere in the narrative. I mean, there are plenty of plot heavy episodes where Caroline just disappears for no reason, and it’s obvious that the writers just didn’t have anywhere to logically put her. I honestly believed during my first watch through that Klaroline was just Klaus trying to put Tyler in his place. He never interacted with her before the episode where Tyler challenges his authority and refuses to bite Caroline, and then after that episode, he was being ooc and fake charming with her. I just thought Klaus was trying to get her to sleep with him so he could show Tyler that he was the one in charge and could take anything he had. Color me surprised when that was never the case.

Anyway, this all got me thinking about what individual arcs Caroline got, and I can’t really think of one after her becoming a vampire and getting tortured by her dad. After that, the show kind of played “pass the Caroline.” She would get passed around during episodes where she was either tagging along with Stefan, Tyler, or Klaus. Obviously it’s okay for your characters to be in scenes with each other, but the problem is you could take Caroline out of the season 4 sire-bound breaking storyline or the delena ft. sad Stefan storyline and nothing would really change. She is really on par with Jeremy and Matt in which she could just leave for a while and make a reappearance later like nothing happened; however, unlike Jeremy and Matt, she isn’t treated this way in the narrative. Caroline is made out to be more important than she is. I didn’t realize how long this ask would be, but if you could change the story structure of TVD to fix this, how would you do it? Would you have written Caroline to have more individual storylines or would you have decreased her role? Maybe it’s just me and you would keep her the same. Idk. Either way, I’m very interested in your opinion. Especially because Caroline is the more utilized and loved character throughout this fandom and fanfiction, and I don’t know why.

first of all “catching up with your blog” what kajfklajdfklajdf

sorry it’s taken me a few days to reply, I’ve been mulling this over and it’s been kind of a long week so I’ve had to gather the bandwidth to answer

I agree with your analysis about why the show chose Caroline as Klaus’s love interest... I’ve always said that it was just so painfully obvious that they wanted to give Klaus a love interest from amongst the heroines (which: rude, he already had a love interest, it was Stefan) because he was interesting and hot. And I always assumed they picked Caroline because 1) Elena already had too many love interests even though she and Klaus had history and wicked chemistry so this still to me remains the obvious choice 2) Bonnie would have actually had moral problems with Klaus (but would still have been a great choice because then we could explore those morality issues with Klaus) and 3) they wanted to do another “bad boy” romance without actually digging into the fact that Klaus had crossed lines for us as an audience that were SUPER hard to come back from, namely: MURDERING MAIN CAST MEMBER JENNA. (I would argue that this is different for us as an audience than Vicki’s death because Vicki died at the beginning of the show; our emotional investment in Jenna was significantly higher after 2 full seasons with her.) So, Caroline becomes the path of least resistance because Klaus has no serious, personal history with her, and she’s not as prone toward actually making moral judgment calls as Bonnie is-- for example, she’s shown to be significantly more flexible about murder and mayhem than Bonnie is.

I’ve never thought about the fact that it was partially just that the writers didn’t have any great ideas for Caroline’s personal storyline though, and that really brings up 2 huge questions: 1) DID they assign her the Klaus romance because they didn’t know what else to do with her? and 2) did that romance storyline actually deprive her of other (better) storylines?

This got me thinking about Caroline’s storylines in a broader sense, and her place within the narrative structure. I think of TVD as having 3 types of main characters:

A-level characters-- Elena, Stefan, and Damon are the only A-levels, as they appear in every single episode and the plot falls apart without them

B-level characters-- Bonnie, Caroline, and then later Klaus would all fit in here-- characters that are in most episodes, and have their own independent side plots that are ongoing, sometimes for long periods of time -- we know they’re B-level and not A-level because sometimes they disappear for a few episodes-- in other words, they’re not essential every episode like the A-levels

C-level characters-- the rest of the main cast-- Tyler, Matt, Jeremy, Jenna, Katherine, Rebekah, etc-- these characters sometimes have ongoing plotlines (the werewolf plot, the Hunter plot, the serial killer plot, etc) but they’re literally dispensable to the overall plot-- the writers feel comfortable having them come and go as necessary, and we often experience them through the perceptions of the higher-leveled characters--they tend to actually be the object of higher level plots as well-- Damon kills Jeremy to move his plot along with Elena; Matt scheming against Caroline’s vampirism is actually part of Caro’s plot; Katherine is mostly a narrative tool to use with the main 3; Jenna’s death isn’t even about her at the end of the day from a narrative perspective but about Elena, etc.

So when thinking of the basic structure in this sense, that issue you brought up where Caroline doesn’t have enough of her own storylines really comes to light. Part of that I think is that functionally, she has less to offer-- Bonnie is a great counter point, because she often has her own storylines, and she serves a super strong narrative purpose of 1) witch and 2) the moral center on the show-- like, usually the only one who doesn’t forget what’s right and what’s wrong from a basic human perspective. Klaus also has his function as villain, though he gets derailed by the show not killing him off when it was time.

Caroline meanwhile... the show probably took her as far as they could with her being human, and turning her into a vampire in season 2 was incredibly strong and compelling storytelling. It brought Caroline into the main fold of schemers, it gave her agency, and it put all of her problems with her family and friends and self-esteem under a microscope lens. Season 2 is Caroline’s strongest season because it offers her the most development and gives her both a functional role as baby vampire-- working for Katherine, working with the gang, trying to keep the big secret from her mother-- as well as a satisfying emotional arc. The issue is that she just doesn’t have a ton of places to go as a character once the issues with her parents are resolved midway through season 3 and a lot of her self-esteem issues had actually been tackled... The only other storyline I can think of that was HERS was her mother’s death, but I never finished that arc and never got to no humanity!Caroline anyway, so I don’t have much to say on that topic. I will say that the show REALLY drove Caroline’s storyline into the dirt when they turned Elena into a vampire-- having two baby vamps on the show was WAY too many. We’d already gone through this with Care, but also, Elena is an A-level character-- anything she goes through necessarily usurps the power from any similar story the writers could have told about Caroline.

So. The Klauroline romance. (Apparently I’ve been mispelling this ship for a decade but honestly you can’t expect me to stop now.) I think they gave Caroline to Klaus (rather than giving Klaus to Caroline) as a love interest for the reasons stated above, but it really did limit her character; I’ve gone over my problems with it ad nauseam here on this blog. The whole thing just spun Caroline around in circles forever-- I remember dreading that this ship would be canon but the show just kept spinning the Klaus/Caroline/Tyler wheels for two seasons without ever really progressing anything or changing anything, just always always always spinning in place, with Tyler disappearing to make room for the other ship but the writers also not actually committing to anything... It really does get in the way of Caroline’s character development.

So, how to fix?

Well, first off, I think Caroline (and Bonnie, and Klaus, and everyone else) should stay in their lanes as B or C level characters-- the show didn’t have enough stories to give every single one of them main character status, and that’s okay.

But if Caroline is a B-level character, she still needs her own stories and subplots interwoven throughout the show.

The obvious thing that comes to mind is something I’ve said many times-- Fix Klauroline so that it actually makes sense and doesn’t break character-- give them a subplot where they have to work together and learn to rely on each other or see each other differently than how they expect-- literally TVD is amazing with tight, action packed episodes-- it would have taken ONE episode to establish this, and then have the relationship progress as a subplot-- not as Caroline’s main plot-- give her other things to work on with the team and let the Klaus thing develop alongside it.

Other things: the issues with her parents probably could have been extended to be season 3, honestly, with her facing her vampirism more in season 2-- or she could have gone off the deep end earlier, or she could have wound up in trouble with the council, or she could have taken a more active role in trying to kill Klaus other than just “bait” which would have been great because then she would have had to face her feelings about it directly, or she could have been the one to investigate the vampire lab at Whitmore and maybe end up briefly imprisoned or whatever-- I personally think Elena should have only been a vampire for one season, which would have made Elena actually face her moral crisis, but also opened up the space in the show for Caroline to get the young vampire storylines the way that Bonnie gets the witch storylines.

The show gets into this weird habit at some point of forgetting that it’s really about the main three and not supposed to be a HUGE equal ensemble show-- if you look back at the promotional materials, it was originally always the three of the main triangle, but by seasons 5 & 6 there’re these photos with like all dozen cast members... equalizing things didn’t actually help Caroline’s or Bonnie’s or anyone else’s storylines because it stripped down the time we spent with the main story and it meant adding a lot of frustrating swimming in circles for the others (how many times was Bonnie dead? I can’t keep track anymore)

Sorry this is so rambly, I hope it made sense! I have a lot of feelings about Caroline-- I really loved her and the handling of her storylines from season 3 on has never sat well with me.

(As for why Caroline is the fan favorite, I do have a theory: she actually tells us what she’s thinking and feeling, so it’s easier to connect with her. Elena meanwhile rarely ever explicitly states her emotions, instead tending to brood and force us to work through what her silences mean, and Bonnie tends to bottle until she explodes--which is still easier to empathize with than Elena, because at least Bonnie eventually tells us. Meanwhile, Caroline gets upset, or she gets drunk, or she has long conversations where she spills her heart out to Stefan or Elena or Bonnie or anyone... so it’s easy to jump on board with her. That’s my theory at least.)

#anonymous #tvd meta

14 notes · View notes

doomonfilm · 4 years ago

Text

Ranking : Martin Scorsese (1942-present)

Of all the places in the world that seem to be hubs for creative energy, New York stands high on my personal list of favorites, and when it comes to iconic New York filmmakers, there aren’t many that can hold a candle to the prolific career of Martin Scorsese. His appreciation for films, art and music blasts off the screen with the same energy as his kinetic cinematography and vibrant editing. Once he established himself as a mainstay in the industry, his list of collaborators evolved into a who’s who of acting legends, both old and new. His career spans just over 50 years, and even his latest film (his 25th in his catalog) went head to head with other contenders for the top awards of the year.

To put it bluntly, there is Martin Scorsese, and then there is a long list of imitators and those influenced by his genius. To rank his films is a true test of logic, patience and decision making, but after a few weeks of catching the 7 or so films I had yet to see, I think I can stand behind this list as my definitive ranking (from least to most favorite) of a director I hold in the highest regard.

25. Gangs of New York (2002) An honest attempt at an epic flick, but at the heart of the matter, I simply don’t care about either side in the battle Scorsese presents us. Set in New York City in the mid 19th Century during the Civil War, we are thrown into a generational battle where the two key figures have different goals... Bill the Butcher stands as antagonist in his fight to maintain power and control, while Amsterdam is our protagonist charged with a mission of revenge. In the end, neither side ends up mattering, very much like my personal experience with this all flourish, no foundation exercise in style.

24. Bringing Out the Dead (1999) Nicolas Cage was gearing up for the run that most people know him for now during the release of Bringing Out the Dead : he was coming off of Golden Globe and Academy Award wins for Leaving Las Vegas, but was quickly leaning towards films of a more exploitation-based style. This film marked a refinement of his wild-man persona, while simultaneously being one of the last high-level actor/director combinations he would be involved in before his mad dash to accept every film and avoid bankruptcy. New York is captured in a mid-transition point between the darkness of the 1970s and 1980s versus the Disney aesthetic of the new millennium, and while heavy on the entertainment factor (as well as visually striking), there is ultimately not enough on this plate to push it higher up the list.

23. The Color of Money (1986) If you had to do a quick gander at the Scorsese list and pick the film that, on paper, screams Hollywood, it’d be hard to argue against The Color of Money taking that top spot. A soft sequel to The Hustler, Scorsese picks up the Fast Eddie story in the 1980s (an era that oozes out of each and every frame of this film), and yet, despite this legendary move, the film is ultimately the Tom Cruise show. Scorsese’s trademark dollying and trucking camera shots work beautifully in the context of this film, but in a story that shines bright, the star of Cruise ultimately outshines all that remains.

22. Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore (1974) After a few exploitation-based projects, it seemed that Martin Scorsese wanted to provide a slightly different change in perspective, albeit one that still dwells in the darker corners of life. Rather than deal with the streets of New York or crime, Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore is a study on broken homes, single parenthood and domestic violence that oscillates between the view of the titular Alice and her young son. Harvey Keitel gives another strong performance as a Scorsese regular, while Ellen Burstyn shines in a transitional role towards more mature performances. Seeing Scorsese camera movements coopted into a more down to Earth story was refreshing.

21. The Departed (2006) Many people would have assumed that The Departed would be higher on a list of Scorsese films based solely on the cast... pairing Leonardo DiCaprio opposite Matt Damon in a tension-filled triangle with Jack Nicholson is a bold combination in its own right, but surrounding this nucleus with Martin Sheen, Mark Wahlberg, Alec Baldwin, Kevin Corrigan, Anthony Anderson and supporting actors of that ilk creates a rich showcase of talent. Stylistically, everything you need is there too, as Scorsese proved time and again that films of this nature were his wheelhouse. That being said, the story itself, an adaptation of the 2002 Hong Kong thriller Infernal Affairs, takes a few liberties in its adaptation that ultimately are to the detriment of the narrative. Kudos to Scorsese for putting this one together, and too bad for him that the choices of William Monahan knocked what could have been a mega-classic way down the list.

20. New York, New York (1977) New York, New York is one of the most unique offerings from the Scorsese canon for a number of reasons. Of all his films, this one is probably the one that can be considered a “style exercise” more than the rest, as it oscillates between obvious sets and real locations before blurring the lines between the two. Long gaps of time are given to fully executed musical numbers (a must when a talent like Liza Minnelli is involved), and traditional methods of songwriting and performance are given their due respect. The exercise portion, however, comes in the newer acting styles that are infused into the old school structure... improvisation and aggressive physicality are used to put a deeper, disturbing red tint on an era often presented through a rose-colored lens. While interesting at times, the nearly three hour run time of the film begins to wear on the limits of the style, which ultimate leaves the film feeling more like a personal indulgence than a statement on changing times. For the iconic title track alone (and the buildup to its release), this film is worth seeing, but in terms of its placement in the realm of other Scorsese films, it may have to grow on me a while to find a higher placement on the list.

19. Boxcar Bertha (1972) Originally, this film was much lower on the list, largely due to its chronological placement between Who’s That Knocking at My Door and Mean Streets seeming odd to me. Upon revisitation, however, it stands clear and present that this film served as an exercise in the process of directing and organizing a shoot. With its period-specific placement, ensemble cast and action sequences, it was bound to be compared to (and ultimately overshadowed by) the formidable Bonnie and Clyde, but Boxcar Bertha has a few key moments in it (including a stellar final action sequence) that places it near the middle of the Scorsese canon, even with it being his second film.

18. Who's That Knocking at My Door? (1967) For all of the refinement that Scorsese found in his second film, his debut film, the stunning Who’s That Knocking at My Door?, stands as testament to the fact that Scorsese brought his many gifts to the table from day one. What started as a student graduate film grew into a speculative project, only to find 25th hour funding that allowed it a festival run and a proper release. The film took many years to complete and release, to the point that keen viewers will notice Harvey Keitel’s boyish, soft good looks morph into the sharper, edgier intense profile we came to recognize in Mean Streets and the films that followed. The energetic cinematography, respect of film as a medium, stellar music choices, defiance of youth, toxic masculinity and realistic look at relationships are all here, making this debut a hidden gem in the Scorsese canon.

17. The Wolf of Wall Street (2013) Seeing Scorsese retread old stylistic ground (as opposed to infusing his style into newer projects) is an interesting take, and for what my opinion is worth, The Wolf of Wall Street feels like Goodfellas for white collar criminals. In theory (and, in some aspects of the film, in reality), the experiment does work, but ultimately, this film finds its placement in the middle realms simply because we are given infinite sizzle off of what amounts to a very thin steak. Goodfellas works because it is carried by the weight of omerta, but The Wolf of Wall Street focuses on a culture where status comes from self-appointed importance, which ultimately makes for an attempted redemption story for despicable people.

16. The Irishman (2019) Seeing actors the stature of Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci and Al Pacino combine forces for a film is always a major event, but until 2019, those combinations have been limited to duos. When Netflix announced its intention to release The Irishman in 2019, people were not only intrigued on Scorsese’s take on the Jimmy Hoffa story, but seeing De Niro, Pesci and Pacino in the same film for the first time. For what it was worth, the trio lived up to all expectations, with the only bittersweet criticism being wishes that the three could have found a way to work together prior to the twilight of their careers. The historical drama is high quality, with Hoffa’s larger than life persona captured perfectly by Pacino, and bolstered by the dramatic chops brought to the table by De Niro and Pesci. The film is a tad on the long side, and the de-aging process tips into the realm of the uncanny valley due to the older actors’ physicality, but for a 25th film 52 years into an illustrious career, The Irishman must be recognized for the triumph that it is.

15. The Aviator (2004) Much like The Wolf of Wall Street, I avoided The Aviator for years simply because I have no interest or fascination with Howard Hughes. I was very much aware of his financial stature, his innovations as an aviator, his rocky love life and his personal demons that plagued him, but for my money’s worth, I was fine without seeing it presented on the big screen. In an effort to cover all the bases for a director I hold in high esteem, however, I made the decision to finally check out The Aviator, and for every element of the film I previously had no interest in, an element was presented that won me over. Cate Blanchett and Adam Dunn put on two of the strongest performances in the entire realm of Scorsese films, and the XF-11 crash sequence is possibly one of the grandest and well executed in any Scorsese film. Leave it to Martin Scorsese to make a powerful film about an individual I care nothing about and nearly crack the top ten with that effort.

14. Hugo (2011) Up to the point of watching Hugo, I knew nothing about it. About halfway through Hugo, I had to stop and look up how the film was received, as it was simply stunning, and sure enough, it was a monster in terms of award nominations and wins. I never would have pegged Scorsese as the type to direct a kid’s film, but in all honesty, that ‘kid’s film’ title is used as a façade for a love letter to film in general, and the groundbreaking work of Georges Méliès specifically. The look of the film is otherworldly, the energy is light, kinetic and infectious, and even a mostly slapstick performance by Sacha Baron Cohen yields surprising emotional depth when given the opportunity to do so. While just missing the top ten, Hugo easily stands as the number one surprise on this list in terms of pre-viewing expectations (of which there where none) versus post-viewing thoughts (of which there are many). Knowing that Hugo exists lets me know that one day, if I have children, and they want to know why I love film so much, I will have a film on the level of Cinema Paradiso to share with them and (hopefully) help foster a love of film they can call their own.

13. Casino (1995) For a time, this film stood as the last work containing the vibrant combination of Martin Scorsese, Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci, a trio of high energy creatives known for putting their all into their projects. Casino felt like a spiritual successor to Goodfellas, focusing on a lavish but secretive lifestyle with high stakes and even higher consequences. An instantly iconic movie, Casino felt like the end of an era in regards to gangster fare for Scorsese, opting instead for more challenging projects, adaptations of other books and films, or personal passion projects. It would be nearly 25 years later before Scorsese would touch similar subject matter or work with these actors again, but had Casino been the last of Scorsese’s so-called “gangster” films, I believe the world would have been happy with that.

12. Kundun (1997) To make one religious-based film in a career is a bold move to some, but I am hard-pressed to think of any director that made films on two different religions who didn’t explicitly make religious films. With that in mind, it is incredibly impressive that Martin Scorsese was able to make a film as moving and objective as Kundun after making such a bold take on religion as The Last Temptation of Christ. The film centers around the discovery, growth and eventual escape to India in light of growing aggression from China. In all honesty, I had my doubts as to whether or not the Scorsese style would work for this story, especially in light of the lack of cooperation from Tibet and China, but somehow, Scorsese’s amazing signature camerawork captures the unique spirit and essence surrounding the Dalai Lama. I’d heard of this film for years, but never got around to it until it was time to make this list, but I will almost certainly try to find a copy to own in the near future.

11. The King of Comedy (1982) What an odd left turn in regards of career trajectory for both Scorsese and De Niro. With three collaborations already under their belt (not to mention The Godfather II already being a well-established classic), it would have been easy to imagine the duo putting another notch on the gangster film genre belt. What we are given, however, is the yang to the yin of Taxi Driver : our protagonist is a statement on personal conviction and the trappings of instant stardom, our antagonist is a statement on star fascination and the high costs of celebrity, and our satellite characters directly reflect the toxicity certain fandoms can be capable of. Scorsese sets aside his normal flourish and camera moves for a mixing of film and video mediums, as well as a completely new sense of freedom in regards to the highly improvised nature of the film. Its influence on recent successful films like Joker is undeniable, but I’d argue that Joker lacks the heart, sincerity and realistic bite present in The King of Comedy.

10. After Hours (1985) Of all the “new to me” Scorsese flicks I finally viewed while preparing this list, After Hours stands as my favorite discovery of the bunch. I was marginally familiar with the film, both from my younger days in video stores and from friend recommendations, but for some reason, when Scorsese time arrived, After Hours seemed to never be on the docket. That oversight, however, will now be a thing of the past. This film feels like a personal challenge to Woody Allen in regards to how one should make a New York-based romantic comedy, and I’d be hard pressed to share any shortcomings or failures present in this comedic masterpiece. One of the few films that can be both a product of its era and a timeless classic, and one that should be much more recognized in the Scorsese canon.

9. Shutter Island (2010) Me hesitating or not getting around to Scorsese films seems to be a bit of a common theme here, but there was literally no excuse for me to take this long to get around to Shutter Island. Despite knowing the premise of the story (and even having the ending somewhat spoiled for me), I still found the impact of the final moments just as powerful as I imagine I would have going into this film blind. Some people will likely argue this statement, but in my opinion, this was the best Leonardo DiCaprio performance captured by Martin Scorsese. The asylum setting is wonderfully bleak, and the psychological horrors it infers create a vibrant playground for some of the most stunning visual symbolism that Scorsese has ever committed to film. Don’t be like me if you’ve not gotten around to Shutter Island yet, because it’s a thrill ride more than worth the price of admission, and a rewarding repeat viewer.

8. Mean Streets (1973) Mean Streets may have been Martin Scorsese’s third film, but for many fans, it was the first true indicator of the brilliance that was to come. A true New York film through and through, it not only presented fans with a stronger Harvey Keitel performance than Who’s That Knocking at My Door?, but it introduced the world to the palatable tandem of Scorsese and De Niro that would go on to lead to years and years of iconic performances. The use of altering aspect ratios is something that I wish Scorsese would have continued to use more often, but in all honesty, Mean Streets has style to spare. This the film that I love to recommend when people start ranting and raving about Goodfellas, and more often than not, it impresses those unfamiliar with it just as much.

7. The Age of Innocence (1993) Martin Scorsese’s love of film is widely known and well documented, but The Age of Innocence goes an additional step further by displaying Scorsese’s love of art. The film also is one of the most touching displays of unrequited love that Scorsese has committed to film, a slight alteration from his normal infusion of love stories trying to sustain in the surrounding chaos of gangs, crime, religion and so on. Daniel Day-Lewis, Michelle Pfeiffer and Winona Ryder all give standout performances in this masterfully directed film. If Gangs of New York was meant to be the definitive old school New York film in the Scorsese canon, then The Age of Innocence is the unintended definitive New York film from Scorsese, with some European touches thrown in for good measure.

6. Cape Fear (1991) Of the many, many iconic performances that Robert De Niro has given Martin Scorsese, I’d be hard pressed not to put his characterization of Max Cady at the top by a clear margin. Cape Fear was already a classic film adaptation of The Executioners when it was first released in 1957, but De Niro pulled two fast ones with his update : in terms of casting, especially with the aforementioned De Niro, Scorsese brought the harrowing story into a much darker, recent world, therefore increasing the tension by upping the ante for violent retribution, while at the same time, paying direct homage to the original by having Elmer Bernstein adapt the original Bernard Herrmann score. Juliette Lewis also provided a breakout performance in this modern day classic, and possibly the film that provided the most tense debate in terms of placement, as we will get into with the next film.

5. Silence (2016) Despite being one of the most recent Martin Scorsese films, this one’s limited release meant that I missed it during its initial run, and the lack of streaming service placement essentially erased it from my memory. I was certainly intrigued about watching it for this list, and it ended up being the last film viewed. Going into it, it felt like a sort of religious take on Saving Private Ryan, but it didn’t take long for the film to start dealing out much heavier cards in terms of faith, belief systems and cross-cultural contamination. The Last Temptation of Christ showed that Scorsese could find nuance and secular drama from a holy tale, and Kundun showed that he could make a religious icon a relatable human figure struggling to grasp his divine appointment. Silence is the work of a wise, steady hand, however, like some sort of cinematic parable or testament to faith in the face of crippling doubt and danger. Scorsese is certainly still moved by the idea of faith, and he uses Andrew Garfield to display this in some of the most powerful moments that he has ever created or captured for his films. For those who have not seem the film, this placement may feel a bit high, but I would not be surprised if, given time and proper amounts of reflection, it makes its way higher.

4. Raging Bull (1980) The placement of Raging Bull and Cape Fear was the biggest hurdle I was forced to overcome in the creation of this list. Robert De Niro is powerfully captivating in both films, though I would personally give his performance as Max Cady the nod over his embodiment of Jake LaMotta, but when it comes down to the brass tacks of it all, Raging Bull is ultimately the better of the two films. The raw, black and white look of LaMotta’s life already provides a gritty, unflattering portrait of a savage and uncouth man looking for beauty in the world, but that beauty he searches for appears in the boxing sequences with no apologies. The airy look, mainly caught by dynamic slow motion photography, works in tandem with the abrasive first-person views of the combatants, not to mention the direct nature of the combat itself as the viewer is often placed directly in the line of fire. The involvement of the real LaMotta within the film provides a nice button to the superb acting put on display by De Niro, Joe Pesci, Cathy Moriarty and the numerous actors used to portray the opponents of LaMotta.

3. The Last Temptation of Christ (1988) Call it a trope if you like, but it feels like every great (or aspiring) director has a film in them that is driven by religion in some capacity. The Last Temptation of Christ is unique in this sense because it takes the story of the accusations, betrayal, trial and eventual crucifixion of Jesus and turns it into a deeply faith-based suspense thriller. Many of the familiar beats we know from the Bible are re-contextualized as visions, mystic tests of faith, carnal desires driven by lust, and nihilistic views infringing upon deep indoctrination. Willem Dafoe plays a Jesus that is bitter in his acceptance of his fate, Harvey Keitel plays a wonderfully opportunistic Judas, and Barbara Hershey plays a very modernized version of a woman forced to use her body for survival that is suddenly trapped between necessity and passion. The film hinges on the verge of becoming a soap opera without falling into the trappings that come with such high drama, and the walkup to the film’s amazing final sequence puts you in the emotional passenger's seat while Jesus takes the wheel and steers directly into his fate. A dramatically powerful yet brutally sincere take on an iconic, revered and sensitive subject matter.

2. Goodfellas (1990) Is there any original praise left to bestow upon this movie? To focus on the imperfections of this film is an act of futility, as they are mostly non-existent. Some of Martin Scorsese’s best examples of his iconic camera movement, editing techniques, still frames, writing gleaned from personal experience, soundtrack use, loose historical connections and dark humor are found within the confines of Goodfellas. If you’ve seen in actor in any television show or film that had any connection to the mob prior to Goodfellas or since, it is more than likely that that actor was in Goodfellas, even if only briefly. Using Henry Hill as both an outsider and insider perspective is a brilliant narrative stroke, as he can get close to the top, but can never have it all, making him essentially a fly on the wall bursting with charisma and personality. They highs are as epic as the lows are tragic, and for most people, it is the first film that comes to mind when the name Martin Scorsese is mentioned. This could have very easily been the number one film on my list, but anyone who has been visiting this blog with a keen eye for detail probably figured out my favorite Scorsese film the first time they visited the DOOMonFILM blog.

1. Taxi Driver (1976) Since the day that I started this film blog, there has been one image at the top of the page : Travis Bickle in the porn theater (with his face replaced by my logo) from the iconic Taxi Driver. There’s not a single element that I can put my finger on for this film, but there are certainly a number of elements that do speak to me : the isolation that Travis faces, the journal-like narration that drives the story forward, the hypnotic nature of both Bernard Herrmann score and the repetitive taxi cab shots and the vivid camera movements are all burnt firmly into my brain. Everyone that makes up the main cast for this film kills in their performance, and the ending of the film is not only a brutal one, but an ironic one in regards to where Travis lands in the eyes of those who make up the world of the film. Martin Scorsese has made more amazing films than some directors have made, period (amazing or otherwise), but for my money’s worth, none of them are as powerful or well put together as Taxi Driver.

13 notes · View notes

paganvamp · 4 years ago

Text

Saving Grace: Chapter Seven

Meet Damon Salvatore!

(Holy shit this a long chapter)

2009 AD: The Other Brother

Elena was soaked, standing chest-deep in the muddy lake as Ric looked on from the woods above.

“Damon! How are you even here?”

“Thanks for the tip, brother.” Damon’s voice, disapproving and frustrated, sounded from his place behind Ric, leaning against the tree trunk next to him. Neither of them seemed too bothered that he had just launched Elena into the water, though Ric did have the decency to look a bit sheepish.

“You sold me out!” Elena accused.

“You think I'd take you to a mountain range of werewolves on a full moon without backup?”

“Get out of the water, Elena.”

“If I get out of the water, you’re gonna make me go home.” Elena protested.

“Yes, because I’m not an idiot like you.”

“Right now, you’re both acting like idiots.” Ric groused, rolling his eyes, and walking further away from the bickering pair.

“Well, it certainly wouldn’t be the first time. Probably won’t be the last.” Grace’s voice could be heard before she came into view, but it was clear from the tone she meant the jibe with affection and good humor.

“You dragged Grace all the way out here just to babysit me?” Elena frowned at Damon.

“He dragged Grace all the way out here because she doesn’t take ‘no’ for an answer.” Grace responded in Damon’s stead. A moment of silence as Damon and Elena stared accusingly at each other.

“You gave up on him, Damon.”

A klaxon-sounding bell tore Grace from her vision-dream, and she was momentarily too discombobulated to realize it was her own alarm clock. Who the fuck are Damon and Ric? Grace sighed. And why the fuck are they looking for werewolves? She’d just gotten over her strange Stefan vision, and the uneasy feeling of her hand in his. Elena liked him, seemed to trust him, and Caroline thought he was God’s gift… it was only Bonnie who seemed to share Grace’s reservations.

Pulling her phone off the charger, Grace found she had a string of new messages. Navigating to the three-way chat between herself, Bonnie, and Elena (some things needed to be Caroline-free), she noticed that the other two girls had apparently had an entire conversation while Grace was asleep.

E: Any word on the psychic front? Am I gonna win the lottery today?

B: ha-ha. I told you, Grams was drunk. No winning lottery numbers here

E: 2 bad. Aunt Jenna really wanted that new tv

B: Grace, I hope Ur not ignoring us. That’s very rude

E: She’s probably still asleep, Bon. It’s like 5 am

There were more, as well as some texts from Caroline, but all Grace could see was one word floating in front of her eyes: psychic. She’d prayed that Bonnie would show some inclination toward magic, that she would have someone to talk to and practice with. Could this be the first signs of her Tapping into her powers?

Quickly - so quickly her first draft was unrecognizable as English – she typed out a response to Elena and Bonnie.

G: I’m awake. Psychic???

While waiting for a response, she alternated between reading the rest of her notifications and beginning the arduous process of brushing and braiding her elbow-length hair. Strangely, Grace had yet to receive Caroline’s customary ‘good morning’ message, which usually consisted of a precise list of all the plans she’d made for the entire day, and maybe an actual ‘good morning,' if she remembered. She did, however, have multiple texts from Caroline dated the night before.

C: If you notice any new tall, dark & handsomes around town, know I’ve already called dibs – 8:00 PM

C: could you please tell Elena she just needs to jump S’s bones already? She listens to u – 8:30 PM

C: OK srsly, I’m asking — has Vicki always been such an attention whore – 8:45 PM

C: don’t answer that – 8:46 PM

No other texts had come in from Caroline until hours later, when she sent the last message of the night:

C: Elena may be a prude, but that doesn’t mean I can’t get some. Don’t wait up ; ) – 10:30 PM

So, clearly Caroline had run into her ‘tall, dark, and handsome’ last night and taken him home. The last part of the message, ‘don’t wait up ; )’, sent a pang through Grace. She remembered when she was the one sending her friends texts like that. Not now, Grace. It’s school time. Mostly, she was fine, didn’t think of Bryan at all… but sometimes a memory would hit her like a fuckton of bricks. She shook off the sudden melancholy and gathered up the scattered grimoires and spiral notebooks strewn across her room from the night before. No wonder she’d stopped answering messages at 8:00 – after pouring over magical tomes for hours, she had fallen asleep early.

“Grace, hurry!” Aimee’s voice urged from her room across the hall. “Don’t you have practice today?” Oh, shit. No matter how good Caroline’s mystery man had been last night, she would happily skewer Grace over a bonfire if she were late for practice again, and her practice clothes were in her duffel in the school locker room. If she was late to school, she wouldn’t be able to grab them before class, which would mean she’d have to detour before practice to get them and… well. Either way, she needed to move her ass or she’d be late to first period. She winced; It was kind of a habit of hers, unfortunately.

“Shit, Aims, I really have to go! Are y’all ready, or can you get dad to drive you?” ‘Y’all,' a phrase reminiscent of her childhood in Louisiana, usually only made an appearance around family members or when she was in a hurry.

“Neither.” Chloe called grouchily from the bathroom, down the hall from her sister’s rooms. She was not a morning person — which was lucky for her, since she’d somehow ended up with study hall (aka an hour to sleep in) first thing in the morning. “Dad left already, which you would know if you ever woke up on time.” Since she didn’t have time to argue, Grace let the snide comment go this once.

“Then get in the car, we have to leave, Chloe!” Where is my damn history book? Grace’s room was a mess of grimoires and textbooks and writings by and for witches. The history book was buried somewhere in the sea of paper and ink.

Chloe’s head popped out from the bathroom, a furiously indignant look on her pretty face. Her hair was to Grace a rat’s nest of clips and curlers and bobby pins, though she was sure it made sense to Chloe.

“Not all of us are okay with looking like Leif Erikson every day, you know.” As mothers are wont to do, Cecile somehow sensed an argument brewing and appeared at the top of the stairs.

“Grace, you go. Take Aimee if she’s ready. I don’t have anything until the afternoon – I can drive Chloe.” As Assistant Curator of the history museum in the city, Cecile worked strange hours and dealt with a fairly lengthy commute every day, but she and Joseph – manager at a bakery in town — felt it worth the sacrifice.

“I’m ready!” To prove her point, the only brunette among them sailed past her mother and sister down the stairs, bag over her shoulder and shoes already on. Shoving her feet into the first pair of tennis shoes she saw, Grace stuffed her history book — found under her bed, for some reason — into her bag and followed Aimee to the car.

Grace needn’t have worried about Caroline’s wrath; when she reached the school, Caroline was nowhere in sight. Bonnie and Elena were, though, so after saying goodbye to her sister, she headed their way, just in time for Stefan to join them.

“Good morning, Elena. Good morning, Bonnie, Grace.” Grace smiled and nodded at him, more focused on Bonnie’s reaction to him than a warm welcome. She hadn’t had any time to see if either of the two girls had responded to her inquiry about Bonnie’s supposed psychic powers, so she’d just have to observe and bring it up later.

“Hey,” the greeting was short and uncomfortable, even for Grace, as Bonnie cast her eyes around for an escape route, “Um, I gotta find Caroline. She’s not answering her phone. So, I’ll see you guys later.” Late and unreachable? Maybe mystery man was more Ted Bundy than Casanova? But before Grace could ask if Caroline really was AWOL or simply being used as an escape route, Bonnie was gone.

“She doesn’t like me very much.” How astute.

“She doesn’t know you.” Elena corrected gently, smoothing ruffled feathers as usual. “She’s my best friend. She’s just looking out for me. But when she does, she will love you.”

“Bonnie’s one of those resistant-to-change types, at least when it comes to the friend group.” Grace offered. She felt awkward, as she agreed with Bonnie but was standing with Stefan.

“Here’s what we’re gonna do.” Uh-oh. That’s her ‘I have a plan’ voice. “Are you free tonight?” Grace didn’t need any powers of divination to see where this was going.

“Yes.”

“Perfect. Dinner; My house, 8:00; You, me, and Bonnie.” Elena turned to Grace, an invitation on her lips.

“Oh, no. I’m not getting in the middle of that. This is Bonnie’s thing.” No need to mention her own reservations, especially if it meant getting out of the sure-to-be-awkward dinner.

“Fine. Stefan and Bonnie will spend some quality time and she’ll get to see what a great guy you are. Mission accomplished.” Elena had quite the self-satisfied smile on her face, as if she’d solved world hunger and not Bonnie’s bad attitude. In the silence, a familiar voice sounded in Grace’s ear.

“….Do, Ty?” It was Matt, clearly, but the words were faint. Grace could only make out a few of them,“…made…choice.”

“…One.” Tyler responded.

“Hey, I didn’t know Matt was here already.” Grace exclaimed, just to say something. Elena gave her a strange look.

“What are you talking about? How do you know Matt is here?” Elena knew Matt’s voice as well as Grace did. It should have caught her attention as well, shouldn’t it?

“You didn’t hear him and Tyler?” It was Stefan’s turn to give a strange look, but this one she couldn’t decipher. She wasn’t willing to read him again, so she was left bewildered at the searching expression on his face.

“…Ty, don’t! Ty!” That was louder, but before Grace could make a comment, Stefan was whirling around to catch the football that had been aimed directly at his head. He threw it back — a good throw, maybe better than Tyler’s. Elena laughed at Tyler’s shocked reaction, but Grace was focused on something else. They’re so far away… Grace had always had good senses — perfect vision, a sometimes-too-sensitive consciousness of smell, good hearing — but that was almost… inhuman. No wonder Elena was confused. She hadn’t heard a thing they’d said. Noticing more students arriving, they made their way inside the school, where Elena was not ready to forget Stefan’s display outside.

“That throw was insane. I didn’t know you played football.”

“I used to.” He looked nostalgic for a moment. “It was a long time ago.”

“So why don’t you try out for the team?” Grace asked. Football player and cheerleader may have been a cliché, but it was a cute one.

“Yeah, I don’t think so.” Stefan appeared to think the suggestion was ludicrous.

“So, you don’t like football?” Elena clarified. I hope the mixed signals aren’t a Thing with him.

“No, I love football. I think it’s a great sport.” Grace would beg to differ, though she would never tell Matt. “But in this case, I don’t think football likes me. You saw Tyler over there, and we both know how Matt feels.” The word ‘both’ let Grace know she was heading into third-wheel territory, so she told Elena she’d see her at lunch and made her way to her locker, where her worst nightmare had come true.

Tyler and Vicki. Kissing. She supposed the pair were always either fucking or fighting, so no option was great, but at least when they were fighting, they weren’t a unified front. They wouldn’t tag-team to make her day more difficult. In fact, one of them might even go out of their way to make her life easier, just to spite the other.

Maybe she was glad to be single after all.

“Luctor et emergo.” Grace muttered, as she elbowed her way past the writhing couple to her locker. Grace’s parents had insisted on all three of their children learning both Latin and French from an incredibly early age. Back then, Grace simply thought they were classists or wanted to set their kids apart somehow. Now she knew their true motives – Traditional Magic, and its spells, were almost entirely recited in Latin; the witches of the Quarter use Ancestral Magic – a large part of which was in French. Since childhood, Grace had a habit of slipping into another language in times of stress or hardship — similar to her use of ‘y’all’ — which seemed to be happening a lot more lately. Luctor et emergo: I struggle and emerge. A frequently used phrase when walking the halls of Mystic Fall High School. Another thing becoming more common lately was upper arm work-outs — for days, Grace had been shoving every textbook and spiral bound she could into her backpack and lugging it around all day, just so she could avoid the two forces of nature currently sucking each other’s faces off. The one bright spot was that Vicki had seemed to loosen up on her vendetta against all associated with Elena Gilbert.

Slamming her locker door shut, Grace glanced at her phone again. Bonnie was right — not a peep from Caroline. She began to type a message when the warning bell clanged, signaling two minutes to get to class. She would have to locate Caroline later.

Cheerleading practice was the highlight of Grace’s day. There was almost nothing she loved more than the rush that came from flying and tumbling, except maybe magic. Yes, she hated football — basketball was much less boring, without all that stopping and starting — but cheer was worth it. Of course, she’d made her three closest friends through the squad, and it was one of the few subjects she and Chloe seemed to agree on. Then there was the adrenaline rush, as well as the benefits of having to keep her body in such good condition. It didn’t hurt that the uniform was adorable, either; Grace was proud of the body both nature and cheer had given her, and tended to prefer silhouettes and styles that accentuated her curves, complimenting her features — which, of course, the uniform was basically designed for.

After dropping her water bottle and bag at the edge of the field, Grace began stretching near Bonnie.

“Seriously, if you could maybe make yourself look a little uglier next practice, I think we’d all appreciate it.” Bonnie japed, eyeing the cherry-red spandex shorts and black sports bra Grace had donned for practice.

“You’re one to talk.” Dana, doing the splits a few feet away, called to Bonnie. “Like, could you turn down the glow a little bit, Bonnie?” Grace herself dropped into the splits, having loosened up enough, and slowly rotated forward until she was flat on her stomach. She looked up to see Bethany, a fellow senior, inches away doing the same. Beth, who shared Grace’s weird sense of humor, grabbed Grace’s hand.

“Tell my family…” she whispered, as though she were dying. “Tell my family I died well.” She collapsed loosely on the grass as Grace wailed in feigned grief.

“No, Beth! Come back! I’ll miss you!” Before the charade could continue too far, Grace heard Bonnie’s voice from just outside her limited field of vision.

“Oh, my God! You’re here!” She sounded stunned.

“Yep.” Elena! Grace contorted herself as far as she could without spraining something and saw her two friends standing above her. “I can’t be sad girl forever. The only way to get things back to the way they were are to do things that were.” Grace wasn’t sure that made sense. She slowly pushed herself back up into a sitting position and Bonnie and Elena each grabbed a hand to help her up. “Oh, and you're coming to dinner tonight.” This could end poorly.

“I am?”

“Mm-hmm. You, me, and Stefan.” Bonnie gave The Look. “You have to give him a chance.”

“Tonight's no good. Have you seen Caroline? I texted her like a hundred times.” So, Caroline was still missing… Grace was seriously starting to worry. Missing practice was perhaps the most Un-Caroline thing that could possibly happen.

“Don't change the subject, Bonnie Bennett! You're going to be there.”

“Fine. I'll go.” No one could talk Elena out of something when she set her mind to it, not even Bonnie Bennett.

“Good.”

“Can I circle back to the Caroline thing?” This was probably an appropriate time for Grace to circle back to the psychic thing, but anxiety was gnawing at her. “Neither of you have heard from her. Like at all?” They both shook their heads, then all three girls looked around as if Caroline might pop out of a bush.

“Seriously, where is Caroline?”

“I don’t know. It’s not like her.” Grace was already reaching into her bag for her phone.

“I’ll try her again.” Before she could, however, a car pulled up to the field, containing none other than Caroline… and ‘Damon’. Dream Damon. Grace couldn’t equate Caroline’s sexy-bad-boy mystery guy to the obnoxious but lovable older-brother type she’d dreamt earlier.

“Uh…”

“Oh, my God. That must be the mystery guy from the grill.” Grace suggested. Her friends seemed dumbfounded, and some part of her found it good to know they were just as lost as Grace.

“That’s not a mystery guy.” Or not. “That’s Damon Salvatore.” Grace’s head swung toward Elena so fast she almost gave herself whiplash.

“Salvatore, as in Stefan?” So, she’d had visions of both brothers within days of each other? Each one an indication of future best-friendships? Caroline sauntered over to them, looking smug as all hell even with that ridiculous scarf around her neck. I’m all for a fashion statement, but at cheer practice?

“I got the other brother.” She said to Elena. Well, that explained some of it. Grace knew about Caroline’s deeply buried resentment of Elena, and the fact that never dealt with it or addressed it — she didn’t need to be an Empath to know that, because Caroline had told her. But even if she hadn’t, Grace could practically smell it radiating off of Caroline, she was so upset. “Hope you don’t mind.” Clearly not true. “Sorry I’m late, girls.” She addressed the whole squad this time. “I, uh, was busy.” That little smirk at the corner of her mouth let Grace know that she wasn’t completely wrong about Caroline’s activities the previous night. “All right, let’s start with the double pike herkey hurdler, what do you say?” The girls quickly formed lines, never willing to risk Caroline’s drill-sergeant-esque wrath, and Caroline began counting. Grace, who was behind Elena, could see the younger girl struggling with the maneuver and wondered if Caroline had chosen it on purpose. “Elena, sweetie, why don’t you just observe today? Okay?” It was never a good thing when Caroline used the word “sweetie," and smoke was practically coming out of Elena’s ears. “Keep going! Okay. Do it again, from the top! And 5…” as she went back to counting beats, Grace and Bonnie threw Elena as many commiserative looks as they could. But Elena’s attention had been drawn to the football field, where Stefan Salvatore himself was running plays. The girls watched as Tyler rammed into Stefan, all his weight behind it, and they went down.

“…Gonna live, Salvatore?” Coach Tanner called to the boy, still prone on the grass. Grace could fucking feel Tyler’s emotions from across the field, he was so worked up; he was pissed that some new guy was climbing the popularity ladder so fast, and though a part of him truly did hate Stefan for Matt’s sake, mostly he was jealous himself. It was moments like this when Grace remembered why she hated Tyler so much. The douchebag is using Matt as an excuse to deal with his Alpha Male Complex. Maybe next he’ll pee all over the school like a dog, just to mark his territory.

Stefan got up, and the boys huddled up again; Grace turned her focus back to Caroline’s instructions.

Grace was not looking forward to the football game. Between Caroline’s pettiness being at peak capacity, Elena’s patience at an all-time low, and Bonnie still refusing to come around and give Stefan a chance, Grace figured every moment spent not cheering would be in mediation. As soon as she arrived, she made it her mission to finally talk about the ‘Bonnie’s psychic’ text that had been hovering around her mind all day. Along the way, she ran into Elena, who had apparently quit the squad, and Stefan, who had apparently joined the football team — not quite the stereotypical couple she’d imagined earlier, but whatever.

Finally managing to locate Bonnie, Grace dove straight into what she’d been itching to ask all day.

“So, Bonnie. Psychic?” Bonnie scoffed and rolled her eyes.

“You know how my Grams will get drunk and then start telling me all these stories about magic and fairies and everything…”

“Yeah, I’ve experienced it a time or two.” Perhaps because Sheila knew Grace herself was a witch, she had even less of a filter when Grace was around.

“Well, the other day she starts going on about how I’m psychic.” As Bonnie explained Sheila Bennett’s drunken rambles, Grace realized what Bonnie had yet to put together. Her Grams was telling the truth – Bonnie was a witch. A powerful one, judging by her lineage and psychic abilities — not as strong as Grace’s, but present enough to mean Bonnie’s powers were likely almost unparalleled. “… I mean its crazy, right?” Bonnie was laughing, but there was the smallest part of her that was starting to think maybe it wasn’t so crazy after all.

“Yeah, maybe.” Grace didn’t think it was quite time to reveal herself to Bonnie, but she didn’t want to be unsupportive either. “But, I mean, I totally predicted the end of that movie the other day, so maybe Grams is on to something.”

“Guys, hello?” Caroline had found them. “Are you going to cheer, or are you going to chat?” The two girls rolled their eyes.

“Good to see you, too, Care Bear.” Caroline ignored them, instead using that freaky talent of hers to hone in on the slightest of imperfections.

“Hey, Tiki, it’s all wobbly. Can you stand straight, please? Could someone please help Tiki?”

Grace had her arms wrapped around Matt, despite his protests that he was fine.

“You’re not fine, you dumbass. You just found your teacher and coach…” She didn’t want to say it out loud. “You’re the one who found him, okay? Don’t pretend that didn’t suck.” They were standing by his stupid truck, the light from the ambulance and police cars throwing strange red and blue shadows over everything. The cab door was open, as Grace had bodily slammed into Matt’s back as he made to get inside and clung to him like a monkey.

“Yeah, Gracie, it sucked.” He sighed. “What kind of animal would do something like this?” Caroline’s mom had made the announcement not long ago – Coach Tanner was the victim of another animal attack, this time right in town. Grace shrugged.

“A starving one, I guess.” But Tanner hadn’t been eaten. Just attacked. Like the others. Matt rubbed his hand down Grace’s back as if he were the one comforting her.

“C’mon, Gracie. I’ll drive you home. You can get your car tomorrow.” He walked her around to the passenger’s side, the door of which sometimes stuck shut, and helped her climb up before finally getting in himself. The air conditioning rattled, a comforting, familiar sound in the silence. Grace toed off her white Nfinities, flexing her aching feet. She’d been an idiot in practice last week and fucked up her ankle during a particularly poorly executed scorpion stunt. She’d wrapped it in elastic wrap her mother had spelled with healing charms before the game, but it was no miracle cure. Matt must have noticed her grimace, because he glanced at her with a disapproving big brother look, despite being a year younger than her.

“How many times have I told you to keep your legs straight?”

“Well, look at you, Mr. Cheerleading Expert.” Grace mocked him, not wanting to admit that he had told her that countless times. After nearly 7 years of watching (and sometimes unwillingly participating) in backyard cheer practice, Matt was somewhat knowledgeable in the sport. Knowledgeable enough to know a stunt will fall if the flyer can’t keep her fucking legs straight, anyway. “Don’t worry, Caroline already tore me a new one.” Damn, had she ever. The moment Grace went down, she’d felt Caroline’s hawk-like gaze on her, even through the bodies of her bases. ‘Stop giving me excuses, Sinclair. It’s been four months! Get it together.’ Elena had been in Grace’s stunt group when her parents were killed, which left the foursome someone bereft of a base when she quit. Caroline had frantically rearranged but getting used to a new base was always an adjustment. Selfishly, Grace was just glad none of this had happened when she was captain.

“Yeah, well Caroline can be a nutcase but this time she’s kind of right.” Grace could feel herself getting defensive, even though he was once again correct, but didn’t want to say something that might stall the effectively distracting conversation. Matt might pretend to be blasé, but Grace was calling bullshit.

“Yeah, I get it mom, I need to be more careful.” By this time, they’d reached Matt’s house and, despite Grace living literally fifteen feet away, Matt drove past his own driveway and pulled into hers. “Seriously, dude?” She raised an eyebrow at him.

“I’m a gentleman,” Matt smirked, “sue me.” Rolling her eyes affectionately, Grace moved to unbuckle her seatbelt when she noticed Matt staring toward her house with a strange look on his face. She’d seen that look before. She waited for him to break the sudden silence, but he was lost in thought.

“Matt?” She prompted quietly. She knew what he was going to say, and if talking about it was going to keep his mind off Tanner’s mangled body a little longer, then she’d talk about it.

“It feels weird.” That’s specific. “Looking at… this.” He gestured vaguely towards her house, then back towards his. “I mean… yours is so…”

“Big?” It wasn’t really, not for a family of five — it was actually a completely average house in every way. Two floors, four bedrooms — well, three bedrooms and a converted office — two bathrooms. But next to Matt’s she supposed, it did look a bit extravagant.

“And your car is so…” Again, he trailed off, searching for a nice way to call her spoiled. She didn’t take offense.

“Fancy?” She did drive an Audi - cherry red and the love of her life — but (here comes the justification, she nearly cringed) her father had wanted an Audi for years. By the time they’d saved up enough, they had three little kids and it was impractical. So they kept the savings set aside and when Grace turned 16, her dad finally got his dream car… for her. ‘If you so much as scratch the paint, this car is mine,' her father had warned. Chloe, much to her disappointment, had gotten a Honda as her first car. It was a perfectly good car, but certainly not an Audi. Matt sighed and gave her a sheepish look.

“I’m sorry. I just look at the difference between the two… who knew one yard could feel like such a big divide?” It wasn’t like Matt lived in the “bad part of town” and Grace’s house happened to be the closest. His house should have been perfectly normal, just like hers. But his mother wasn’t the best with finances… Or upkeep… Or mothering. She hated that her family’s good fortune made Matt feel so inferior.

“Well, if anyone can bridge that divide, Donovan… it’s you.” Matt would almost certainly settle quite happily into the small town life, but that didn’t mean it couldn’t be a better small town life. He smiled at her, shaking off the seriousness.

“Well, it certainly won’t be the girl who can’t even keep her legs straight.” She punched him, both of them laughing. She gathered her shoes and bag and jumped down onto the still-warm asphalt.

“Goodnight, Donovan.” She called, circling around to his side of the truck. “But seriously. If you’re ever not fine…” she paused, searching for a way to end that statement that didn’t sound too smothering. “Well, you know where I live.” He smiled at her, backing out and pulling into his own car port, before waving goodnight as the side door into the kitchen slammed behind him. Making her way inside, Grace was nearly tackled to the ground by her sister, and she suddenly knew what Matt must have felt like when she leapt on him at his truck.

“Oh my God, Gracie, are you okay?”

“I’m fine, Aims. I wasn’t…” I wasn’t there. But she was there, was just around the corner when a wild animal viciously attacked a man she knew. “I didn’t even…” I didn’t even see the body. But she had, just before the coroner draped a white sheet over her old history teacher and loaded him into a van headed to the morgue. “Matt found him.” Matt had it worse. That’s what she meant. She wasn’t fine, but Matt had it so much worse, so how could she admit that? Maybe that’s what Matt himself had felt, in some form.

“Oh my God, that’s awful.” Her sisters weren’t at the game, thank God, as Chloe had dance rehearsal and Aimee a date. All of their knowledge was second-hand and incomplete, which possibly made their worry worse. Or would, when rehearsal was over, and Chloe checked her phone to undoubtedly find dozens of messages ranging from factual to wild rumor. “Was it really a bear?” Grace snorted. She had no idea what kind of animal had attacked Tanner, but whatever story Aimee had heard probably involved some hulking Goliath of a grizzly storming onto the football field and biting the coach in two.

“I have no idea, Aims. No one saw anything.” So it was probably not a bear. Something stealthier, like a cougar. “Have you spoken to mom and dad?” Their parents were also out on a rare date night and Grace wasn’t sure if the news had reached them yet. If so, they were likely speeding their way home at this moment. But Grace’s younger sister shook her head.

“I don’t think they’ve heard yet. I didn’t want to spoil date night and tell them.”

“What about your date? I’m sorry it was cut short.” It was Aimee’s turn to snort, sounding just like Grace.

“I’m not. He spent the entire time bouncing between checking his phone and his reflection.”

“Yikes.” Grace knew her sister’s pain. “I guess maybe one good thing came out of this evening then, yeah?” Aimee worried her lip, something clearly on her mind. “What’s up, Aims?”

“I just… all these animal attacks… do you know of anything that could help?”

“What, like hunting the thing down?”

“No, doofus. Magically. Are there… protection spells or talismans or something, so I don’t have to constantly worry about you and Chloe and mom and dad?” As the only non-witch in the family — though their father practiced very rarely – Aimee’s knowledge of magic had limitations.

“Um, sure. Probably. But I’ve already got my jet.” To illustrate the point, Grace held her hands out her sister, the black rings sparkling on her fingers. She wasn’t technically supposed to wear much jewelry while cheering, but the thumb ring was inconspicuous and unlikely to cause problems. It was also a security blanket of sorts. The other one, the one she’d bought for herself only a few years ago, she took off right before cheering and put on again immediately after.

“Yeah, I don’t know if Chloe’s into the whole black-jewelry thing.” If Grace was into it, then Chloe likely wasn’t, more out of conscious decision than personal preference, but it didn’t matter. There were other alternatives. Grace sat at the dining room table, sliding her mother’s grimoire to her sister.

“Pick your favorite, then.”

Grace completely fucking forgot about the Founder’s Party. Like, literally, would not have remembered to go if her mom and sisters didn’t scream at her to ‘go get ready because your date is picking you up in an hour’. Actually, they walked into Matt’s house, uninvited — where she had been celebrating the news that the culprit of all the animal attacks had been killed (a cougar, like she thought) — and marched her back home.

When Jeffrey Lockwood-Hamilton had approached her and asked her to go to the Founder’s Party with him, quote ‘because it’s going to be so boring and you might actually make it bearable,' she’d been flattered, if confused. It wasn’t that she and Jeffrey were unfriendly, but they didn’t associate much, what with him being two years younger. Grace supposed that, the times they had hung out had been at other excruciatingly dull parties such as the Miss Mystic pageant, which Caroline required Grace to go to every year for ‘moral support’. They’d entertained each other while their respective ‘dates’ had been occupied, so she supposed it had become somewhat of an unspoken tradition that she and Jeff would hang out at parties.

So, here she was, digging her red party dress out from the closet and wincing as Chloe none-too-gently twisted her hair into an updo. The dress was pretty, standard, just passed the knees with a simple, straight silhouette and thin straps. She threw on some strappy sandals and grabbed a purse right as Jeff rang the bell.

“Ready to have some fun?” He asked sarcastically by way of greeting.

“Cheer up, Jeff.” Grace coaxed. “There’s always champagne.”

When they arrived, Grace immediately spotted a potential problem: Damon Salvatore, looking unfairly handsome in his dark suit, was on Caroline’s arm, and they were chatting with Elena and Stefan. Caroline was still sporting that weird-ass scarf.

“I’m about to be super fucking tacky, Jeff, and leave you alone for a few minutes.” Grace grimaced as she made her excuse. Jeff laughed.

“You’re fine, Grace. Go say hey. Bring me back a glass or two of champagne if you can sneak it past my mom.” He nodded to the corner, where his mother had one eye on the heritage display and one on her son.

“Sure thing.” As Grace approached, Caroline began dragging a wary Stefan onto the dance floor before spotting the older girl.

“Gracie, you’re here!”

“I am! And you’re with Stefan.” It was a question phrased as a statement.

“Damon won’t dance with me,” Caroline pouted, “but apparently Stefan is quite talented.” He looked like he would rather be anywhere else.

“Well, he’ll have to be to keep up with you, Miss Mystic.” Caroline beamed at the reminder of her potential title and the compliment.

“Why don’t we find out?” Stefan suggested, motioning Caroline forward. That was clearly code for “let’s get this over with,” but Care either didn’t notice or didn’t mind. Grace continued forward to Damon and Elena, who were studying the heritage displays.

“…I just… I hope you two can work it out.” Elena was saying, in her “Elena voice”.

“I hope so, too.” Damon’s tone rang of double entendre, but Grace dismissed it and made her presence known.

“Founding Families, huh?” She asked, looking over the document they were in front of. “Riveting.”

“You make fun, but you New Orleans-folks have your traditions too.” Elena poked fun right back at Grace, the age-old debate familiar and affectionate. Damon turned to her.

“You’re from New Orleans?”

“I am. I’m Grace.” Knowing he was Stefan’s brother, Grace was beyond reluctant to shake his hand and experience that same slimy emptiness, but it would be extremely rude not to.

“Damon.” He extended his arm and Grace placed her small hand in his, hoping she didn’t look as apprehensive as she felt. His hand was warm, but his soul was cold. Cold and dead, like Stefan’s, but there was something else… a warmth not from life or love, but bitterness and hate and malice all festering inside of him. There’s more than this to him. The Damon she had seen in her vision, the one she had been friends with — closer even than her and Stefan would become, judging from the emotions in her vision — was not this embittered, cancerous thing currently in front of her. So, she pushed deeper and deeper, shoving her way past all the black and bad, until finally, finally, there was something else. Something surprising. Insecurity and… longing. Love, or… something he thought was love. Something that maybe used to be love but was now merely the impression of it. Intelligence still glimmered in every corner of this part of his soul, but it wasn’t the cold cunning of before. It was hard won, a lifetime’s worth — several lifetimes worth — of mistakes and knowledge and experience. This was the Damon she would come to know, someone broken but too proud to show it, who used acerbic humor as both a defense mechanism and a show of support for those few he cared for. Suddenly becoming aware that this handshake was starting to become too long to be normal, she pulled her hand away as he looked her over, assessing. Too deep. She’d pushed her powers too far, had already reached her limit and was practically exhausted and out of breath, like she’d been running. She tried to covertly catch her breath, hoping Damon and Elena didn’t notice.

“Have you been? To New Orleans, I mean.”

“I lived there. Once.”

“Really?” Grace’s eyes widened. It wasn’t often she met other people who’d experienced the magic of New Orleans, let alone lived there. “Do you miss it? I know I do.” He smiled a touch nostalgically.

“Well, it was a long time ago.” There was something in his voice as he said "long time,” the same thing that had been in Stefan’s as he said the same words about playing football. Something that implied more. “But it was a hell of a lot fun.” Grace gave him a once-over.

“You know, Damon, I think you and I are going to get along just fine.” Damon’s eyes gleamed with something even she couldn’t quite place.

“I look forward to it, Grace.”

As Damon and Elena headed off toward the dance floor and their respective dates, Grace noticed Bonnie sitting at a table by herself. She knew that she was ignoring Jeff, but she hadn’t spoken to Bonnie all day, and she had the rest of the party to hover by his side. She made her way over, but when she was a few feet away, the breeze blew out the candle sitting as the centerpiece on the table. Bonnie turned her head, focusing her attention on the candle.

It re-ignited.

Grace stumbled, nearly fell over. Bonnie started, blowing the candle out and glancing around to make sure no one saw. From this short distance away, Grace could feel Bonnie’s budding realization that her Gram’s drunken rambles were true, her fear and confusion, her paranoia and loneliness. And Grace couldn’t let Bonnie believe she was alone in this. So, she righted herself, marched over to her friend, and grabbed her arm. Bonnie looked up at her, obviously scared she had witnessed the candle incident.

“I think we need to talk.” Grace pulled her friend out of her chair and away from bustle of the party. “There’s some things you need to hear.”

#saving grace #masterlist #oc #kol mikaelson #damon salvatore #fanfic #the vampire diaries #the originals #elena gilbert #stefan salvatore #bonnie bennett #caroline forbes #elijah mikaelson #klaus mikaelson #rebekah mikaelson

3 notes · View notes

salvatoreschool · 5 years ago

Text

Legacies: “Screw Endgame” Writers Preview The Episode

Executive Producer Brett Matthews and Thomas Brandon are the writers of tonight’s game-changer episode of Legacies airing at 9PM ET/PT on The CW and both writers hopped on the phone with KSiteTV yesterday to preview this story which sees Hope and Lizzie teaming up in a very Eighties-like setting at the same time a dance is happening with a similar look.

“Screw Endgame” is the title of this one, and it picks up with Lizzie (Jenny Boyd) now being one of the only people who remembers everything about Hope (Danielle Rose Russell). Some minor spoilers for tonight’s show can be found within; you have been warned! A post-mortem discussing more spoilery topics will be up after tonight’s show has aired.

On to the interview!

KSITETV’s CRAIG BYRNE: Can you talk about the choice in the writers’ room to make Lizzie the first person to remember Hope?

BRETT MATTHEWS: Honestly, it wasn’t a choice. It was one of those moments where it was just our natural instinct and on an undeniable gut level, but it’s like when you put your writer hat on and you go, “well, who’s the best person?”

It’s her, because who is in the worst situation?

Obviously Lizzie’s blood allegiance is to Josie — they’re literally twins. Hope Mikaelson is her frenemy at best leading into this episode, so Lizzie is just obviously the ideal person to be put into the situation because it is the stuff of great drama.

THOMAS BRANDON: The dramatic fun of it is Lizzie has such a hard time keeping a secret. She’s such a declarative character; she just tells everyone how she’s feeling at all times. So the idea of giving her a secret, to be the only one in the world that knew that Hope was back and having to hold that from everybody, just seemed like it would lead to some great episodes, and it’s certainly something she will struggle within the next episode. “How do I keep this secret, the biggest secret of all time?”

What can you preview about the Hope and Lizzie reunion, for the people who haven’t seen the episode yet?

THOMAS BRANDON:

What we discover is after the events of Episode 4 where Lizzie remembers who she is, Lizzie and Hope are thrown together and working together to solve a problem that I don’t want to spoil. The problem demands that they fight the monster before they can actually talk about everything that’s happened. Fighting the monster is their therapy, and it’s their way to get through all the choices that have been made where Hope came back and chose not to tell everybody.

BRETT MATTHEWS: For Lizzie, it’s like, they are in a life or death situation and have to rely on each other, but she wants to know the fundamental question of the season up to this point, which is why. “Why didn’t you tell us you were back?” That’s going to be the answer she is trying to find, even as they’re trying to survive the monster of the week.

THOMAS BRANDON: The really interesting journey for Lizzie will be once she goes through this experience with Hope.

What if Lizzie, at the end, kind of gets it?

What if Lizzie understands why Hope did what she did, and what if going forward, they decided to keep it secret, and how will that go?

Can you talk about how then 1980s settings came up when breaking this episode?

BRETT MATTHEWS: Yeah, I mean, that’s just where Thomas and I come from. We knew we wanted to do a decade dance. We’ve been trying to do one for two seasons now, because it’s a tie to our past and sort of thematic of it being tied to the show’s past. I’ve probably written a handful of those over the years of Vampire Diaries.

It’s sort of a tie to our pasts. We’re products that generation. We saw Star Wars, we wanted to do what we do for a living as a result, and that’s just where our brains go when it comes to nostalgia, when it comes to specificity, when it comes to a a decade, we really wanted to explore this very vibrant time in our minds.

Our cast, mind you, has no idea what the Eighties were. That’s sort of the fun of it, to view it through that lens. I think our director Barbara Brown, and our editor, Evan Warner, latched on to a lot of those same elements, being products of that same generation.

It just gave the whole episode a wonderful specificity, and a zeal and a passion that I think was the right fit for us. And it’s also the other stuff of Legacies. It’s the ridiculous wardrobe and the jaw dropping soundtrack. It’s all the great things, and let’s be honest, it was about seeing Matt Davis in an Indiana Jones costume. That’s really all that mattered to us as writers.

When writing an episode like this, were any of the song choices in the script, or was that all picked later?

THOMAS BRANDON: I don’t think any of the song choices were in the script, but we talked extensively with our director because some of the time, you’re going to take us in post, but some of the time if there’s choreographed dancing, or if there are camera moves that are being tied to certain beats or rhythms, you need to know in advance what those are going to be so the actors and the camera people can all practice.

So, it was a little mixture of both. We have a phenomenal music supervisor, Chris Moliere, who got us a list of over 200 songs, both originals and covers. It’s kind of a wacky thing to listen to like four covers of the same song in a row, hearing four different takes on it. And it was about us finding the surprising version. You don’t normally necessarily think of Take On Me as a romantic song, but you find the romantic cover of it.

BRETT MATTHEWS: Chris Moliere is really one of the best in the business at what he does. He’s exceptional. You think of all of the great song placements we’ve had over the near decade of doing this together, and it’s just amazing.

Do you think relationships in life are now less complicated for Hope, since very few people remember their histories with her?

BRETT MATTHEWS: I think I think the problem is, she remembers her history with that. And I don’t know, once that elephant exists in the room, that anything’s easy. I think in some ways, actually, it might be a lot harder.

Because, you know, friendships, relationships, ups and downs, you at least have that mutual history, and she’s in a really terrible position in the season where the history is one sided, and the burden is hers to bear alone.

So if anything, I would say it’s more difficult.

What can you tell us about what Sebastian is up to and how MG and Kaleb factor into that?

BRETT MATTHEWS: This episode gets to the bottom of exactly what kind of vampire Sebastian is. He’s a vampire from sort of the Vampire Diaries universe set in the world of Legacies, and what does that mean? Kaleb and MG are really the perfect spirit guides to usher a Gothic vampire into the modern woke world of vampires that a Legacies vampire exists in.

Sebastian is somebody who would be really comfortable having a beer with Damon Salvatore. MG and Kaleb live a very different lifestyle as vampires. It really is an opportunity for sort of self examination and reflection on some of the stories we’ve told in the past and in the same universe, but in a totally different palette. The world has changed so much in the short time between The Vampire Diaries and Legacies that Sebastian really is a vehicle for us to explore all those issues, and what that means.

THOMAS BRANDON: The best vampire to to create that tension in that and that contrast with MG. MG has definitely been the vampire who’s the most evolved, and who wants to change the stigma of what vampires are, and to change the definition of what vampires could be, and here comes this black-clad Gothic vampire straight out of another show there to kind of reinforce stereotypes.

It’s almost like MG’s worried that Sebastian’s out here making us all look bad. So he’s struggling not just with Sebastian, who’s into the girl he’s into, but he’s struggling with the fact that Sebastian represents a point of view that MG is trying to leave behind.

What has been your favorite part of Legacies Season 2 so far?

BRETT MATTHEWS: For me, the show is a joy. It’s about good things, and friendship, and the occasional tragedy. But what I love the most about this show is that if you have a good idea, we can do it. The show is elastic in all the best ways. It’s lighter, it’s fun. The show is exactly what I want it to be, and so that’s one of the joys.

Julie [Plec] has really created an elastic sandbox, and it’s really fun. I love the monsters. I love the characters. I love what the show is saying about the world. I think it would be harder for Thomas and I to illuminate things we don’t like about it.

THOMAS BRANDON: This year, it’s been the cast. I thought the cast was really good in Season 1, and somehow, they stepped up for Season 2. I’ve seen them do some really extraordinary work, especially when you get to be on set.

I’ve watched them approach a scene, and they approach it so thoughtfully. The greatest joy you can ever have with a writer is to write a line and then have an actor come up and deliver it in a way that even better than what was in your head. You feel seen and protected and saved as a writer. It’s like, “oh, thank you. You took something that was an idea and you actually made it real and lived in, and to the point where you forgot that you wrote it.”

BRETT MATTHEWS: It’s the cast; it’s the crew. It is the greatest joy for a writer. You write something, you put your guts on a page, and then people come along, understand it, and make it better. That’s really been the joy. I’d [also[ say that’s the joy of Season 2 is we’re not finding it anymore. We know what the show is. The actors know who the characters are. The directors know how the show looks and moves and so hopefully, we’re just another year better at it. I feel that we are, and I certainly hope our fans feel the same.

I feel very strongly about Season 2.

I think if you liked Season 1, you’ll love Season 2. That’s always the goal; to just get better every year.

You can find a trailer for tonight’s Legacies episode “Screw Endgame” below; some preview images can be found here. Our thanks to Brett Matthews and Thomas Brandon for taking the time to do this interview!

youtube

8 notes · View notes

salmarissa · 5 years ago

Text

a story of fear and love

"Rebekah it's Matt. "

"Hey, Matt, what's going on? Why are you calling?"

"I need your help. . . It's urgent. "

"What's the matter, Matt?"

"It's Caroline. . . "

"So what?"

"Please. I know you don't like her very much but she's acting weird. We tried everything. We thought maybe it might help if her favorite rival shows up. Maybe she'll defrost. "

"Hmph. "

"Please help me. It's desperate. There's another vampire. His name is Enzo. I'm afraid he's involved. "

"All right, Matt, but only because it's you. "

Angrily Rebekah hung up. She didn't want to come back. But what did you don´t do for good friends. After their little trip and Rebekah´s departure to New Orleans the two decided to stay friends. Slowly she went to the kitchen where Klaus, Elijah and Hayley were sitting with Hope.

"I'm going to Mystic Falls," Rebekah said. "Why?" Klaus immediately asked. "Matt needs my help with something," she replied.

"Ah your little waiter yes?", Klaus raised her immediately. "Shut up," replied the blonde.

"You're not going alone," Nik made clear, "you need someone to watch your back. You know the people in mystic falls. "

Rebekah rolled her eyes. "How about Marcel?" she suggested. Klaus narrowed his eyes. After a short silence he said: "Good, he could protect you and at the same time I have him out of town. Not a bad idea, sister. But don't warm your feelings for him again. "

The blonde rolled her eyes and picked up the phone. If her brother knew.

A few days later

Caroline strode through her room. The others had insisted on spending time with her. They wanted a drink at the grill and she was supposed to make herself pretty. Caroline sighed. Why make her pretty? She didn't feel like it. She grabbed a pair of jeans and a simple red T-shirt and put a black sweat jacket over it. As she walked past the mirror, she shrugged her shoulders. Should do it.

Enzo picked them up and together they drove to the grill. Caroline was deeply absorbed in thought and did not speak a word. Enzo looked anxiously at her. When they entered, he held the door open for her.

Her eyes scanned the room. There sat her "friends" and with them Rebekah and a strange vampire. Indifferently she went to the table and settled down. "Oho, Miss Perfect can be seen once in a while," Rebekah taunted. But Caroline ignored her and grabbed the bourbon bottle and a clean glass.

Above her head, the others stared at each other with concern. Finally Enzo joined the troupe and sat down next to Caroline: "Give me some pretty", he flirted in his British accent, "I'll pour the lady". Caroline rolled her eyes, poured herself something and passed the bottle on to Enzo. "Then pour yourself a drink," Caroline replied.

The strange vampire laughed. Caroline took a closer look at him. Dark skin, tall and slender. He reached out his hand to her. "I'm Marcel," he said. "Caroline", she replied, reaching for his hand. Rebekah stabbed her with glances but Caroline ignored it. She didn't want to be here.

"Hey, Care," Elena said empathetically. Caroline wanted to puke. "Would you like to sing for us? You love to sing," Elena continued. "No thanks no need," the blond baby vampire pressed out. "But," began the doppelganger, "for us?" "And, um, we wanted to dress up . . ", Elena started carefully and stared at Caroline. Care looked down and said: "Not fancy enough? This isn't a gala. It´s the grill, is it?" Elena's mouth remained open, the others looked horrified and Rebekah grinned slightly. Caroline turned away and watched the people.

"What have you done to her?" cried Elena Enzo. "Nothing," he replied with a grin. "Yes, nothing, of course," Elena continued, "whatever you did, we'll find out. " "Elena, you're making a scene," Caroline said dryly and then flinched. A memory held her captive but she pushed it aside. Not here.

"Bekah please," Matt sighed , "can't you force her to tell the truth?" "Pardon?" said Care piqued.

"She is full of vervain," Stefan replied. "Then we bleed her out," Damon suggested and got a frownful look from that blonde.

"Hey, guys, come down," Marcel said calmly, "there are gentler methods if Caroline agrees. " Friendly he looked at the baby vampire who cast a sinister glance around. "The day after tomorrow at the latest, the vervain would be out of her system and we can ask her if she agrees. " "Why should I," growled Caroline, "Well," Marcel said, "your friends are worried and won't believe otherwise that you weren't somehow manipulated by him," he pointed to Enzo.

Caroline snorted. Betrayed by those who thought they were her friends. Just because she didn't once wear a permanent grin on her face? She was pissed off. If they all go to hell. But on the other hand, maybe then she would finally have her peace?

"Okay," Caroline said. See you the day after tomorrow and just this one question and that's it". She looked sinisterly into the circle and rose. "And how are we supposed to ensure that she really doesn't take one and really lets herself be forced", Rebekah asked, "I want to keep my stay here as short as possible".

"Very simply"; Marcel winked at her, "we take her with us if she allows". Rebekah and Caroline looked like they were about to explode. But the others stared suspiciously and Marcel grinned over both ears.

"Well, there are several rooms to choose from," Rebekah said after arriving at the old Mikaelson Villa and disappeared behind the left door next to the stairs. Marcel followed her.

Enzo was not deterred from coming and supporting Caroline should it be necessary. They were looking for rooms next to each other. Caroline put her bag down and dropped sighing on the bed. What a disaster.

Quietly Enzo entered the room of his blond friend who sat cramped on the strange bed. Slowly she raised her eyes and shook her head. "No, Enzo," she must have said. He approached. "No," she said louder, "not here. " But he came closer and took her in his arms. That was too much. Caroline´s walls broke down and made a tortured sound.

The door was opened loudly and Marcel stood ready to fight in the door frame. "Oh," he did, "I thought something had happened here. I apologize for my intrusion. " He quickly disappeared again. He only had heard her no and the tortured sound and had come to defend her. He didn't know these people enough to assess them and had counted on the worst since the Mystic Falls clique accused this enzo. What he had not expected was this Enzo, who kept a crying Caroline amicably so that she did not break apart.

He frowned and went down to the kitchen to Rebekah who was looking for the whiskey.

"Come, let's get some fresh air," Enzo muttered to her hair. They went down the stairs and into the garden. Panting, Caroline closed her eyes.

The horse. And Him.

"You are strong. You're beautiful. You're full of light. I'm enjoying you. "

She shook her head and the tears came out again. If she opened her eyes and turned around there would not be Klaus but her friend Enzo. Enzo who reminded her so much of Klaus and yet was so different.

She turned and looked at him. "You look at me like that again," he whispered. "How?" Care asked. "So full of pain. Like I'm someone who took everything from you. " She quickly looked down.

Marcel looked carefully at Rebekah. She also pricked up her ears. It wasn't right to listen, but maybe it would bring them closer to the problem. Something was very wrong here.

"Won't you tell me what's going on?" Enzo asked gently. "It's too much," Caroline replied, " and you can always be overheard here" "Then we start with light things", the Augustine joked.

Caroline sighed and looked at the sky. "It's this town. And the people who live in it. Look, yeah I'm not miss sunshine right now but that´s way it is. The others exaggerate. They didn't call for over a week until they realized I was missing. It's not important. I was never important. You were right. It's all about Elena. The main thing is Elena's happy. Now I don't play it the way I should and everyone goes crazy and forces me to do things I don't want. Caroline is different, of course it's Enzo's fault. He's somehow manipulated or bewitched her or whatever."

Enzo giggled.

"I've said it before. I'm just everyone's backup. I'm Matts, Damons and Stefan's Elena Backup. I'm Elena's Bonnie Backup. Just tell me one thing. How is it that others don't care about us? Why is it always about Elena? Why is she always the first choice? Why it doesn't matter what happens to the rest of us? Of course she's been through a lot of horrible things, I don't want to sugarcoat that. But it's not just Elena in the world. Let's face it. They don't worry about me. "They're just sensationalistic about what's wrong with Miss Perfect and I'm tired of it. "

"You're right," Rebekah said and stepped into the garden. Caroline looked at her with skepticism. "I never liked Elena before. And I don´t understand you. Elena tore herself a nail and everyone hovered around her like she was in danger of her life. "

"Well," Care said, "Better late insight than none at all. "

"You're right about that. Maybe, but only maybe I could like you Caroline Forbes," Rebekah replied and grinned.

Caroline grinned back. Maybe, but only maybe this would be a new beginning.

"And then Marcel snuck out to see me," Rebekah raved. Caroline smiled. They had gone shopping the closest and she had experienced and told a lot. The earlier adventures. How she became a vampire. They also talked briefly about Bonnie's death. Rebekah tried to distract her and babbled a lot. How Marcel became Klaus son and Rebekah and he fell in love. She tried to suppress her own pain and rejoice for her new friend.

"Yes," said Marcel, "but Klaus is and remains totally paranoid even now with the B. . . " Rebekah struck her hand on his mouth and stared at Caroline in horror.

"What?" she asked, "do you mean the baby? "Don't stare at me so horrified at Bekah, you don't mean Tyler showed up in New Orleans and didn't tell it all hot as a broth. " Rebekah growled and looked carefully at the younger one. She turned away and looked at a dress in the shop window.

"Bekah, may I ask you for something?" Care hesitantly asked some time later. "Yes, of course. " said the ancient vampire, astonished. "Can you just ask me this one question, please? The others will want to squeeze me, but it's none of their business," Caroline replied quietly. "Of course," Rebekah said with sparkling eyes.

"Thank you. "

In the evening the four different companions went to the Salvatore Villa. The vervain was fortunately fast from Caroline's bloodstream. Now it was time. All were gathered which gave the four an eye roll. Sensational gang.

Caroline stabbed her finger and gave a few drops of blood to Stefan. He was supposed to confirm that the vervain was from her organism. Confirming, he nodded. Enzo shook his head and muttered something of "surveillance state". Marcel giggled.

Rebekah looked deep into her new friend's eyes and said: "You will tell the truth. Did Enzo force you into something, make you enchant or manipulate you in any way?" "No," Care replied. Everyone looked at her eagerly. Rebekah said, "Good. " And gave her a vial of vervain.

"Hey, what's with the blondie?" Damon shouted. "We could have asked her even more questions. " "And who do you think you are to know all about me, Damon?" Caroline hit him immediately.

"Pff," Damon said, "I don't care about you. You're nothing. "

Caroline flinched and turned away. The other three followed her.

"Hey Enzo, was I right? She likes bad guys with accents, doesn't she? As often as you hang out together," Damon shouted afterwards.

Caroline turned around, flashed to Damon and slapped him. "You shouldn't have done that, Barbie. I will make your life to hell," Damon replied.

"Oh," Caroline replied, "more than you already have? What are you gonna do, Damon? The only thing keeping me is my mother, and you're friends with her. If I tell her what you did to me back then, you'll lose your only friend. Watch Damon. I'm not that weak little human girl anymore. You have more to lose than I do. " She looked at Elena and Stefan.

"Do you know that you already sound like your lover Klaus Barbie?" Damon shouted. But Caroline had already turned around and left the house.

Marcel and Rebekah flashed forward simultaneously and broke Damon's neck. The others were screaming. But the two also turned around and left the house together with Enzo. They had to find their friend.

They found her outside the police station. "I told my mum I was going away on vacation. Based on my mood, she agreed. She's probably hoping it'll help me get something out. I have to get out of this damn town,""Well, we'll go with you," certain Rebekah.

The bags were packed quickly. The goal would be decided spontaneously. Caroline should see as much as possible.

Rebekah, Marcel, Caroline and Enzo have been on the road for a week. They had gone to the ocean, visited Richmond before and finally settled further south near Charleston for a few days. Rebekah got them a beach house. Caroline enjoyed freedom to the fullest. She swam and went for walks on the beach. She drank blood and laughed with the others.

But the shadows did´nt disappear. The others saw that she was gradually swallowed by something

They heard her crying every night. But Caroline didn't want to confide in anyone. She continued to suffer in silence.

Again all four were sitting together in the living room laughing about Marcel's anecdotes when Rebekah´s phone rang. "Let's give her some privacy," Caroline told Enzo and got up. Rebekah took the call. "Bekah," Klaus snarled on the other end of the line. Care left the house in a hurry. Hearing his voice was too much. The shadows caught up with them.

"You're never enough""It was all lies""You were just his toy"

She couldn't breathe. Caroline sank to the ground and let the tears run free. She could no longer. It was too much.

An hour later Enzo found her in this condition. She was unresponsive.

The friends thought about how they could help Care.

"I have a lousy fear," Rebekah began, "She´s been like this since Nik called. And remember what Damon said? Something's wrong, and it has to do with my brother. But first she has to get out of this state and then she has to talk. It'll help her deal with anything that's in her way. Enzo, I need your help. " Enzo stared at them curiously.

"I'm giving you a crash course in my brother's behavior right now. "

Caroline was sitting on her bed with her legs on. There was a knock, but she didn't want to talk. She dropped her head on her knees. The door opened quietly. "Hello, love," said Enzo and Caroline flinched. "What's with the enzo? "Don't call me that," Caroline snatched. "Why not love? Am I so repulsed by you?" Care flinched again. He resembled him so much. "Why are you doing this to me?" she whispered desperately. "Because you finally need to talk. About you. What's the matter with you. How we can help you, love," Enzo replied. That was too much. Caroline jumped up and ran down the stairs to the kitchen. She poured herself a bourbon. Enzo followed her slowly.

Rebekah put an arm on Care's shoulder. "We want to help you," she whispered. "I can't. " Caroline said, "I can't talk about it. "

"Then show us," Marcel suggested. "You can trust us. We'll never betray you. We are your friends and we have grown fond of you. From now until forever, we are here for you and we will never betray you. " So Marcel changed the oath of Mikaelson´s to her own. A friendship that would outlast anything. From now until forever.

They were sitting in a circle. Hands together. "Close your eyes," Enzo led hrt on. Caroline closed her eyes. "Focus on what you want to show us," Marcel said. "Now let it go. That's good," Rebekah added. And they were drawn into Caroline's world.

Flashback/Present

They saw her live. Her human life. The cocky bitch who was so vulnerable. Alone and excluded. Never number one.

They saw what Damon did to her. How she became a vampire. Matt. A conversation with Elena hit their ears. "You don't know what it's like. Because you're always the first choice. " Go on and on. Tyler as a werewolf. They felt all the fears she endured. How her father tortured her. How stupid she felt. Never loved, always second-best. Nobody put her above Elena or the others. Always the last choice.

Then a ray of hope.

Klaus, who was sitting at her bed on her birthday, talking about the beauty of the world.

The Bracelet

The ball. The dance with Klaus.

Klaus stood before her: "You are beautiful. You're strong. You're full of light. I'm enjoying you. "

The drawing

In front of the grill on the bench. "I want to talk about you. Your hopes, your dreams, everything you want to achieve in life.

The 20s Ball "Perhaps someday. In a year, or maybe a century, you'll turn up at my door. And let me show you what the world has to offer"

Klaus, who saved her from Alaric. "It´s ok. It's me. You're safe. "

The Miss Mystic contest. They had fun and laughed a lot.

Then the shame. The guilt of meeting a monster. betraying your friends like that. Cheating on Tyler like that.

The scene in Elena's house after he bit her.

"The deeper reason is that you're hurt. And that means that part of you is still human. "

"Why would you say that?"

"Because I saw it. Because I caught myself wishing I could forget what horrible things you were doing. "

"But you can't, can you?"

"I know you're in love with me. And someone capable of love can be saved for that very reason. "

Graduation. "He is your first love. I intend to be your last. No matter how long it takes"

Tyler who left her to pursue his revenge plans against Klaus.

And finally the forest.

"No, you don't, because I. . . Yes, I hide our connection behind hostility. And yes, I deeply hate myself for the truth. And if you promise me that you will just disappear and never actually come back then I will tell you the truth. Then I'll tell you the truth and tell you what I want. "

The kiss.

Then a jump. They shouldn't see this. Caroline continued to focus on what happened afterwards.

Blaming Tyler.

The interview with Stefan.

Tyler again. "I saw the good in Klaus. "

Longing, pain and slow realization that shone like a sun. Love. She loved him. No matter how much she fought back. No matter how much she denied it. She loved Klaus.

Then darkness

Tyler had apparently returned alive from New Orleans. She met him in town. He grinned when he saw her. "Hey Care," he fluffed. "Hello," Caroline replied dullly. She didn't know how to deal with him. He had put his revenge over her. Again, she was not important enough. But with her latest insight, Caroline was glad that this had happened. The memory of Klaus was like a beacon inside her. Soon she would leave to see him.

"How are you?" Tyler still asked with a big grin. "What do you want, Tyler," the blonde yelled. "I have news," replied the young hybrid. "Uh-huh," that's all Caroline said. "Yes, you know', her ex began,'I found out a few things about Klaus','Not interested', she just replied and walked past him. "Did you seriously think he would care for you?" Tyler and Caroline froze.

Slowly she turned around. "What?""Well, I don't know what he lied to you to get you laid, but it was all lies. I was in New Orleans Caroline. He forgot about you. "

"What do you want, Tyler?" Care replied sharply. Tyler laughed. "I'll give you a taste of my hell. He laid Hayley and got her pregnant. "

Caroline laughed: "Seriously, Tyler? Is that the best you can do? That's bullshit. Vampires can't have children."

"He's not a vampire. He's a hybrid. And guess what werewolves can vampires be denied? "

The blonde stood stiff as a poker. She got ice-cold. "And you know," Tyler grinned smugly, "I did a little spying on him. He's already laughed at the next one. She looks like you. I believe her name was Cami. You were just his toy. "

"I don't believe you," Caroline shouted hotly. That couldn't be true. It couldn't be true. Already Tyler had grabbed her and pictures rose before her eyes. A pregnant Hayley. Klaus at a bar with a blonde woman. He bowed closer to her.

Care broke loose. Horror was in her eyes. "You know, Caroline. This is my greatest success. He took everything from me and you gave yourself to him. Now live in your own hell. You're never enough. You'll never be enough. "

Caroline ran. She ran as fast as she could. The pain ate her up.

But what did she expect. She had rejected him over and over again. She had been a decoy over and over again. Even when he asked her to be honest, promising he would leave forever, she couldn't tell him. She collapsed. She had walked into the forest. She couldn't breathe. And the darkness surrounded her and brought with it a restful deafness.

Only at night did deafness leave her body and give way to pain.

Slowly Caroline opened her eyes. She didn't lift her head. How could she be so stupid and let herself be carried away to show the others these scenes. You're stupid, Caroline, she said to herself. Stupid stupid stupid.

Rebekah put one arm around her friend. Tears ran down her cheeks. How could she be so blind? She hadn't seen it. Had dismissed Nik's feelings as a pipe dream. And Caroline. Caroline was really full of light. And she loved her brother. She could impale that stupid dog Tyler for what he said to Caroline. She had to make something clear.

Marcel and Enzo nodded grimly. Someone would pay, and that wasn't just Tyler.

"Caroline," Rebekah began. "No," Care came out. "Caroline Forbes, you will listen to me now. Yeah, I know it's a difficult situation. The baby wasn't planned, but now it's here. And Nik was free at the time, you know. I don't think you'd hold that against him either. " Caroline nodded her eyes still lowered.

"Look out. Cami is nothing. A diversion and a diversion for Marcel to overthrow him. He loves you. He loves you with all his heart and I can't believe I'm saying this myself. I didn't want to see it. I wanted to see the monster in my brother because it was easier that way. But I firmly believe in it, no, I know he loves you. "

Caroline looked up in a jerk. Tears ran down her beautiful cheeks. Rebekah struck it off. "It's enough," the ancient vampire went on. "You've lived long enough without each other. Even if you doubt it, trust me. You're gonna get your ass up and forget what that idiot said. And now you're getting back your man. "

What had she gotten herself into. Caroline couldn't believe it. They were in Bekah´s Car and drove for a few hours towards New Orleans.

In the first hour alone she had had 5 panic attacks, 3 crying cramps and countless raving addictions. But not helped. Rebekah Mikaelson remained stubborn. Caroline cursed her, cursed Klaus for his bad example, cursed her mother and the mother of her mother but nothing helped.

They kept coming closer to New Orleans. Caroline desperately, Rebekah stubbornly smiling and the two men enjoyed themselves deliciously.

Slowly Caroline entered Marcel's house. Always on guard as if Klaus could jump around the next corner. Bekah rolled her eyes and pulled her to her room. New Orleans was beautiful. Care had to admit that. But she wasn't ready. She could not face her fears and she could no longer blindly trust that Klaus loved her.

"Here," Rebekah said, wearing a blue dress. "We're going out. Part one of your therapy. How will I get back Caroline fucking Forbes" Care rolled her eyes but it also seized her again the panic. "Don't worry," Bekah whispered, "he's not here tonight. "

She put on the dress, slipped into her shoes and hooked up with Enzo, Caroline didn't have much left. She couldn't beat all three. Grumbling, she booted after Bekah and Marcel. Enzo threw her a calming smile. They entered a bar called Rousseau´s.

As Caroline looked at the bar, she froze. There was this woman standing. Cami. At that moment she hated Rebekah. But she came into her field of vision and looked seriously. "Trust me," she said and moved on with the younger one.

They sit at a table in the middle of the room. Few people seemed to be here. Cami came to her table and Care cramped up. "Hey Marcel, hey Rebekah, glad you could make it. Who did you bring with you," the bartender asked.

"Hi Cami, this are Caroline and Enzo," Marcel introduces them. "Hello", Cami greeted her friendly. Caroline muttered a greeting. She didn't want to be here and see this scene over and over again. But Rebekah was right, she had to fight. The evening went on and so did the alcohol level.

"So Care," Bekah bawled, "I'll bet you for something,""What?" giggled the baby vampire. She'd win at any price. Their ambition has been fueled. Especially when she saw how boring this Camille was.

"I bet you don't dare to sing a song for Klaus here in this bar in our town," Bekah laughed. Caroline got big eyes. What are you serious about? But she would win. "Well, Rebekah had bad luck. I'm gonna win.

"Name your price," Care shouted inebriated. "OK," her friend laughed, " if I win, you will make a marriage proposal to Damon back in Mystic Falls" Caroline swallowed herself on her drink. "Excuse me?" she shouted. "Do you pinch?" Bekah asked. "Never," Care cried, "if I win, you'll credibly confess to Klaus and Elijah, I mean really credibly your lesbian relationship with Hayley and Camille. "

"WHAT?" Rebekah yelled and the boys laughed weakly. "Do you pinch?" taunted the younger one. "Never," growled the ancient vampire. "Good," Caroline breathed and jumped up.

Rebekah smiled at Marcel and Enzo. Everything went according to plan.

Caroline had a brief chat with two vampires. The two nodded and went to the laptop to search for the song.

At that moment someone entered the bar and headed straight for his sister.

"Hey Nik," Rebekah whispered in a good mood. "Why are you whispering and who is that?" he asked, pointing to Enzo. "Oh," giggled Rebekah, "this is Enzo. Picked him up in mystic falls. He's a very bad boy. Poor Elena really hates him. "

Enzo and Klaus bowed. Then they grinned at each other and strike.

Who'd have liked Elena?

When Klaus wanted to start talking, music sounded. A quick look at the stage and he froze. "What the hell," he came out.

Caroline got on stage and closed her eyes. She suppressed the darkness inside her and thought of the beautiful moments with Klaus. The music began.

Everybody needs inspiration. Everybody needs a song. A beautiful melody, when the night's so long.

She left her eyes closed and put all her feelings into this song. All voices went out.

Cause there is no guarantee, that this life is easy.

Yeah, when my world is falling apart. When there's no, light to break up the dark.

That's when I, I, I look at you.

She opened her eyes and met blue-green irises. He was here.

When the waves are flooding the shore. And I can't find my way home anymore.

That's when I, I, I look at you

Their eyes sank into each other. Longing. Love. The feelings flowed through her.

When I look at you, I see forgiveness, I see the truth.

She had seen his humanity.

You love me for who I am like the stars hold the moon. Right there where they belong And I know I'm not alone.

He had always loved her as she was. With all her mistakes. How could she ever doubt that?

Yeah, when my world is falling apart. When there's no light to break up the dark.

That's when I, I, I look at you.

She remembered his voice. "You are full of light. " But now he helped her out of the darkness.

When the waves are flooding the shore. And I can't find my way home anymore.

That's when I, I, I look at you.

You appear just like a dream to me. Just like kaleidoscope colors that cover me. All I need, every breath that I breathe. Don't you know, you're beautiful Yeah, yeah, yeah

She closed her eyes. It was to much.

When the waves are flooding the shore. And I can't find my way home anymore.

That's when I, I, I look at you, I look at you. You appear just like a dream to me.

And fear came back.

The blond beauty left the stage fleetingly. But the man of her dreams was already standing next to her and held her by the arm. "Caroline," he breathed. His eyes shone. But that could not be, she had to be wrong. She had to get out of here. Rebekah set it all up. As soon as she saw him, she was suddenly sober. She had fallen for it.

"Come on, dear," said Klaus, pulling her out. "Don't let her go, Nik," Rebekah shouted. Caroline turned around and threw an angry yet desperate look at the primordial vampire. But she just nodded encouragingly. Marcel and Enzo actually kept their fingers crossed.

She was hardly released in the fresh air. They strolled silently down the street. Suddenly the hybrid stopped and turned to her. "What are you doing here, love?" he asked quietly. But she just looked down. She didn't know what to say. The fear paralyzed Caroline.

A hand lay under her chin. And suddenly his serious eyes hit her with tears. Slowly he attracted her as if she could break. Caroline felt his strong arms and could inhale his scent again. Her dams burst and she sobbed. Klaus held her.

At some point she calmed down and looked up. Sir had both probably landed on a park bench a bit offside. Care couldn't remember moving. A hand stroked her cheek and she was terrified: "Who hurt you so?" asked her last love. Caroline shook her head. "Will you believe me if I tell you I did it myself?" asked the blonde instead.

Klaus looked confused. Caroline saw in his eyes concern and compassion and something else. She just had to say it. But how? The hybrid, on the other hand, tilted its head and looked at it: "Do you want to talk about it?" he asked. "I don't know how," she replied. He got up and reached out to her. She took these and was pulled up. "Well," said Klaus, "I'll show you my town and you'll talk. " Caroline giggled slightly and let herself go. His hand never left hers.

She was talking. About her lives, her dreams and desires. Some euphemisms. Others not. She finally talked about her fears. She knew that Klaus knew her.

"I understand," he later said. "You know,love, we're all not flawless. And fear is part of life, but you know it. Everyone acts irrationally when they're afraid. But what makes you think you've caused yourself pain?"

Caroline was wondering how she could answer the question. She felt safe with him. Klaus has always been a safe haven, but at the same time often enough made her insecurities boil up. How could she say it? How to show? Show that was it. She faced him and laid her hands on his face. Then she closed her eyes.

She showed Klaus the scenes they experienced together and her feelings. As she became more agitated with every promise and at the same time resigned. Because no one could love her that much. She ditched him. The scene in the forest intentionally omitted. "Something is missing," Klaus notes. He seemed surprised. Caroline made a decision. Rebekah was right. She had to fight if she wanted to win this extraordinary man.

So she looked him deep in the eyes and started the words again:

"Yes, I hid our connection behind hostility. And yes, I hated myself deeply for the truth. And I took that promise away from you for fear of myself. But with this promise, I have caused myself the most pain. With every lie and every distraction. With every sharp remark to you. And I have no idea how to go on or if I can ever deal with my fears of never being enough. But I want to be enough. I want to be enough for you. I am here because I want to fight for my life and. . . "

Hesitantly, Caroline broke off. Klaus' eyes had grown up but he quickly caught himself, approached her close and took her face into his hands.

"I can't tell you you'll never doubt Caroline. I told you already. We're the same. But I can try to show you that you're worth it. And with every day that passes, you'll believe it a little more than time is on our side. "

Caroline laid her hands on his. "Klaus?" she asked. "Hm?", made the beautiful hybrid.

Slowly the blonde smiled. "We need a new promise," she giggled, "I'm afraid they've all come true because I'm in love. "

A smile spread to Klaus' face.

"Then I promise you I'll be your last love" and that's how he kissed her.

Caroline didn't know what the future would bring. Too many uncertainties lay on their way.

But Niklaus Mikaelson would sweep them all aside.

#klaroline #klaroline shippers club #klaus x caroline #kcedits #klarolineinfinity #the originals #vampire diaries #klarolinerewind

24 notes · View notes

bamon4bamily · 6 years ago

Text

TVD 9x02 (part 3) Enjoy =)

Cut to – Damon and Darius arrive at the site and see Matt.

DAMON: Donovan, where are they?!

MATT: Damon, you need to leave. Let us do our job.

DAMON: If we leave it to your smurf squad, this story will most definitely end up in a tragedy; so, no. Now tell me what the hell is going on!?

MATT: Damon, step aside, I’m warning you…

DAMON: (Grabs him by the neck) Listen, Donovan…

DARIUS: Damon! (Uses his powers to stop him, drops him unconscious) he said, step aside.

MATT: (Knowing he is involved in some way) Actually, what I said (shoots him with a tranquilizer gun) was to let us do our job! (Drops to the ground) Quick, cuff him!

POLICE OFFICER 2: And what should we do with this one? (Referring to Damon).

MATT: Just leave him here, when he wakes up he’ll know what to do.

As the Police Officer is cuffing Darius, he disappears, they all drop to the floor, unconscious. Darius comes out of the cave entrance.

DARIUS: The arrogance! Gets to me every time.

Cut to – Alaric, Sergei and Radka arriving at the hospital, they go into Bonnie’s room, it's empty. They see Damon’s phone. Alaric gets a call from Elena.

ALARIC: Elena! Are you O.K? Where are you guys?

ELENA: I’m headed back to the school to meet you…

ALARIC: Well, you won’t find us there, we just got to the hospital… what the hell happened?

ELENA: Damon didn’t call you?

ALARIC: No, he left his phone here…

ELENA: Typical! Ric, Bonnie disappeared, Darius tried to do a locator spell, got a hint on the location, they were both headed there, and I was supposed to meet you back at the school…

ALARIC: Elena listen, turn back and meet us here, we’ll go find them together.

ELENA: O.K, turning around, be there in a few.

Cut to cave scene – Damon and Matt wake up in a cell.

DAMON: Donovan?

MATT: Damon? What happened?

DAMON: I think it’s safe to say, we’ve been trapped.

MATT: We need to get out of here fast!

DAMON: No shit Sherlock…

MATT: No, you don’t understand, this place… (drops unconscious again, Bonnie walks to the cell door).

BONNIE: Oops, I hope he didn’t hit his head… too hard.

DAMON: Bonnie?

BONNIE: Let me guess, my response should be: “one and only”. Sorry, but I’m a bit tired of the predictable. Why don’t we go with “Hello, brother… from another mother” Ha, that actually wasn’t bad… Mmm, maybe it was…

DAMON: Who the hell are you and where is the real Bonnie?

BONNIE: Why is it so hard for you people to believe me? I am Bonnie! Hello?! Don’t you recognize me? It hurts me that you don’t, I wasn’t gone for that long. (Reenacting the desiccation scene) This hurts me… This hurts… This hurts me… that’s what I want you to remember, that you hurt me. Enough proof? Who else would have known that, Damon? We were the only ones there… Oh, and your “letter” by the way… pathetic. “Just like she did…” Really?

DAMON: What do you want?

BONNIE: From you? Nothing, yet. I mean, let’s be real, you are pretty much useless like this (referring to him as a human).

DAMON: Where is Bonnie?!

BONNIE: This again… O.K, I’m getting tired with this conversation so time for a little “time-out” before it’s your turn to play. (Damon drops unconscious again).

Cut to –Alaric, Elena, Sergei and Radka arriving near the cave entrance area.

ALARIC: Are you sure it’s here Elena?

ELENA: I’m pretty sure… look (points at the cave entrance).

ALARIC: Everyone wait here; let me go check it out.

SERGEI: Alaric, perhaps I should go instead. (Sergei walks in, comes out a few seconds later). Nothing, it is a dead end, look for yourselves… (They walk in, it is just a closed cave, no pathway, they walk out).

ELENA: It has to be here, I saw it on the map…

RADKA: Maybe it has some kind of protection, cloaking spell?

ALARIC: Maybe… Hey, can you feel that? Wait… (they all drop unconscious except Sergei).

SERGEI: What kind of sorcery is this? Oh lord, this is no good omen… (His eyes daze, he goes into a trance-like state, a pathway opens).

Cut to cave scene - Bonnie is in a cell, lying on the floor. Wakes up very confused. Darius is with her.

BONNIE: Darius? Where are we? What’s going on? (Grabs her head) My head, I can’t…

DARIUS: I know. Just relax Bon-Bon, everything will be fine, trust me.

BONNIE: What… what’s happening?

DARIUS: We have been waiting for you, for a very long time, Bon.

BONNIE: What? You’re not making any sense; did someone drug you or something?

DARIUS: Don’t worry, just close your eyes and shut your mind… it’s O.K Bon, this is your destiny…

BONNIE: What the hell are you talking about!? (With clear signs of pain) My head, my head… (she goes unconscious again)

DARIUS: (Kisses her forehead) I know Bon-Bon. There, there, just relax … it won’t be long now…

Cut to – Damon wakes-up, tied up, in some weird lab like place inside the cave.

DARIUS: You should have trusted your intuition, Damon.

DAMON: (With a hate look) Where is Bonnie?

DARIUS: She will be with us soon, don’t worry. But she will need some motivation, and, for the life of me, I just can’t understand why that is you… You can thank me later for this (injects him with something, Damon starts to convulse, pupils dilating, veins thickening, looks like he is in a lot of pain.)

DAMON: What are you doing to me!!?? Ahhh!!!!! (Damon passes out for a moment).

DARIUS: (Slapping him) Damon, Damon? You with me? (Damon wakes up, very confused). Uff, thought I lost you for a second there…

DAMON: What happened? What the hell did you do to me?!

DARIUS: I just gave you back your life purpose, not to mention your sense of humor and tolerance for alcohol. So, I believe a thank you is in place. Of course, I do expect something in return; but first, we need to make sure this worked…

Darius feeds him a blood bag, Damon devours it, he is even more confused.

DAMON: How? This is impossible…

DARIUS: I assure you, it’s not. It just takes an incredibly gifted Biogenetics Scientist witch-psychic, plus centuries of research and trials, but alas... an antidote. Not really sure about the side-effects though, but what the hell, can’t be worse than what happened to the last one… I’ll be honest Damon, it was not an easy task to accomplish, but then again, neither was creating the cure or the immortality serum… granted someone else took the credit for that. Maybe I should have registered? Well, I always had a soft spot for Qetsiyah, so I let it slide. You see Damon, the Bennets and I go way back… but I got to hand it to you, Bonnie is by far my favorite one.

DAMON: … You’re immortal…

DARIUS: You picked up on that, sharp! Maybe your stupidity was related to the human thing…

DAMON: Why are you doing this? What the hell do you want from us?!

DARIUS: You are just a pawn, that’s all. Bonnie, however, is quite literally the star of the show… me and the munchkins, the co-stars.

DAMON: Well, you cast the wrong lead, Dr. Doom, Bonnie will kick your ass with a blink of an eye…

DARIUS: I’m well aware of her capabilities Damon, but even the most powerful ones have a weak spot.

DAMON: If you think I’m going to help you, with whatever it is you are planning, you failed at casting a lackey too. Your little Frankenstein experiment is useless; if anything, you just made the worst mistake of your life…

DARIUS: Nop, I was wrong, it’s not a human or vampire thing, it’s a Damon thing. Trust me, I was prepared for this, which is why I’ll need you to flip your little switch off.

DAMON: (Sarcastically) Sure, your wish is my command! (Blinks in an I dream of Jeannie way).

DARIUS: Oh, trust me, it is…

“Bonnie” walks in, looks as though she is in a trance.

DAMON: Bon, get out of here…

DARIUS: Oh, she can’t see or hear you. Now, switch it off or I will rip her heart out and force feed it to you… you’re into that kind of thing, right?

DAMON: You won’t kill her… so you’re going to have to come up with something better than that. And here I was all worried because you are supposed to be some sort of genius…

DARIUS: Again, with the arrogance and just plain idiocy. No one knows better than you that there are things much worse than death, Damon. I wonder what your precious Bonnie would do if she saw you kill one of her best friends? (“Elena” walks in, also in a trance-like state) Oh, and she can’t hear or see you either, so…

DAMON: You can’t make do anything…

DARIUS: I believe you knew an old friend of mine, Cybill? Hot, wasn’t she? I reckon she would disagree. I taught her and Selene everything they knew, my old pal Cade too.

DAMON: Then why all the for-play? You could have just controlled me when I was human, or even now… guessing that the student does surpass the teacher...

DARIUS: I know I could have, but, much to my regret, I can only use you in full vamp ruthless mode… and unfortunately, the switch thing does require free will. You switched it while you were under Cybill’s control because she found something that scared the hell out of you. I, on the other hand, have something even better. So, once again, switch it off now, with no collateral damage, or wait for that push that will, beyond a doubt, destroy the person you love the most… and I’m not talking about Elena… (Darius puts his hands on Damon’s head, he goes into utter disappear and desperation, tears running from his eyes). You see, I got you just where I want you… so, unless you want me to turn that into a reality, turn it off, Damon.

DAMON: I swear, I will …

DARIUS: Yes, yes, I know, rip my heart, bla, bla… ready?

DAMON: (In his mind) Bon-Bon, if you can somehow hear me… you need to fight through this… I am so sorry, I have no choice… don’t let go…

DARIUS: Ah, sweet words, Damon, really. But like I told you, she can’t hear you. You have 3 seconds until I make your worst nightmare come true…

DAMON: (With a hateful look) This isn’t over… (Damon closes his eyes)

DARIUS: Yes, yes, whatever… off you go!

Damon opens his eyes and has his signature switched off look. The “Bonnie & Elena” images disappear, they were never really there.

DARIUS: (Looks straight into Damon’s eyes) Glad to have you on board, pal. (Grabs his forehead) Now, all you need to do is give our friend Bonnie a little push, make her feel that you are with her on this and that it’s for the best that she lets go; she needs to let go, understood? No matter how hard she fights back, and trust me, she will, you need to follow through (unties him).

DAMON: Piece of cake, Bon-Bon and I have a special bond.

DARIUS: That’s why I chose you for the job “pal”. Now, we need to get things started.

Darius takes Damon to a place deeper inside the waterfall cave. A group of people in hooded capes are surrounding a mystical symbol. Inside the symbol the missing students are placed at a cardinal point, each one holding an object representing the 4 elements, they are in a trance-like state.

MAN 1: Everything is in place, I presume?

DARIUS: Almost, we just need our friend here (referring to Damon) to bring us the keys and the link. Damon, you see, the final pieces of the puzzle can only come inside the circle on their own free will, so we’ll need you to lure your BBF and the twins here… make it seem as though you are rescuing them, understood?

DAMON: Yep, sure thing.

Damon leaves.

MAN 2: Are we sure this vampire is trustworthy?

DARIUS: I made sure he was, we have nothing to worry about. Once he has played his part, I will deal with him.

WOMAN 1: And you are certain you have “the chosen one”, let’s not forget what happened last time…

DARIUS: Trust me, she is the one.

Damon comes back with the twins and the real Bonnie, who believe they are being saved by him.

BONNIE: (Seeing what they just walked into, and still weakened from whatever Darius gave her) Damon? What is this?

DAMON: (His face changes to the switched-off Damon) Sorry Bon-Bon, didn’t you see this coming? I thought you were psychic…

BONNIE: (To Damon) How could you? (To the twins) Girls, don’t let go of my hand… no matter what…

DARIUS: Ah, Bon-Bon… always the martyr. But now, it’s finally time for you to become the goddess you are meant to be…

BONNIE: Stay away from us!

DARIUS: Stop fighting Bon, deep inside, you know you want this, and even if you didn’t, there is nothing you can do to stop it. That cocktail I gave you, made sure of it… but the spotlight is not on you, yet, first we need the keys… (against her will, she lets the go of the girl’s hands).

TWINS: Aunt Bonnie?!…

BONNIE: Girls!! (To Darius) Stop! (She tries to use her powers but is unsuccessful).

DARIUS: (To the twins) Don’t be scared, it’s O.K. Now, aunt Bonnie’s voice asked you to do something, remember? Stand right here, and do exactly what she told you… I promise you and your auntie will be just fine. Now, repeat what your auntie says…

BONNIE: I won’t!!

DARIUS: Oh, Bob-Bon, you just don’t get it. You can’t be a God if you think like a human. Your ethos has always been your weakness… you don’t ask for people’s permission to access their mind, you just do. That’s what makes us different.

BONNIE: So, why me? Why not just do it yourself?

DARIUS: I’m flattered that you would think I have that kind of power, but I don’t. My craft lies more in the illusion realm; you, however, have limitless potential, reason why you are the chosen one.

BONNIE: Chosen for what?

DARIUS: To release this world of its toxicity… to purify and restore balance.

BONNIE: You are insane!

DARIUS: I might be, but trust me, Bonnie, this is for the greater good.

BONNIE: Listen, just let the girls and the students go; you and I can settle this on our own.

DARIUS: We can’t do that, the munchkins are literally the keys to open the portal… and the students, the sacrifice. That’s just how it works Bon, I didn’t make the rules. Now, we really need to start. Girls, repeat after auntie Bonnie.

BONNIE: (Trying to resist, but just can’t, she starts chanting) Vas matos ostende nobis lucem tuam divinam unum…

TWINS: Vas matos ostende nobis lucem tuam divinam unum…

BONNIE: Vas matos ostende nobis lucem tuam divinam unum…

TWINS: Vas matos ostende nobis lucem tuam divinam unum…

BONNIE: Vas matos ostende nobis lucem tuam divinam unum…

TWINS: Vas matos ostende nobis lucem tuam divinam unum…

The place begins to shake, as if a terrible earthquake was taking place, suddenly and overwhelming beam light rises from a rock and it cracks, the portal opens, the alpha-omega crystal is exposed.

DARIUS: Excellent girls! Thank you, your work here is done (the girls collapse unconscious).

BONNIE: Girls!

DARIUS: They’ll be fine Bon, don’t worry. Now, it’s your time to shine. Close your eyes and concentrate really hard… Let it in and let go…

BONNIE: (Trying to resist as hard as she can) I said no!

DARIUS: Thought you would fight it, so I brought some motivation (points to Damon).

BONNIE: Guess you aren’t that good of a psychic, I really don’t care what happens to him…

DARIUS: Oh, Bon-Bon, stop pretending, I know you do. But… if you say so... (snaps Damon’s neck, Bonnie doesn’t know he has been revamped)

BONNIE: No!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (Lashes a huge psychic blast that releases the energy source from the crystal; Darius injects her again to be able to control her to perform the linking spell).

DARIUS: Ahhh, there it is! I knew this would work! Now, it’s time to prove just how special you really are (grabs her by the temples and starts chanting) Repeat after me… Vas matos sunt universi, ut alpha et omega

BONNIE: (Chants, resists) Vas matos sunt universi, ut alpha… No…

DARIUS: Come on Bon! (Damon wakes up) Quick, Damon, look into her eyes and tell her what I told you to say…

BONNIE: Damon? Is that really you? How? I...

DAMON: I’m here. I’m real... (Through his thoughts) It's me, Bon, I’m not going to leave you... look at me, sense me... don’t let go...

DARIUS: (Keeps leading her into the chant) Vas matos, sunt universi, ut alpha et omega…

BONNIE: Vas matos sunt universi, ut alpha et omega…

DARIUS: Vas matos, sunt universi, ut alpha et omega…

BONNIE: Vas matos sunt universi, ut alpha et omega…

The energy from the crystal is absorbed into Bonnie’s body; her eyes turn white as if they were pure light. Damon drops to the ground, can’t hold eye contact.

DARIUS: There it is!! The goddess has risen!!! Now, think of them, all of them… they don’t belong here… set them free… (Bonnie’s eyes start turning black).

Damon communicates with her through his thoughts: Bon-Bon, I’m here, not going anywhere… we are in this together, no matter what... (she hesitates).

BONNIE: (Through her thoughts) Damon? I thought...

DAMON: I know… do you trust me?

BONNIE: I do…

DAMON: Don’t let go, Bon. Doesn’t matter what this psycho gave you... you are stronger… believe in yourself…

DARIUS: (Bonnie starts gaining her power again and resisting, Darius senses they are communicating telepathically) I have no idea how you are doing this, but I warned you (hits and stakes Damon).

DAMON: Bon-Bon... I...

BONNIE: Damon…No!!!!!!!!

(Lashes an even stronger psychic blast, her eyes now completely turn black, her power grows uncontrollably, she is beyond herself, completely merged with the source… The hooded people, Darius, and the students drop to the ground, the entire place turns pitch black... total silence).

TVD 9X04 (part 1) Coming soon. Hope you stop by, read and enjoy! =)

26 notes · View notes

mystic-scripture · 6 years ago

Note

:O TELL ME about "The Silken Dagger". Has it been published yet? Tell me EVERYTHING. Inspiration - where'd you get the idea for this? Tell me about Valinia!!!

There is so much to tell about my scrappy little werewolf and her journey through my head!! At one point I had gotten like 8 chapters of the original story, Twisted Fates on DeviantArt and my old and since deleted FF.net account. Right now, I have two chapters I want to run through before posting. They are currently sitting in my Wattpad Drafts as well as in my google drive, teasing me as of late.

Since you asked for everything…Imma put a read more line just to be on the safe side.

I’m a Writer and Totally Down for Fic Questions in My Inbox!

Okay, So back when I was a junior/ senior in high school, I really wanted to add something to the Vampire Diaries, right? Well, this is where Valinia was born. Her first iteration she was a witch from a founding family and her mother was a Salvatore expert, they were always tracking them and moving, and her father was a hunter. Except one day, they were on their way to Mystic Falls, and a few of Katherine’s “friends” killed her parents. Damon intercepted before she could and then he uses her to help find Katherine (thinking she’s still in the tomb at the time).

He compels her to forget unless the two of them were alone together, and so she is helping Stefan to take him down at the same time she’s helping Damon with his evil plot. Then enter the whole Vicki of it all, and she gets hurt real bad protecting Jeremy and Damon turns her.

However, since vampire witches didn’t exist in the canon for a long ass time until the siphoners became a thing….I had to do some rethinking of my girl.

So I did a full scale redo, new faceclaim, new back story, everything.

For Version Two: I had Holland Roden instead of Emma Roberts and she was a werewolf that came into Mystic Falls with Jules and her pack. Her mission to get close to Tyler to find the moonstone as well as find out what the hell happened to Mason. This would turn into her getting compromised and helping the scooby gang, as well as a personal vendetta after Klaus since he killed her pack.

This version didn’t get very far because I just couldn’t get into Nia’s head as much.

Bring in Version Three: So, I changed from Holland to Kat, who after being cast as Clary became the obvious choice for me. As well as with the characters I wanted her to interact with more, I decided to keep her a werewolf like Tyler, except for one difference. She was from an amish/ domestic terrorist cult pack that had paired itself with a good coven of witches, where they brainwashed their young into becoming super killers. And well, I’ll just pop this here and you can ask any other questions you have, since I really REALLY want to write for her more!!

Full Name: Valinia Marie Thomas

Face Claim: Katherine McNamara

Birthday: May 19, 1993

Age: 17 (season 3)

Zodiac: Taurus

Height: 5'5"

Hair: red/ ginger

Eyes: hazel/ glow yellow

Species: natural born Werewolf, Hybrid (as sired by Klaus)

Sexuality: Heterosexual

Occupation: Vampire Hunter

Fandom: The Vampire Diaires

Location: various motels/ back seat of her car/ mystic Falls, Virginia

Love Interest: Matt Donovan, Kol Mikaelson (more of a spying mission/ easy sex)

Weapon/Fighting: wooden stakes, arrows carved and forged with vervain and a crossbow, hand to hand combat, Hybrid abilities and instincts

Book: The Silken Dagger

Backstory: Valinia Thomas was raised in the boonies with a pack of werewolves who teamed up with a coven of witches dead set on one thing, and one thing only; creating the best vampire killing machines. At the age of ten her curse was forcefully activated, and after four years of training, her and a couple of others her age underwent a ‘breaking Amish’ mission that ended with her coming back to find her pack decimated. Three years later, she is still doing what she was trained to do.

Unfortunately, she gets a call from an old contact and is sent to Mystic Falls where her life is about to make an interesting turn.

Sorry for the really long post, but I hope that this helped you with your curiosity, Day!! Thanks so much for asking! She has always been a precious little badass who needed to be reminded of her humanity (Something that Matty Blue Blue sure as hell is gonna do 😉)

#aks answered #ask me anything #writing asks #thanks day!#darknightfrombeyond #convos #fic: the silken dagger #oc: nia thomas #my scrappy little werewolf

4 notes · View notes

pedra-ring-blog · 6 years ago

Text

Top 10 Greatest Leonardo DiCaprio Movies of All Time

Source We all love Leo for his promising performance. May he be a bad boy, a romantic boyfriend, or a mentally-ill child, we couldn't deny the fact that he's an incredible actor. Plus, he's the King of Freak-Out scenes! Now, let's find out his top 10 greatest movie roles of all time. 1. Titanic

His most popular movie performance of all is playing Jack Dawson in the award-winning 1997 movie, Titanic. This box-office, record-breaking movie that stunned millions of people across the globe has made a worldwide phenomenon that goes deep down in history. Besides the heart-breaking story of the tragic ship, there's also Leo and Kate's chemistry that binds the audiences into a more level of attachment. No doubt, it's still the summit of Leo's career, and one of the greatest old-school movies to come out of Hollywood in the last 20 years. Fun facts: Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet committed to the film even before the script was written, on the basis only of a 165-page outline James Cameron had written.The hands seen sketching Rose are not Leonardo DiCaprio's, but director James Cameron's. In post-production, Cameron, who is left-handed, mirror-imaged the sketching shots so the artist would appear to be right-handed, like DiCaprio.Both Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio learned how to dance the polka for the scenes set at the party in the third-class compartments.Johnny Depp was offered the role of Jack Dawson, but turned it down, and considers it a big regret. 2. What's Eating Gilbert Grape

Source In this emotional, tear-jerking movie, our young Leo plays Arnie Grape, who is a mentally handicapped teenager. He's the younger brother of Gilbert (Johnny Depp), who struggles to bring their family out of difficult circumstances. Leo's performance as a mentally disabled teen is so convincing, it'll make you think that he's definitely not normal at all. This movie brought our young Leo to his first Oscar-nominated role. It's just so sad that he won't be able to tell his "Mamma" about his Oscar award, because she won't wake up anymore. Fun facts: Leo said that playing Arnie Grape was "the most fun I've ever had."When getting into character, Leo remarked of it. I spent a few days at a home for mentally retarded teens. We just talked and I watched their mannerisms. People have these expectations that mentally retarded children are really crazy, but that isn't so. It's refreshing to see them because everything's so new to them."Leo created Arnie's trademark flicking his finger against his nose, describing it as a sort of "brain wipe...like Arnie is massaging the inside of his brain."Leo really did not bathe during the period in filming when Arnie refused to go near water! 3. Romeo + Juliet

Before Leo had the role of Jack in Titanic, he's already a hot icon for being the handsome, sexy, and romantic boyfriend that every single ladies dream of having. Set in the modern era, Baz Luhrmann's histrionic, gang-war-filled setting take on the classic play. Although Kate and Leo's chemistry is so much perfect in Titanic, it is undeniably true that Leo and Claire's pair up is also stunning. Fun facts: Leonardo DiCaprio's version of Romeo's speech at Juliet's bier was so good it movedClaire Danes to tears, nearly ruining the scene. The moment the director yelled "cut!," Danes smacked DiCaprio on the arm and said, "Don't make me cry. I'm supposed to be comatose, here!"Leonardo DiCaprio was Baz Luhrmann's first choice to play Romeo.Claire Danes and Leonardo DiCaprio initially did not get along well on set. Danes accused Leonardo DiCaprio of being immature, while Leo said Danes was just uptight. 4. Catch Me If You Can

Source Who would've thought that this handsome, good-looking man is a fugitive? Not in real life though, but in Steven Spielberg's hit movie, "Catch Me if You Can". Leo is Frank Abagnale, a real-life con-man who traveled around the country and lived the high life as he impersonated pilots, lawyers, and doctors. Leo's acting from one character to another is just so promising, we'll all convinced that he's not just impersonating. Fun facts: To get her to achieve the way he wanted her to sloppily kiss Leonardo DiCaprio, Steven Spielberg asked Amy Adams to pretend she was starving to death and eating a cheeseburger.According to the real Frank Abagnale Jr. approximately 80 percent of the movie is true.When Frank begins recruiting decoy flight attendants; when announcing the girls picked he announces the actresses by real name.17-year-old Frank tells Brenda he's 28 years old, which was Leonardo DiCaprio's true age when Catch Me If You Can premiered in 2002. 5. The Departed

Source One of the most intense roles that Leo ever had was playing the role of Billy Costigan as a cop infiltrating the mob. Together with Matt Damon as a mobster infiltrating the police force, the film is an intricate, fascinating tale of competing cat-and-mouse games. However, the film director and his screenwriter infuse it with so much tragedy that it winds up becoming something almost mythic. But seeing Leo's performance is just so intense, in a totally unglamorous way by being a desperate man who almost loses his identity. It's one of his all-time greatest performances. Fun facts: Leo could've won an Oscar award for this movie. A possible reason why he did not receive an Oscar nomination for his performance in this movie was because the Warner Bros. Studios initially did not want to favor him over his co-stars and place him in the leading actor category. The studio favored his leading performance in Blood Diamond (2006) (which eventually got him a nomination). DiCaprio himself refused to campaign against his male co-stars in the supporting actor category, so Warner bought no supporting actor ads for DiCaprio, and he did not receive a nomination.Leonardo DiCaprio was cast in the title role in The Good Shepherd (2006).Leonardo DiCaprio called his one-on-one scene with Jack Nicholson "one of the most memorable moments of my life." 6. Django Unchained

Source Playing the matured role of a slave owner Calvin Candie in a smooth and attractive way is definitely a credit to Leo's amazing talent. His dirty, racist, and demented heart on Quentin Tarantino's hit movie "Django Unchained" brought him into a remarkable role of being the bad guy playing his cards on a sophisticated way. This is a man who breeds and forces his slaves to fight each other, who has a weird fascination with France, and who is, at heart, a murderous psychotic. Fun facts: When Leonardo DiCaprio's character Calvin Candie smashes his hand on the dinner table, the actor accidentally crushed a small stemmed glass with his palm and really began to bleed. DiCaprio ignored it, stayed in character, and continued with the scene. Tarantino was so impressed that he used this take in the final print, and when he called cut, the room erupted in a standing ovation. DiCaprio's hand was bandaged and he suggested the idea of smearing blood onto the face of Kerry Washington. Tarantino and Washington both liked this, so Tarantino got some fake blood together.During the filming of one of the dinner scenes, Leonardo DiCaprio had to stop the scene because he was having "a difficult time" using so many racial slurs. Samuel L. Jackson then pulled him aside telling him, "Motherfucker, this is just another Tuesday for us." 7. The Basketball Diaries

Source Another young Leo movie, this is just one of the many proofs that Leo was born to act. His role in the movie adaptation of Jim Carroll's memoir, The Basketball Diaries, is a big shift from playing the sweet, innocent, and mentally-challenged Arnie in "What's Eating Gilbert Grape" to a high school basketball star, who eventually becomes broken, and worse, a homeless drug addict. But Leo's flexible character made him so amazing in this movie, which brought a dramatic atmosphere in his struggles as a broken teenager. Fun facts: The guy Jim talks to in the underground drugden, is the real Jim Carroll.Leonardo DiCaprio and Juliette Lewis previously appeared together in What's Eating Gilbert Grape (1993).This is the first film with Leonardo DiCaprio and Mark Wahlberg. They would later appear together in The Departed.Jim Carroll was unaware of who Leonardo DiCaprio was at first. "When they first told me it was gonna be Leo, I didn't know who he was," Carroll told The Los Angeles Times. "If they'd said the kid from Growing Pains (1985), I would have known, because when I first saw that kid, I said, 'This kid has a lot of presence.' I said, 'That kid is very pretty. He's gonna do well.'"To prepare for his role, Leonardo DiCaprio hung out in Greenwich Village and went to a poetry reading with Carroll. 8. The Aviator

Source This movie is another Martin Scorsese's. Leo plays the role of Howard Hughes in his early years of being an inventor, and at the same time, a bigtime millionaire businessman. He's facing a lot of problems in almost everything. As he tries to continue chasing his plans and dreams, there are times when he's about to get mad, and Leo's characterization on this part of Howard's life is truly convincing. He's definitely a great actor for this movie. Fun facts: Leonardo DiCaprio spent a day with Jane Russell to hear her memories and impressions of Howard Hughes. She was very impressed with DiCaprio's visit and told him that Hughes was a quiet yet extremely stubborn man who always got his way in the end.Howard Hughes' Los Angeles home in the film was actually the home he lived on Muirland Drive.Leonardo DiCaprio received an Oscar nomination for playing Howard Hughes.Leonardo DiCaprio (standing roughly 6ft) is several inches smaller than the actual Howard Hughes (6ft4). 9. Revolutionary Road

This 2008 movie is kind of special, as Leo and his Titanic partner Kate were reunited for this adaptation of Richard Yates' classic novel "Revolutionary Road". This movie is mainly about suburban despair and two adults who realizes that life is not as easy as one-two-three. Contrary to their adventurous and colorful characters in Titanic, their roles in this movie is matured and somehow full of problems. Leo's excellent performance in this movie is his signature freak-out, where we're all stunned and scared for a moment as he burst out his anger and disappointment. Fun facts: While directing the love scene between Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet, director Sam Mendes (husband of Winslet at the time) opted to watch the monitor from another room.This was the second movie Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet worked on together since Titanic (1997). Paramount Pictures, which distributed the early film in the U.S., was the worldwide distributor of this film.This film marked the second time Kate Winslet has been in a movie where she makes love in a vintage car, and someone's hand hits the window and slides down it in the throes of passion. The first time was in Titanic (1997). 10. The Man in the Iron Mask

Source After the success of Titanic comes this movie. Leo, who played the sneering, playboy King Louis XIV with his long-imprisoned twin has become a hit after Leo's stardom in Titanic. Young Leo was so versatile, he was able to play two different characters in one movie! Besides, we can also see Leo in his elegant robes while hiding the fact that there's something more dreadful in those shiny dress. Fun facts: Leonardo DiCaprio's mask was made out of polystyrene.Louis XIV did have a brother named Philippe, but he was not a twin. He was several years younger, a flamboyant homosexual, and had the title Duc d'Orleans.MGM discovered the audience the movie attracted was "directly related to appeal of Leonardo DiCaprio", being 55% female and 46% under the age of 25.The film cast includes two Oscar winners: Leonardo DiCaprio and Jeremy Irons; and two Oscar nominees: John Malkovich and Gérard Depardieu. Read the full article

4 notes · View notes

movieswithkevin27 · 7 years ago

Text

Look Ahead: December 2017

All the Money in the World

One of the most hotly discussed films of the month has to be Ridley Scott’s All the Money in the World. Telling the story of the kidnapping and mutilation of John Paul Getty III in an attempt to extract money from his grandfather J. Paul Getty, All the Money in the World was originally set to feature Kevin Spacey as Getty. However, after the recent report regarding his sexual assault allegations came out, Scott went back to filming, replaced Spacey with Christopher Plummer, and re-edited the film in anticipation of its December release. An ambitious and commendable choice - especially considering the likely financial implications of releasing it with Spacey so soon after the allegations - it is hard to not admire the effort that has gone into All the Money in the World. This was one that, with Spacey, I was really looking forward to and now, it is easily one of my most anticipated of the month. Over the past decade, Scott has certainly been rather hit-and-miss, but his much of his true story work (namely Black Hawk Down and American Gangster) rank among his very best. If All the Money in the World can come close to the quality of those two films, it should be one of the better films in a crowded December.

Set for wide release on December 25, All the Money in the World stars Michelle Williams, Mark Wahlberg, and Charlie Plummer, alongside the newly cast Christopher Plummer.

The Disaster Artist

Thus far in his directorial career, James Franco has directed 12 films. That may come as a surprise to many and it should, but it should also not peak any curiosity. Of these are a few documentary films, a few William Faulkner/Cormac McCarthy/John Steinbeck adaptations, a few docufiction films, a comedy, and a co-directed horror film, all of which are horrible. Frequently, his work is called “pretentious”, “self-indulgent”, or just derided as being outright bad. Thus, it may seem all too appropriate that Franco’s first good film as a director is about the process behind making the worst film ever made by a man somehow more self-indulgent than Franco himself. It should not be a surprise that Franco knows how to capture the delusional process behind making such a bad film, considering his intimate knowledge of the process as both an actor and a director. In The Disaster Artist, Franco takes the insanity behind the cult film The Room and brings it to life alongside many of his regular collaborators. Of all of the Awards fare this year, The Disaster Artist seems primed to be the strongest box office success considering Franco’s general comedy appeal and the popularity of The Room among key demographics (read: young people 18-40). While unlikely to be the film to turn around Franco’s directorial career, The Disaster Artist nonetheless promises to be one of the funnier looks at show business in this decade.

Appearing alongside Franco (who stars as Tommy Wiseau) are many of his usual collaborators including Seth Rogen and Dave Franco, as well as Alison Brie, Zac Efron, Jacki Weaver, Josh Hutcherson, Hannibal Buress, Sharon Stone, Melanie Griffith, Jason Mitchell, Paul Scheer, Jason Mantzoukas, Zoey Deutch, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Ari Graynor, and Bob Odenkirk. The film is set was released on a limited basis last week with its initial wide release set for December 8. This release was set to be wider as of earlier this week, but was scaled back, likely in favor of a slower rollout. Thus, look for the film to continue expanding throughout December.

Downsizing

Though having received rather divisive reviews - seems very love it or hate it thus far - Alexander Payne’s Downsizing is a film that is hard to not be excited about, solely because it a film by Payne. The seventh film he has directed, Downsizing represents the first mixed reception of his career of hits, though Downsizing was nonetheless nominated for Best Film by the National Board of Review. A science fiction film about a world in which people can opt to “downsize” or shrink to a tiny fraction of their typical size, Downsizing seems to be one of the weirder original films of the year. It seems to be very existential in theme while being rather eccentric with its comedy. In seeing the promotional material for the film, it is not hard to see why Downsizing is so divisive, considering how odd its premise and execution appears to be. However, for those who appreciate original films, Downsizing appears to be a must-watch.

Set for a wide release on December 22, Downsizing stars Matt Damon, Kristen Wiig, Jason Sudeikis, Christoph Waltz, and Hong Chau.

Hostiles

It should come as no surprise that director Scott Cooper’s last film, Hostiles, is a gritty western. Having made gritty films his entire career, namely Out of the Furnace and Black Mass, it is not a shock to see Cooper try his hand at a classically styled western that appears to be very much in the same style as films by John Ford or Howard Hawks in the 1940s. Telling the story of a US calvary soldier who is escorting a Cheyenne war chief and his family to Montana, Hostiles stars Christian Bale and Wes Studi in the two roles, respectively. In his career thus far, Cooper has received some criticism for being a better writer and actor’s director than being a talented director overall, but even if true, what is certain is that his films always contain some of the year’s finest performances, whether it be Jeff Bridges in Crazy Heart, Bale in Out of the Furnace, or Johnny Depp in Black Mass. Here, Hostiles seems to be yet another example of Cooper’s ability in writing great characters and eliciting strong performances from his cast, making Hostiles a film that, for fans of great acting or of westerns, is a must-watch. The genre has received the boon in recent times amid cinemagoers openly wondering where the western genre had gone with Hostiles being yet another sign of this return to the western genre for Hollywood.

Set for a limited release on December 22, Hostiles also stars Rosamund Pike, Q’orianka Kilcher, Ben Foster, Rory Cochrane, Adam Beach, Jesse Plemons, and Timothee Chalamet.

I, Tonya

Other than Lars and the Real Girl in 2007, director Craig Gillespie has largely had a middling career thus far. None of his films are outright awful, but most are just passable or mediocre. With his latest film, however, he seems to have struck the right chord with rave reviews coming in for I, Tonya. What, on the surface, could have been a typical biopic is instead changed into a black comedy look at the life of Tonya Harding, a figure skater who quickly became a pariah to the American public only to compound the issue by hiring a man to break the leg of fellow figure skater Nancy Kerrigan. Starring Margot Robbie as Harding, the film is seen as being a chance for Robbie to get her hands on Oscar gold alongside Allison Janney, who appears as Harding’s mother. Though biopics are often decried by audiences as being too safe or being “Oscar bait”, it appears as though I, Tonya is anything but, instead taking a far rougher approach to the story of Harding with a smart balance between comedy and tragedy.

Alongside Robbie and Janney, McKenna Grace, Sebastian Stan, Julianne Nicholson, Caroline Carver, and Bobby Cannavale, appear in the film. I, Tonya will have a limited release this weekend, December 8, before embarking upon a wider release over the coming weeks.

Molly’s Game

The directorial debut of famed screenwriter Aaron Sorkin - who wrote The American President, The West Wing, The Social Network, and Steve Jobs, among others - Molly’s Game is a film that tells the story of Molly Bloom. A crime film that details Bloom’s efforts in running a high-stakes underground poker game that attracts celebrities, athletes, businessmen, and members of the Russian mafia, while eventually earns her attention from the FBI, Molly’s Game has thus far received rave reviews. Starring Jessica Chastain in the leading role, the character of Bloom seems to be the perfect role for Chastain considering her inclination towards playing headstrong, determined, and tough-as-nails female characters. While Sorkin penning a script is always an assurance that the film will have a great script, Molly’s Game will serve as a test as to whether or not Sorkin can handle the task of bringing his script to life in the director’s chair.

The film is set for a limited release on Christmas before expanding on January 5. Beyond star Chastain, Molly’s Game features Idris Elba, Kevin Costner, Brian d’Arcy James, Chris O’Dowd, and Michael Cera.

Phantom Thread

With films such as Hard Eight, Boogie Nights, Punch-Drunk Love, and There Will Be Blood, director Paul Thomas Anderson established himself as one of the finest directors working in Hollywood today with strong appeal with audiences. However, after The Master and Inherent Vice, Anderson began to divide audiences and critics with those films slower pace and general incoherence. Though I personally loved both, it is fair to call both - The Master with audiences and Inherent Vice with both critics and audiences - quite divisive. Now, with Phantom Thread, Anderson seems likely to further alienate audiences while appealing to critics in a film set in New York’s fashion world. A slow-paced period drama that has received rave reviews from critics, Phantom Thread is also seen as being a film that could net Daniel Day-Lewis another shot at Oscar gold in what will, allegedly, be his final role before another retirement. Without having seen the film, it does appear as though Phantom Thread’s plot is somewhat of a mystery beyond it focusing on a fashion designer, portrayed by Day-Lewis, who lives a meticulous life and rises to great status in the fashion world only to have his life thrown into disarray when he finally falls in love with a woman.

The film is set for a limited release on Christmas before a wide expansion in 2018. Alongside Day-Lewis, Phantom Thread also stars Vicky Krieps, Lesley Manville, and Richard Graham.

The Post

A film about the efforts of the Washington Post in releasing the Pentagon Papers while fighting with President Nixon, starring Tom Hanks and Meryl Streep, and directed by Steven Spielberg, there was no way that The Post would not become one of the year’s most acclaimed films. Timely, obviously intended to compare Nixon and Trump’s issues with the press, and a celebration of the freedom of the press in America, The Post is one of those films that, when nominated for Best Picture, will be maligned by audiences in the midwest and celebrated by those on the coasts. As a film in the vein of All the President’s Men or Spotlight, however, The Post certainly has the chance to be a Best Picture winner while also being a greatly entertaining look inside the world of dirty politics and newspaper reporting.

The Post will be released on a limited basis on December 22 before expanding nationwide on January 12. The film, obviously, features an A-list cast alongside Hanks and Streep. This cast includes Bob Odenkirk, Sarah Paulson, Tracy Letts, Bradley Whitford, Bruce Greenwood, Matthew Rhys, Alison Brie, Jesse Plemons, and Michael Stuhlbarg.

The Shape of Water

Of all the films coming out in December, The Shape of Water is easily my most anticipated. Through films such as Cronos, The Devil’s Backbone, Pan’s Labyrinth, and Crimson Peak, director Guillermo del Toro has established himself as one of the finest directors working today. Seemingly be in line with his past work in regards to being a film that uses a war (this time the Cold War) as a thematic backdrop to the events going on in the film, The Shape of Water shows the efforts of a mute woman who attempts to rescue an amphibious creature discovered and abused by the military. Alongside the film Maudie, the film has earned star Sally Hawkins considerable praise while being championed as Del Toro’s best work since 2006’s Pan’s Labyrinth. Though the trailer may look a bit conventional, it is easy to say that Del Toro’s film are hardly ever conventional and are often misrepresented by trailers (such as positioning Crimson Peak as a horror film even though it was a gothic romance). Based on responses to the film thus far, it is easy to see The Shape of Water going down as one of the finest films released in 2017.

Having received a limited release last weekend, December 1, The Shape of Water expanded this week and will continue to expand before a nationwide release on December 22. Beyond Hawkins, the film stars Doug Jones, Michael Shannon, Octavia Spencer, Michael Stuhlbarg, and Richard Jenkins.

Wonder Wheel

The allegations against Woody Allen are well known - and even divide his family with some taking his side and others siding with ex Mia - but none of that has stopped Allen’s latest film Wonder Wheel from being released this month by Amazon. While his allegations are certainly more hotly discussed than others, it is nonetheless surprising that Amazon would opt to go ahead with the film’s release. However, as a fan of Allen’s work, I more than welcome the release of Wonder Wheel. Though receiving mixed reviews like much of his recent output, Wonder Wheel is a film that seems to be a very Allen film with similar characters and themes to his past work, thus fans of his will certainly find a lot to enjoy with Wonder Wheel. Set in Coney Island, the film follows a woman who is married to a carousel operator and in love with another man who is a lifeguard. When her husband’s daughter comes home - with the mafia after her - and also falls for the lifeguard, tensions flare. Labeled as a crime drama, Wonder Wheel is likely to also feature a healthy helping of Allen’s typical neurotic humor.

Released on a limited basis on December 1, Amazon is likely to play it safe with Wonder Wheel with a rather limited expansion in light of the rising tide of allegations in Hollywood given Allen’s history. Wonder Wheel stars Kate Winslet, Jim Belushi, Juno Temple, and Justin Timberlake.

Others of note:

As is often the case, December is quite the busy month as the above demonstrates, however, with so many releases coming out, it is impossible to cover each. Among other upcoming films that are worth keeping an eye is Michael Haneke’s Happy End. Known for films such as Funny Games, The Piano Teacher, and Amour, the Austrian director’s latest film has been more divisive than usual, but should nonetheless appeal to love of foreign films. Isabelle Huppert stars in the film. Additionally, for fans of old Hollywood, the upcoming film Film Stars Don’t Die in Liverpool stars Annette Bening as Gloria Grahame and the relationship she formed later on her in life with Peter Turner, who is played by Jamie Bell. Director Paul McGuigan’s career has certainly be more miss than hit thus far, but Film Stars Don’t Die in Liverpool’s has received quite the strong response thus far.

With recent films such as Lady Bird or the new release The Disaster Artist, it is hard to blame indie studio for seemingly forgetting about The Ballad of Lefty Brown, though it is certainly unfortunate. Starring Bill Pullman, Jim Caviezel, Peter Fonda, Kathy Baker, and Tommy Flanagan, the film is a western and will be released by A24 in theaters and given a simultaneous on-demand release through DirecTV. Finally, The Greatest Showman, a musical biopic about P.T. Barnum and starring Hugh Jackman, comes out this month. Featuring lyrics by the lyricists from La La Land, The Greatest Showman is being marketed in such a way that it is clear the studio hopes to draw in fans of last year’s big musical hit. With a cast that also includes Zac Efron, Michelle Williams, Rebecca Ferguson, and Zendaya, it is easy to see 20th Century Fox’s attempt to turn this into a box office smash for the holiday season, though current predictions seem to suggest it will take a backseat to the multitude of other holiday releases this month.

Of these films, The Greatest Showman is the only one that will receive a nationwide release initially, which is set for December 20. The Ballad of Left Brown, Happy End, and Film Stars Don’t Die in Liverpool will be given limited releases on December 15, 22, and 29, respectively.

9 notes · View notes

wigwurq · 7 years ago

Text

WIG REVIEW: I, TONYA

So I finally saw I, Tonya you guys! I had previously tweeted that there were many wig horrors to be had in this film but after a full viewing, I was surprised to find some wig wonders! And casting horrors. Let’s discuss:

First off: Margot Robbie was miscast in this role. This remains the elephant in the room for basically the entire film and it was something that I found almost impossible to get past. This is not to say that Robbie is bad - she is quite good and clearly tried to deglam herself in a Charlize Theron in Monster-type Oscar bid. And good for her for trying? However, where Theron lost herself in a role and made herself look like Aileen Wuornos, Robbie never stops looking like a thin actress in a frizzy wig. Her lithe body and chiseled cheekbones are in dire contrast to how Tonya Harding herself looked. She never stops being Margot Robbie trying desperately to be Tonya Harding.

As a reminder, this is Tonya Harding. You are also reminded of how the actual Tonya Harding looked during the credit sequence which really drives home my point. I’m not saying actors in biopics have to look EXACTLY like the people they are portraying but gurlfriend is about 50 pounds lighter and a foot talker than Tonya. Here are some people who could have played this role better: AMY SCHUMER (OH GOD IT WOULD HAVE BEEN PERFECT), Amy Adams, Kristen Bell, literally 100 other actresses who are not Margot Robbie. Still, we’re not here to talk about casting (since I should just be left in charge of every casting and wig decision, duh) so let’s discuss wigs.

We first see Robbie playing Tonya at the age of 15 (another bizarre choice but?) in this short 80s ‘do. Yes, this is in theory a bad wig but let’s remember teased and dry 80s hair for a minute...this is actually pretty accurate. ‘80s wigs can easily become parodies of themselves (see: Stranger Things, basically anything set in the ‘80s) but this feels legit.

I like that the consistency is random and the seamwork is good. It’s also not TOO fried to make it completely dried out. Along for the ride is Sebastian Stan (aka THE WINTER SOLDIER and let’s call him nothing different) as Jeff Gilloly and dude looks exactly like him. No wig necessary. Bravo!

The early scenes with these two are marked by highwater jeans and white sneakers and belts and vaguely feathered hair and you can almost see why these two idiots got together. Love, amiright?

Then come the early ‘90s. Oof. First off, here are the actual Jeff and Tonya. Sweater game on POINT. Anyway, the wigs soon try to catch up with these lewks.

Tonya is mainly seen with her hair in a ponytail skating to ZZ Top (who else?) and these lewks feel pretty spot-on hair-wise to the actual early ‘90s Tonya years.

The wigs are just the right amount of dried, frizzed, hairsprayed madness.

And the seamwork holds up even through faces like this.

Tonya’s coach has a conservative bob which is fine and totally reminded me of about half my elementary school teachers.

Though most of my teachers did NOT own fabulous fur coats like this. I like the subtle bang spray that screams 1991. Accurate.

When the “incident” as they refer to it as the movie finally occurs, Tonya tries to get serious with this no-bang ‘do and this is the worst the wig looks since the seamwork isn’t masked by the bangs and the lacefront is more visible. Luckily, this is only for a short time and the bangs come back full throttle. Thank the lordt.

It should be noted that just as WINTER SOLDIER was perfectly cast as Jeff, this rando was perfectly cast as Shawn Eckhardt. Apparently his name (I googled it!) is Paul Walter Hauser and he damn near steals the entire movie with no wig assists.

Of course, no one is about to be outdone by Allison Janney EVER IN ANYTHING and she is absolutely on fire as Tonya’s horrible mom, LaVona. Also if there aren’t already like a dozen drag queens named LaVona Golden, I hope there are now. Back to Janney’s wig, this bowl cut of evil is pretty damn good. Solid texture, continuity and seamwork.

And it even ages with her and can withstand a horrible small bird!

Tonya also gets an older age wig (as does WINTER SOLDIER along with some facial prosthetics that make him look like a pudgy Matt Damon). This wig is probably the worst of the lot, but actually pretty on point with how Tonya looks now (please watch the 30 by 30 ESPN documentary on all of this if you haven’t already).

This movie is definitely not perfect (and I won’t mention the bad casting again...oh wait I just did), but the wigs do stand up to triple axels, domestic battery, and the test of time. Therefore:

VERDICT: WURQS

#wigwurq #wurqs #itonya #tonyaharding #margotrobbie #badcasting #goodwigs #sebastianstan #wintersoldier #allisonjanney #tripleaxels #bowlcuts

4 notes · View notes

uomo-accattivante · 7 years ago

Photo

Photo: @nicspeck (Instagram)

SCREENPLAY REVIEW - SUBURBICON

Here is a look at the plot of the film that Oscar will be appearing in later this year. Mind you, this screenplay draft is ten years old. Also, according to IMDB, it appears that Josh Brolin and Woody Harrelson are no longer connected to this film. (SPOILERS BELOW)

Extracted from the website below:

Screenplay Review - Suburbicon

Genre: Drama/Mystery

Premise: After a home invasion ends in the accidental murder of a mother, her young son is convinced that he knows who the killers are. Unfortunately, nobody believes him.

About: This is a script that the Coen Brothers wrote back in 2007, but it never made it into their production pile. Enter George Clooney, who ADORES the Coens. If they’ve got an available script floating around, you can bet your ass he’s going to read it. And apparently, he liked what he saw. Also, cause he’s George Clooney, he can get a killer cast.

Suburbicon will star Oscar Isaac, Matt Damon, Julianne Moore, Josh Brolin, and Woody Harrelson.

Writers: Ethan and Joel Coen

Details: 113 page – March 27, 2007 draft

As some of you know, I have a love-hate relationship with the Coen Brothers. At times I believe they understand screenwriting better than any writers in Hollywood. They’re great at stripping plots down (usually focusing on a bag of money), populating their stories with unforgettable characters, and making unique choices.

But then they make movies like Inside Llewyn Davis, which seemed to breed boringness, or Hail, Caeser, which seemed so desperate to make up for that boringness, that it became boring in its anti-boringness. In many ways, the Coens are a victim of their unique voice. By the very nature of being so different, audiences aren’t always going to come along for the ride with you.

This time, the Coens are handing over directing duties to their star pupil, George Clooney. Clooney, who’s directed four movies so far, seems to want to take the Clint Eastwood approach to his career. He’s repeatedly said he’s uncomfortable with getting old onscreen, so I imagine we’ll soon see him exclusively behind the camera. Let’s check out what he’s working with this time around.

8 year-old Nicky Lodge hears his dad outside his bedroom door talking to an unfamiliar voice. When his father, Gardner, opens the door, he tells Nicky that a couple of men are here, and as long as we do what they say, they’ll leave us alone and everything will be all right.

So Nicky, Gardner, Gardner’s wheelchair-bound wife, Rose, and Rose’s sister (Nicky’s aunt), Margaret, are taken to the basement, tied up, and given chloroform. When Nicky wakes up, he’s at the hospital learning that his mother is dead.

Later, when Nicky, Gardener, and Margaret are brought in to a police line-up to identify the potential killers, Gardener strangely asks that Nicky leave the room. But Nicky is able to see the line-up through an ajar door. He also sees his father and aunt look directly at the men who killed his mother and tell the police that that’s not them.

That’s the first moment Nicky realizes something is wrong.

When he confronts his dad about the ordeal, his dad tells him that Nicky is simply misremembering. But the next day, when Nicky gets home from school early and sees his father and Margaret naked on the pool table, he knows something is seriously up.

Sensing that his son is onto them, Gardner enrolls him in boarding school, but before he can even begin to put that together, a suspicious insurance auditor comes around wanting some questions answered about Rose’s suspicious insurance policy. Oh, and let’s not forget the two guys who perpetrated the murder, who are tired of waiting for their payoff. Yeah, they show up as well.

It looks like whatever plan these two thought they’d pull off isn’t going to end the way they thought it would.

Every serious screenwriter needs to read the first scene of this script. It does five deadly important things right:

Starts the script off with a bang to grab the reader’s attention. Approaches the scene in a unique way. It’s intensely suspenseful. It builds. It holds tension throughout.

I’m lucky if I read a script where a writer is able to do one of these things right in an entire screenplay. To do all five in one scene shows why the Coens are two of the only people to win multiple screenwriting Oscars.

So let’s go into all of these in detail.

The first one’s obvious. I tell you guys to pull your reader in right away with your opening scene. Here, we open with a murder. Perfect.

The second is what sets the Coens apart from their competition. They’re really good at coming into scenes from a UNIQUE POINT-OF-VIEW. This gives what would otherwise be a been-there-done-that scenario a fresh angle. So instead of seeing the murder from the dad’s or the killers point-of-view, we see it from this kid’s point of view. And since Nicky isn’t sure what’s happening exactly, everything feels fresh and different.

Third is suspense. Remember, the best kind of suspense is to imply that something bad is going to happen, and then you draw it out for as long as you can. We know early that these men are up to no good. So everything that happens before the chloroform plays like gangbusters.

Fourth, the scene builds. A lot of writers want to jump into the climax right away. For example, we’d show the killers screaming and yelling and then gunshots would go off. That’s a really boring way to show a murder. Instead, we start off with Nicky being brought out of his bedroom, then downstairs. We then have a conversation in the living room. We then find out that we’re going downstairs. We then find out that we’re going to be tied up. We then find out that, person by person, we’re going to be given chloroform. Each “stage” or “level” is worse than the last. That’s how you build in a scene.

Finally, we have tension. I feel that too many writers go for instant gratification in a scene. They want to “burst the balloon” so-to-speak. Instead, pretend that your fingers are the only thing keeping the air in the balloon. Hold onto that opening AS TIGHT AS YOU CAN. Keep that tension throughout Honestly, this first scene should be taught in film school.

And really, the majority of this script could be taught in film school. For example, what do I always say about funerals? DON’T PLAY THE OBVIOUS EMOTION in THE SCENE. Play any emotion BUT the expected one. So after the mother’s funeral, we don’t have Nicky telling his dad how much he misses mom, or a scene where the dad breaks down crying in the middle of the wake. We have Nicky walking with his weird uncle, who’s bitching about how lame the service was. The emotion he plays is ANGER, which works against the expected tone, and therefore makes for a good scene.

And the Coens can always find ways to add tension to scenes so that even the smallest ones have something going on in them. Because remember, the most boring scene you can write is two people sitting or standing across from each other in a generic location talking about whatever needs to be talked about in that scene.

Here, our two killers, Luis and Ira, are bus drivers. Luis, who’s working today, is avoiding Ira because Ira wants to put more pressure on Gardner to get their money sooner. So when Ira shows up on Luis’s route, he demands that Luis step outside for a talk. Luis reluctantly comes outside, and Ira tells him what he needs to tell him.

The scene works better because now you have 20 bus passengers popping out and saying, “Why the fuck are we stopped?” “This isn’t even a real stop.” This turns what could’ve been a boring scene (two people sitting or standing across from each other in a generic location) into an intense one. This is the kind of writing, guys, that top producers notice. They know that writers who know how to do this shit are good writers.

My only issue with Suburbicon was the ending. It came together too quickly. There’s a classic Coen Brothers scene where the insurance agent shows up and tells Gardner he’s onto him where I thought, “Ooh, this is about to get good,” then everything goes to shit quickly and before I knew it, I was at the end. It just felt like we needed more time to get there.

Still, this script shows why these guys are heads and tails above all the other screenwriters out there. Definitely check it out if you can.

#oscar isaac #suburbicon #coen brothers #spoilers #george clooney #matt damon #julianne moore

35 notes · View notes

healthnotion · 6 years ago

Text

9 Ways to Become More Courageous

Courage is a universally admired quality. It is has been celebrated in every culture in the world, in every age. It’s one of the four “tactical virtues” of masculinity. And it serves as not only the foundation of masculine excellence, but of every type of it, for as Winston Churchill observed: “Courage is rightly esteemed the first of human qualities . . . because it is the quality which guarantees all others.”

While we often think of courage in terms of physical bravery — risking life and limb to save a child from a burning building — we also call upon this quality in moral and social situations. We need courage to talk to new people, stand up for our beliefs, start a business, change careers, move to a new place, or voice dissent in a church, club, or business meeting. It’s a quality we use in any situation, big or small, in which exists even the tiniest bit of fear and risk, and these come up nearly every day.

Fortunate it is then, that courage isn’t something you’re just born with or not. It’s a quality that can be deliberately developed. As Robert Biswas-Diener puts it in The Courage Quotient, “courage is a habit, it is a practice, and it is a skill that can be learned.”

Today we’ll show you how.

How to Become More Courageous

It’s often been said that courage isn’t the absence of fear, but the ability to feel fear, but act anyway.

Fear itself isn’t a bad thing. It sometimes warns you of legitimate threats and primes you physiologically to be ready and alert for whatever comes next. As Biswas-Diener puts it, “the very experience of fear itself is the tip-off moment, the signal that a possibility for action is opening up and so a choice needs to be made . . . fear is the first step towards courage. It can be the catapult that launches us forward into heroic actions, both large and small.” Fear awakens us to the fact that an opportunity has arrived.

Fear only becomes a problem when it isn’t proportional to the actual risk and/or it hinders you from doing something that is right or will be for your betterment.

While it’s true that courage isn’t the absence of fear, your ability to act in its presence is very much contingent on your ability to suppress and control this emotion. The lower and less paralyzing your fear is, the more able you’ll be to step through it to take action.

The skill of courage thus consists largely in developing your capacity to manage your fear.

Here are some time-tested and research-backed ways to do that:

1. Do reconnaissance to remove aspects of the unknown.

The less we know about something, the more we inflate our risk-assessment of it. Uncertainty breeds fear.

To reduce uncertainty, and thus diminish your nerves, do as much reconnaissance as you can into an event/situation you’ll be walking into. Gather as much information as possible. Do a dry run.

For example, if you’ve got a job interview coming up, drive over to where it will be held the day before, so you know how to get there, how long the drive will take, and where to park. Do some research on the company, and on the interviewer too, if possible. Figure out how current employees dress (watch them leave the office at the end of the day if needed), so you can gauge how to dress yourself.

Or if you’re nervous about a public speaking event you’ve got coming up, visit the classroom or auditorium in which you’ll give the speech beforehand. Stand on the stage to envision what it will be like to give your address.

Things are less scary, the more you know what to expect.

2. Use relaxation techniques.

A little fear amps you up. Too much shuts you down. To reduce your fear to manageable levels and keep your physiological response in check, use various relaxation techniques. These can include tensing and relaxing all the parts of your body, “tactical breathing,” and meditation.

3. Get skilled.

You’ve likely heard of the “bystander effect”; the well-documented phenomenon in which people are less likely to render aid or address a wrongdoing when they’re in a crowd, than when they’re by themselves. Research has found that part of the reason for this effect, is that folks figure someone else will step in to help — someone who’s more qualified than they are to do so. People may want to help, but don’t know how. Conversely, and not so surprisingly, research also shows that bystanders who feel competent, are more likely to come to the aid of others.

Given the diversity of scenarios that involve risk and danger, it pays to develop a wide range of skills, from self-defense and first aid, to automative repair and the ability to speak a foreign language. The greater your degree of savoir-faire — the knowledge of what to do in any situation — the braver a man you’ll be.

4. Buddy up.

Though the power of being in a group context is usually thought of in a negative way — people using the anonymity of the crowd to hide or give in to their worst impulses — it also works the other way around too; the presence of friends and family can increase your willingness to act in positive directions.

Loved ones provide accountability; if you tell them you’re doing something, the dread of shame will spur you to keep your word.

The presence of family and friends can also impart a source of comfort and confidence that tamps down fear. This is true if they’re just present with you, and doubly so if they’re willing to participate alongside you. Much courage is gained in the “If you do it, I’ll do it too!” dynamic. There’s less to fear when you’re doing something together, with others who have your back.

Indeed, research shows that the more cohesive the members of a group — the better friends they are — the less likely they are to be inhibited by the bystander effect and the more likely they are to take positive action in a critical, dangerous situation. This is particularly true of an all-male group. Call it the “band of brothers” effect.

5. Carry a talisman.

You might think that the use of lucky charms or religious totems is irrational, but if they’re scientifically proven to give you more confidence, their use might be thought of as anything but. Research has indeed shown that good luck charms effectively improve performance in both mental and physical tasks. Turns out there’s something to athletes putting on lucky underwear or eating a ritualistic meal before games after all.

To harness the power of magical thinking, wear or carry a special “totem” in situations where you’re feeling nervous. This could be a piece of clothing or jewelry (like Grandpa’s old watch), a souvenir, memento, coin, or photo. Anything that has special meaning for you and makes you feel more calm and confident — anything you believe has even the smallest chance of providing protective powers, giving you good joo-joo, or simply putting some pep in your step. Even if you’re not much of a superstitious thinker, it may still provide an extra sense of comfort and resolve.

6. Think of yourself less.

The more you think about yourself, the more scared you get about acting. Egocentrism ratchets fear up and makes your performance go down. When you focus on how you’re doing and how you’re feeling, when you believe everyone is watching you, you get self-conscious, and when you get self-conscious, you get paralyzed and awkward.

The more you shift your focus outward, the more courageous you’ll feel.

Focus on other people’s feelings instead of your own. Rather than thinking about how you’re coming off to someone new you’re talking to, think about how she’s doing. Is she having a good time? What can you do to put her at ease?

In other situations, focus on a mission or purpose, a sense of service, instead of your own vulnerabilities. Subsume yourself in a cause greater than yourself.

Courage is at its strongest, when you’re courageous for something.

7. Lean into your role.

Related to the above point, an effective way to become less self-conscious is to think of the actions you need to take as growing out of the role you’re in, and what that role requires in terms of your responsibilities and obligations to others. This creates a more impersonal mode of operation that can liberate you to greater boldness.

The reaction of first responders, who run towards danger instead of away from it, is facilitated by the fact that they know that that’s their role. In such situations they become less Tom, Dick, or Harry, and more a firefighter, a police officer, a medic; their identity becomes less personal and more about the job they have to do.

A father who feels a little intimidated about standing up to his child’s principal, may feel more emboldened in remembering that he is the patriarch of his family, charged with protecting his children. A guy who often feels shy as a party guest, may actually come out of his shell more as a party host, who has a specific role, and clearly-delineated duties to tend to. A supervisor who believes his job is to look out for his subordinates, can feel empowered to stand up for them against an unfair edict handed down by the higher ups.

8. Exercise 20 seconds of insane courage.

In the movie, We Bought a Zoo, Matt Damon’s character tells his son, who’s struggling to share his feelings with a girl he likes, “You know, sometimes all you need is twenty seconds of insane courage. Just literally twenty seconds of just embarrassing bravery. And I promise you, something great will come of it.”

Fear can seem overwhelming if you think you’re going to have to experience it for days or hours. But everyone can face their fear for just 20 seconds. Or even less. Oftentimes, you just have to take one simple action, knock down the first domino, and that sets the whole course of things in motion. The die is cast! You force your own hand; you burn the bridge behind you; you have no choice but to engage with what follows next.

All you need is a single moment of crazy courage to press send on a text apologizing to an old friend, or to dial a number to ask a contact about a job opportunity, or to confess your feelings to a long-standing crush.

And that can literally be all it takes to change the entire contour of your life.

9. Do something scary once a week.

Courage is well thought of as a muscle that needs regular training to be kept strong. You can’t expect never to exercise your bravery, and then somehow be able to call upon it in an emergency. It has to be kept “in shape” through small choices, for you to be able to employ it in the service of big ones.

You can keep your courage strong by challenging yourself to do one small thing each week that requires a bit of fear and risk — anything that makes you a little nervous. This could mean eating at a restaurant that intimidates you (like a very authentic Chinese place where you’re not familiar with the dishes and the employees don’t speak much English), talking to a stranger, negotiating the price of something (even your morning coffee), visiting a house of worship you’ve never been to before, inviting people over for dinner, etc.

See how many consecutive weeks of this “courage challenge” you can string together, and when a truly scary situation gets thrown at you down the road, you’ll find you have the ability to face it with a braver heart.