#is he on the list of those actors that would have chemistry with a brick bc he surely does feel like one

[blmpff]

Ta's comforting head pat would fix me istg

[lunawho47]

I had to answer this question that @watcherwiki asked me in their reblog of my original list. That question was about what actors from DW would I like to see on PH. So, as with the gang when they do Top 5 Beatdown, I established rules for myself with my answer.

Obviously, they had to be actors. When I first read the question, I didn't see the word actor and was like, just thinking production in general. But the stipulation of actor makes it a bit different and does change what answers immediately spring to mind.

The answer is based on the actor, not the character they portray. For instance, if we were going by character, I would have said I'd like to see Rose Tyler as a guest, but despite my love of Billie Piper, I don't think she would be as dynamic of a guest as her character Rose would have been.

The actor must still be alive. I did want to list actors we would have ANY chance of seeing, therefore a lot of the classic Who actors who I think would be hilarious on PH aren't feasible...cos they're dead. (For example, I think Patrick Troughton would have been hilarious or my personal queen Elisabeth Sladen would have had interesting answers.)

With those rules in mind, LET'S LIST!!

5. Ncuti Gatwa (plays the 15th Doctor, the current iteration of the character). What can you say really? I mean, he's got charisma just dripping off of him. He's got a fascinating back story and doubtless has a lot of history knowledge from both his home country of Rwanda and his adopted country of Scotland. He would bring an interesting viewpoint to any history legend the WE crew could provide and he would doubtless have everybody laughing in seconds. He also would be perfectly comfortable with the racy and toilet based humor and would happily go along with all of it. He would be a joy to watch with the Watcher group.

4. Frazer Hines (played 2nd Doctor companion Jamie McCrimmon). I thank God every day that this man is still around to lie to everyone about random facts of history and to tell scandalous stories from the Troughton days on the DW set. I've been lucky enough to meet this actor at DW cons over the years and he is an absolute blast to talk to. (Also, good luck taking photos with him because he will do everything he can to make you laugh at inconvenient moments and ruin the picture.) He also is gifted at impersonations, so he could easily do some voicework for the many puppets that get introduced. And he would not take anything about PH seriously at all so all of his answers would be absolutely hilarious. He's the kind of person who would pick the wrong answer intentionally because the thought of the implications involved would amuse him.

3. David Tennant (portrayed the Tenth Doctor, Metacrisis!Ten, and the Fourteenth Doctor). Do I really need to explain this one? Even people who don't watch DW know who this man is. He is ridiculously talented. He, like Ncuti, has charm just dripping off of him and he is charismatic af. I'd have him higher on the list (because the man could have chemistry with a brick wall, so you know he would bounce off of Shane and Ryan easily), but I know he hates improv work, and most of PH is that. He would do it, but when he's nervous he finds it difficult to think up witty answers. (For proof, see the 2007(?) Weakest Link Special. When they vote off K9 in round 1, and Anne Robinson asks David why he voted K9 out, he said, "I'm nervous as it is, don't make me improv!")

2. Jemma Redgrave (portrays Kate Lethbridge-Stewart of UNIT). She has been in so many period adaptations set in various eras of history and various social classes. In DW, she plays the head of an organization that searches for aliens and she throws around a lot of scientific jargon. I just think that she's an actress who probably has picked up a lot of various little tidbits of knowledge on various subjects over the years and would enjoy using what she has gleaned to guess answers on a quiz show. I think she'd have a bunch of fun with it!

Camille Coduri (portrayed Jackie Tyler). She won the DW Weakest Link Special, over David Tennant and Noel Clarke (who came in 3rd and 2nd, respectively). She's also on a lot of the Classic DW retrospective featurettes and I've seen a lot of interviews with her over the years, and she knows a lot of history at least as regards the entertainment industry. She is naturally good at playing off other people and is even a bit gullible at times (see the DW blooper reels for examples of this), but she's really smart and can intuit reasonable answers very well. She's the dream guest: funny, good at improv humor, and enjoys learning bizarre historical facts.

AND THAT'S THE LIST!!

My Watcher Top 5 List

Happy 5 Years, Watcher Entertainment, and thank you for all the hard work you've done entertaining us all these years! Here's to MANY more!

5. Top 5 Beatdown

I am a HUGE list maker. You name the topic and I can guarantee you I have a list of preferences on it. (And will probably discover some way to work a DW reference into it.) This show was practically made for people like me because not only do I always make lists, but I'm always arguing with people about them. And I expect people to have serious, hardcore reasons for their preference. I am in NO WAY a "no thoughts, just vibes" kinda person and that reasoning will never hold any water for me.

4. Weird and/or Wonderful World

I love to travel and I love to go to out of the way places with my friends and family. This show, to me, is the personification of a good besties day out. Let's go see something neither of us has bothered to view before and weird people out with how weird we are together! Can you think of a better way to spend time with your best friend? Cos I can't.

3. Travel Season

This show is so beautifully put together. I was a big fan of Worth It (although I have a hard time rewatching it cos it always makes me hungry), so having Steven, Andrew, and Adam back together again was a dream come true for me. I had been hoping for it since Watcher Entertainment was announced. And then not only do I get the trio back together again with this, but I get an entirely new idea that isn't just Worth It Repackaged. It still is about food, but it's more about exploring a new culture together and seeing how the entire world's love and dependency on food shapes relationships and communities. I studied to be a missionary and one of the things we always focus on when we're meeting people and finding out ways to partner with communities of believers in separate countries is FELLOWSHIP. Aka eating together and discussing what matters. That is this show in a nutshell. It is a comfort show for me and one I constantly have on in the background.

2. Mystery Files

Don't get me wrong. I love my Ghost Files content, but there's a reason why this is on my list and Ghost Files isn't. I enjoy a good ghost hunt, but intellectually I am more stimulated trying to research and come to a conclusion about an unsolved mystery. I actually had not heard of a good number of these random mysteries. I do wish they would do more true crime like they did in their Buzzfeed days, but I also understand completely the toll that kind of research can take on your mental health. And they also probably got tired of trying to discuss that kind of thing while being a COMEDY show. True Crime and comedy don't always mesh very well so as I said, I get it. And obviously, with it being my number 2, I do enjoy it regardless of the change. My love of this show is based entirely on the fact that both Ryan and Shane get to host episodes and they can talk and joke about really weird, unexplained events in the world's history. What's not to love?

Puppet History

I was a history major back in undergrad, so this should surprise absolutely no one. (And in grad school, I studied church history and the history of the middle east and ancient languages, so there was still a lot of history involved in my master's degree.) I DO want to give credit where it's due. I've seen a lot of praise of Shane's work on this show in the Top 5 lists on here. And he does work hard on this! But shout out to all the other hard workers on this project! To the researchers (Kari Koeppel in particular, who seems to be the head researcher on 80% of these videos), to the puppet makers (Shane only made the original Professor. The others have been made by professionals), to the writer Garrett Werner, and the other voices for puppets that have joined the show in the years since the first season. Shane does deserve a lot of credit -- this is his brain child and season 1 was mainly his work when it came to designing the puppet theater and everything. Other people have always written the scripts though. But yeah. If you love history, I can't recommend this show enough. I won't lie -- some of their facts are a bit squiffy, but nothing TOO egregious, and usually the Professor (aka Shane) will admit in character that he doesn't know the answer to a question and Ryan will tell the Professor he should do more research, lol. I would say that this show is a great comedic introduction to these historical topics but just don't take any episode as the supreme historical authority on ANY of these topics. (My official TM piece of advice on any piece of edutainment.)

[dangermousie]

I would like to order a salty no. 3! (tropes, authors, actors)

Mmmm, our kitchen is at your command. Here is my salt shaker and it’s BIG!

Actors - I used to love Xu Kai but after the triple horror of Court Lady, Ancient Love Poetry and that esports mess with Miss Wooden Tree with Boobs, my eye starts twitching when he's mentioned for a role or even when I see a promo picture of him. He might go back on my good list at some point (I mean, I used to dislike Zhang Zhehan only to fall like a ton of bricks after WoH - great timing!) but right now any time I see his face twitch twitch twitch.

Hu Yitian is like a male Cheng Xiao - cannot act. His face doesn't do it for me either so I am just happy he mainly does moderns.

Cheng Xiao is the worst actress I've ever seen in a cdrama, which is saying something. She must have a hell of a sponsor but maybe they should stick her on a runway instead and not make me want to spork myself. She also keeps getting cast with fave after fave, as if she's on a mission to prove these men, who normally have great chemistry with anyone, cannot be defeated by her woodeness. When I think of the fact that she is about to be on my screen opposite Luo Yunxi, I begin to comprehend the cruelty of the universe.

The only good thing about the utter destruction of Zhang Zhehan (a topic I am not going to get into unless I rage stroke) is that there are two less Ju Jingyi dramas circulating out there. The only reason, she’s not the worst is because Cheng Xiao exists.

Dylan Wang and his handsome sheep face and his wooden lack of acting and the insane fact that they keep insisting on casting that man with the ultimate handsome miquetoast vibe as some violent, powerful, scary antiheroes, makes me long for...I don’t know what, but not a Dylan Wang drama. To paraphrase Groucho Marx, “whatever he is in, I’m against it.”

Wu Lei - he’s a decent enough actor but whoever thought he had the vibe for a powerful, wild, death on the battlefield barbarian general in The Long Ballad is the same person who keeps casting Dylan Wang as a badass. It burns my brain!

OK, switching to Korea. Kim Jung Hyun should make a comeback. He’s mega talented and his agency clearly leaked stuff to punish him for wanting to leave. Also, I don’t care how unprofessional he was - he was clearly having a mental heath crisis and was in an abusive relationship. Also, I don’t care if an actor is a bad person - his ex is a dumpster fire but she’s a good actress so she should act. I’d rather have a terrible person who can act (Lee Byung Hun), then a sweet person who can’t act (Taec.)

I am not sure if it’s an actors thing but whatever - people who ship actors in real life are insane and one of the reasons China had an excuse to crack down on fandom. (I don’t mean fun banter but people who genuinely believe X x Y are secretly banging. It’s called ACTING, people!)

Tropes: I love wrist-grab, noncon, amnesia, noble idiot, fakecest etc - all the tropes fandom hates either because they are overused or because they are problematic. I want my life to be original, wholesome and conflict free. I want my fiction to be the opposite.

Whoever makes period stories where the characters are modern characters in period garb should be set on fire.

Authors: Meatbun is one of the best authors and probably in Top 3 novelists I’ve ever read and people who do not appreciate 2ha (unless they cannot read it due to literally being triggered) have bad taste. And before anyone jumps down my throat for being an illiterate, I have been reading all sorts of things for decades, and was reading Euripides and Livy by third grade, took whole classes on scholastic writing and 16th century English poetry, can and do read books in three languages, and read an insane amount of both Russian and English 18th and 19th century novels.

Also, while I don’t want to compare average danmei and average het web novel since I don’t think I’ve read enough of either (I probably read over 100 web novels total but I think I’d have to read way more), a good/well-regarded danmei is way better than a good/well-regarded het web novel. I’ve never found the latter that made me really emotionally invested or one that had a wow plot.

On non-web novel front, Victorian novels and novelists were amazing. Also the whole worship of Hemingway spare style is stupid - Hemingway could get away with it because he was Hemingway. Your average author would vastly benefit from adding color to their writing.

People look down on romance novels because they are for women. Nobody looks down on those stupid spy thrillers which are equivalent for men.

If you haven’t read Jorge Amado, you wasted your entire life.

The end.

[horsegirlneigh]

top 5 valjean and javert combinations?

Is this going to just be a list of Earl carpenter with different people....well lets see shall we.

1. Earl Carpenter and David Shannon

The dream team. My first combo and still my favourite to this day. Earl's Javert had this gruff slightly wild energy to it (much of which was lent by those INSANE whiskers). Whoever was resident director on 2008/9 knew their brick SO WELL because the javert/Valjean dynamic was spot on and while Earl is an amazing actor I think his interpretation of Javert owes a lot to the West End direction and the whole 2008/9 cast who formed that beautiful whole. He and Shannon had such chemistry and this kind of animal tension between them that would have made Hugo proud.

2. Earl Carpenter and Jonathan Williams

Much to my dismay I never saw this particular combo in person but God bless the video master who recorded them. Jonathan was excellent with every cast he performed with but his incredibly soft and world weary Valjean next to Earl's sardonic masterpiece of a Javert fills my heart with joy.

3. David Shannon and Jeff Nicholson

Jeff really should have gone in history as one of the greats. He really commanded that stage and his voice was so deep it was actually quite frightening it was a different dynamic than Earl's javert entirely and it was amazing. He felt really threatening especially in the confrontation and against the wounded animal protecting his young that was David Shannon's Valjean it was just like...yes.

Here is an audio for an idea

4. Jeremy Secomb and Peter Lockyer

Jeremy's javert would have been excellent even if he was playing opposite a broom handle tbh. he is also one of the great javerts of the 21st century and he and peter had such chemistry. I'm not sure it was the right chemistry but it was brilliant to watch and I miss them so much. As a pair they are really only on this list because of the backstage antics....and because jeremy HAD to be on the list and I wasn't a fan of Adam.

5. Drew Sarich and Earl Carpenter

This one is on here for pure entertainment value. I love them both I adore them both and their individual portrayals of the characters but watching them together was a bit like taking one straight friend to a gay bar. But this was an excellent thing to watch.

[omgthatdress]

How to make Cats a good movie.

I watched Cats, and once I got over the initial horror, I was actually pretty entertained and found myself enjoying the shit out of it. Like god bless it, for as nightmare-inducing as much as it was, Tom Hooper was clearly *committed* to his vision and you gotta give him credit for that. The scenery was actually really beautiful and the cinematography was frequently breathtaking. Like it really did have a lot of elements that really worked for it. But for every bit of genius, there was something terrible that the movie just couldn’t overcome. So let’s dive in.

First of all, you kind of have to understand Cats: the musical. It’s an adaptation of poems that T.S. Elliott of nihilistic lost generation fame wrote for his godchildren about cats. And the poetry is charming af and totally captures the nature of cats and why they’re so lovable. In the in the 1970s, Andrew Lloyd Webber did a shit ton of cocaine and decided to make a musical out of these poems. As a result, Cats has no plot. It’s a bunch of cats singing their songs about who they are and doing a lot of dancing. The thinnest of narrative devices is created with the “jellicle” ball and the deciding of which cat gets to ascend to heaven or some shit. So yeah. Cats is actually pretty controversial among theater nerds, it’s very much a you either love it or hate it thing. Is it stupid? Yes.  Is it going to make everyone happy? No. Does it lend itself well to film adaptation? fuck no. I get the feeling that Tom Hooper was really going for deep, meaningful poetic cinema here and trying to make another Les Mis (which was way overly long and ultimately sank under its own sheer weight as a movie and probably is better viewed as a play). I’m operating under the assumption that Hooper was going for ground-breaking cinema that would have made millions and swept up during awards season and cemented him as a legendary director and gone down in movie history, because every little detail of Cats is clearly meant for maximum impact. You kind of need to drop all expectations going into Cats, so once you’re there, you can have fun with it. So how do you make it a good film?

1. The HORRIBLE hyper-realistic cgi human-cat hybrids. YES, it’s a technical marvel, and the CGI artists who made it all deserve a ton of credit for the work they did. And I understand why the actors were kept in their human shapes: live dance is a huge part of what makes Cats work. One of the smart decisions made was hiring theater veterans for the filler roles in the cat chorus, so when you have the choreographed numbers, it’s really spectacular. It’s just the end result was way too uncanny valley and bizarre for any of the film’s good parts to ever rise above it. I think a minimalist approach would have actually worked best. Cat ears and simple costumes with clean lines that show off the dancer’s bodies. Go for the suggestion of cats, and kind of let the viewer’s imagination take over, and showcase the cat’s personality. A huge part of what I enjoyed was hearing the poetry and imagining these cats and how they all relate to cats I’ve known. The dance and the music helped heighten this experience, but hybrids kept reminding me of the joke: what do you get when you cross a human and a cat? An immediate cessation of funding and a stern rebuke from the ethics committee.

2. The schlocky, honestly amateurish attempts at slapstick humor. I’m gonna come out and say it and say that Hooper is pretty deeply entrenched in *dRaMa* and has no sense of how comedy works. There was a lot of added in comedic bits from Rebel Wilson and James Corden, and it was honestly terrible. I mean really, a crotch hit? That kind of lowbrow comedy is so crude and base that it’s actually really hard to pull it off well. Slapstick comedy actually lends itself to the whimsical tone, and slapstick done well can be utterly sublime, but Cats seemed satisfied that fat people falling over is the height of comedy and should be left at that. And a second note on the comedy? Weirdly fat-shame-y. A saw a post about how odd it is to see James Corden, who has been very frank about how he’s struggled with dieting and come to accept that his body is fat and can’t be made not fat, playing this role where fat is added to his body, his CGI vest strains at the buttons, and he’s literally stuffing his face with garbage. The theme of fat people as lazy, stupid, and slovenly carried over from Rebel Wilson’s role, in which she also plays a fat lazy cat who is leaned on heavily for comic relief. I know the role is about a fat cat, and gently laughing at a fat lazy cat who loves to eat is fine, but, speaking as a fat person myself, this felt like a gleeful exploitation of a nasty and cruel stereotype. James Corden and Rebel Wilson are both extraordinarily funny people who happen to be fat, and their comedic gifts were tremendously mis-used here, reducing them to simply two fat bodies to be laughed at.

3. Jennifer Hudson. She’s a talented actress who can sing and emote like a motherfucker. And emote she did. She was clearly GOING for that second Oscar. I really don’t want to call her performance bad. The same level of emotion, tears running and snot flowing, in another movie, would have been devastating (Hello, Viola Davis in Fences). But this isn’t Fences, it’s fucking Cats. You need a level of character depth and development that Cats doesn’t afford to make those tears hit. All the crying and misery was an odd maudlin and over-dramatic break in the fun and whimsy. With a subtler performance and a hint of self-awareness, it could have actually brought in an emotional anchor for this light-as-air film, but Cats doesn’t make any attempt at nuance, and as a result the scenes just hit you out of nowhere like a load of bricks. 

4. Francesca Hayward. Okay, before we go anywhere, I want to say that this girl is not un-talented. She’s the principal ballerina of the Royal Ballet, and has a very long list of ballets that she’s lead in. So it makes sense that she’d be hired for a role that’s primarily ballet. This girl is a really really great DANCER. But Cats was clearly trying to make an A-list actress out of her. They tried to make her into Florence Pugh, who has been acting for a while and is blowing up right now because she’s very talented. Like everything about Francesca’s role in the film said “This is a star-making role.” A new song was written just for her to sing as an addendum to Cats’s show-stopping signature song. But the song was just okay, it didn’t carry nearly the emotional weight or all-around beauty of “Memories,” and all in all felt wedged-in and totally unnecessary and really just felt like a grab at that “best original song” Oscar. Francesca’s voice is high, thin, and child-like. It’s not unpleasant, but next to the richness and depth of Jennifer Hudson’s voice, it crumbles, and it’s not the sort of voice that I want to seek out to listen to over and over again. As for her overall performance, she largely keeps the same look of wide-eyed wonder throughout her numerous close-ups, so much so that I found myself thinking of the the MST3K “dull surprise” sketch. But I don’t know if that’s really entirely her fault. There was an attempted romantic storyline with the magic cat, but again, because of the nature of Cats and its lack of real character development or depth, the chemistry fell flat. There really isn’t much of a chance to show off a lot of dramatic range, so to keep going back to her character, it kept reinforcing the one-notedness of her performance. Really, I just kept wanting to see Francesca dance. Ironically, I think they really blew an opportunity trying to make an A-list actress out of her. All she really need to make people want to see more of her is one spectacular dance number, but for some reason, she never really gets that show-stopping moment. 

5. Dignity? I guess this goes back to the whole CGI cat thing, but there were a lot of moments when I felt this tremendous wave of second-hand embarrassment hit me on behalf of the talented actors in this film. Watching Gandalf lap up milk from a saucer was a wholly uncomfortable experience, like come on, grant the great Ian McKellan some fucking DIGNITY here. Which goes back to whatI said earlier that a suggestion and interpretation of cats would have worked better than all-out just being a cat. Or it could again just be how much Cats just fails its attempts at comedy. But then again there was no fucking reason at all for Idris Elba to be that fucking NAKED. I guess they were trying to make him sexy? But his sexy smolder and just being Idris Elba wasn’t enough they had to make sure that we all saw his chiseled pecs and thick thighs. And then at the end when he’s dangling off of the rope of a hot air balloon and what’s supposed to be a funny scene, I think, I kept thinking “I’m so sorry this is happening to you, Idris.” 

There’s a bunch of other small, nit-picky things that I could go into. Those cockroaches would have worked so much better if they weren’t humans with an extra set of arms. Watching them get eaten was some horror movie shit. Taylor Swift’s Macavity song would have worked a lot better if the cat chorus full of cats we’ve gotten to know had sung it, but instead Taylor Swift is brought in as a new cat we don’t know whose only purpose is to sing the Macavity song? but of course a big oscar-bait movie needs to have that pop star that draws in the people who wouldn’t otherwise see it and making her a part of the cat chorus would have had her performing throughout the whole movie and she would have floundered the way pop stars tend to do when performing musical theater around a bunch of musical theater actors. So I guess I get why she was thrown in.

So.... yeah? Is there anyone else who found themselves enjoying it in spite of everything? I’m glad I have dogs and didn’t have to watch this mess with actual cats around me.

[a-heart-full-of-dumb]

So I said I'd give an update after I went to see them, but never did so here I am doing that now. Same order + Marius

Valjean: Okay so Milan was amazing, but my age issue was valid. He did look very young even when Valjean was already supposed to be an old man. The only moment where I went oh yes old man was during the finale. Acting and singing wise he was absolutely amazing though.

Javert: 10/10 as expected. Freek Bartels did not let me down. He did such an amazing job and was the perfect amount of unhinged and wndhsjbsbs.

Enjolras: Mark Roy Luykx, I am so sorry I was so mean, you did great. He really had such brick!Enjolras vibes and his interactions with the other amis were just so good. Sure, there were definitely moments where I would have loved to see some more stage presence and fire, but it was already so much better than in those early clips. And considering I did see it less than a week after the premiere, I have confidence he's grown into the role even more since.

Éponine: She's played by Vajen van den Bosch, she was great. She made me cry. She was amazing.

Cosette: Now I did not get to see Sem Gerritsma as Cosette when I went to see the show, but from some filmed les mis performances the cast has done, she looks like she's an amazing Cosette. Plus she's been close friends with our Marius actor for years so they have a lot chemistry together. Something the U/S lacked with Marius.

Fantine: Channah Hewitt did better than I expected ngl. She made me cry. However she did sound more poppy in some places than I'm used to. I was not as bothered by it as I had expected to be when I saw it on stage, but it's not my favourite rendition. Other than that, she did great.

Madame Thénardier: Oh yeah, she was great. Her acting choices were amazing too.

Now, in the last post I went on a whole rant about why Marius had not been cast yet despite all the other main cast members had already been cast. Well for some reason they decided to make a bigger thing out of it with a whole "who will be Marius??" post before the reveal, so let's talk about him.

Marius: Michael Muyderman might very well go on my list of favourite Marius's. Maybe I'm biased cause he's the one I saw live, but holy shit he was amazing. Despite brick!Marius being quite different from musical!Marius, he still managed to have some brick energy and he was the right amount of socially awkward and so in love and just so Marius, I don't even know how else to describe it. He was just so good.

I already made an entire post about Grantaire (though that was based more on his dynamic with Enjolras so I might make a separate post for him anyway), but if you want to know my opinion about any of the other characters or actors let me know :)

I have a lot of feelings about the casting for the new Dutch Les Mis production next year. Or well at least about my first impressions about those who are already casted. So imma make a post about it whether you like it or not.

The new Dutch production is just as in the West End the new production and apparently Mackintosh was very closely involved (hurray /s)

Let's start with Valjean: honestly my first impression of the actor was "Oh he'd make a great Dmitri in Anastasia." (Turned out he did play Dmitri in the Dutch run of Anastasia so I was right about that.) I don't know his voice well enough to say anything about whether he can sing Valjean's songs and I am not sure if he's classically trained. But he does have a pretty good voice from what I could find so far. My main issue is though, that he looks younger than Enjolras. This is more an issue with the Enjolras casting but I'll touch onto that later. I'd have to see him in costume before I can make any final judgements about him looking young being an issue, but it's a bit worrying. He's reading the brick though

Javert: honestly this is a casting I'm exited for. Freek Bartels was a pretty great Enjolras during the Dutch 2008 run and I feel like he would make a great Javert too. At first I wasn't too sure if he could get the unhinged vibes Javert has, but now I think about it more, I am pretty sure he can and will. He has been in a lot of shows including several classic shows and, like I mentioned, Les Mis before. So Freek, don't let me down

Enjolras: where do I even start.. not to say that Enjolras has to he played by the hottest actors out there, but Enjolras is supposed to have a certain charm around him. This actor has none of that. He's the most generic looking man I have ever seen (absolutely no offence), he looks honestly a bit too old and from the few clips of him I could find, it didn't look like he has the most stage presence, which I think is quite an important thing for Enjolras to have. You have to believe everyone wants to follow this man, you have to believe and understand why Grantaire looks up to this man so much. You have to believe him in his role and in his passion. Maybe Mark (the actor) will end up surprising me, but I don't have much hope. However, credit where credit is due, he does have a pretty good voice and looking at where he studied and his former roles he is probably classically trained or at least has been in several classical musicals before. So at least he can bring the opera sound to the performance that it's supposed to have.

Éponine: this is a casting that doesn't suprise me. A few days before I knew they were gonna bring Les Mis back I was literally thinking about how, if they were gonna bring les mis back, Vajèn van den Bosch would be cast as either Éponine or Cosette. This is mostly because she's Vajèn cause she's just kinda everywhere, but also because she is a very good actress and singer. She has been in several classical musicals and she absolutely has the voice for the role of Éponine.

Cosette: I am pretty sure the actress just graduated. And this seems to be her first big musical so all I can say is that I'm exited for her. I am sure she'll do great.

Fantine: ah yes, Channah. I've seen her in a show before as older Nala in the Lion King. This was a long time ago though and I don't remeber much of her performance. The only other role I could find was that she apparently played Tina in the German run of the Tina Turner musical and that she makes (Christian) pop music now. Honestly she can sing, but I am really worried she's just gonna sound like a popsinger instead of bringing the classical sound she's supposed to have in the role.

And last for now, Madame Thénardier: apparently Mackintosh was insanely enthusiastic about her casting but idk if that's even good anymore. Personally I don't know her and I could find that many clips of her so all I can say is that she looks very similar to most actresses cast in this role.

I am still confused about the fact that they already casted Madame Thénardier but not Marius?? Nor Thénardier himself?? There was this "les mis in a nutshell" thing the new cast did, and obviously Marius was mentioned several times. However, because there was no actor playing Marius yet, he couldn't give his side of the story so if you didn't know anything about the show you have absolutely no idea who this random Marius dude they're talking about is.

They also keep saying they've casted all the main characters, but then where's Marius?? Is Madame Thénardier a main character? And not her husband who has more to do? I am confused.

[animaniachan]

A3! Act 3 Episode 9 Summary

Please read through this note before you start reading the summary!

whhhhew, finally finished episode 9 and THE EMOTIONS ARE ROLLING-😭😭

but ofc being the maniac that i am ive decided to provide a full summary of episode 9 for those who are interested!

Be warned that this is MAJOR STORY SPOILERS so i would recommend you be at least finished act 2 and all the events leading up to it before you read this. Otherwise you’ll probably have a hard time understanding the full context of things.

The last note I want to make is that this won’t be a detail-for-detail summary! I still want to keep things decently vague so people can still have the joy of experiencing the story for themselves while still providing adequate information to clear up any confusions and speculations. This summary will basically be a rough outline of the story that highlights some of the major events that went on. This summary will follow the order of how the episode played out, all the events will be listed in order.

Ofc, if anybody has any specific questions regarding the story that they want clarified or just simply want to discuss episode 9: always feel free to shoot in an ask or dm me! I’m always happy to provide with information and/or rant about these precious boys!

Well, without further ado, here y’all go~~

WARNING: EXTREMELY LONG POST AND MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD~

the new groups of people now are the following:

High schoolers- Yuki/Muku/Azami/Kumon

Yosei University- Juza/Tsuzuru/Tenma/Taichi

Amabi- Kazunari/Banri

Adult group is still adult group~~

Apparently Tenma’s parents decided it would be a good idea to let him attend university so it was decided on the spot that he would be going through exams. He had to get Chikage to tutor to barely scrape by passing bc of how busy he was. Taichi on the other hand....Tsumugi the GOAT-

Omi now works as a professional photographer through a job his friend introduced him to.

Masumi decided to go to Fuyou University which is Tasuku and Tsumugi’s old university to study. Misumi’s brother, Madoka, also studies there. Although Madoka does not look like it, he’s actually 19... I know...

Azami decided to attend the same high school as Kumon which warms my heart honestly bc it just showed how good of friends they’ve become <3~~ Here’s his new uniform look <333

not sure how i feel about the red hoodie but eh, boy can pull it off so it doesn’t matter aha~

Guy is apparently opening up a new Zahra style bar with the help of the winter troupe members such as Homare who introduced him to an interior design company (same company that installed that brick wall in his room orz). Hisoka will also be helping out in Guy’s bar.

The entirety of Reni’s backstory (5 episodes in total) which describe his initial meeting with Yukio during high school to how they built Mankai together was described through the format of portraits (the autumn troupe signature). HIs backstories are basically just narrations of Act 3 1/2 if any of you read that when it was first posted.

Reni’s real name is apparently “Kamikizaka Reiji” and “Reni” is a nickname that Yukio gave him in high school bc Yukio thought that his real name was too hard to write out in kanji and pronounce lolol.

Reni keeps a journal which documents his time with Yukio (basically Act 3 1/2) in a safe in his office.

Kasumi’s nickname back in the day was apparently “Juriko”: stems from “Juliette” and “ko” which is a way to feminize someone’s name in Japanese. This was because he was the crossdresser that had to play Juliette in the OG spring troupe RomiJuri- heh.

 Shifuto is now the new “top” in GOD Troupe after Tasuku and Haruto who got demoted.

FRIEND ANGST BETWEEN AZAMI AND SHIFUTO HNGHHH and that’s all I’m willing to say oop-

GOD Troupe challenged Mankai to an act-off once again and this time appointed Tsumugi as the lead and Tasuku to be in the play and the theme as “devil” and thus...Devil Tsumugi was born.

The company was initially debating on whether to accept the challenge or not but Tsumugi and Taichi desperately wanted to show Reni who they have become as an actor and prove him wrong on all the things he’s said to them. Basically, everyone who was casted for this play had their own reasons on why they wanted to act.

Misumi’s dad’s name is revealed to be “Kusumi” which literally means nine-points/sides and I- top 10 betrayals? I was certain that his name will have something to do with a square but apparently not-

Although it was briefly revealed during Sky Pirates, Misumi’s dad is the official script writer for GOD Troupe. However, it is shown here that he has absolutely no talent in writing so what he does is get Madoka to act as his ghostwriter and write for him.

Hence this birthed Madoka’s complex of wanting to write in his own free will and not under the control of his father. Since everything he writes gets “edited” by his father but everything his father edited gets rejected by Reni and so Madoka has to fix it himself anyways.

Returning to backstory, Reni revealed that Yukio legit went to visit Misumi’s grandpa (Hakkaku) as a senior high school student to ask him for a script. As a note, Hakkaku was already a very famous script writer at that time and age wise he is about what both their dads would be. Ofc he was refused many times but Yukio wouldn’t give up and would not stop pestering Hakkaku until he finally caved in.

Honestly I loved the autumn and winter troupe dynamic throughout this entire episode- just the way they supported Taichi and Tsumugi is just-

Kumon had to act as the mediator between Azami and Shifuto to try and recover their friendship and the entire process was hilarious.

Yukio and Reni were actually Yuzo and Kasumi’s high school seniors at Nanakusa High. Yuzo was the “ghost member” that was only member of drama club in-name only that was mentioned earlier.

NAMIKAWA DAISUKE’S VOICE IN KASUMI- *deaded counter x1* as a tiny side note: i realized half way through that Tezuka (Reni), Sanada (Yuzo), and Ootori (Kasumi) were in the same high school together bc of their seiyuus. This is for my TeniPuri fans out there haha~~

During their last performance in high school, Yukio and Reni got boycotted by the other junior members right before their play. Reni ended up forcing a reluctant Yukio to go at speak act out the monologue Hakkaku provided for them and everybody ended up being overwhelmed by Yukio’s performance.

This is what ended up making Reni dedicate his post high school life creating Mankai with Yukio, he wants to see Yukio act on stage again. He describes Yukio’s acting as “someone who was chosen by God” and even went as far as using his own money his parents gave him when they kicked him out (strict family bs) to build the initial theatre while they both worked part-time. Reni was the one who designed the entire theatre according to Yukio’s wishes to “make it long lasting”. However, Yukio revealed to him that he has no desire to stand on stage again and instead wants to make others “full bloom”, this invoked a sense of betrayal in Reni.

Reni was also the one who recruited Syu, his childhood friend, into the theatre. From there on, Yuzo and Kasumi also joined. Kasumi was revealed to also be garbage at acting at first but Yukio appointed him as lead for their first play nonetheless.

There is apparently some outside force wanting to ruin Mankai as they even went as far as stealing a part of Tsuzuru’s script and provided it to Misumi’s dad who ended up plagiarizing. It is later revealed that Reni had nothing to do with this so it is currently unknown who the main perpetrator is.

 In order to get a better grasp on his devil character, Tsumugi opted to spend one day with each of the other winter troupe members (Homare, Hisoka, and Azuma) individually. This is to get more insight from people who had lived such different lives and accumulated such different experiences. Honestly, one of the most heartwarming moments ever.

MY ANGST MAN IS HERE WITH HIS FIRST APPEARANCE!!! SAKURAI TAKAHIRO’S VOICE OMGGGGG *deaded counter x2*

He met Tsumugi in front of the GOD Theatre and asked him to “save” Reni.

On the day of the performance, Tsumugi and Taichi decided to walk to the theatre. They met Banri and Juza along the way who were planning to do a street act to release some energy. On their way, they ended up being surrounded by numerous punks who were presumably sent by the same outside force who stole Tsuzuru’s script.

The night before the actual performance, the plagiarism was revealed to both sides and both sides were just as much caught off guard by this. Reni, however, refused to change the direction of the play since it was too risky as the performance is the next day. However, Shifuto refused to act out something that is plagiarized since he promised Azami that they would have a “fair fight like men”.

And so, he managed to convince Haruto to use Madoka’s script that he has written for the first time according to free will and changed the entire play in one night. With the help of Haruto’s authority, they managed to do it in time. (I’ve failed to mention this until now but these three has been building up chemistry all through out this episode and im so down for them tbh)

Banri told Juza to take Tsumugi and Taichi and go ahead while he stays behind to try and buy some time alone against all the men. Just when Banri was in a tight spot due to power in number...

BAM THIS OLD MAN COMES IN AND SAVES THE DAY!! by now y’all already know... YASUMOTO HIROKI’S VOICE HAAAAAAAAAH *deaded counter x3*

After Banri revealed to Zen that he was autumn troupe leader of Mankai, Zen gave him a card of his restaurant, “Gentiana” and promised to treat them to a meal there afterwards.

Costume reveal for GOD Troupe. Honestly, I love the chemistry that was built throughout this episode between Shifuto, Haruto, and Madoka. Haruto really did give out redeeming qualities and i don’t dislike him as much as before aha (even tho he is still a snob) and I acknowledge him as a character. Madoka’s script consisted of two characters and basically talks about two estranged brothers (his way of writing down his guilt for towards Misumi)

Costume reveal for Mankai as many of you probably have seen already- devil tsumugi and sexy tasuku is just-

 In terms of actual in-game plays, this was the second play that I’ve actually cried at, the first being Clockwork. Super emotional and well-written play and certainly it draws a lot of parallels to Sympathy for the Angel.

SAME RENI...JUST-SAME. TT

After the performances...i won’t reveal who won and by how much but Reni did officially apologize for all his past actions as he was reminded of his passion for acting through this play. Izumi thought this too but it is hard to 100% forgive him bc of the pain he’s brought on all the members.

He revealed why he quit Mankai, it was bc he and Yukio had become so divided that if he had stayed, the entire balance of Mankai would fall to ruins. He actually came to the conclusion to leave after being trapped in the time loop with Yukio for about three days aha~

Reni decided to create GOD Troupe bc he wanted them to win the Fleur Awards first and crush Mankai, that way, he may have the chance one day to accepted a lost Yukio in his troupe as an actor and not a director (obsessed much my dude??)

The last part of the episode is Reni wanting to talk to Izumi about the Ikaruga family and being invited to Mankai Dorms as a result. There he reminisced the days with the OGs before we are left with a cliffhanger-

Even though he only talked for two lines but ONO DAISUUUUKE~~~ *deaded counter x4*

The very last scenes showcased how the OGs are starting to come back together as they will be getting involved with the new Mankai members.

THIS OLD MAN LEGIT WENT AND HELPED THEM PICK CABBAGE I-

LOOK AT THIS EXPRESSION HE IS SO PRECIOUS-

~❀❀❀~

that concludes the rough summary of episode 9! i...this was an ordeal to get through aha and sorry for it ended up being such a long post...It was inevitable bc this episode consisted of 39 chapters. 

Honestly im so dead by the end of this that i didnt have the heart to check for any grammar mistakes so there’re probably quite a few that i ask you kindly to just ignore~ 🥺🥺

now, time to dig a hole and cry until episode 10 comes out...☠️😇😭

[stebeans]

She-Ra Inspired Actor AU - IV

Cast List (so far):

Taylor Cruz - Adora/She-Ra

Maya Sanchez - Catra

Jessica Cho - Glimmer

Marcus Patterson - Bow

Mei Lin - Frosta

Alexandria - Scorpia

Emmaline Lee-Scott - Queen Angela 

Jacqueline Emery Grey - Shadow Weaver

Taylor did not run. Ever. It was against her very nature. She never ran to catch a bus that was just departing, she used to stroll into class minutes after the late bell and she’d bet her past gym teachers were now probably grey in the hair from all the stress she had caused in gym class...

But now.

Now she was practically sprinting in a dead run across the studio lot towards the brick building one of the passing assistants had pointed out. Ha! If Mr. Brody, her seventh grade gym teacher, could see her now he’d probably be crying tears of joy seeing as he was always pushing her towards to join the track team. Something about her body build, lithe and toned, had made him believe she could be the next Usain Bolt. It was a pipe dream. No one could ever be the next Usain Bolt unless there was some sort of cloning device. And as if she would be caught dead wearing those gym shorts.

If only her damn alarm clock went off when it should have, Taylor wouldn’t be tearing like a bat out of hell. Apparently some time during the night she had knocked her phone charge loose from the flimsy wall outlet of her crappy apartment resulting a dead battery that never got charged. To make matters worse her beat-up Prius had chosen today of all days to finally break down forcing her to spring for an Uber she could barely afford. Taylor had sat in traffic on the I-105 for hours, her leg bouncing with anxiety and internally debating if she should just fuck it and continue on foot because anything was better than the painful crawl of the worst-known traffic in LA. She would know, being a born native and all.

Taylor cursed her string of bad luck that had resulted her in being late for the first cast meet/table read. She had spent endless nights and every waking second between shifts at the restaurant and a popular juice bar, studying the script front to back, since it had been dropped off at her door a few weeks back.  She had wanted to come prepared. To prove everyone that she wasn’t a risky choice. A mistake. A liability. Taylor was going to be the best damn She-Ra the world has ever known.

Her sneakers squeaked against the linoleum flooring as she skidded into the building, eyes squinting against the brightness of the fluorescent lights. Damn. Not only was she late but now she was sweaty. Ugh, Taylor could feel her damp t-shirt clinging to her back from underneath her signature leather jacket. She slowed to a stop just before the door, huffing and puffing, ignoring the nagging voice pointing out just how out of shape she was. She shot a glance down at her worn leather wristwatch, ten minutes late, not too bad but not great for a first impression. It took a minute to fix herself up as best as she could but at least she didn’t look like a hot mess. Grasping the door handle, Taylor could hear the muffled yet elated chatter beyond the door and without wasting another second she pulled the door open.

The view before her surprised her a little. The room was full of people, both cast and crew Taylor surmised with the handful of people staring intently at their clipboards as they made little notes in the margins. People hung out in little groups, making small conversations with shy smiles and nervous glances. Despite the awkward tension that hung in the air (typical for a first time cast meet) the room didn’t seem as stuffy and unwelcoming as the table reads she had attended in the past. It was usually full of pretentious lead actors already attempting to exert their dominance and one or two fellow male co-stars acting chummy with her.

Just as she was about to step forward to make her entrance a round of laughter erupted near the back of the room, rising above the idle chatter and garnering a few curious looks. Her gaze wandered over to the cheerful group, taking in the small group that somehow was making so much commotion. A short Asian girl had her head tilted back, roaring with laughter and it wasn’t until the taller black male had doubled over clutching his stomach, he was laughing so hard, did she catch the familiar wild mane of hair and wiry stature. Her mouth dropped open, her mind going blank and despite the distance she immediately— and inadvertently—caught Maya’s eyes from across the room. There was no mistake that Maya had recognized her the same time she did and it was quite unfortunate that Maya had been mid-sip when they had caught each other gazes because the girl had practically snorted water out of her nose in disbelief.

It would’ve been quite comical for Taylor had she not been internally panicking and all she could think about was Maya. And that she was here. At the cast meet for She-Ra. Maya. Here. With her. It had been a couple months since she last saw the girl and while she was banking on the shot she wouldn’t run into her again ever since the chemistry test from hell, Taylor knew better that while LA was a large city filled with hundreds of thousands of people, the chances of meeting one another in an audition was quite high. The Hollywood world wasn’t as large as everyone made it out to be.

Caught off guard and shocked beyond belief, Taylor stayed frozen at the doorway. Her mind just barely registering what was happening as Maya descended into a fit of forced hacks and haphazard coughs. Taylor winced slightly at the choking sounds and unwanted attention Maya was receiving. If people weren’t paying attention before, they were now as a few of them gathered around her, worry etching their faces. Yikes, that was one way to stand out at cast meet, Taylor supposed.

Taylor watched Maya wave off their concern with a watery smile and flimsy thumbs up before meeting her eyes once again, as if confirming she wasn’t just imagining things. Taylor didn’t blame her. She too had done a double-take because what were the freaking chances they would meet again? Especially during the table read for She-Ra considering their chemistry test from hell for said production?

Despite the shock, confusion and lingering guilt from how Taylor had last left things, she couldn’t pull her gaze away. It surprised how fast the incredulous look was wiped away from Maya’s face. Now Taylor couldn’t read her. She didn’t look happy because yeah, she was kind of a bitch the last time they talked but she didn’t seem un-happy. Sort of indifferent? Which honestly, Taylor could work with that. She squared her shoulders. She was going to woman-up, approach Maya and apologize. Maybe she’ll convince her to have a re-do introduction. A blank slate. It was of course for the best considering they would now be cast mates for the foreseeable future. It would be the professional thing to do.

She was going to rip off the band-aid and set aside her ego for once. Taylor inhaled deeply took a step forward only to be almost immediately deterred by an arm wrapping around her shoulders. “Taylor!” The Director greeted with a cheer. “So glad you made it! Now that our star is here we should get started, I bet everyone is excited to finally get the ball rolling, I know I am!” The Director clapped her hands until everyone’s attention was on her. “Okay everyone gather around, gather around!” She called out, corralling the occupants to the front of the room, where Taylor now noticed was clear of any furniture and spacious enough for the Director to instruct everyone to form a wide circle.

Oh no. If Taylor was right – and from the round object the Director was rolling in her hands – she was. Taylor felt a wave of dread fill her. She hated theatre games. Despised them actually. Some people thought it was a fun and brilliant way to break the ice between actors but Taylor hated it with a passion, almost as much as she hated running. She didn’t have the natural charisma or friendly disposition to easily befriend people. It would take more than some theatre game to warm her up to others and usually people didn’t have the patience or care to get to know her, already passing judgement in the first few minutes they meet her.

It shouldn’t surprise Taylor that Maya’s eyes lit up at the sight of the foam baseball, with how eager the Latina found everything. Unable to hold back the eye roll as Maya strolled towards the front of the room, hauling her new friends along with her with a cheery glint in her eyes. Apparently that was all it took because the rest of the room began to converge to the front, languidly following after Maya. Funnily, Taylor slipped through the crowd in the opposite direction towards the tables. “Looks like we got our first volunteer!” The Director announced joyfully and Taylor watched as Maya easily caught the ball in her hand, squeezing and examining the colourful foam ball.  

Taylor took her sweet time, randomly choosing one of the free seats left and slowly pulling her shoulder bag from where it hung limply at her side. It was obviously well-used, the weather so worn it was soft to the touch but despite it, it was Taylor’s most prized possession. The shoulder bag was a gift from her grandmother, her first true fan, a believer in her talents and pillar of support from anything from her floundering career in acting to her love life, or lack thereof in this case. Carefully placing the bag on the table, Taylor ran a hand over the flap for good luck. It wouldn’t compete against her grandmother’s unwavering tone as she wished her good luck or the following warmth of her loving embrace but it was the next best thing. Pretending her shoes needed re-tying, which actually wasn’t that far from the truth after nearly losing one on her jog over, Taylor took her sweet time in an attempt to prolong the inevitable.

The chatter within the room rose to an excitable level that had Taylor grimacing. After milking as much time as she could, Taylor straightened and glanced at the circle of her cast mates. She met Maya’s challenging gaze from across the room where the other actress was confidently tossing the ball in the air with a single hand, her eyes never once straying away from Taylor’s. Fine. If Maya wants to play, she’ll play. If that was how it was going to be. Taylor shrugged her leather jacket off with jerky movements, draping it across the back of the chair and strolling to the group where she planted herself directly across from Maya, meeting her challenging stare with one of her own.

As the ball was thrown at her with the speed and projection of a freaking rocket, Taylor barely had the time or reaction to bring her hands up before it whipped her in the face, her hands stinging despite the foam filling of the ball. So. Turns out she was wrong and Maya wasn’t feeling quite so indifferent after all. Feeling a dozen or so expectant eyes on her, Taylor nearly dropped the ball with how sweaty her palms had gotten. In front of a camera Taylor had no issues with her confidence. She could act the hell out of her character, she could play the dumb blonde, the air head cheerleader, the golden child of a popular tv series but when the cameras were put away and it was just her, no script, no fake persona, Taylor was as vulnerable as a baby bird. “Um, hi?” She gulped, feeling her throat dry up like the Sahara Desert.

The Director smiled encouragingly. “Why don’t you tell us who you are, something about yourself, who you will be playing in the show and a little fun fact if you will?”

“Right.” Taylor gulped. “Right. Well…I’m Taylor Cruz.” There was a chorus of friendly “hello Taylor’s” that helped ease her nervousness. “I will be playing Adora and I guess She-Ra by extension. I’m nineteen and a fun fact about me is uhh…” Taylor forced herself to think but with everyone’s focus on her she drew a blank. “I umm, I know all the words to ‘Baby Got Back’…”

Her “fun fact” was met with silence and Taylor could feel her cheeks warm up rapidly. A snort of laughter broke the quietness and Taylor’s eyes narrowed at Maya who grinned at her stupidly, waving off her uncontained laughter. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry.” She apologized between pursed lips, failing to hold back her laugh. “It’s just…it was so unexpected.” The rest of the crew joined in a light chuckle and a towering woman beside her clapped her on the shoulder that nearly sent her flying.

Taylor could’ve sworn her cheeks were on fire and she wanted nothing more for the floor to swallow her whole. “It’s not something I’m proud of.” She added not wanting to give the room of strangers the wrong impression but nonetheless her comment elicited another round of good-natured laughter.

“Well I guess that means we will have to plan a karaoke night soon.” The man next to Maya said cheerfully, who Taylor would later learn to be Marcus.

Everyone nodded encouragingly and even Maya sent her a grin that looked less mocking and more in amusement. She glanced at the director, the obvious leader in this torture game, shooting her a what now?look, hoping that she would understand. “That’s great Taylor, I’m sure we’ll get you on stage soon enough. I bet everyone is looking forward to hearing you sing.” A whoop and a joyous ‘hell yeah!’ cut in that had everyone chuckling anew. “Why don’t you toss the ball to someone and they will repeat your name before they introduce themselves. We’ll continue the process until everyone has had a chance. Anyone who messes up a name will be severely punished.” The Director teased, giving Taylor the go ahead which Taylor was too happily relinquish the pressure to the next unfortunate person.

Taylor lifted the foam ball, all the ready to throw it back at Maya but she overlooked one crucial fact. She didn’t own one athletic bone in her body and while the intended target had been Maya, she nearly taken out the eye of another woman standing two person’s down from her mark. Taylor attempted to play it cool, as if that was who she was aiming for all along but by the raised eyebrow from Maya she could surmise she wasn’t as successful in the ruse. Thankfully everyone else seemed to have not noticed and was more than happy to get the theatre game started.

While Taylor had cursed her luck during her intro, she was relieved that she had gone first. A few people had jumbled up the order of the names or had outright gotten them wrong and were forced to do pushups while everyone booed and teased mercilessly. One pushup would already be…pushing the limit, pun not intended, for Taylor.

It was funny cause in the end the last person to be introduced was Maya, who caught the wavering ball before it smacked into Jessica – or Jess as she preferred – with relative ease. “Hi it’s nice meeting everyone.” She greeted the group shyly and of freaking course, repeated all the names in the room without issues. “My name is Maya Sanchez and I am seventeen years old. I just graduated high school and my fun fact is that my first love is softball and we have been going steady for ten years now.”

If Maya hadn’t surrendered the fact or if Taylor hadn’t seen her pick up the uniform from the floor the first time they met, it was obvious with the way Maya handled the ball with ease, tossing it up from hand to hand, adding spin so the rainbow coloured ball blurred in a magnitude of colours in the air. “Oh! That’s cool!” Marcus remarked. “Are you any good?”

Maya smiled sheepishly, raising one shoulder in a half-hearted shrug. “I’m alright.” She replied and Taylor had a feeling that she was being too modest for her own good.  

As anxious as she was at the beginning of the ice-breaker game, the ball tossing and questions did its intended job as Taylor could feel the tension release from her shoulders. Admittedly it had been a fun and efficient way to get to meet her new co-stars and the production team. It wasn’t as terrible as she had thought and she even chatted with Alexandria, the tall giant of a woman with long black hair that fell past her broad shoulders, who would be playing Scorpia. She also happened to be super kind which was highlighted when a few people had trouble completing their set of pushups as punishment, Alexandria had dropped to floor and had completed the penalties on their behalf without breaking a sweat that had Taylor slightly, just slightlyjealous.

If it weren’t for her easy smile and kindness, Taylor already knew she would like Alexandria. The woman was unapologetically herself. Where many actresses in Hollywood fought to be tall and skinny, Alexandra looked like she could easily out bench press the guys in the room. She was strong and she was kind, something that was quite rare in Hollywood and Taylor had already made a silent vow to start hitting the gym more regularly. She wasn’t going to cut it as She-Ra with her noodle arms. Maybe she would even ask Alexandria for some tips.

The team was now gathered around the tables. Finally they were going to get down to business and back into Taylor’s comfort zone. Plus she couldn’t wait to jump into her new role. Pulling her well-used copy of the script where all her lines were highlighted with little handwritten notes and questions that she had for the production team. She had made sure she had studied the script as best she could in preparation for the day. The first page was filled with notes, mostly about questions about the stunt work. This role as Adora was going to be Taylor’s most challenging and vigorous yet and to be honest she was more than a little nervous.

The opening scene was mostly action filled and of course being the title character, Taylor had first honor of opening the show.  It was tricky when you were the first person to read at the very first table-read. It all fell on the first reader to set the tone. Was she going to play it cool and comfortable and just read her lines normally? That may send the wrong idea as she didn’t want to come off as lazy or unexcited about her role. But if she went hard, she might look too enthused and everyone was going to be forced to match her intensity. She had internally struggled on how she was going to play her role today but after the ice-breaker game everyone seemingly eager and radiating with excitement, Taylor went with her gut feeling. “Hey Princess.” She growled, trying to make herself sound intimidating. “You lookin’ at me?”

Luckily Andrew (playing Kyle) and Brianna (playing Lonnie) were all too happy to play up their readings too and soon they had set the tone for the table read. The first act was flying by as they had skipped through the action scenes and the introduction of Catra came all too soon. Taylor could feel her palms clam up as she played with the edges of her script.

“Hey Adora…how’s it hanging?” Maya chirped in now, her voice deep and teasing.

Taylor was taken aback as soon as Maya read her first line and nearly missed her cue.  Was Maya’s voice always so raspy? Shaking her head clear, Taylor had forced her eyes up, dismissing her script. She had this part all memorized already. “Catra.” She grunted out in annoyance. “Do you really show up late and let us do all the hard parts? That is low.” Taylor admonished, eyes on Maya who stared back with an excited glint in her eyes. “Even for you.” Taylor finished off.

“Awwww.” Maya cooed lowly, her eyes not leaving Taylor’s. Apparently Taylor wasn’t the only one who had memorize her lines. “You know nothing’s too low for me.” She said before letting out a high pitched cackle that had the cast and crew sharing amused smiles. “Now come on. You look stupid hanging down there.” Maya said, adding a hint of reverence instead of admonishment that Taylor had been imagining on her solo read-throughs.

The two had disregarded their scripts and had ignored the rest of the room as they exchanged lines, playing off one another and Taylor could feel herself ease into her role as Adora. From the corner of Taylor’s eyes she could see the Director and Producer exchange a proud smile. They weren’t the only ones who felt the chemistry. It was quite ironic really given how they didn’t really get along in real life. If only the others knew what had truly happened before today.

Taylor couldn’t remember laughing so hard at a table-read before. When it had come to the confrontation between Queen Angela and her daughter Glimmer in the throne room. Jessica Cho, who Taylor had overheard was mostly in the voice-acting scene and the beautiful and revered actress Emmaline Lee-Scott who played the Brightmoon Queen, were just so natural with one another despite just meeting for the first time today. They had read their lines so perfectly with just the right amount of huffing, scolding and annoyance of a typical mother-daughter dispute that had the whole room in stitches. It was a welcomed follow up from her read-through with Jacqueline Emery Grey who would be playing the role of Shadow Weaver. Jacqueline was just as famous as Emmaline Lee-Scott and playing opposite of her, even for a short moment was enough to leave Taylor star struck. She was glad for the break so she could calm her racing heart and gather herself again.

It had taken nearly all day but the first table read was a success. By the end everyone had eased into their roles and it seemed the Casting Director was now fully committed to the cast. They had all played off one another and the energy in the room was high and full of potential. It was the first time in a long while that Taylor was genuinely excited to go to work. The department heads was thanking everyone for the day and were handing out the upcoming schedule while Taylor was shoving her belongings in her bag. She followed Maya’s movements, watching the other girl slip on her backpack and waving off her new friends Jess and Marcus. They were the last of the stragglers and Taylor decided that it was now or never.

“Hey! Umm Maya? Can I talk to you real quick?” Taylor approached hesitantly, shoving her hands into her pockets.

Maya looked uncertain but nonetheless she nodded. “Sure. I have time. My mom is a little late. Traffic, you know?”

Taylor nodded gravely, grasping onto the lifeline Maya was throwing. “Oh I know. Kind of one of the reasons I was late. So much for a good impression.” She shrugged.

“Eh, I think you did alright Cruz.” Maya said with a small smile.

“I umm… I thought you were pretty great today too.” Taylor praised. “We make a pretty good team.”

“Yeah, we do.” Maya agreed easily. “Near-death experience aside.” She joked with a wry grin. “I had a lot of fun today.”

Sucking in a deep breath Taylor turned to face Maya head on. “Listen. About before. I just…wanted to apologize. I was being rude and I took it out on you. You didn’t deserve any of that and…I’m sorry.”

Taylor fought the urge to fidget underneath Maya’s calculating gaze. After a moment that had Taylor sweating Maya seemed to recognize her sincerity cause she broke into a soft smile. “Thanks Taylor. It means a lot and I accept your apology. I also wanted to thank you.”

Puzzled, Taylor was taken aback. “Thank me? For what?”

“For the first time we met. In the audition room? You stood up for me when that other actress was giving me a hard time and I never got to properly thank you for that. I was super nervous if that wasn’t apparent.” Oh, it definitely was. “And I knew it was a long shot but it’s rare to see any roles for people of colour. I just took a chance, however slim it is.”

“Well I’m glad it paid off.” Taylor stated. “I’m looking forward to working with you Maya Sanchez.”

“Same here Cruz.” Maya replied with her easy-going grin.

An old sedan pulled up to the curb and Maya waved happily at her mother. “Well that’s my ride. My mom’s going to want to hear a play-by-play.”

“Your mom sounds pretty cool.”

“She has her moments.” Maya smiled warmly. “Hiya Mama.” She greeted as soon as she opened the passenger door.

“Maya! How was your day? You have to tell me everything. Is this a new friend? Mija don’t be rude, introduce us unless you are embarrassed of your mother?”

“Of course not Mama.” Maya replied with a teasing roll of her eyes. “Mama, this is my co-star Taylor Cruz. She will be playing She-Ra. Taylor this is my mom, Gabriella.”

Taylor stepped forward, hunching half-way through the passenger seat to offer Maya’s mom a hand. “It’s a pleasure to meet you Mrs. Sanchez.”

She could sense Maya’s mother analyzing her, her eyes were sharp just like her daughter. The critical scrutiny must’ve ran in the Sanchez family. Taylor sweated under her gaze, knowing she looked out of place with her multiple piercings. Never had she been so nervous meeting a mother before. After a moment that felt like forever Maya’s mother clasped her hand in a firm handshake. “It’s Gabriella, my dear but aren’t you a sweetheart. Do you need a ride home Taylor?”

It was then Taylor remembered her beat-up car sitting uselessly on the side street back home. She had been so caught up with the events of the day she had forgotten to call for an Uber. The ride home was probably going to eat a good chunk of her savings too. “I took an Uber this morning. I just need to track one down –”

“Oh that won’t do! Take a seat Taylor we can drop you off home.”

“Mrs. Cruz, I mean Gabriella,” Taylor corrected when the older woman shot her a look. “I appreciate the offer but –”

Maya laughed, cutting Taylor off again. “It’ll save us some time if you just give up now and get in the car. My mom won’t take no for an answer. It’s in our culture. It’s best if you don’t offend my mother by saying no to her hospitality.”

“Of course not!” Taylor stuttered, unable to wrap her head around what was happening. She was used to fending for herself and none of her co-stars had ever cared if she made it home or not before, let alone her mother when she had been her manager. “Thank you for offering. I guess I’ll take you up on it. But I can help pay for the gas? I’m just a little out of LA, it’ll be a drive.”

“Nonsense my dear. It’ll be nice getting to know one of Maya’s new friends.”

She stared helplessly at Maya who shrugged and motioned to the car. “Come on Cruz. Let’s get you home.”

The ride was a only a little bit awkward. Fortunately Gabriella was able to fill in the silence with questions about the day, sounding just as enthusiastic as if she was starring the show also. Taylor had sat mostly in silence, answering questions only when Gabriella had attempted to pull her into the conversation but the older Sanchez had quickly learned that Taylor was more content with just listening in. Taylor was leaning her head against the glass window, watching the city skyline pass by and thinking about the day and what was to come. Things were finally looking up. Her co-stars were pretty cool and friendly, the production team was proud of the show they were making and she was on friendlier terms with Maya. They weren’t buddy-buddy but at least she was able to clear the air. Maybe they would never be friends but they both knew that they were good for the show and Taylor couldn’t wait to get started.

[wreckthelist]

excuse me, mr. webb

It started with a 2:26 minute trailer announced via a tweet.

I think it was IndieWire, if I’m not mistaken.

And my Twitter friend, Natalie, has been hinting about this guy, Callum Turner, for a while. Plus Glue, we don’t forget Glue. Not this very, very pivotal and fundamental series. We won’t forget that.

So I clicked on the link, and voila. Callum Turner’s the fantastical mash-up of Brick-era JGL and John Gallagher Jr. (shh, he has that look behind his eyes) I never knew I wanted.

Thank you, Marc Webb for bringing (500) Days of Summer into my life for having the idea to put him in glasses. After watching Leaving (2012), I’d say he was prepped for this part.

But it wasn’t until I saw him in Glue (2014) that solidified my interest in him. Here is a breakout star. Another discovered so soon after Timothee Chalamet (Miss Stevens, 2016) too, but it’s all good because life is beautiful and we deserve to be blessed with their beauty and talent. Dark curly haired boys who are all angles, as Natalie said.

While the release date of the film’s months away in November, (please September please come quick), I do what I do best in tracking down an actor: the filmography exploration and study.

I’ve always done this. Have been, for a while. Gets me into the most interesting territories, little gems of indie films and those embarrassingly low rotten tomatoes rated films you fast forward through for glimpses of a face, for sounds of a voice. 

I nearly was going to launch this blog with Tye Sheridan, back in 2015 (The X-Men: Apocalypse era), but it never happened. Time passed. Grad school happened. And here we are again, at the exciting beginning of a new list.

I’ll do this proper from now. Not to mention I’ll blog about concerts, encounters, events, theatre - when I can. And TV shows. Obviously. Recommendations, analyses, stray thoughts, highlights, actors/actresses, costumes, you name it. But mostly the focus would be on ‘wrecking’/completing filmography lists.

Suits returns tonight, my loyal companion of a show which has stuck with me through it all. (USA’s granted my wish, and then some. But I’m too fond of Patrick J. Adams and Gabriel Macht to let them go.)

So be on the lookout for more analysis (Spoilers - of course. If you aren’t watching Glue, what are you doing because it’s a slice of that New E4 brilliance, a countryside Skins that filled the hole in my heart since the undocumented Nicholas Hoult era of 2011.) - this whole thing actually started with me watching Glue’s finale’s climax and thinking, this is basically Jack Thorne’s Woycezk test run - the thought of being able to draw a parallel between those two is what thrills me. Deconstructing the mental/psychological breakdown of the silent suffering protagonist through the clues the show and the play have given us. FUN. If I am able to keep this up. Which I will.)

Consider this an introductory post. I’m serious about this blog this time, and I do hope I can breathe some life into it.

Up next (in no particular order - fingers crossed!):

Small Town Toxins: Glue (2014), a series overview

The Teen Male Asian Protagonist - The Edge of Seventeen (2016)

Apple Pies & Mushrooms - Thoughts on Sofia Coppola’s The Beguiled (2017)

A Madness, Written Away - Callum Turner & Helen McCrory’s chemistry in Leaving (2012)

Meanwhile, I’m going to transfer some previous entries on concerts and meeting my faves over here.

[themonsteroffice]

DEPARTMENT DESCRIPTIONS

It’d be a while before I can make all the art for the deparmtments so here is a list of them with a brief description of what they look like. Because the reality in the building is so loose the Dreamons often warp their own deparmtments to suit their own taste and needs. The results can be a bit jarring for most as you can pass from a door into a meadow or even enter a graveyard, this place is full of surprises. Its long so this is under the read more:

Green Dept. When you enter the Green Dept. you find yourself in a pleasant but vast garden with a wide assortment of herbs and flowers, some for practical uses and others just add a gentle atmosphere. The soft scent and sunshine create a calming environment that would bring some ease to even the most troubled of minds. Beyond the garden looks to be a small wooden cottage covered in vines and flowers and inside is a cozy setting where the Dreamon, Greegori, is waiting to treat any physical, mental, or emotional wounds. Chartreuse Dept.  The area is dimly lit save for some neon green lighting that drapes just enough light on the setting so folks can see where they are going. There are various tables scattered along the walls leaving plenty of space in the center for a large dance floor. There are various platforms and levels in the place allowing for balcony seating for those who just wanna watch. A large stage takes up the entire back wall though half of it is taken up by wallhigh speakers ready to blast away when the party really starts. You can usually find the head Dreamon, Chartrand on the highest level in his private booth chillin when he isn’t playing the DJ. During business hours its a more quiet lounge-during afterhours its a huge rave.

Yellow Dept. The only deparmtment that actually looks like an office setting. Its filled with the usual cubicles, cabinets, and office supplies and wait  why is there a rhino beast in the middle of the aisle...and was there always a pool here? Geez. The yellow deparmtment is unassuming but you never know whats going to pop up one moment and vanish the next. Worst of all if you try to tell the head Dreamon, Yelloneus, about it he never acknowledges the literal elephant in the room. Yelloneus’ office is in the back behind the maddening labyrinth of cubicles, good luck getting there.

Amberose Dept. Everyone loves to dream of a beach day! Well everyone in the Amber deparmtment works at a beach day every day! Its quite literally a beach. Theres plenty of small shacks and huts to provide shade and quiet places for employees to work but they’re always welcome to take a break and splash around the water if they like! This deparmtment also hosts many visitors for meetings, what better way to deliver customer service and build a good reputation than taking people on a holiday when they were expecting another boring business trip! You can usually find Amberose all over the place makin sure folks are havin fun or playin a few rounds of beach volleyball. Orange Dept. Your tastebuds are going to go off the charts the moment you enter the orange department because the smell along coming from this kitchen is heavenly. This dpearmtment serves as  a restaurant for employees during the day and visitors at night. Get served fresh dishes from the head chef himself, Oranhamme, who is constantly in the kitchen cooking up something new. While he experiments in the back the many other chefs and bakers will be happy to fix you whatever is on the menu that day. On top of it all you have waiters and waitresses on hand to bring the food to you while you relax at the booth for your lunch break. The area is very warm and cozy made mostly of wood and brick, think of a rural setting. Vermillion Dept. When you walk into the Vermillion Dept. you walk into what looks like a full blown movie studio set. There are lights, cameras, and plenty of action as the head D’eye’rector Vermillinder is always shooting some sort of new advertisement or something. There are dressing rooms along the the stage for the actors and actresses to prepare for their next starring role. The set looks a lil like the glam era of hollywood back in the day, Vermillinder never did get over that era. The sets may seem a lil hokey at first but with Vermillinder’s magic it becomes an all encompassing environment that makes you swear you were actually there.

Red Dept.  The boiler room is Red’s domain. A winding hall of steaming pipes and tool closets. The deeper you go the hotter it gets until its almost unbearable. At the end of the road you’ll find the head, Reddington, stoking the Dream Furnace which takes up the entire wall. The heat is ungodly in this area so its best not to go here if you can help it, besides you probably dont wanna disturb the Dreamon’s whose temper is hotter than the flames he fuels.

Magenta Dept. Welcome to the lab, just dont touch anything. A chemistry setting isnt what you’d really expect when you think of a resources department but Magerite likes to take idea of chemistry between people a littler literally. There are all sorts of creations here, love potions, hate potions, platonic potions, to name a select few. While half the deparmtment has beakers and all sorts of mysterious fumes hovering about the rest of it is  more of a consulting area, clean and tidy for when you need to interview or file a complaint...not like anyone ever files complaints here, ever.

Violet Dept. The key to creating a successful business strategy is to have an environment that fosters enlightenment or so Violson thinks. One may not know whether they’re here to talk business or get their palm read. Theres all sorts of crystals and stones about the places and instead of tables and chair theres just a bunch of rugs and cushions. Gotta keep it loose to create the flow of creative energy. You can find Violson near the back behind the drapes usually meditating.

Indigo Dept. Off Limits Blue Dept. Blubert likes crystal clear communication throughout the building and his deparmtment is a good embodiment of that value. The area is clean and simple in its design overall. The walls are all a thick sturdy glass which allow everyone to see everything thats happening here at all times. Its also always a bit chilly in here like the air conditioner never turns off, bring a jacket. Teal Dept. A network of computer screen, holograms, and all sorts of tech. The area is lit mostly from the light of code flashing across said screens and there is always the dull whirring of machines doing heaven knows what. The head of this deparmtment, Tealing is usually zooming from one screen to another, typing away and making small touch-ups to the machines. It may be hard to get her attention as shes always fixing 100 problems at once.