#it is a great movie for those the movie was directed at

[eurothug4000]

PIGLET'S BIG GAME - INTERVIEW WITH PASCAL CAMMISOTTO

Earlier this week I interviewed Pascal (game designer on Piglet's Big Game 2003) about the making of the title that has received a whirlwind of attention online recently. You can find more information in my video that's going up today on my channel: https://www.youtube.com/@eurothug4000/videos

How did the project come into existence?

At that time, Doki Denki studio was already working with Disney. 

We had released three PlayStation 1 games with them. Disney was working on the film Piglet's Big Movie and was looking for a studio to develop the video game alongside it. 

I don’t want to say anything inaccurate, but I believe it was, officially, our first PlayStation 2 game released on the market.

If the information I found online is correct, Piglet's Big Movie was released after Piglet's Big Game came out! Were you given any direction by Disney on what the game should be like and if it should be similar to the movie in any way? Or did you have complete freedom in designing the game (story, gameplay etc.) as you wish?

I’m not too sure anymore how everything came together, but I believe Disney didn’t give us access to the film's content. 

They were very secretive (and I think that was quite common at the time). They just wanted a ‘product’ to accompany the movie release. 

All we knew was that it revolved around Piglet. So the game’s story was developed by us (the game design team), as narrative designers didn’t exist back then. 

We had a lot of freedom, both in writing and game design, and I think that was partly thanks to Disney's producer, Risa Cohen. She really supported our decisions in the interest of quality.

What do you specifically remember working on for the game? (Certain levels, overall gameplay loop etc.?)

I remember several things: the horror gameplay, which was completely new for this target audience; the hour of real-time cinematics that I directed with the animation team; the cameras in each room that I placed as best as I could to follow the action; and finally, the overly difficult combat (which I wanted to tone down, but wasn’t allowed to. ^^). 

The atmosphere in the studio was fantastic, and I genuinely recall a sense of pride in what we were doing. 

Yes, it was a kids’ game, and yes, sometimes it was cheesy, but we still had so much fun making it, as if we were making it for ourselves. It was truly a great project.

Do you remember what the reception was to the game at the time of its release?

Yes, the game was very well received. It was considered by reviewers to be a very good children’s game. At that time, many licensed games (especially those for kids) were rushed and uninspired. 

That wasn’t our philosophy at the studio. We wanted to make a good game, even if the target audience was very young. 

I think that’s why the game surprised people with its strong approach and quality.

Have you seen some of the posts about Piglet's Big Game recently? What was your reaction to seeing them if so?

Absolutely not. I just found out, and of course, I’m thrilled that it’s being talked about again!

People online are talking about the "horror" aspects of the game, were these intentional? Was the aim to have a game that had elements of the horror genre?

When Disney spoke with the studio about this game, Marc Albinet (the head of game design, my boss) immediately wanted to make ‘a Resident Evil for kids.’ 

I believe he even went to Disney to pitch the idea, and he must have been convincing because they said yes. 

Since we didn’t have access to the movie’s script, we created a story centered around Piglet. It focused on his lack of self-confidence and the courage he would need to help his friends, who were asleep and trapped in a nightmare. 

The horror element was tied to these nightmares that the player would need to resolve.

Are there any links or anything that you'd like me to mention so people can find you online, or any projects you're working on?

You can find me on X (@KaMiZoTo), but I rarely tweet. Since my time at Doki Denki, I've gained quite a bit of experience, and now I have my own studio: 

http://drawmeapixel.com

We released in 2020 "There Is No Game: Wrong Dimension", which I recommend everyone try without watching any let’s plays to avoid spoilers! (The experience relies on surprise.)

We’re also working on a new secret project with the same meta spirit!

A big thank you to Pascal for taking the time to talk about the game!

[klaineccfanficlibrary]

I’m currently re-reading all of my favourites and I want to give a big shoutout and a thank you to little_escapist and her wonderful stories!

I love them so dearly.

In a car with a beautiful boy

Only pretending

Sound Check and the follow ups

Turn into a pose

Yes, definitely thank you for the shoutout, @little-escapist is a great writer. Find the recommended and lots of others on A03.

Only pretending (or not at all)

Kurt gets an invitation to a New Directions reunion, but he's not sure he wants to go: he's the only one not in a relationship. His roommate Blaine gets an idea - he can pretend to be Kurt's boyfriend for a week!

Kurt is doubtful, because he happens to be in love with his roommate, but he agrees. He can have this one last thing, maybe he'll get to kiss Blaine, and then he will move on from Blaine for good.

~~~~~

In a car with a beautiful boy

Blaine is always willing to help out someone in need. When Kurt Hummel, a person he's never met before, asks for a carpooling arrangement in the company intra from his neighborhood, Blaine agrees instantly.

If he only knew how one innocent helpful act is going to change his life.

~~~~~

Soundcheck

Before a concert, there's a soundcheck to make sure that everything works as it should.

In high school, Kurt Hummel makes friends. Those friends lead him to new music, which in turn leads him to accepting himself. Somewhere along the way he meets his friend's big brother, Blaine - and that, more than anything else, changes everything.

Or, the AU where Adam Lambert is Elliott Starchild is Adam Lambert.

~~~~

Turn into a pose

Singer-songwriter Blaine Anderson wants to come out of the closet. When his publicist sets him up with movie-star Kurt Hummel, he’s ready for anything, but the last thing that Kurt wants is a relationship with anyone, let alone Blaine. He hates his publicist for setting him up, hates the idea of lying to the world, and hates letting the world invade his personal life. But maybe Blaine Anderson is exactly what Kurt Hummel needs.

[d-criss-news]

Darren Criss and Helen J. Shen Talk Finding Their ‘Maybe Happy Ending’ on Broadway: ‘It’s a Really Charming, Kind Little World’

It’s best to let Darren Criss describe the simply complex story of Maybe Happy Ending, the new musical he co-stars in with Broadway newcomer Helen J. Shen. “There’s what the story is and then there’s what the show is about,” the Emmy and Golden Globe-winning singer/actor/songwriter tells Billboard in an interview you can watch above.

“Those aren’t necessarily the same things,” he notes about the musical love story from Will Aronson and Hue Park, in which the former Glee star and Shen appear as obsolete Helperbot robots who meet cute and fall in love. “Thematically, it’s about two elderly people in hospice who decide to break out of the situation to go connect with their family,” says Criss about what sounds like a potentially dark theme.

And while that “grim, depressing construct for a show” doesn’t sound like the stuff of uplifting Broadway magic, Criss promises that the musical’s creators have somehow morphed that idea about the chilly march of time and hard lessons about love and life into a “really charming, kind little world” filled with Helper robots who are living embodiments of our iPhones and other digital assistants.

Because many of us imbue our inanimate digital devices with human-like qualities, sometimes holding on to them well past their best-by use date, Criss says the musical asks what happens when those objects become more like us?

Shen makes her Broadway debut in the play alongside theater/TV/movie veteran Criss, 37, after turning heads last year in the ensemble of the Off Broadway musical Teeth. She says one of the most exciting parts of performing in the show is the chance to take the lead in a completely new piece of theater not based on any existing intellectual property or a reboot/revival, but something that theatergoers have never seen before.

“It’s super overwhelming. The idea of it has been something that I’ve dreamed about my whole life,” says Shen, 24 of originating a character on Broadway. “And to have it come to fruition with this particular story, with this particular group of people I just feel… abundance. I feel so lucky and grateful.”

Both say they feel really blessed to be part of the show, with Criss noting that he has typically starred in “iconic” roles in his previous Broadway runs, including as Harry Potter in A Very Potter Musical, J. Pierrpont Finch in How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, Seymour in Little Shop of Horrors and Hedwig in Hedwig and the Angry Inch, among others. “These are things people know and love,” he says of those classics.

“[Which] were great, with or without me. I now go in there trying to do my own thing and make it my own and there’s the excitement of the challenge, but also the pressure of living up to a certain thing and wanting to do your own thing,” he adds about trying to find something of yourself in a well-known role people may have seen many other times with other performers. “Whereas this, it’s an open canvas, not only for us, but for the audience. They don’t have any preconceived notions. That’s the best thing about this.”

Because it is a new experience, audiences don’t know what to expect, which both actors say makes attendees really listen and sit up in their seats to take in all the nuance of the show that also heralds the Broadway debuts for creators Aronson and Park; it began its life on stage in Seoul, South Korea in 2016 and was later produced in Japan and China as well.

Maybe Happy Ending, directed by Michael Arden (Parade), is open now at the Belasco Theatre on Broadway.

[adreamthatsworthkeeping]

SPICEWORLD GOT A RAZZIE??!! It is a masterpiece!!

[street-corner-felines]

Bourne isn't sure where The Professor is within the field so he uses the report of the shotgun's gunfire to get the birds to fly around over The Professor's head, tracking their movements to reveal the position of his adversary, which is why the professor recklessly takes a run for the treeline.

Apparently this sequence originally ended with Bourne quickly ambushing and killing the Professor after intercepting him as both flank around the barn after the explosion, killing him instantly, without permission from the studio and only 5 minutes of film available, Doug Liman went out with the actors and the stunt crew and shot this sequence himself, feeling he missed out on an important emotional beat with The Professor and Bourne connecting over their shared experiences and loneliness of being Treadstone assassins.

[savage-rhi]

Never ask:

A woman her age

A man his salary

Kid Rock about the song he did for the Osmosis Jones (2001) soundtrack

[sonknuxadow]

stuck in an endless cycle of being annoyed about some of the stuff that was in the trailer and then i see how excited other people are and start thinking "well maybe some of the stuff that upset me could go in a different direction than im expecting. and there was still some cool stuff in there. maybe im overreacting or jumping to conclusions" and then i remember what exactly i was annoyed about and start thinking maybe i was right the first time and then i just kind of feel sad thinking about how excited i was over the first two movies compared to how ive been feeling about the more recent movieverse content and then i get frustrated with how it feels like im not allowed to express these feelings and opinions with how defensive some movie fans get and dismiss all criticism as needless hate regardless of who its coming from or what theyre saying and then i go Okay im normal now . until im reminded of the movie again

[waterloo-to-anywhere]

“well since i listened to Death on the Stairs naturally i gotta listen to New Love Grows on Trees and if i listen to NLGOT i HAVE to listen to Gin&Milk which means i should probably listen to Shiver (demo) which will bring me BACK to NLGOT which'll take me to Deadwood and if I listen to Deadwood I also need to listen to Heartt of the Matter and and”

[theodoradove]

rewatched design for living and trouble in paradise and AUGH they are such good films

[oldtvandcomics]

Happy Queer Media Monday!

Today: Badhai Do (2022) (Title translates to “Give the Good News”)

(The two main characters hiding in a closet, from a promotional poster.)

Badhaai Do is an Indian comedy movie about a gay police officer and a lesbian sports teacher, who get married in hopes of getting their families to stop nagging them about being single. Hijinks ensue, as they both pursue their own romantic relationships on the side, try to keep up the semblance of a good couple, and need to find an explanation about why after a year, they still don’t have any children.

It is a funny movie, that is clearly made with the aim to humanize queer people and champion equal rights, which it is really good at. It also has a very realistic feeling to it. I have no doubt that many queer people have lived, and are still living, this exact same life. It is especially nice that, all in all, it is a happy story. We as a community do tend to have a slight tendency to assume that the only way of being happy is to be 100% out, which is why we really need more stories like this or The Blue Caftan (2022), where gay people in more traditional societies live perfectly happy and fulfilled lives.

Badhaai Do is available on Netflix.

Queer Media Monday is an action I started to talk about some important and/or interesting parts of our queer heritage, that people, especially young people who are only just beginning to discover the wealth of stories out there, should be aware of. Please feel free to join in on the fun and make your own posts about things you personally find important!

[corellianhounds]

It’s weird to me that both Revenge of the Sith and the first Twilight book came out in 2005. Big year for obsessive honey-mist-auburn-haired dark and brooding supernaturally powerful husbands/boyfriends and their soulmate of a perfect brunette woman. If Twilight had come out earlier and they made a movie in the 00’s Hayden Christensen would have been cast as Edward too

[itspileofgoodthings]

Matthew MacFayden’s Darcy is a fascinating thing to unpack because I don’t believe it succeeds as a performance of Darcy or even as a performance in general (it kind of can't) but there are layers to it and it's not simple.

[pumpkinrootbeer]

Hardware Store is a Weird Al song. During the bridge, he lists off a bunch of different tools and appliances very quickly, which I suppose could be considered "rap" if you've never listened to an actual rap song.

ANOTHER?? ANOTHER WEIRD AL SONG? IN THE POST ABOUT HOW WHITE PEOPLE CANT BE NORMAL ABOUT RAP MUSIC ?

[theheadlessgroom]

@beatingheart-bride

In turn, Randall squeezed her hand back, as he drew in a deep breath. Despite his best efforts, clinging to the notion that his parents would at the very least be understanding once everything was laid out on the table for them, seeing that Emily really meant him no harm and that they truly were in love, there was no denying that growing cold pit in the bottom of his stomach, worsened only by her suggestion. A part of him sort of wanted to (however lamely) protest, instead suggest they save it for another day, and just enjoy themselves for now...

...he knew, in his heart, she was right. They would have to tell them at some point, and it was better to do it now rather than later; Randall had never been one keen to lie to his parents, and he knew the guilt of keeping such a massive secret from them would eat him up from the inside out. Thus, it was just better to get it out of the way-for both his and Emily's ease of mind.

"You're right," he sighed, as he brought her closer, wrapping his arm around her as he nodded, "They...they do deserve to know. I'll, uh...I'll give them a call in a little while, tell 'em when I'll be home, and that you'll be with me. We'll...we'll tell them together."

He punctuated this with another loving kiss, this one pressed to her cheek as he reassured her, "It'll be alright, Emily."

[micamicster]

oh my b you guys are right the REAL flaw in trashy romcoms is we don’t pay enough attention to the men 🙄

[saturdayschwartz]

I could write a full length essay on the ruining of MJ’s character over time and how heavily wronged she was by the original Raimi trilogy. i could also write a full essay on how wronged the spider-man franchise as a whole was by the original Raimi trilogy, I fully believe it is a bad adaptation of the comics and the characters themselves