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lady-divine-writes · 5 years ago

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Squatters’ Rights - (Rated PG13)

Summary: Chaos ensues at their daughter's Christmas pageant when some unexpected visitors hijack a very important prop. (1878 words)

Notes: Written for the @klaineadvent 2019 prompts emergency, ground, hiccup, interrupt, nest, and overwhelm, and the @gleepotluckbigbang Prompt 'Christmas Trees'.

Read on AO3.

“Ku-rt … oh Ku-rt,” Blaine sings in a nervous falsetto. “I need to talk to you, Kurt.”

“Yes?” Kurt snaps, too overwhelmed this close to curtain to handle anything that might go hand-in-hand with that unsettling voice.

“We might have a problem.”

“What?” Kurt storms a step towards his husband who leaps three steps back in response, concerned suddenly for life and limb. “What problem!? It’s fifteen minutes to show time! Don’t talk to me about problems!”

“O…okay,” Blaine says, splaying his hands in a conciliatory gesture, “then let’s call it a hiccup?”

“No, a hiccup is a safety-gated synonym for problem and I refuse to accept that there are any problems.”

“And yet, we still have one.”

Kurt sighs, throwing a hand to his forehead to shield his already blooming headache from whatever stupidity this is, and ends up smacking himself with his clipboard. “Fine!” he groans, rubbing the sore spot. “What is it!?”

“Look up there.” Blaine reaches out to take his husband’s shoulder and redirect his attention, but after considering the possibility of getting his hand bitten off, he motions with his chin instead.

“Up where?”

“Up … up there. In the Christmas tree. And … uh … tell me I don’t see what I think I see.”

“What? Is Mrs. Popson complaining that the ornaments are unbalanced again? Are we going to have to re-Feng shui the lights to better complement her third graders’ angel piglets?” Kurt allows himself a snicker as he follows Blaine’s instructions and gazes up. Eight dozen ridiculous things have happened so far and their little pageant has yet to even open. That’s probably all this is. Something ridiculous – a minor inconvenience blown way out of proportion.

At least, that’s what it had better be.

But as he peers through the branches of their picturesque twelve-foot Fraser fir, he realizes no. This isn’t a little thing. It’s a rather large thing. So large, he wonders how come he didn’t manage to notice it before now.

“Oh … shit,” he mutters.

“Yeah,” Blaine agrees. “That’s what I said.”

“This!” Kurt hisses, jabbing a finger upward. “This is why I told you I wanted an artificial tree for the Christmas pageant! Where did we get this thing anyway?”

“It was donated, Kurt! By Father Bruno at St. Adalbert’s Parish. As a show of support for out LGBT inclusive program! He went out to the woods and cut it down himself!”

“Right!” Kurt folds his arms over his chest, expression pinched sarcastically. “He probably planned this! Did it on purpose to sabotage our pageant! You can’t trust the Catholics, Blaine! Don’t I always say that!?”

“No!” Blaine pulls a face. “I have never heard you say that!”

“Well, you can’t,” Kurt sniffs. “And whether I said it or not, it’s generally implied.”

“I don’t think he did this on purpose.”

“Really!? Then let me ask you this - during the time it took the good father to cut this tree down and drag it over here, he never once noticed there was not one, not two, but three nests inside!?”

“I guess not! But neither did y---we,” Blaine corrects, his life flashing before his eyes when he almost implicates his husband in being at fault. “We got the tree last minute. I guess they slipped through the cracks.”

“Obviously.” Kurt sighs. He closes his eyes and drops his head, searching for an answer in the dark behind his lids.

Five minutes.

By now, they only have five minutes left until show time. He can hear the children lining up with their teachers backstage while he and his husband argue. But they need to stop arguing and come up with a solution.

And fast.

He takes a deep breath in and exhales out, the inklings of a plan forming in his head.

“It’s okay,” he says, reassuring himself more than anyone. “It’s going to be okay. They haven’t let the parents in yet. They’re still in line outside. We can fix this. We can still fix this.” Kurt’s eyes pop open. “Sam’s here, right?”

“Yeah. Yeah!” Blaine exclaims, the inclusion of their friend in this scenario of some bizarre comfort to him. “He’s doing final checks on the lighting! Up in the catwalk!”

“Great,” Kurt says, over-enunciating consonants through locked teeth. “Can you go get him please?”

“Yes! Yes, I can! Sam! Sam!” Blaine bellows before he runs off behind the curtain. Kurt flinches, the headache simmering behind his eyes threatening to become a full-blown migraine. He considers informing his husband that he could have yelled just as easily, but quicker than quick, Blaine returns with Sam in tow, pointing animatedly at the tree, running his mouth a mile a minute. Sam listens, nodding and smiling, telling Blaine it’ll be okay every time Blaine stops to take a breath – which isn’t often. But a foot away from the tree Sam gets a better glimpse. He slows down. His smile falls. And to Kurt’s dismay, he shakes his head.

But Kurt adamantly objects to hearing anything that so much as stinks of bad news, so before Sam can say a word, he jumps the gun: “So, you can move them right? Just … shimmy up there and get them down?”

“Uh … no. I can’t.”

“Yes, you can,” Kurt counters, teeth clenched so hard they’re about to pop from his skull. “Skitter your way up there and pluck them out. It can’t be too difficult.”

“I’m sorry, Kurt …”

“We’re not going to hurt them,” Kurt interjects as if that might be the big hold up. “We’re going to relocate them.”

“Kurt …”

“There’s a cat carrier in the fifth grade room,” Kurt continues desperately. “We’ll toss them in there for the time being and then …”

“Kurt!” Sam barks, which he never does, so Kurt knows the impending answer truly is no. “We can’t move them.”

“And why can’t we?”

“Because those aren’t just any birds.” The three men look up at the exact moment nine fluffy bird faces peek over the edges of their nests and look down, probably wondering what all the commotion below is about. “Those are loggerhead shrikes.”

Kurt and Blaine both look at their friend with confusion on their faces.

“How do you know that?” Blaine asks.

“I happen to be an Eagle Scout. And an active member of the Audubon Society.”

“I didn’t know that!” Blaine pats his proud friend on the back. “Good for you, man!”

“Thank you,” Sam replies a la his favorite Elvis-impersonation. “Thank you very much.”

Kurt throws his arms up in frustration at the unexpected arrival of the mutual admiration society. “Okay! Great! They’re loggerhead shrikes! So?”

“Loggerhead shrikes are threatened. That means they’re protected. We can’t move them ourselves. We might not be able to move them at all without taking the tree with them.”

Kurt’s eyes bug. “We can’t … we can’t … the tree!? Oh great! This keeps getting better and better!”

“Kurt, relax.” Blaine takes the risk and puts his hands on Kurt’s shoulder. He tries to massage them, but they’re hard as rocks. “It’s okay. We can still sort this out.”

“And how do you suggest we do that!? Huh!? Our Christmas pageant, which your daughter is starring in by the way, and is supposed to start in …” Kurt spins around in search of a clock. When he can’t see the one on the far wall, ironical for the tree, he fishes his cell phone out of his pocket and checks the screen. His eyes bug out farther “… two minutes! has been hijacked by birds!”

“Look. They’ve been chill so far. Maybe we can have the pageant with them there and move them after. Problem solved.”

“You’re right,” Kurt agrees optimistically, seeing how, with no time to spare, this could be a feasible option. “We’ll let them stay! Problem solved! I mean, what’s a few birds? It doesn’t look like they can even fly yet. And they’re cute! They’ll add realism. They won’t be any trouble.”

“Not exactly,” Sam says, and Kurt as never wanted to punch him in the face so hard in his life. “There may be a whole other bigger problem.”

“And that is?”

“Those are the babies. Juveniles, specifically. I don’t see any moms. Or dads for that matter.”

“I know I’m going to regret asking this,” Kurt moans, resigned to whatever fate Sam’s knowledge is about to bestow upon them, “but … that’s a problem why?”

“Because loggerhead shrikes are protective. Being separated from their chicks, the parents will get aggressive. Also, if the babies don’t know where their parents are and they get nervous …” A series of jarring screeches interrupt Sam’s explanation. Kurt glares up at the birds, mouths open wide, cawing loudly into the air. Sam points up. “They’ll do that.”

“Great!” Kurt yelps, at the end of his rope. “So we have potentially agro birds loose in the theater, baby birds that spontaneously scream bloody murder, and a play set to start in half-a-minute, which we may have to postpone indefinitely in case we need to call animal control - do I have that right?”

“Basically, yes.”

“Well, skippidy do! Is there anything else!? Anything at all you’ve forgotten to tell me!? Because what else could possibly go wrong!?”

The doors at the back of the auditorium fly open and Kurt blanches, knowing that right then and there, his question is about to be answered.

“Kurt! Blaine! Come quick! It’s an emergency!”

“What? What, what, what is it now!?”

“Insane birds are dive bombing parents in line outside! Three people have already been pecked! Everyone is scattering! It’s like an Alfred Hitchcock movie!”

With the doors thrown open, Kurt can hear it – the panicked yells of parents outside, banging on the doors, begging to be let in. Above that, the shrieking of the birds searching for their babies echo through the halls, their screams so high-pitched and piercing, they make their way through the thick stone walls and heavy metal doors. Hearing their parents’ cries, the baby birds respond, frantically flapping their wings in an effort to take flight themselves and reach them.

Bitterly Kurt thinks all of his problems might be solved if they give it a go, plummet to the ground, and break their little birdie necks.

How un-festive of him.

Blaine looks sympathetically at his done-in husband. “Do you want me to go outside and handle this one alone?”

“No.” Kurt straightens his back, squares his shoulders, hands his clipboard over to Sam, and makes for the stairs to the stage, head held high like a gladiator going off to fight an unwinnable war. “I’ll go. Sam? Tell the teachers … there’s been a bit of a delay.”

“Right-y o, chief,” Sam says, leaving the stage with a solemn salute.

“And Blaine?”

“Yes?” Blaine says, falling in behind his husband, unwilling to let him walk off into the bird battle alone.

“Do me a favor?”

“Anything.”

“The next time I ask what could possibly go wrong - gag me.”

“Don’t say that …” Blaine smirks, preparing to die on the hill of bringing a smile back to his husband’s face. “Between that and all this bird talk, I can’t wait to get you home.”

#klaine advent 2019 #gpbb drabble december #klaine advent: overwhelm #klaine fic #klaine fanfiction #frankie writes

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spaceorphan18 · 7 years ago

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Glee’s Final Season [Part 4/4]

This part is dedicated to @snarkyhag - thank you for stopping Cooper from stealing a baby ;) <3

For context - This set of episodes takes place five years after the events of season six (effectively season 11??) and ends around the time that the real series finale ends. It is mostly canon compliant – though I did take liberty with a few things, most notably, changing Sam and Mercedes’s story. But for the most part, it should settle in nicely into regular canon – and its intent is that this is my own version of the final season of the show.

Also note: I’m not that great at picking out music for these episodes, so feel free to fill in those blanks yourselves ;)

Previously on Glee:

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 AO3 - FULL

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Episode 11.20: Existential Crises

Rachel’s been nominated for an Tony. She tries to play it cool, but she can’t help but incredibly excited about it -- this is what she’s worked her whole life for. She gets plenty of phone calls - from her mom, from Will Schuester, from people she hasn’t heard from in a long time. She even gets, surprisingly, a short message from Cassie July of all people congratulating her. The day of the Tony’s there’s a party at her and Jesse’s home (thrown by her dads), while she and Jesse go to the actual Tony’s. And, of course, she wins the Tony -- and it’s everything she had hoped it would be.

Later that night, after the party has died down, Rachel and Jesse have a quiet alone moment. Rachel says she’s happy -- happier than she’s ever been. And she really wants to take in the moment. But there’s a strangeness to the feeling. She’s now gotten the one thing she’s always wanted - where does she go from there - now that she doesn’t have a specific goal to achieve. Jesse laughs, and tells her she’ll come up with a goal at some point - but for now they can enjoy having an open road.

With the baby on the way soon, Burt and Carole come to New York to help get things set up. It’s a nice time -- and Burt gives some great fatherly -- which he’s happy to pass down. Kurt’s a little worried about being a dad -- thinking that Blaine’s more a natural at it. But Burt knows he’ll be fine -- because he’s a lot like his mom, and his mom freaked out when they were going to have Kurt - but she managed to do a great job. Burt also shares some stories about how Kurt was a kid - as tells them both to prepare for a possible mini Kurt. (They admit they mixed the sperm together - so it could end up a mini Blaine!)

Blaine meanwhile, as much as he loves Burt and Carole, can’t stop thinking about his own family. He’s told his mom about it - but hasn’t spoken to his dad in the past few years. Kurt encourages him to call his dad - maybe just telling his dad he’ll be grandpa might be a step in the right direction. Blaine picks up the phone, and calls.

Mercedes returns from tour - and Sam is thrilled to see her again. The two have a joyous reunion, but it’s cut short by her producers wanting to see her quickly. She feels like she doesn’t get a chance to slow down, as the album promotion continues, and she’s suddenly wanted in a lot of different directions. Sam’s being super supportive, but it almost feels like she hasn’t returned at all. She wants to tell her producers that she wants a break - but that is when they tell her they want her to do a World Tour.

Artie and Tina have wrapped the movie - and it’s already been entered in a film festival. Artie is super excited about it - and when he gets the news, he and Tina go out to celebrate - which turns out to be more like a date. At the end of the night, Artie kisses Tina, and they’re both surprised by the sudden romantic reprisal.

Brittany is told by her costar Mary Hollaran that Mary is leaving for Australia to go on a spiritual tour of the homeland. (She doesn’t exactly specify what she’s talking about.) But because of this - the webseries can’t continue with just Brittany - and Brittany begins to freak out. That web series is her life, and she doesn’t know what to do without. Santana steps up - and reminds Brittany how much she helped Santana out when Santana felt lost about not having direction in her job. She tells Brittany that they can find a new costar - or maybe this is a chance to find something new for Brittany to do - it’s now up for her to decide.

Episode 11.21: Disco Didn’t Die, It Was Murdered

[An AU-ish Episode]

The episode starts of in reality -- Kurt’s theater is almost finished, and as a way to celebrate, he invites everyone over to the theater so Kurt can host a variation on his murder mystery dinners - a musical murder mystery that they’ll play out for themselves. Everyone’s set for the evening, when Cooper Anderson arrives - in town because he wants to start being a good uncle early, and asks to be a part of the murder mystery -- insisting that he’s the detective. Kurt reluctantly gives in on this.

[As they start the play, the scene shifts to a more AU-ish setting of 40s noir. And plays out as if it were a real murder mystery. All the music is in the style of 40s genre pop covers - or all Post Modern Jukebox songs. I’m pretty sure Cooper would do great singing PMJ’s version of All Star.]

Cooper’s inner monologue narrates that he’s a detective, who comes to this hotel after a long day of drinking and love making and stopping bad guys. (Cooper keeps ad libbing and making up back story - to which Kurt’s fourth wall breaking voice interrupts telling him to stop changing his script.) Anyway, Cooper was just wanting a night off when he walked into the hotel full of seedy characters but he can’t always get nice things.

It’s not long before there’s a first victim -- an up-and-coming actress - Tina. (Tina breaks the fourth wall - claiming she’s upset that she’s the first one dead.) Detective Cooper decides to shut down the lounge so that they can interview everyone to figure out who the murder is.

Jesse and Rachel play an socialite and heiress respectively, flaunting all of their shadily earned money. Santana is the hotel owner - known for having mob connections. Brittany is the barkeep and knows everyone’s secrets. Artie is a mad-scientist willing to share his science discoveries with the highest bidder. Mercedes is a lounge singer, who has aspirations of being famous one day. Sam runs the security for the hotel, and is known to let things slip by. Kurt is a fashion morgal with shady beginnings. And Blaine is the mysterious piano player.

Cooper is tries to find out who did it, and what their motive is, but he’s notoriously bad for playing the game. One by one, the other players are killed off, until there are only three left - Kurt, Blaine, and Rachel. And Cooper suggests wild guess after wild guess as to who is responsible for the murders. At one point, Cooper suggests that Tina was faking her own death and she is the real murder (to which Tina likes - but Kurt says that’s not possible, so he needs to try again.) Cooper only has one guess before the murderer wins so he goes into a long soliloquy (like detectives normal do) determining who did it -- and lands on Rachel. He’s wrong, though, it’s actually Blaine.

But before Blaine can claim victory, and reveal his motives, Rachel goes into labor. The episode shifts back to reality as everyone gets excited about Rachel having the baby.

Episode 11.22: Someone’s Going to the Emergency Room, Someone’s Going to Jail

Rachel is indeed in labor - and when they get to the hospital, they find that it’s not going to be a quick birth. Kurt’s overly anxious - and yells at the staff when he’s at first not allowed to be in the room with Rachel. Once in, he is kind of all over the place -- crowding Rachel, making sure she’s okay. Rachel has to send him out. Mercedes is there to comfort him - and walks him around the hospital, while he talks about how hard it is not to have any control over this part of the process. And then starts worrying about all the possible things that could go wrong. Mercedes calms him down and tells him that he just has to have faith that everything will be alright.

Meanwhile - the hours drag on through the night. Cooper is still around - driving everyone crazy - until he hooks up with one of the nurses - who takes him home. Very early the next morning, Cooper comes back freaking out, holding a dead bird. He doesn’t explain how, but he has somehow managed to kill the nurse’s pet bird. Cooper doesn’t want the woman to know, and enlists Blaine and Sam (Sam who’s excited to have one last BLAM adventure) to buy a new one and replace it without the nurse knowing. Blaine is not in the mood to be dealing with Cooper’s shenanigans, but agrees to help so it’ll stop Cooper from causing any more trouble.

They eventually do fine a replacement bird, and Cooper takes them over to the woman’s apartment. [Cooper can’t just ring - because apparently, the night didn’t go well, and he doesn’t want to confront her.] When she leaves (for the grocery story) they try to get in through the window, but a neighbor calls the cops. Blaine and Sam are arrested, while Cooper was able to sneak away with the new bird. Blaine is freaking out having to go to jail, especially pissed off that it’s keeping him from the birth of his daughter. They call Cooper to get them out, but Cooper is too preoccupied with the bird - and says he’ll get them out when he gets rid of the bird.

Cooper enlists Brittany and Santana. The woman is at home again - and Santana pretends to be a salesman of beauty products while Brittany replaces the bird. Once it’s done, they get Blaine and Sam out of jail. Sam says it’s a good thing they’re going to a hospital because Blaine is probably going to murder Cooper.

Meanwhile, Tina and Artie, needing something to do, find places in the hospital to hook up - since they just got back together. They end up in a janitor’s closet, but their fooling around knocks down a bucket onto Artie’s head - and they have to get to the emergency room, where Artie finds out he has a concussion.

Rachel eventually has the baby, and Kurt and Blaine marvel at becoming dads. They name her Katharine Elizabeth Hummel-Anderson, and everyone loves her at first sight.

Episode 11.23: Everything’s Great

A week later - and Rachel is slowly beginning to feel like herself again. Jesse asks her if she’s plans on heading back to Jane Austen Sings! When she’s fully recovered - but Rachel isn’t sure she wants to. The girl who took her place is doing great, and Rachel thinks she might be ready for something new. Jesse hopes so - because he’s just had a new opportunity come his way - producing and directing a play over in London. Rachel has to think about it - New York has really become her home, but eventually tells Jesse that she’s ready to venture out to new things - just like she had all those years ago when she left Ohio for New York.

Burt and Carole, who’ve been staying with Kurt and Blaine, finally decide to leave. For the first time, the new parents are fully alone with their daughter, and the full realization that they are parents kind of hits them hard. Making things difficult is that Katie doesn’t want to sleep - and they begin attempting everything, from Kurt reading from his countless parenting books, to Blaine calling up the pediatrician. And on top of that - they’re trying to balance work related that aren’t stopping because they now have a child. They have a WTF are we doing moment - as they wonder if they can ever figure it out but eventually, they’re able to sing Katie to sleep, and joke that Katie was just testing them as parents. They realize they’re gonna spend a lot of time being tired - but when they look at her, they know she’s worth it.

Mercedes is being pressured into making a decision about the World Tour. She sits down with Sam, where they talk out their options. She doesn’t want to leave Sam alone for another four months, but Sam says he’s willing to come with her. Mercedes feels bad - and says she doesn’t want to keep compromising his life for her dreams. Sam says it’s his dream to be with her. Mercedes, touched, says he can come on the World Tour and that afterward maybe they can make their permanent home their place upstate - that way when Mercedes is not on tour, she can have a seclusive recording studio in the country, so Sam can feel at home, too, and so they can have a nice place to raise their kids.

Artie and Tina go to the film festival. The film doesn’t win any awards, but Artie is offered an assistant director position on a major film - which will shoot in Vancouver. Tina says she wants to go with him. Artie tells her he’s not going to let her follow him just because they’re together again. Tina tells him it’s not for him -- that she’s come to some realizations that she hates her job, and maybe she isn’t supposed to be a performer -- so she’s going to have him teach her everything he knows about filmmaking, and she’s going to try to do things behind the scenes now.

Brittany says they should start interviewing people to be her new cohost, so Santana sets up auditions. No one, however, is clicking with Brittany - and Brittany fears it might be the end of her show. Mary Hollaran comes back from Australia to visit - and offers to use her connections with Hollywood to find Brittany a new cohost. What ends up happening, however, is that they sell the show to a network, which develops a TV show out of the premise, which stars Brittany. Santana is fully on board, as there will be plenty of rich people who will need her services.

Episode 11.24: Mr. Schuester of Ohio

Will Schuester finally getting the expansion to his school, invites everyone back to Ohio for the opening of the new school. Everyone comes back into town - even some old faces they haven’t seen in a long time.

While they’re in Ohio, Kurt and Blaine take their daughter to see the newly rebuilt Dalton Academy - which is run by their old friend Trent. Brittany and Santana visit Santana’s grandmother and Brittany’s parents. Mercedes and Sam hang out with Will, Emma, and their kids. Artie and Tina visit Coach Beiste. Rachel and Jesse take a trip to Finn’s grave.

After the celebration of the opening of the new school, most of them head out for drinks, where they reminisce about old times, talk about thing that have never come up in the past ten years, reveal secrets, and generally catch up with people they haven’t spoken to in a long time. (Just where has Matt been all these years?!?) It’s a good night for reflection.

Before they head out and go their own separate ways, Will asks them to do one final performance - to which they all happily agree to do.

Episode 11.25: The Constant

Present Day: Artie is getting ready to go to Canada -- excited that he’ll be working on a major film (which is a major MCU film, btw). He asks Tina if she’s sure she wants to go with him. She’s sure. They head to Tina’s work, where she quits her job, stating that she’s tired of playing it safe, and she’s gonna try to make something of herself. Artie says he’s proud of her, and they share a kiss.

Flash Forward: Both Artie and Tina are dressed up for an awards show. At first it seems as though Artie might be winning award, since they are at a director’s award banquet, but it’s really Tina who’s been nominated, and she wins best director of a short film of her own making and her first real big success. Everyone clams for Tina, and she’s never been so proud of herself.

Present Day: Sam and Mercedes are preparing for Mercedes’s world tour. Sam almost seems more excited than Mercedes does, and has packed at least a dozen different language phrase books. Mercedes tells him as great as it is that he’s excited, she’s looking forward to coming home and starting a family with him. They sell their home in NYC, which make the move feel more permanent.

Flash Forward: Mercedes is working on her new album from her home studio in the country. You can see multiple Grammys on a case in the background. Mercedes takes a break and leans against the doorframe leading outside to watch Sam play football with their three boys. She couldn’t be happier.

Present Day: Brittany and Santana are packing a car for their road trip out west. The two share a moment of excitement as they hit the road, and arrive in LA ready to take it on.

Flash Forward: Santana’s on the set of Brittany’s TV show, which is now an acclaimed hit, watching proudly was Brittany works. Santana’s phone is going off -- one of her many clients is having a melt down, but she takes a moment to just enjoy watching her wife, before dealing with more craziness (which she loves).

Present Day: Kurt and Blaine are in their apartment. Kurt’s working on a new design for his fashion line, as well as talking to Elliott on the phone about possible first shows to go in the theater, while Blaine is holding Katie, and trying out melodies on the piano for a new musical. Their lives are hectic, but as the evening settles in, and they get to be a small family, they enjoy their life.

Flash Forward: Kurt and Blaine are preparing for a one-night only revival of Trapped in an Elevator: A Love Story, which stars themselves - as themselves, which they’re performing for charity. Included in the audience are Burt, Carole, Kurt and Blaine’s two daughters, Cooper, and both of Blaine’s parents. They go out celebrate afterwards.

Present Day: Rachel and Jesse shut out the lights in their apartment for a final time - and take a plane to London, a place that feels foreign to her as she arrives. She takes it all in, though,

Flash Forward: In a full circle moment - Rachel is finishing playing Fanny in the West End’s production of Funny Girl. She is met afterwards by Jesse and their young son -- and

Flashback (a week or so earlier): The group is having a final dinner at Kurt and Blaine’s to celebrate everyone going off onto new adventures. It’s a fun filled evening, though as it ending, Artie points out this might be the last time they will all ever be in the same room. Mercedes doesn’t think that’ll be true, but it’s a bittersweet realization nonetheless. Rachel brings it around - stating that even if they all go in different (new, haha) directions they’ll always have one constant - the music, which will always bring back the memories. As the show closes out - Rachel starts them off in one final song -- an acoustic version of Don’t Stop Believin’.

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~END SERIES~

#s.o. writes things #glee's final season #okay - I felt a little something finishing this up #I think s11 is my favorite #lol #I'll get this up onto AO3

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acsversace-news · 7 years ago

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Let’s just get this out of the way upfront, since the comparison is inevitable: The Assassination of Gianni Versace doesn’t quite reach the heights of The People vs. O.J. Simpson. But so what?

The second season of FX’s American Crime Story was never going to be as richly textured as the first, if only because Simpson’s “trial of the century” was so much more significant as a cultural event. The verdict was a defining American moment, the kind where you remember where you were when you heard it. So through no fault of its own, Versace never really stood a chance against its Emmy-winning ACS sibling. And yet, on its own merits, Versace makes for addictive, phenomenal television. I was hooked from the opening scene, in which director Ryan Murphy and series writer Tom Rob Smith dispense with the titular murder, getting it out of the way early before working their way backwards, tracing how this tragic crime came to pass.

Much like how the first season of ACS wasn’t really about O.J. Simpson, neither is the second season really about Italian fashion designer Gianni Versace. Instead, it inverts the first season’s formula and shifts its focus from the courtroom to the crime spree and the man behind it, Andrew Cunanan. This creative choice isn’t necessarily what I was expecting given Versace‘s marketing materials, which from the very start, have trumpeted the casting of Edgar Ramirez as Gianni and Penelope Cruz as Donatella. And yet it proves to be a wise decision, since to be honest, the power struggle within the House of Versace isn’t half as interesting as the walking question mark that is Cunanan.

So let’s talk about the actual star of the show, Darren Criss. I know Criss is a big TV star thanks to Murphy’s earlier hit Glee, and he has two million Twitter followers and he’s a very famous guy. But I’m a professional entertainment consumer and I’d never seen him in anything before (though I almost rented Girl Most Likely once), so as far as I was concerned, he felt completely new to me, as I imagine he will to a lot of people who didn’t watch Glee. I suspect that those who did watch it won’t recognize ‘Blaine’ once they see Criss covered in blood, a crazed look in his empty eyes. He’s simply excellent here as Cunanan, a gay serial killer in the vein of Matt Damon’s talented Mr. Ripley, but of course, this manipulative sociopath with a 147 IQ is hardly a work of fiction. Criss is absolutely chilling here, and there’s a haunting sadness to his carefully calibrated breakout performance. I can’t say enough about Criss’ work, which will force you to look at the actor in a completely different light.

As for Versace, he’s reduced to a supporting character in his own story, not that I’m arguing, given how satisfying all of the Cunanan scenes are. In fact, the episodes that solely focus on Andrew are the best of the bunch, and the Versace thread tends to interrupt their momentum. Ramirez is magnetic as the formidable fashion designer, but he also plays Versace with a certain softness that serves as a nice antidote to Cunanan’s craziness. You really believe Ramirez and Cruz could be siblings when Gianni and Donatella spar over her role in his budding empire. You can see Donatella is tired of living in her brother’s shadow and eager to carve out her own identity within the fashion world, and Gianni sees this as well, offering her up to the cameras in an attempt to placate her ego. Ricky Martin plays the third wheel of this co-dependent relationship, Gianni’s longtime partner Antonio D’Amico, and while the pop singer does a fine job, their relationship is just dressing on the Cunanan salad.

The series endeavors to depict Versace and Cunanan as two men on opposite ends of a spectrum. Versace came from nothing and built his life into something of meaning. Cunanan had a reasonably happy childhood, and yet, his life quickly fell apart once he struck out on his own. That parallel is reflected in one of the episode titles, “Creator/Destroyer,” which presents the men as two sides of the same ruthlessly ambitious coin. The difference between them is that while Cunanan desperately wanted to lead the life of luxury that Versace enjoyed and most people only read about in magazines, he wasn’t willing to put in any of the hard work to actually earn it.

Cunanan may have been added to the FBI’s Most Wanted list prior to the Versace murder, but he didn’t become infamous until he killed the fashion designer, relegating the rest of his victims to “other” status. That’s how they’re initially presented, too, since we don’t get to know what these people meant to Andrew until after we’ve learned he’s killed them, so it’s not until later that we come to understand how and why Cunanan could’ve done what he did. That’s if you can understand the killer’s warped thinking to begin with, given his knack for telling tall tales. The more lies Cunanan tells his friends, the more we realize he’s lying to himself, and he has no idea of who he really is anymore. He has lost his own sense of identity, drifting from one to the next as he zigzags his way across the country towards Versace’s opulent home in South Beach. For Cunanan, the greatest sin is to be boring and forgotten. Told all his life that he’s someone special, he’s stunned when others don’t see it, and Criss plays those moments of rejection quite beautifully.

The fourth episode of the season introduces Cunanan’s former lover, David Madson (hugely talented Australian actor Cody Fern, a real find) and David’s current beau, Jeffrey Trail (AHS alum Finn Wittrock), and you can’t underestimate their roles in this story, as the latter was Andrew’s first victim, the one who launched his multi-state crime spree. Trail gets his own half-episode (pointedly titled “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell”) dedicated to the (mis)treatment of gays in the military, and while this statement of a subplot adds some context to how authorities (including the cops chasing Cunanan) regarded homosexuals 25 years ago, it also feels a bit shoehorned in. Like, what does this really have to do with Versace or Cunanan? ACS tries to make that connection, using cultural homophobia to explain law enforcement’s delayed search for Cunanan, but it feels a bit forced, though it’s clearly something that interested Murphy in the first place.

Versace is much more successful when it drills down into who Cunanan is, at least as much as one can, given the fact that the guy was a complete cypher of an human being — a gifted chameleon, if you will. A people pleaser, he could be whatever, and whoever, his friends/lovers/targets wanted him to be. That was his skill, if you will. The ability to adapt to any situation… though he also had a need for control. He cared how things looked to other people, and what they thought of him. Of course, to fully understand a man, you have to know where he comes from, and the series soars when it turns its lens on Andrew’s family, particularly his father, Modesto. Filipino actor Jon Jon Briones is utterly fantastic as Andrew’s father, who doted on his precocious child, whom he considered more special than his other kids. You can also see where Andrew might’ve learned his smooth-talking criminal behavior, as Modesto was a stockbroker who bilked people out of their money and abandoned his family when the feds came calling, fleeing back to the Philippines.

The rest of the cast is uniformly excellent from top to bottom. Mike Farrell and Judith Light are both incredible as slain Chicago real estate developer Lee Miglin and his wife, Marilyn. When Miglin’s body is discovered, no one has to tell her what happened — she knows right away, her worst fears confirmed. Edouard Holdener also deserves praise as young Andrew, and Max Greenfield is unrecognizable in the second episode, which offers a reminder of what he can do with the right part.

This disturbing character study is based on Maureen Orth’s book Vulgar Favors, and in addition to Murphy, its directors include Gwyneth Horder-Payton, Nelson Cragg, Daniel Minahan (check out his directorial debut Series 7: The Contenders) and Matt Bomer, though costumer designer Lou Eyrich and production designer Judy Becker deserve equal praise for their lavish contributions.

I might as well use this space to address the recent controversy surrounding the series, which according to the Versace family, is unauthorized and full of inaccuracies.

“The Versace family has neither authorized nor had any involvement whatsoever in the forthcoming TV series about the death of Mr. Gianni Versace,” the family said in a statement. “Since Versace did not authorize the book on which it is partly based nor has it taken part in the writing of the screenplay, this TV series should only be considered as a work of fiction.”

I completely appreciate why they would be concerned about the series’ depiction of Gianni, and particularly his health, I wouldn’t describe the series as a work of fiction, though I’d acknowledge that surely, there must be small fictions within the show. Still, I didn’t watch FX’s Simpson series like it was Ezra Edelman’s O.J. documentary, and I’m not taking The Assassination of Gianni Versace as gospel, either. Yes, it’s based on a bestselling non-fiction book, but as a regular viewer of crime shows, I’m fully aware that Tom Rob Smith is allowed some degree of artistic license in bringing that book to the small screen.

I imagine that can be hard to comprehend when you’re as close to the story as the Versace family is, but if they take a step back — and I don’t even know if they’ve actually seen the series they’ve been so quick to criticize — they’d see there’s really no reason to be concerned. Gianni is depicted as a strong leader, one aware of his mortality and a better man for it. The producers, and Ramirez especially, treat him with the utmost respect, and once the Versace family sees the full series, I think their biggest issue will be with how the show sort of manipulates the audience into having sympathy for Andrew, more than it will be about the depiction of Gianni, which is generous and loving.

“There’s always this question of when you’re making and writing this kind of material – you feel like you want to support the fundamental truths. And you are going to get some of the details wrong, or you’re going to have to fill in a gap at some point, where you don’t have access to the reality. I think the only way you are allowed to do that is if you’re supporting the bigger truth… I’m sure there are points where they could correct some of the smaller details, but I think the bigger picture is that this is a figure that we’re celebrating and a figure that we all fell in love with,” Smith said at FX’s TCA panel, noting that that ultimately, “the show is full of love for him.”

He isn’t lying, nor is trying to justify why Cunanan killed, as the fact that he was gay is ultimately besides the point. This show is about a guy who wanted what another man had but didn’t have the skills or tools to get it, so he figured the only way to achieve the immortality he craved was by robbing one of his icons of his mortality, thus ensuring both would live forever, together, in the annals of history. I don’t care how much of this actually happened and how much is artistic license on Smith’s part. All I care about is whether or not it’s entertaining, and on that front, Versace delivers.

This is a fascinating story about the making of a serial killer. A murderer finding his voice. It marks Tom Rob Smith as a major writer to watch, and Darren Criss as a force to be reckoned with. He delivers one of the most terrifying serial killer performance since Christian Bale starred in American Psycho, though Cunanan also reminded me, at times, of The Tooth Fairy from Manhunter and the serial killer in Copycat.

“You know, disgrace isn’t that bad, once you’ve settled into it,” Andrew tells one of his victims. Well Andrew Cunanan may go down in infamy as a disgrace, but The Assassination of Gianni Versace is anything but.

TB gives it an A.

#acs versace #review #article #the tracking board #january 2018

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sidwellxcen384-blog · 5 years ago

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Grand Theft Auto PC Download gtadownload.org: What No One Is Talking About

Grand Theft Auto V Review Game

For me, GTA V ’s extraordinary range is summed winning inside two favourite moments. Individual becomes from the mid-game mission where I rushed a flat in a different plane, attacked the folks, hijacked the thing, and then parachuted ready and inspected it crash in the ocean to escape death for the supply of pay military fighter aircraft. One more occasion, whilst travel around in the off-road buggy, I got distracted in something looks like a means up among the San Andreas mountains. Turns out it was a avenue, after that I finished 15 minutes respect on the meeting, wherever I nearly ran over the faction of hikers. “Typical!” one of them yelled by everyone, as though he practically gets run over by a rogue ATV together with a mountain every time he goes on the hike.

I could go on this way for ages. GTA V has an plenty of like moments, deep with tiny, that make San Andreas – the location of Los Santos and surrounding areas – feel like a living earth in which anything can take place. It both gives you tremendous freedom to investigate an amazingly well-realised world and orders a story that’s gripping, exciting, and darkly comic. It is a step advance into narrative style for the lines, with there’s no physical component of the gameplay that hasn’t been strengthened over Grand Theft Auto IV. It’s immediately obvious the insurance routine is far more dependable and the auto-aim less touchy. The cars feel less like their tires are made of butter with shove better to the road, although the exaggerated handling still leaves plenty of place for spectacular wipeouts. Also on long past, Rockstar has completely killed among their most persistent demons, mission checkpointing, making sure that you never have to do a long, tedious take six when you repeatedly fail a mission ever again.

GTA V is also an intellectual, wickedly comic, and bitingly relevant commentary about contemporary, post-economic crisis America. All about it drips satire: it flies into the Millennial generation, celebrities, the much exactly, the widely effect, the core school, the media... Nothing is safe from Rockstar’s sharp tongue, including modern video games. One prominent supporting character spends mainly of the moment wearing their bedroom shouting sexual threats in public on the headset whilst showing a first-person shooter called Righteous Slaughter (“Rated PG – pretty much the same as the last game.”) It is not precisely subtle – he practically has the word “Entitled” tattooed in the throat, plus the in-game radio and Television outright piss-takes don’t put much for the imagination – but it is often extremely weird, and a bit provocative with it. Grand Theft Auto’s San Andreas is a fantasy, but the issues this satirises – greed, corruption, hypocrisy, the hurt of right – become many very real. If GTA IV happened a targeted killing of the American dream, GTA V takes point in the new American reality. The attention to factor that assumes making the world feel lively with believable is also what makes the satire so biting.

Grand Theft Auto V ’s plot happily works in the boundaries of plausibility, sending people away to drive dirt bikes along the highest of schools, hijack military plane, and engage in absurd shootouts with tally of policemen, yet it is three main figures become what keep it relatable level at it is many severe. The well-written and worked interplay between them provides the biggest laughs and most affecting times, with the way to their associations with just one another polished with my opinion of them changed throughout the history produced the plot their right. They think that people – albeit extraordinarily f***ed-up people.

Michael is a retired con work into his 40s, block out across the heart like he drinks beside the band now his Vinewood mansion with a layabout son, air-headed daughter, serially unfaithful wife, and very expensive therapist – most of who hate him. Franklin is a son from downtown Los Santos who laments the gang-banger stereotype even as he’s reluctantly seduced by the prospect of an better score. And then there’s Trevor, a hazardous career criminal that days from the wilderness selling drugs and murdering rednecks; a psychopath whose bloodthirsty lunacy is fuelled with a arrangement of methamphetamine along with a genuinely messed-up childhood.

The objective flit among their own original tale then a good overarching plotline which means all three, and a glory to GTA V’s versatility and universal quality that each person cover his bit of standout vision. When the arcs developed I sense very differently on both ones by different ages – they’re not exclusively the archetypes that they are.

This three-character structure causes for excellent rate and extreme form in the storyline, it also allows Rockstar to compartmentalise different aspects of Grand Theft Auto’s personality. In doing this, it sidesteps some of the troubling disconnect that appeared when Niko Bellic abruptly changed between anti-violent philosophising and sociopathic killing sprees in GTA IV. Here, many of Michael’s missions revolve covering their ancestors with the past, Franklin is usually on demand vehicular disorder, with severe murderous charges are permit to Trevor. Each state a unique ability matched to help their talents – Franklin could to help slow time while taking, for example – that ends them a unique touch. Narratively, it’s powerful – even off-mission I found myself playing with nature, acting like a mid-life-crisis gentleman with frustration issues because Jordan, a thrill-seeker as Franklin, and a maniac as Trevor. The first thing I did as Franklin finally do some good cash was believe him a great amazing car, since I touch like that’s exactly what he’d want.

Trevor considers a like a tiny get-out-of-jail-free license for Rockstar, presenting an outlet for all the preposterous actions and deadly behavior which otherwise might not fit in with GTA V’s narrative ambitions. I found his violent insanity a minute overblown and boring at first. Because get-out clauses go, even though, their pretty successful, with Trevor’s over-the-top missions are most of GTA V’s action-packed highlights. It’s a successful way of fixing a quandary that’s prevalent in open-world games: the tension between report the writers want to request, then the tale you develop yourself in their structure and its world. Grand Theft Auto V accommodates both, masterfully, allowing not to challenge the other.

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The actual pretense of moving between them also provides a window in personal days with problems, fleshing off their personalities in a way that feels usual and story. Collect a atmosphere and the video camera moves out in the San Andreas map, closing back happening upon where they happen to be. Michael can occur at home watching TV when you release here on him, or race beside the motorway blasting ‘80s attacks, or using a cigarette on the golf club; Franklin can live moving away from a strip club, munching a case of snacks at home, or arguing with his ex-girlfriend; there’s a good prospect to Trevor could be tossed out half naked on the beach surrounded with over groups or, one memorable occasion, down in a stolen police helicopter.

It could be nearly everything, because there is a bewildering variety of details to do in the original San Andreas – tennis, yoga, hiking, people on sea then about ground, flying planes, golfing, cycling, diving, hunting, and more. The vision are a great intelligent leader to both San Andreas’ locations and its activities, visit people about the map and whetting the appetite for free exploration of it all. How that we’re established to San Andreas never feels artificial – the plan is fully open in the opening, for example – which says to the notion to the a real place, where you can get to know. If GTA IV’s Liberty City feels like a living city, San Andreas feels like a living world. I get people going their pet alongside the sand in the country so I jet-skied past, arguing for the street outside a cinema with Los Santos, and camped – with covering then anything – overnight in Support Chiliad, before packing positive with lasting a backpack in the morning. The astounding.

The ambience changes dramatically counting in where you are, also. Trevor’s dusty trailer out in the middle of nowhere in Blaine County feels like another earth through downtown Los Santos or Vespucci Beach. It wasn’t until the first time I take off a jet from the capital with on the mountains I became cycling around a few hours or that the total range of it became obvious. It shoves the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 more than it has any fine near, and it looks incredible. The biggest spring in property as Grand Theft Auto IV is the character animation, but the world can be much more expansive, detailed, and crowded. The price we buy of which is rare framerate drops and texture pop-in, that i found became more prominent the longer I played, but certainly not significantly taken away through my personal feel. For like a colossal and variable world it is also remarkably bug-free – I met just three minor problems from the 35 hours I spent on the primary playthrough, none that affected everyone to go down a quest.

San Andreas’s extraordinary intelligence of house is heightened by the fact that so much of it isn’t on GTA Full Game the place. There’s so much taking which it is simple find things organically, rather than waste your own lifestyle following a mission marker. I when take a passenger jet from the airport for the hell of it, then parachuted onto the top of the tallest building in Los Santos. (I then accidentally jumped off the highest and reduction toward my death, forgetting to I’d currently employed the parachute, however I normally put that piece off.) Out driving in the country, I fell across a man to a phone rod with womens’ underwear. I tracked down criminals who randomly swipe purses on the lane, with went off across gunbattles between police and other miscreants, incident to give a feel that world isn’t completely uneventful if I wasn’t below to interrupt normalcy. I believed an exclusive mountain cycle with cycled around in the hills, enjoying the sight. These small moments can be got about your own telephone camera – which, brilliantly, can also use selfies. I have some shouts of Trevor completing his unhinged account of a laugh within his underpants on top of a hill.

The rumor to GTA V tells during their missions takes full advantage of all this kind beyond getting with killing (while the maneuver with direct is supremely enjoyable). It’s cause a lot of good times. This included us racing Michael’s lazy blob of a boy across Vespucci Beach in one of many misguided attempts on father-son bonding, utilizing a thermal scope to look for someone from a helicopter before chasing them along the city on the ground, torching a meth lab, towing cars for Franklin’s crack-addict uncle to thwart him through shed the profession, getting into a facility on the beach in a wetsuit and flippers, piloting a marine, impersonating a structure worker, doing yoga, escaping on plane skis, failing multiple generations to earth a jet burdened with drugs at a hangar shown from the wilderness… it goes by with by. The days of a repetitive collections of “get now, find this gentleman, shoot that guy” stay after us. Still missions that would usually be set are filled with novelty with excitement by the capability to compete them by a few different views – in a shootout, Trevor can be exciting RPGs from a rooftop what Jordan and Franklin flank the rival on the ground.

It is the heists – multi-stage, huge-scale experience that help as the story’s climactic peaks – which demonstrate Grand Theft Auto V at their most dedicated and obtained. Usually there’s a choice between a more involved, stealthier option that will (hopefully) attract less boil, along with a great all-out option that will be less tense yet more explosively chaotic – with what exactly crew to take along with you on the job. All of GTA V’s missions are replayable at any time, allowing you relive favourite seconds before look at out a different method. They also have optional objectives in the vein of Assassin’s Creed’s synchronisation challenges, but crucially, these are invisible once people play a quest, therefore they don’t distract a person from performing things your way.

Sometimes your way won’t are the means that this designers require you to do something, with although GTA 5 is usually very good at bending close to people as you do, here were a few situation wherever that wasn’t train for our personal name of chaos. Overtake a car you’re not meant to overtake and it may close in pad of travel as if with secret. Despite the opening of different stealth mechanics, enemies will miraculously make sure you when the mission dictates they should. Kill someone or you’re supposed to, and that’s sometimes Mission Failed. Most of the time the drafting is suitable to be invisible, but as it is not, you really discover this – if only because most of the time it’s so seamless.

As always, some of the wittiest record shows through to the in-game radio to shows behind all of the search and confusion. “There’s nothing other effective, more masculine, new American than a big lump of coins,” blasts one of the in-game ads. “We learn times are tough, but they don’t have to be tough for you. Still cause several liquidity in your home? Are you insane?” The tune selection is also typically excellent, leading to most of those serendipitous moments where you’re driving combined with the right music happens by. During a heist, when the radio isn’t blaring the background, a vibrant soundtrack seriously builds tension.

The satire is improved with integration of advanced life in the game world. Every individual turns around their smartphone – it’s used to trade stocks, call up friends to meet in place then launch emails. There’s a great Facebook spoof, Life Invader, on the in-game Interne, with the slogan “Where Your own Personal Data Becomes A Marketplace Page (Which We Can Go)”. You’ll hear adverts for preposterous parodic TV shows that you can actually watch with your TELEVISION at home, optionally whilst enjoying a toke. It might not be realistic, but it certainly feels authentic.

It’s significance mentioning that when this extends to sexual, drugs, with assault, GTA V pushes boundaries much more than at any time or. If the morality authorities were concerned with Hot Chocolate, there’s a lot here that will provoke moral hysteria. It’s deliciously subversive, and safely tongue in cheek... but after before twice, this shoves the borders of experience, too. There’s one instance scene, a personal world in which you have no alternative bar to help actively participate, i gotten so troubling that we took problems playing this; yet couched in obvious assessment in the US government’s choice to torture post 9/11, it’s a surprising moment that will attract justified controversy. It brings to mind Label of Function: Modern Warfare 2’s No Russian mission, except worse, and without the selection to omit over this. Another stuff, like the ever-present prostitution with extensive strip-club minigames, feels like it’s present even if this may be rather than as it gives anything to say.

There is nothing in San Andreas, though, that doesn’t serve Rockstar’s resolution with creating a exaggerated projection of The usa that’s suffused with crime, assault and sleaze. There are no nice gentlemen in GTA V. All you know is a sociopath, narcissist, criminal, lunatic, sadist, cheat, liar, layabout, or about combination of these. A good guy which gives good funds to help shoot Los Santos’ worst examples of corporate greed is playing the stock exchange to help the help whilst he does it. In the world like this, it’s not tough to escort why violence is often the first option. All the pieces fit.

Verdict

Grand Theft Auto V is not only a preposterously enjoyable video game, but also an intellectual and sharp-tongued satire of contemporary America. It signifies a elegance of the lot to GTA IV gotten to the record five years ago. It’s technically more accomplished in every conceivable system, yet it’s also tremendously committed into a right. No extra earth into record games comes near that now magnitude or scope, and there is strong brains behind the logic of humour and surprise for mayhem. This shows a compelling, unpredictable, and provocative story without actually letting this get in the way of your self-directed journey through San Andreas. It is one of the very best movie games yet produced. Write: That journal exclusively involves the single-player section of GTA 5 , since it launched without any multiplayer mode.

#GTA #Grand Theft Auto Download #Grand Theft Auto Review

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ajw720 · 8 years ago

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I am so, so proud of the CC family. We hate Ryan but we are so, so fucking happy for this role because we are going to see Darren being the protagonist again and it is a very good role for Darren's career. We do not care if Ryan is somehow involved in this, we're just happy because Darren can play the role of his life. However, M / ia / rren shippers complain because he is going to do another gay role. Can you see the difference? ;)

I too am really proud. I think we, as a whole, have really embraced this news. We have to rise above our feelings about Ryan, just like Darren has.

The fact is, as I have been emphasizing, Darren is still under contract with Fox. They own him. And there is a reason they coerced him to sign a 2 year extension. They wanted him to play another role for their networks. And that contract is likely set to expire late spring. So it really is convenient timing that this will be filming next month for about 4-5 months.

Think about this. Glee has been over for 2 years and all they have gotten from him thus far was a 5-10 minute, pointless role in AHS. And they bought his idea to potentially develop a pilot. They wanted more than this. They wanted him in front of the camera. And that is what they are getting.

But what I love. I am willing to bet that they have dangled many opportunities in front of Darren. Romantic Comedies and the like. Roles that would be fine but not interesting. I am willing to bet that he fought to fulfill his contract with a much more interesting, juicy, career changing role that will highlight his diversity, strength and talent.

ACS Versace is going to be based on the book Vulgar Favors. Here is the Amazon synopsis (x):

Two months before Andrew Cunanan murdered Gianni Versace on the steps of his Miami Beach mansion, Maureen Orth was investigating a major story on the serial killer for Vanity Fair. Now the award-winning journalist and Vanity Fair special correspondent tells the complete story of Cunanan, his unwitting victims, and the moneyed, hedonistic world in which they lived and died, culled from interviews with over 400 people, and details from thousands of pages of police reports.

In chilling detail, Maureen Orth reveals how Andrew Cunanan met his superstar victim...why police and the FBI repeatedly failed to catch Cunanan...why other victims' families stonewalled the investigation...controversial findings of the Versace autopsy report, and more. Here is a late-century odyssey that races across America from California's wealthy gay underworld to modest midwestern homes of families mourning their slaughtered sons to the celebration of decadence that is Versace's South Beach. It is at once a landmark work of investigative journalism and a riveting account of a sociopath, his savage crimes, and the mysteries he left along the way.

To be honest, to refuse a role like would have been a mistake career wise. Especially as this is the type of role I think Darren wants and strives for. Blaine was wonderful, we loved him, and it was a great way to be introduced to the world. And with Hedwig, Darren was able to display the emotional depth that he could evoke when playing a character. This role will provide him with the opportunity to go completely against his type cast. To reach beyond singing and dancing and to allow him to show just how insanely talented he is.

But yes, this role comes with a huge price tag. No question. And only time will tell how it will effect the perception of him publicly. He is working with Ryan and Fox again and I hate that fact. Ryan is the very man and Fox the very network that has bullied and abused him and Chris. And Darren needs to tread very carefully here. He needs to prove that he is not Ryan’s puppet, that he can play this role and still be true to himself. He needs to prove to himself that he has learned from the mistakes and challenges of his past and that he has grown stronger because of them.

Only time will tell how that is going to play out. I have very much gotten the impression lately that Darren is restless and ready to have the world fully embrace him. Will this new role hinder him? Or will it provide him with a platform to reveal his true self? ACS Versace does not need the teen fans of Darren that need him to be straight. The audience for this show is much more sophisticated and anyone willing to watch a series about a gay serial killer and the murder of a gay icon has to be open minded.

I am really hopeful that this role will provide Darren with the opportunity to show the world his talent in a unique and diverse way; to embrace his past and allow the heartache and pain to shape his future; and to walk proudly out into the sunshine as his true self proudly standing by the man his loves.

Wouldn’t it be sweet irony if Chris was standing by his side when he wins the Emmy for a Fox/Murphy show? Maybe I am being too optimistic. Let’s see how this goes.

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actuallylorelaigilmore · 8 years ago

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I Can’t Love if You Lie, Chapter 1: Hiding Under Other People's Skin

My first iZombie fic, Peyton x Blaine, post-“Salivation Army.” Because I feel like they have much potential and surprisingly little fanfic, I’m adding my love.

Author’s note: the first chapter features amnesia!Blaine, but he will be getting his memories back later on.

“So why did you do it? Rescue me? I know that’s what Mr. Boss expected, why he took me, but you didn’t have to. According to you, you don’t even remember me.”

Cross-posted on AO3; more notes can be found there.

Major personally escorted Peyton to the safe house, despite her half-hearted protests. Since he was the closest thing she had to a big brother, deep down she had expected nothing less.

“You.” He glowered at Blaine when the door opened, but there was little anger in it. They were a team now, no matter how much resentment bubbled under the surface.

Peyton had her gaze fixed just to the right of Major’s ear, as though Blaine didn’t exist. Okay, maybe some resentment had breached the surface.

“And you.” There was no heat in Blaine’s voice. There was no inflection there at all. "Come in, please.”

“I’ve actually gotta go,” Major replied, entering to drop his duffel and then kissing Peyton’s forehead on the way out. “But you call me, if anything--”

He visibly calmed himself. “Just, call me if you need me.”

Major's voice was brusque as he turned back to Blaine. “Keep her safe.”

Brow furrowed, Blaine stared after him. “Is he alright?”

She sighed. “He’s still pissed he wasn’t reachable when I got kidnapped. Like it’s his job to save everybody. He’ll be fine.”

Nodding, he tilted his head toward the couch behind them. “Want to sit?”

“I’m good.” Peyton regarded him from her stance near the door, and he wondered what he was supposed to do now.

“Okay. Well, I’m going to sit. You should really consider making yourself comfortable. According to your friend, we’ll be here a while.”

“Comfortable seems like a long shot.” But she unthawed enough to take a seat in the chair next to him, and ignored the way his eyes followed her.

Blaine perched on the edge of the couch. “So, how have you been...since that night?”

Days later, it still wouldn’t leave him be. Peyton had clung to him gratefully, shaking from the adrenaline. He’d reached up to wipe the tears from her cheeks, before the doctor--her boyfriend?--had cleared his throat from across the room, gun still in one hand.

“Ravi,” she’d gasped when she saw him, and leapt up without a backwards glance in Blaine’s direction. Then it was Ravi hugging the woman Blaine saved, his face pressed into her neck like she was everything. Blaine ached watching them, and didn’t understand it.

Back in the present, Peyton was staring at him, and he realized she’d spoken while he was lost in thought. “Sorry?”

“I said, I’ve been fine.”

He raised his eyebrows. “Really. You got kidnapped and nearly killed last week, but you’re fine now.”

“Yep.” She challenged him to argue with her stubbornly lifted chin. “Hunky dory in the land of Peyton.”

“And having to come live here with me? The guy you hate because of whatever happened between us? That’s no big deal?”

“Oh, no.” Her eyes glittered at him. “That’s a huge deal. But I promised people who care about me that I’d put my safety first.”

Obviously, he was the last person she wanted to talk to about what had happened. It made sense, but Blaine found himself disappointed anyway.

“Fair enough.” He relaxed into the couch and smiled.

It was a guileless expression now, unsettling in the same face that Peyton knew had killed her best friend. She took a gray blanket from the back of the chair and wrapped it around her shoulders. “So...this is for real. Your whole lack-of-self thing.”

After that night, Peyton no longer harbored any suspicion that he might have been faking the amnesia.

She could still feel his arms around her, hushing her as she tried to stop shaking. “It’s okay,” he kept saying, as though that would help.

“It’s me, Peyton. It’s me.” Like that meant something.

But knowing he was telling the truth now didn’t change what came before; it couldn’t.

She wouldn’t let it.

Peyton’s green eyes were wounded, and Blaine didn’t know why. More than anything, he wished he could remember the relationship they’d apparently had. How badly did it end, to make her so angry?

“Yeah.” He scratched the back of his head. “I’ve got nothing. My childhood, my criminal career...that whole undead thing? It’s like getting told a crazy story about somebody else. Doesn’t ring even the slightest of bells.”

Blaine sighed. He wasn’t sure risking her wrath was wise, but he was sick of not understanding. “When I talked to your, uh, guy, the doc? He couldn’t tell me details. Or didn’t want to. I don’t know. So, please--how deeply were we involved?”

“Oh.” Peyton shook her head. “We weren’t, really--not like that. A lot of long hours building the case, I think Mr. Boss got the wrong idea about us. We slept together once, I found out the truth about you, and that was that. Trying to use me as bait was stupid.”

“Not so stupid,” he pointed out. “It worked. I did go after you.”

“The way you are right now, sure.” She shrugged the memory of that terrifying night off again, pulled the blanket tighter around her. “But the real Blaine would never have bothered. I didn’t mean anything to him.”

Uncomfortable with her phrasing, as though he wasn’t a person sitting right in front of her, Blaine blinked before moving on.

“I doubt that’s true,” he told her. “I think your time together meant something to him. Me.”

“And why do you think that?”

Reaching a hand up, he tucked a curl behind her ear--aware that she was allowing it, aware of how carefully she was watching him. “Because I think it meant something to you. Even though you pretend it didn’t.”

Peyton looked away, too quickly. “I was just going through a dry spell. And you were...there.”

He shrugged, leaning back. “Well, it seems to me like you’d have good reason to want to distance yourself from sleeping with a monster.”

Blaine’s eyes flashed as he used the word, she saw it, but he continued. “So maybe it was just one night, or maybe it was one night with the potential for more--but now it’s easier to look back on it as a mistake that was never going to happen again.”

Resenting the hell out of his new perceptiveness, Peyton glowered at him. “Maybe.”

“And maybe,” he suggested with the lift of an eyebrow, “for me it was no big deal that sleeping with you could put the Mr. Boss case in jeopardy. Maybe I really was that reckless and short-sighted, in the middle of apparently wielding master plans and criminal empires. But I doubt it. It could have had a lot more to do with how smart and sharp and beautiful you are.”

There was a glimpse of the old Blaine, Peyton thought, strangely pleased to have her wariness justified. There was the man whose words were designed to charm and weaken before taking advantage, even if he didn’t know it now.

“Stop it.” Her tone was firm, only a little biting.

“Complimenting you?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“Because you can’t...do that, and not sound like the person you really are. That guy makes my skin crawl.”

“Wow.” He laughed hollowly. “Harsh.”

Peyton shrugged. “You’re all about honesty now, right? That’s the truth. John Deaux, who I worked with and defended--the man I thought I knew well enough to spend an ill-advised night with--turned out to be a murderer. And despite what you did for me...now I’m going to be trying to sleep in the same house with that face.”

Sighing, Blaine ran a hand through his hair. “So what do you expect me to do? It’s not like I'm trying to make things harder for you, Peyton. I have no idea when I’m acting...retro.”

The gesture reminded her of their night of stupidity and heat. How much product do you got working in here? I think you put some serious time into this look. It would be so much easier if looking back, she could tell herself he’d set out to seduce her, that she hadn’t crossed that line just as eagerly.

At least now that she was the only one who remembered, she could take to her grave the fact that actually, he hesitated, and she breached his personal space first. No one needed to know about the intensely vulnerable moment when he paused to look down at her and she stared back...or the way she let herself be touched because her instincts said that maybe he wasn’t a good guy, strictly speaking, but he was sweet and sexy and really meant the things he said about redemption.

Amnesiac Blaine didn’t remember what came next, either: the way he seemed genuinely happy to see her, until he was surprised to see Liv. The way Peyton wasn’t able to hold eye contact, because even while she was horrified to have been so easily played, his faux-sincerity still tugged at her a little. The man she had thought he was tugged at her, a little. She would be taking that one to her grave as well.

Resigned to the fact that she had this version of Blaine to deal with, Peyton gave in and asked the question that she’d been mulling over since it happened. “So why did you do it? Rescue me? I know that’s what Mr. Boss expected, why he took me, but you didn’t have to.”

Searching for the words, he took his time answering. “I felt like I needed to. It was my fault you were taken. And also...when you came to Shady Plots that day and accused me of faking, when you talked to me like you knew me...I felt something.”

Peyton’s eyes narrowed. In this light, he could see rings of gold centering the deep sea green.

He pressed on. “You have every right to hate me. If I remembered half the things I’ve been told that I did, I would probably hate myself. But even though I didn’t recognize you when we re-met, there was something there. So I’m sure this sounds crazy, but those people who care about you? I think I’m one of them.”

****

Peyton spent her night curled up in the office she found down the hall, staring blankly at the trashy romance novel she’d plucked off a shelf. She and Liv used to giggle over these, beachside on spring break when they let themselves destress. Now, unable to focus on it, she wondered if life would ever feel simple again.

When the door opened with no warning, she sprang to her feet, back pressed to the wall.

“Hey! Hey,” Blaine added more gently, alarmed by her defensive stance. “I didn’t mean to scare you. Didn’t know anyone was in here.”

She let out the breath she was holding, eyes locked on his while he shut the door behind himself gently. “No. No, I’m sorry. Stupid of me. To be so jumpy, when everybody’s here.”

"They’ve all crashed for the night,” he told her. “I assumed you were asleep too.”

Her heart was still racing. “I couldn’t. Didn’t think anybody would mind if I hung out in here instead,” she added, turning away to return the paperback to its spot.

“Nobody does.” Blaine took the desk chair and waited while she visibly weighed her options. In the end, she returned to the office sofa, stretching out across it so that her face was as far from his as she could manage in the small space.

Liv and Major were bunking together in the master bedroom, Peyton knew, and Ravi was next door to them, where he had welcomed her in case she didn’t feel safe in her room alone.

With the anxiety and anger rattling around in her brain, she hadn’t wanted company...but somehow, being in Blaine’s presence was different than the sweet but oppressive concern of her friends. Maybe because he was such a blank slate of a person at the moment.

It was almost soothing, if she pretended it were real. Of course, he had to speak, and spoil that.

“You can’t sleep?”

She shrugged.

“Is the room okay?”

“It’s fine.” Like the ones her friends were staying in, it was clean, if a bit cold. But she had found herself sitting on the bed, frozen in place, listening for any tiny sounds outside, and knew she couldn’t stay there.

Blaine frowned. He was silent for so long that Peyton shut her eyes, hopeful that maybe he would leave again, freeing her from more questions.

“Anything I can do to help?”

Peyton opened her eyes again, and found him sitting slightly closer then she remembered, concern lining his face.

She relented, just a little, because his pale eyes were sincere--and while she couldn’t separate Blaine from his past, he couldn’t connect to it. Was it fair to treat him like someone he had no memory of?

“Doubtful. I just...when I close my eyes, I see things I don’t want to see. When I try to relax, it doesn’t work. So of course sleep’s not happening.”

Nodding, Blaine steepled his fingers together. Then his eyes lit up, transforming his face. “I have an idea.”

“Really.”

“Yep.” He rose to tower over her prone position on the couch, standing in front of the wall shelves.

Uncomfortable with his close proximity, Peyton held very still until he moved back to the chair, book in hand. “And what’s your idea?”

“Audiobooks.” He grinned at her. “The live version.”

She gaped at him. “Huh? You don’t mean...”

“It’s worth a shot,” he offered. “Worst case scenario, you rest a little and hopefully relax. Best case, maybe you get some shuteye.”

“I’m not going to let you spend your night in here reading to me. Go to bed yourself, Blaine.”

His reply was droll. “You’re not the boss of me, Peyton. There’s no harm in trying. I’d like to help,” he added softly.

Then he hit a weak spot--her pride. “Unless you’re afraid?”

“What could I be afraid of?”

“Beats me.” Taking that as a win, Blaine settled back in the squeaky chair and flipped open the front cover of the book. “Tonight’s reading shall be the classic tale of David Copperfield--not the magician.”

“Dickens,” Peyton murmured, watching him through lowered lashes. Not the worst choice. He liked winding descriptions; she’d always found it soothing.

“Whether I shall turn out to be the hero of my own life, or whether that station will be held by anybody else...these pages must show.”

Blaine’s reading voice, his attempt at a calming tone, was silkier than his normal one--somehow richer but not deeper. Listening to it glide over the words, she was reminded of their half-drunken flirting on the couch, jumping in and out of accents.

As Blaine drowned out the flashbacks and she began to drift off, Peyton wished she had the option of taking comfort in his presence. If only she could forget the history that made her queasy...as easily as he had.

Peyton woke up alone the next morning, covered by a blanket. When she left the room, she found a ‘do not disturb’ sign taped to the outside of the door. It made her smile.

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lorrainecparker · 7 years ago

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Matt MacDonald: How I created a film using a video game

Since its launch, the video game Grand Theft Auto V has been the base for cinematographers exploring its potential to create narratives. The 12 minutes of Not Normal are the most recent example of the game’s potential.

If there is one thing that video games have in common with movies is that both tell stories. For a long time now, especially since graphic engines reached a point allowing them to recreate reality, multiple games have offered users the option to use the graphic engine to capture animated sequences, viewing them afterwards from multiple angles, in a pure cinematic experience.

Grand Theft Auto V, a very popular action-adventure video game developed by Rockstar North and published by Rockstar Games in 2013 for PS3 and Xbox 360 and early 2014 for PC (Windows), took things a bit further, offering on a re-released PC version, from April 2015 a unique tool for budding cinematographers: the Rockstar Editor, which lets players capture and edit gameplay videos. What’s more, the PC version runs at 60FPS in 1080p, with the ability to display visuals in 4K resolution. The Rockstar Editor was introduced in versions of GTA V for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One later that year.

Rockstar editor, a cinematographer’s dream

The game, considered by specialist magazine Edge a “remarkable achievement” in open world design and storytelling, while Tom Hoggins, from The Daily Telegraph, declared it a “colossal feat of technical engineering”, was both a tremendous success to Rockstar, and the bit of a headache, exactly because of the possibilities the Rockstar Editor opened.

What is the Rockstar Editor? Well, according to Rockstar, it is a program which provides a robust suite of recording and editing tools allowing users to build a library of captured footage. Users can record gameplay footage while on or off mission. Use Manual Recording mode for start and stop recording with the push of a button, or save your most recently played footage with the Action Replay feature. Rockstar invites users to edit their projects and share the final footage online.

The Rockstar Editor went further than that, though. Its Director Mode allows users to stage scenes and create custom moments. Users can select from hundreds of GTAV Story Mode characters and citizens across Los Santos (a condensed version of Los Angeles) and Blaine County (an amalgamation of several Southern Californian counties) to play as in the game world, including animals. Users can set locations, time of day, weather and much more. The dream of any cinematographer…

Rockstar versus community

The success of the Rockstar Editor led to something else; the creation, by the community, of multiple mods that allow to fine tune aspects of the movie creation inside the video game. Soon users were creating their first shorts, even recreating segments of popular movies, from Godfather to Terminator or TV series like Twin Peaks. And the exploration of mods continued, with more and more sophisticated tools appearing. One example? Scene Director, released by author elsewhat, a mod for GTA V specifically aimed at recording Machinima. In many ways it’s an extension to Director Mode and Rockstar Editor. The 3.4 release included a major functionality: stage lights, allowing users to light scene as in a real movie. Version 3.4.1 took things a little further: you can add complex move, rotate and flicker effects to stage lights.

The extended changes introduced by the community through mods, not only for cinematography, but also for single player options, led to some friction, in recent months, between the community and Rockstar, and Take-Two, the company distributing the title. Apparently, the problems are sorted out, and an official note published on Rockstar’s website indicates that “Rockstar Games believes in reasonable fan creativity, and, in particular, wants creators to showcase their passion for our games. After discussions with Take-Two, Take-Two has agreed that it generally will not take legal action against third-party projects involving Rockstar’s PC games that are single-player, non-commercial, and respect the intellectual property (IP) rights of third parties.”

Not Normal, the film

It’s within the context of this “battle” that a new film created inside GTA V saw the light of day: Not Normal. Created by Matt MacDonald, the short movie – which at almost 12 minutes is longer than many other shorts created with GTA V – is the most recent in a series of shorts created by the author. An accomplished voice-over actor and nationally published author, Matt received his MFA in Film & Television Production from the prestigious USC School of Cinematic Arts. As a writer, director, and editor, Matt has worked with Microsoft, Playboy, Activision/Blizzard, Electronic Arts, Warner Bros. Digital, and many others. His most recent directing credits include a 60-second spot for Nestlé’s DiGiorno pizza and a pair of animated short films for Ubisoft’s blockbuster game franchise Assassin’s Creed.

With a track record like this, why is Matt MacDonald exploring a video game to create movies? I asked the question to myself and thought readers would also like to know the answer, especially because the short movie No Normal, “shot in Anamorphic 21:9 and edited in Adobe Premiere Pro CC 2017” is the result of a collaboration including all the fields of which real movies are made: written and directed by Matt MacDonald, it has original music by Simon Stevens, sound mix by Eric Marks, editing, VFX and sound design by Mat MacDonald and a voice cast with the names of Jon Bailey, Anthony Falleroni, Matt MacDonald, Tamar Meyouhas and Paige Williams. All this makes Not Normal, a story of a time of anarchy and forgotten morals and the one man who obsesses over the way to fix it, a short to watch.

Matt MacDonald didn’t just create and publish the movie, he took the time to create a complete Behind The Scenes video, 13 minutes long, which is a lesson in both modding GTA V and cinematography. And a unique voyage of discovery if you think that video games and cinema are worlds apart: they are not! But I was eager to know more, so I decided to get in touch with Matt MacDonald and ask him a few questions. His answers are here for you to read. It’s difficult not to get touched by Matt’s enthusiasm. It might well explain why he mentions, in his website, that his dad frequently tells him to “keep up the good work.”

The Interview

ProVideo Coalition – You’ve done multiple projects in the area of video games, but this is a first. Why did you decide to go ahead with the project?

Matt MacDonald – The amazing thing about video games (and Grand Theft Auto in particular) is how realistic they’re becoming. Every once in awhile, you look at one and — for just a brief moment — aren’t really sure if it’s real life or a game. So, I thought I’d try and capitalize on that by making a really slick, expensive-looking film using the most life-like medium I could. And since I’m already pretty familiar with video games, I knew I would be able to pull off way more this way than I ever could for no budget on a real shoot. Like, the car chase? Zero chance most indy filmmakers could afford to do something like that on their own. Why not use something like a video game to show off your directing abilities for no money and hopefully convince someone to let you do it for real one day?

PVC – Why did you choose GTA V? Do you play games?

MM – I don’t play as many games as I’d like because adulthood sucks, but I’ve been a huge fan of the GTA series since I was a kid and diligently played through GTAV when it was first released. The great thing about these games is that they’re so massive, they really allow a lot of flexibility in what the player can do. Want to rob a bank? Go for it. Want to get a lap dance? You bet. Want to chase down and murder people in a spat of vigilante justice? Of course you can! Because of that flexibility, it really allows us filmmakers to tell a wide range of stories and I think that’s the most you could ever hope for from a machinima.

PVC – Is it harder to create a movie like this, using machinima, than with real actors and scenes? Why?

MM – I think every kind of filmmaking is going to have its challenges, so it’s just a matter of figuring out the best ways to get around them. The tricky part about making a machinima, like you said, is you aren’t working with real actors in front of a camera, so you have to completely re-think your writing and how you shoot a scene. You can’t rely on witty dialogue to get you through because the lip sync will never match. You can’t rely on a lot of close ups because the characters in the game aren’t acting and will just stare blankly. Scenes you would maybe shoot one way in a live action shoot have to be rethought because the textures fall apart if you get too close or the game doesn’t have a proper animation for the scene you’re thinking up. It’s quite challenging. On the flip side, it can be quite liberating. You can move your camera virtually anywhere, without limitation. You can get endless coverage for the same take without having to reshoot. I don’t think machinima filmmaking is going to replace anything any time soon, but it certainly teaches a lot you can bring to your live action projects.

PVC – This was a completely new experience for you. When it comes to filming, what do you usually work on? What interests you most?

MM – This was definitely a new experience for me, but my approach was no different than when I’m directing a live action film. I genuinely love intelligent, large-scale stories, both independent and from the studio, and this kind of dark thriller / action piece is very appealing to me. I was also surprised to discover the facets I enjoyed the most making a film this way are the same ones you’d encounter on a traditional set. I really enjoyed blocking out the scenes — looking around the location I had selected, working out with the action the characters would perform. I really enjoyed lighting the scenes just like a cinematographer, finding ways to make these iconic GTA settings look unique and more cinematic. I enjoyed doing the camerawork, emulating big crane moves and moving picture cars. The aspects I found the most frustrating were the nitty gritty tedious tasks — finding the right animation for the character model to perform, troubleshooting technical glitches and crashes, finding different ways to “cheat” simple actions no one would think twice about on a live action shoot.

PVC – The short was shot in Anamorphic 21:9. Why did you go that way? To completely emulate the idea of a real film using a different perspective?

MM – I really love the anamorphic look. Seriously, I’ll go on Vimeo and just watch anamorphic lens tests because I get such nerd joy from it. I think it’s a really unique and visually interesting format. So, because I wanted to try and make this as cinematic as possible, I knew pretty early on I wanted to replicate that look as best I could. I was able to capture all my footage in a way that gave it a slight squeeze and then in post I added a vignette and some slight lens artifacting. Plus, having the 21:9 monitor on my PC gave a lot more flexibility for framing shots.

PVC – You mention potential future problems with Take 2 and Rockstar because of the way people have used their IP? Which problems? Does this not promote the interest for the game?

MM – There’s been some controversy lately because GTA parent company Take-Two came down hard on a handful of fan-made game mods, which are essential to creating these kinds of machinima films. They sent some cease-and-desist orders and the GTA community reacted very strongly, arguing the corporate overlords were going too far. In recent days, there’s been some resolution, as Take-Two and Rockstar have backtracked a little and it seems they will allow some of these mods to continue, but it’s a touchy topic. If you’re the companies, you’re trying to protect this very valuable IP that generates a lot of profit for you, so the idea of people modding and changing the game and potentially ruining the experience of what you intended is very alarming. On the other hand, most players using these mods just want to do so harmlessly, allowing them to tell stories like this one and spread their creative wings. It’s an interesting topic to think about as games and technology move forward — once a game releases, does it belong to the fans or is it the responsibility of the developer / publisher to protect their original vision? I’m not sure of the answer.

PVC – Notwithstanding the outcome of this experience, do you plan on creating more shorts using video game engines?

MM – I don’t know that I’ll ever make a film using GTAV again. I feel like I challenged myself to create something I’ve never done before, making a statement on the world using this particular tool and I accomplished that, so there’s not much left for me to do. I’m certainly open to trying other engines though. Things like the Unreal Engine, Unity, CryEngine are all turning out incredible visuals and there’s a lot to be explored there. That said, my first love will always be traditional live action. Computer graphics and animation and photorealism will continue to improve, but there’s just no replacement to seeing a real person on screen and my personal goal is to move into making features. That said, one interesting idea filmmakers should consider is using a game engine like GTA to help with their pre-visualizations. I could definitely see myself firing up GTAV to work out the logistics of a car chase or create an animatic for the crew on how we plan to shoot a scene. There’s no need to turn to some expensive post-house to do a pre-viz for you when anyone with a passing knowledge of video games and a computer can make something equally good, if not better. In that sense, it’s pretty amazing times we live in.

To find more about the work of Matt MacDonald visit his website.

The post Matt MacDonald: How I created a film using a video game appeared first on ProVideo Coalition.

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