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rhetorical-ink · 5 years ago

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Rhetorical Ink Reviews: Yuri on Ice!!!

** SUPERCHARGED SPOILERS BELOW **

One of my friends recommended this show a long time back, but I just now got to it. After watching the sub, then the dub, then the dub AGAIN...yeah...it’s time to review it for you all!

It just so happens that I also get to watching this show as Pride Month begins in June. What a coincidence...anywhoo, without further ado, and ten thoughts are NOT enough, here are:

My Top Twelve Thoughts on Yuri on Ice!!! Season One:

12. I don’t do this a lot for anime, but I actually recommend the Dub. I love the original Japanese, but the dub is just...wonderful.

Plus, the voice actor for Yuri is PERFECT. Can you believe it’s the same voice actor as both Tendo in the Haikyuu!!, Tokoyami in the My Hero Academia dub, AND Tyrion Callows from RWBY?! The RANGE on Joshua Grelle, y’all!

Bonus, the Russian accents for the VA’s of Viktor and Yurio are ADORABLE.

11. The three main leads are just so three-dimensional. I may have never related to a protagonist more than Yuri Katsuki. Yuri starts out the series having made it to the Grand Prix Skating Finals, only to place last. Down-heartened, he slumps into bad eating habits and lacks any motivation; moving back home after being away for five years as a professional figure skater.

We’ll talk more about Viktor and “Yurio” below individually, but Yuri is such a empathetic character and you really root for his development and growth as the show goes on and he grows more and more confident as a skater, and a person.

10. Before we dive into our other main protagonists, I want to say that the side characters are fleshed out, too, for what we see of them. Minako, Yuri’s ballet teacher, is a perfect representation of all us fangirls watching the show, and there are the other skaters, which I’ll go into detail about below, too, but I want to focus on Yuri’s childhood friends Takeshi and Yuuko Nishigori in this point.

When we first meet Yuuko, we get the idea that she was Yurio’s best friend as a kid. There’s this Lily and James Potter moment with Takeshi, as he makes fun of Yurio as kids and comes across as a snot-nosed brat. Just as I think in the first episode that Yurio is about to confess his love to Yuuko, we find out that she’s actually married to their other childhood friend, Takeshi. And they have a set of triplet daughters, appropriately named Axel, Lutz, and Loop. Ha.

I do like that later on we actually see Takeshi’s grown up -- he no longer teases Yuri in a mean way; he’s actually a huge supporter of him. I like that we see how these characters have matured and stayed friends. Not to mention the three girls are pretty much a catalyst to the plot of the story.

9. Okay -- I absolutely LOVE Yuri’s character and relate to him the most -- but how can you NOT LOVE Viktor Nikiforov?

It would have been easy to make Viktor a pompous, playboy, especially given how successful he’s been as a skater from the start of the story.

But instead, they reveal that Viktor is a sweet, determined, passionate dork who loves his poodle Makkichan and is a fool for figure skating. His constant enthusiasm is infectious and he comes across as a character you just WANT to be friends with.

The more the show goes on, though, we learn how Viktor is so entrenched on the positive side of the emotional spectrum that he doesn’t handle emotional distress well -- now, THAT I can relate to a lot. When Yuri has a meltdown, Viktor struggles to respond in a way that’s not awkward or insensitive. But, deep down, he just wants the best for those around him, as we see with him motivating his fellow competitors to do their best. He’s also worried about his thinning hairline -- poor guy, being around Viktor’s age, I feel his pain.

8. Despite coming across as a pretentious punk, Yuri Plisetsky from the first episode, we all agree that “Yurio” as he’s nicknamed is actually a giant Piroshki covered in cinnamon? He comes across as constantly irritated, rough, and displeased. But when he’s around his closest friend and grandfather, he shows a softer side to him. He’s definitely an embodiment of a Russian cat.

I also love that Yurio is impatient to prove his talent, and constantly wants to act more mature than he really is -- WELCOME TO THE MADNESS, ANYONE -- but he is also aware that he’s not going to be that youthful for much longer, and wants to maximize the potential for what he can do in the moment. Should they continue the show into a second season or in the movie, I hope that Yurio growing older is touched on. He makes constant references to Yuri being the age for retirement, and calls Viktor a “geezer” in skating years -- it would be interesting to see Yurio facing the event of aging as a figure skater in the future.

7. We get introduced to the other figure skating competitors, and I have to say that for me, the ones that stand out are Pitchit and Chris, which is funny, since each are friends of our main protagonists Yuri and Viktor. I love that we get their backstories, understand their motivations, and actually see all of their performances.

Phitchit is just a cinnabun, and I love how supportive he is of Yuri in all he does and just radiates positive energy! And then there’s Chris...ohhh, Chris. I have to admit, one of my friends is actually a LOT like Chris -- maybe that’s why I was drawn to him in the show. His flamboyance is comical, but he also clearly has a good heart. The pool scene with him and Viktor is one of my favorites in the show.

6. Now, now it’s time for the MEAT of the show. And I’m not talking pork cutlet bowls, y’all. I really had no clue going into this show that it was going to have these three things: First, the humor.

This show has so much heart and humor -- I found myself laughing so much during this show, mainly with the interactions of our three main leads, but the animation plus the voice acting just NAILS it for me. Viktor being dorky particularly gets me, but Yuri’s reactions are just as golden!

5. Second, and this one is pretty much my jam: The RELATIONSHIPS. Well, specifically, that of Yuri and Viktor. I know I’ve posted this gif in a previous post when I was reacting to Episode 6...but it’s worth re-posting before going further:

I don’t care what gender is involved, if a show has a well-defined and complex relationship, I am ALL IN. Yuri on Ice!!! does not disappoint in this department.

Yuri starts out as a huge fan of Viktor’s skating, putting him up on a huge pedestal, even naming his dog after him as a kid -- though it’s established Yuri and Viktor are only four years apart in age.

But, once Viktor starts to coach Yuri, the two come to this mutual understanding of one another and develop this intense bond. I love that Yuri realizes that he does look up to Viktor, but he doesn’t necessarily idolize him -- he actually respects him and knows that Viktor “meets him halfway” when he opens up to him. Viktor, likewise, realizes that Yuri not only isn’t weak, but has incredible potential, and is a kind-hearted person who gives his all and can match Viktor himself in terms of competitive passion towards figure skating, and winning.

There are so many gifs of these two that I can’t post them all, but these two are probably one of my favorite anime couples, now. This idea that alone, you can only go so far, but together, you can be so much stronger!

Oh, and there’s Yurio -- we get a brief, albeit adorable friendship bloom with him and Otabek Altin from Kazakhstan. Otabek clearly brings out the best in Yurio -- I really hope that we get future development with their relationship, too, since it’s only just started in Episode 10 of 12 in the first season.

4. Okay, and finally, the STORY and the twists got me in this show! The slow burn of the relationship development between Yuri and Viktor is grand, and you can’t deny the seductive fangirl moment of the forehead touching, or how Viktor is so proud of Yuri that he kisses him in Episode 7, but it’s the plot twists in Episode 10 that just tore the whole show open for me!

In the episode, Yuri decides to show his appreciation for Viktor (plus give Viktor a birthday/Christmas/”good luck” charm) and gets them matching rings. Of COURSE, we the audience can see the parallels to them being wedding rings. Later, at dinner with the other skaters, Viktor corrects the confused fellow competitors, saying they’re actually “engagement” rings and that he will marry Yuri once he receives a gold medal.

*Insert the loudest fangirl scream imaginable*

But then, we discover at dinner that Viktor’s first conversation with Yuri wasn’t actually at the Hatsetsu bath house...it was at the banquet after the Grand Prix where Yuri received last. We find out that Yuri, feeling depressed and down-trodden, got drunk and flirted heavily with Viktor, begging him to come be his coach. Viktor, taken with the whole flirting and proposal, and after seeing how much potential Yuri has with imitating Viktor’s moves in the video the triplet’s posted, decides to come coach him. THAT was why Viktor was so flirty at the start of the show -- he thought that was naturally how Yuri was! Everything at the start of the show that seemed so forward and out of place for Viktor’s character suddenly makes SO much sense after we learn this little tid bit.

But also, that ending credit scene for Episode 10. Holy guacamole!

3. And then, there was the final in Episode 12! Honestly, I was actually completely fine with Yuri taking silver and Yurio taking gold in the final, even though they were SO close! Yurio establishes that he wants to keep competing against Yuri -- he doesn’t want Yuri to get complacent and just quit after winning this one time and retire. And I love that. I was happy that Yuri got silver, because that means that Yuri’s at least going to skate one more year -- but NOW, with Viktor AND Yurio competing against him, along with the other competitors! It’s such a great way to hype us up for what we hopefully have with another season or the movie.

2. Okay, just a thought here. I am SO excited to see not only Yuri and Yurio skate again in the next season to come and/or the movie, hopefully, but also VIKTOR skating -- we get previews of it, and they are gorgeous, that I know it’s going to be insane if we have all three competing against one another along with the other competitors.

However, based on the ending of Episode 12 in the Exhibition Skating event, is there a possibility Yuri on Ice!!! could go into the realm of couples skating. I mean, early on in the season, the Russian coach questions whether Yurio is considering couples skating after getting in a tussle with one of his colleagues. Could we go into this in the future of Yuri on Ice? I mean...the possibilities are pretty endless. It wouldn’t have to just be Viktor and Yuri, either...I MEAN...

1. So, yeah, I pretty much fell in love with this anime. It’s only 12 episodes, but by the end, I just wanted...more! More with these characters, more with their developing relationships, and more gorgeous animation.

I’m SO excited that a movie is coming out hopefully within the year. If the animation is on par with the “Welcome to the Madness” OVA clip, shown above with Yurio and Otabek, I know that it’s going to be wild.

Seriously, if you want an anime that has heart, humor, and one of the best anime relationships I’ve seen on screen, give Yuri on Ice!!! a shot, and hopefully, you’ll fall in love with it like I have.

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magzoso-tech · 5 years ago

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New Post has been published on https://magzoso.com/tech/2019-africa-roundup-jumia-ipos-china-goes-digital-nigeria-becomes-fintech-capital/

2019 Africa Roundup: Jumia IPOs, China goes digital, Nigeria becomes fintech capital

2019 brought more global attention to Africa’s tech scene than perhaps any previous year.

A high-profile IPO, visits by both Jacks (Ma and Dorsey) and big Chinese startup investment energized that.

The last 12 months served as a grande finale to 10 years that saw triple-digit increases in startup formation and VC on the continent.

Here’s an overview of the 2019 market events that captured attention and capped off a decade of rapid growth in African tech.

IPOs

The story of the year is the April IPO on the NYSE of Pan-African e-commerce company Jumia. This was the first listing of a VC-backed tech company operating in Africa on a major global exchange — which brought its own unpredictability.

Founded in 2012, Jumia pioneered much of its infrastructure to sell goods to consumers online in Africa.

With Nigeria as its base market, the Rocket Internet-backed company created accompanying delivery and payments services and went on to expand online verticals into 14 African countries (though it recently exited a few). Jumia now sells everything from mobile phones to diapers, and offers online services such as food-delivery and classifieds.

Seven years after its operational launch, Jumia’s stock debut kicked off with fanfare in 2019, only to be followed by volatility.

The online retailer gained investor confidence out of the gate, more than doubling its $14.95 opening share price post-IPO.

That lasted until May, when Jumia’s stock came under attack from short-seller Andrew Left, whose firm Citron Research issued a report accusing the company of fraud. The American activist investor’s case was bolstered, in part, by a debate that played out across Africa’s tech ecosystem on Jumia’s legitimacy as an African startup, given its (primarily) European senior management.

The entire affair was further complicated by Jumia’s second-quarter earnings call when the company disclosed a fraud perpetrated by some of its employees and sales agents. Jumia’s CEO Sacha Poignonnec emphasized the matter was closed, financially marginal and not the same as Andrew Left’s short-sell claims.

Whatever the balance, Jumia’s 2019 ups and downs cast a cloud over its stock with investors. Since the company’s third-quarter earnings-call, Jumia’s NYSE share-price has lingered at around $6 — less than half of its original $14.95 opening, and roughly 80% lower than its high.

Even with Jumia’s post-IPO rocky road, the continent’s leading e-commerce company still has a heap of capital and is on pace to generate more than $100 million in revenues in 2019 (albeit with big losses).

The company plans to reduce costs by generating more revenue from higher-margin internet services, such as payments and classifieds.

There’s a fairly simple equation for Jumia to rebuild shareholder confidence in 2020: avoid scandals and increase revenues over losses. And now that the company is publicly traded — with financial reporting requirements — there’ll be four earnings calls a year to evaluate Jumia’s progress.

Jumia may not be the continent’s standout IPO for much longer. Events in 2019 point to Interswitch becoming the second African digital company to list on a global exchange in 2020. The Nigerian fintech firm confirmed to TechCrunch in November it had reached a billion-dollar unicorn valuation, after a (reported) $200 million investment by Visa.

Founded in 2002 by Mitchell Elegbe, Interswitch created much of the initial infrastructure to digitize Nigeria’s (then) predominantly cash-based economy. Interswitch has been teasing a public listing since 2016, but delayed it for various reasons. With the company’s billion-dollar valuation in 2019, that pause is likely to end.

“An [Interswitch] IPO is still very much in the cards; likely sometime in the first half of 2020,” a source with knowledge of the situation told TechCrunch.

China-Africa goes digital

2019 was the year when Chinese actors pivoted to African tech. China is known for its strategic relationship with Africa, based (largely) on trade and infrastructure. Over the last 10 years, the country has been less engaged in the continent’s digital scene.

That was until a torrent of investment and partnerships this past year.

July saw Chinese-owned Opera raise $50 million in venture spending to support its growing West African digital commercial network, which includes browser, payments and ride-hail services.

In August, San Francisco and Lagos-based fintech startup Flutterwave partnered with Chinese e-commerce company Alibaba’s Alipay to offer digital payments between Africa and China.

In September, China’s Transsion — the largest smartphone seller in Africa — listed in an IPO on Shanghai’s new STAR Market. The company raised ≈ $394 million, some of which it is directing toward venture funding and operational expansion in Africa.

The last quarter of 2019 brought a November surprise from China in African tech. More than 15 Chinese investors placed over $240 million in three rounds. Transsion-backed consumer payments startup PalmPay raised a $40 million seed, stating its goal to become “Africa’s largest financial services platform.”

Chinese investors also backed Opera-owned OPay’s $120 million raise and East-African trucking logistics company Lori Systems’ (reported) $30 million Series B.

In the new year, TechCrunch will continue to cover the business arc of this surge in Chinese tech investment in Africa. There’ll surely be a number of fresh macro news points to develop, given the debate (and critique) of China’s engagement with Africa.

Nigeria and fintech

On debate, the case could be made that 2019 was the year when Nigeria become Africa’s unofficial capital for fintech investment and digital finance startups.

Kenya has held this title hereto, with the local success and global acclaim of its M-Pesa mobile-money product. But more founders and VCs are opting for Nigeria as the epicenter for digital finance growth on the continent.

A rough tally of 2019 TechCrunch coverage — including previously mentioned rounds — pegs fintech-related investment in the West African country at around $400 million over the last 12 months. That’s equivalent to roughly one-third of all startup VC raised for the entire continent in 2018, according to Partech stats.

From OPay to PalmPay to Visa — startups, big finance companies and investors are making Nigeria home-base for their digital finance operations and Africa expansion strategies.

The founder of early-stage payment startup ChipperCash, Ham Serunjogi, explained the imperative to operating there. “Nigeria is the largest economy and most populous country in Africa. Its fintech industry is one of the most advanced in Africa, up there with Kenya and South Africa,” he told TechCrunch in May.

When all the 2019 VC numbers are counted, it will be worth matching up fintech stats for Nigeria to Kenya to see how the countries compared.

Acquisitions

Tech acquisitions continue to be somewhat rare in Africa, but there were several to note in 2019. Two of the continent’s powerhouse tech incubators joined forces in September, when Nigerian innovation center and seed-fund CcHub acquired Nairobi-based iHub, for an undisclosed amount.

The acquisition brought together Africa’s most powerful tech hubs by membership networks, volume of programs, startups incubated and global visibility. It also elevated the standing of CcHub’s Bosun Tijani across Africa’s tech ecosystem, as the CEO of the new joint entity, which also has a VC arm.

CcHub/iHub CEO Bosun Tijani

In other acquisition activity, French television company Canal+ acquired the ROK film studio from Nigerian VOD company IROKOtv for an undisclosed amount. The deal put ROK founder and producer Mary Njoku in charge of a new organization with larger scope and resources.

Many outside Africa aren’t aware that Nigeria’s Nollywood is the Hollywood of the continent, and one of the largest film industries in the world (by production volume). Canal+ told TechCrunch it looks to bring Mary and the Nollywood production ethos to produce content in French-speaking African countries.

Other notable 2019 African tech takeovers included Kenyan internet company BRCK’s acquisition of ISP Surf, Nigerian digital-lending startup OneFi’s Amplify buy and Merck KGaa’s purchase of Kenya-based online healthtech company ConnectMed.

Moto ride-hail mania

In 2019, Africa’s motorcycle ride-hail market — worth an estimated $4 billion — saw a flurry of investment and expansion by startups looking to scale on-demand taxi services. Uber and Bolt got into the motorcycle taxi business in Africa in 2018.

Ampersand in Rwanda

A number of local and foreign startups have continued to grow in key countries, such as Nigeria, Uganda and Kenya.

A battle for funding and market share emerged in Nigeria in 2019, between key moto ride-hail startups MAX.ng, Gokada and Opera-owned ORide.

The on-demand motorcycle market in Africa has attracted foreign investment and moved toward EV development. In May, MAX.ng raised a $7 million Series A round with participation from Yamaha and is using a portion to pilot renewable energy powered e-motorcycles in Africa.

In August, the government of Rwanda announced a national policy to phase out gas-motorcycle taxis altogether in favor of e-motos, in partnership with early-stage EV startup Ampersand.

New funds

The past year saw several new funding initiatives for Africa’s startups. Senegalese VC investor Marieme Diop spearheaded Dakar Network Angels, a seed-fund for startups in French-speaking Africa — or 24 of the continent’s 54 countries.

Africinvest teamed up with Cathay Innovation to announce the Cathay Africinvest Innovation Fund, a $100+ million capital pool aimed at Series A to C-stage startup investments in fintech, logistics, AI, ag tech and education tech.

Accion Venture Lab launched a $24 million fintech fund open to African startups.

And Naspers offered more details on who can pitch to its 1.4 billion rand (≈$100 million) Naspers Foundry fund, which made its first investment in online cleaning services company SweepSouth.

Closed up shop

Like any tech ecosystem, not every startup in Africa killed it or even continued to tread water in 2019. Two e-commerce companies — DealDey in Nigeria and Afrimarket in Ivory Coast — closed up digital shop.

Southern Africa’s Econet Media shut down its Kwese TV digital entertainment business in August.

And South Africa-based, Pan African-focused cryptocurrency payment startup Wala ceased operations in June. Founder Tricia Martinez named the continent’s poor infrastructure as one of the culprits to shutting down. A possible signal to the startup’s demise could have been its 2017 ICO, where Wala netted only 4% of its $30 million token offering.

Africa’s startups go global

2019 saw more startups expand to new markets abroad products and business models developed in Africa. In March, FlexClub — a South African venture that matches investors and drivers to cars for ride-hailing services — announced its expansion to Mexico in a partnership with Uber.

In May, Extra Crunch profiled three African-founded fintech startups — Flutterwave, Migo and ChipperCash — developing their business models strategically in Africa toward plans to expand globally.

By December, Migo (formerly branded Mines) had announced its expansion to Brazil on a $20 million Series B raise.

2020 and beyond

As we look to what could come in the new year and decade for African tech, it’s telling to look back. Ten years ago, there were a lot of “if” questions on whether the continent’s ecosystem could produce certain events: billion-dollar startup valuations, IPOs on major exchanges, global expansion, investment from the world’s top VCs.

All those questionable events of the past have become reality in African tech, even if some of them are still in low abundance.

There’s no crystal ball for any innovation ecosystem — not the least Africa’s — but there are several things I’ll be on the lookout for in 2020 and beyond.

In the near term I’ll start with what Twitter/Square CEO Jack Dorsey may do around Bitcoin and cryptocurrency on his return to Africa (lookout for an upcoming TechCrunch feature on this).

I’ll also follow the next-phase of e-commerce in Africa, which could pit Jumia more competitively against DHL’s Africa eShop, Opera and China’s Alibaba (which hasn’t yet entered Africa in full).

On a longer-term basis, a development to follow is how the continent’s first wave of millionaire and billionaire tech-founders could disrupt 21st century dynamics in Africa around politics, power and philanthropy — hopefully for the better.

More notable 2019 Africa-related coverage @TechCrunch

#Miscellaneous

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immykidsmanager-blog · 6 years ago

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Acting in Trump’s Gilead (An Actors Blog)

Advertisers and marketing professionals spend their days (and probably a lot of sleepless nights) wondering about and/creating buzz around the next big thing… but being able to identify a trend is not just their job, it’s also the job of the actor. Knowing that wider ties, and longer hems, often coincide with automakers manufacturing cars in shades of pink and turquoise is an example of identifying a trend. How do I know that? When you live long enough you start to see everything come back around. Now, to me a trend - is different than a fad. A trend will stick around for a while and then reappear in an updated form at least every twenty years or so. But a fad is something that is with us for a year or six months and then disappears just as quickly as it came - probably never to be heard from again. For example, it’s been a while since my kids mentioned Fidget Spinners. I’m sure those useless pieces of Chinese rubberized plastic will sit idle at the bottom of my kids desk drawer until i secretly toss them out. That obsession has given way to their current addiction; slime. I’m hoping slime is just a fad too - or a phase they grow out of at least, kind of like my mom’s approach to me being in to dudes. Sorry Mom, guess that was more of a trend that was here to stay.

As an actor what do you do when you’re not part of a trend? By that, I mean your “type”…your race, your age, your sexual orientation, even your religion. It might sound callous to break us all down into categories, but that’s what our brains do every single day as we file away and classify every new piece of information we encounter.

It’s no surprise that 2018 was definitely the year of the Asian actor, and it’s about time. An Asian actor hasn’t gotten an Oscar since Haing S. Ngor won in 1984 for “The Killing Fields.” You might say this all started with the popularity of Crazy Rich Asians and I would agree, but what led to that? With my 20/20 hindsight I would say that George Takei and his autobiographical play about his childhood experience being held in a post World War II Japanese internment camp shined a light on the Asian immigrant experience. It also doesn’t hurt that he has a hugely popular #Twitter feed dominated by daily anti-Trump tweets.

Another 70-ish celebrity with daily anti-Trump tweets is Cher who happens to be having the best year ever. She’s doing movies again, has an amazing new album of ABBA covers, a broadway show about her life, and is about to embark on a huge European tour. Is Trump the recipe to new found relevance - or is ageism finally dead in Hollywood?

On Sunday I kept seeing Carol Burnett in my news feed. She was definitely trending. I thought OMG did she die or something?! I was Immediately relieved to figure out that she was just being honored at The Golden Globes and not actually dead. So if Carol Burnett is in the news again what does this mean? If I were her manager what would be my game plan?? …what’s next? Maybe nothing. She’s got like a gazillion Emmys - she doesn’t have to do a single thing, but that’s not usually how successful people think. What this tells me is that there’s about to be a lot more roles for older actresses in #Hollywood. Perhaps at first for the A-listers but hopefully that trend can trickle down to the commoners like us too.

A few years ago my kids went in for a sitcom pilot audition that was starring Ms. Burnett playing a famous retired actress who was renting out part of her home to make some extra income. Then they went in for another one with a similar premise with a cast lead by Candice Bergen. Not sure if either pilot was ever made… but then the reboot of Murphy Brown happened and I assume the Bergen pilot died a quick death in the script pile at ABC Television Network. Anyway these projects are out there, which is a good sign that ageism is a dying fad. How ironic is it too that Jessica Lange has had a career resurgence doing campy horror just like her character in "Feud" (Joan Crawford) had in real life.

I asked my kids’ agent why my son always got more auditions and more bookings than my daughter. She said writers just don’t write for little girls the way they write for little boys. This is the same argument that’s been made at the very top of the food chain by Oscar winners like Jennifer Lawrence. Often we roll our eyes when someone as successful as she makes this claim but the amount of opportunities for women is just not the same as for men - and it has been even worse if you’re past a certain age.

So for the non-famous, for the everyday working actor, what can we do when a trend is not working in our favor? Make lemonade? No - Make Movies! My friend, Sarah Megan Thomas, has done just that. Instead of complaining that only 32% of all speaking roles in films belong to female characters, she wrote, produced, and acted in three of her own female driven films; "Backwards," “Equity,” and her third film “Liberté”. In each project she has immersed herself into three very different worlds focusing on the roles women play in: Sports, on Wall Street, and in WWII. Not really since “A League of Their Own” have we seen a film explore the feminine experience during war. This subject is very close to my heart since both my grandmothers worked for the war effort - one making bullets and shells in a gunpowder factory, and the other on an air force base. Both my kids had roles in her film Equity, so we saw firsthand that not only is she creating jobs for actresses but her crews are also heavily comprised of women, with all three films having female directors.

As Heidi Klum says “You’re either in or you’re out,” and as the former titans of film and TV are being dethroned by sex scandals, women are rising up to take their rightful place. We saw the peak of the #MeToomovement at last years Golden Globes. This year we saw The Hollywood Foreign Press reaffirm the strength of journalists, and vow to not let governments make them the enemy of the people. We also saw an Asian actress not only host the show, but win the award for best dramatic TV actress. So… is an awards show the barometer for what’s trending - or just the moment when enough people come together on a network TV platform to oppose Trump’s Republic of Gilead?

Speaking of critically acclaimed television series, sometimes I have a hard time telling the difference between a plot point from “The Handmaid’s Tale” and an actual Tweeted proclamation from the baby king himself. Here’s a list. Can you tell the difference?

Women should be punished for abortion. Total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States Transgender people banned from military service The Press is declared “The true enemy of the people” Separating immigrant children from their parents at the border Calling for the firing of NFL players who kneel during the National Anthem

Sounds like we’re all gonna be hanging on that wall of his!

Like it or not, Trump is an equal opportunity offender and every group that he attempts to marginalize seems to rise up and have their place in the sun. He discriminates… then whoever the oppressed group is…African Americans, Muslims, Women, Gays, Native Americans…that group is suddenly trending. We are lucky enough to live in a time when we are celebrated for our differences and the entertainment industry is finally responding. As soon as Trump offends, then I start to notice that minority group in more roles in commercials, TV, and film. Writers are now creating more diversity in their characters and in the stories they tell. So if you are an actor in one of these minority groups - you’re probably trending. This trickles all the way down to child actors too. Now I notice a lot more diversity in the acting pool at castings than I did 5 years ago when we had a president that rarely used Twitter - and if he did it was never used to offend anyone.

So now what? You’re part of a growing trend. How do you take advantage of a trend in your type? Well, first leaving your apartment is a good step. In the brief window where #GayDads were everywhere we did just that. It was about 2011 and the fight for marriage equality was in the news every day. As courts ruled and legislative branches voted in our favor state by state and eventually sea to shining sea, we made it our mission to attend every equality march, rally, and #Pride Parade in NYC and DC. We wrote letters to state senators, appeared on the local news and in the “failing” New York Times! We did print campaigns for Marriott and MetLife. Marriott even gave us our own float in the New York City Heritage of Pride Parade! I can’t begin to count the number of reality shows we were interviewed for. We actually filmed segments on two shows, one for Oprah and another for a Jerry Seinfeld comedy show on marriage, neither of which actually aired, but the point is we got “out” there (pun intended) and milked that trend for all it was worth. All you can do is create opportunities for yourself when you’re lucky enough to be part of the zeitgeist. Now if you’re gay and married, the only way to get exposure on social media is to take your shirt off and take a #BedSelfie with your husband. Aside from the occasional GymSelfie for my own motivational purposes - that is really not us, so hopefully sexy couple pics will die out soon. I can’t compete!

So if you’re not part of the “in” crowd my biggest piece of advice is to not start taking naked selfies with Ricky Martin’s baby, just BE YOURSELF!!! In college I spent a lot of time playing roles that I would never play in the real world, and I would compete with actors for those roles that I would never be sitting across from in a real casting office waiting room. When I first moved to New York, I wasted so much energy trying to be something I wasn’t. I look back at my old black and white headshots and I remember the photographer trying to make me pose like a soap opera hunk - which I wasn’t. Soaps and teen dramas were big business then. I was young but my hair was thinning, so I couldn’t be the hot teen and I was still too young to play the dad. I definitely wasn’t trending! I should’ve just shaved my head already and embraced roles like the comic book villain born out of a botched laboratory experiment. That would have been so much more fun! So as they taught us at @University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music - CCM… get out of your head and just beeeeeeeeeee……..(deep breath)

Sooner or later everything comes back around…. even you.

I’m My Kids Manager

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recentnews18-blog · 6 years ago

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New Post has been published on https://shovelnews.com/game-of-thrones-named-outstanding-drama-at-2018-emmy-awards/

Game of Thrones named outstanding drama at 2018 Emmy Awards

So, how did your favourite show do? Chances are, not so well.

It’s one of the funny things about the Emmy Awards that because there are so many categories, shows can rack up the nominations yet go home empty (or near-empty)-handed.

Atlanta, for instance, had 16 nominations but picked up just two awards, for guest actor and cinematography (neither of them presented in this telecast).

The year’s most-nominated show, Game of Thrones, won six of 22, but it got the biggest of them all, so who’s counting?

Game of Thrones didn’t scoop the pool but it went home with the big one.

Photo: Supplied

Personally, I think The Handmaid’s Tale suffered one of the biggest snubs, winning just two of the 20 awards for which it was nominated, and missing out on all the major acting awards, which is where, perhaps, you might have expected it to shine. It won for editing and best guest actress for Samira Wiley as Moira – but as always, you do have to wonder about these categories; Wiley has been in 11 episodes of the show’s two seasons, the same as Alexis Bledel, who was nominated for best supporting actress. Guest? Go figure.

The Handmaid’s Tale suffered the biggest snub.

Photo: Supplied

Meanwhile Westworld managed just one win from its 21 nominations, but it was good to see Thandie Newton getting a big win.

Probably the standout show this year was The Marvelous Mrs Maisel, which took home seven statuettes from 14 nominations – a staggering 50 per cent success rate. They were big wins, too: comedy series, actress in a comedy series, writing, directing, supporting actress and actor among them. If you haven’t seen it yet – and in Australia, there’s a good chance most people haven’t – it’s on Amazon Prime.

Rachel Brosnahan as Midge Maisel in The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.

Photo: Amazon

And while it didn’t go home with a swag of gold, Barry deserves mention – it brought comedy acting wins for star Bill Hader and supporting actor Henry Winkler. Forty-three years after being nominated for his role as Arthur Fonzarelli (aka The Fonz) in Happy Days, the 73-year-old actor-writer-director finally has his first win. Heeeeey!

And the award for outstanding drama series goes to Game of Thrones. That’s the last award of the night, the big one, and well worth skipping last year’s awards for, I’m guessing. George RR Martin takes the stage along with the armies of the Vale, or at least a good few members of the cast and production team. Nobody runs on stage to say there’s been a terrible mistake, the actual winner was The Handmaid’s Tale or The Crown or Stranger Things or The Americans… so it must be true.

No stranger to freezing out the competition, Game of Thrones has been named outstanding drama.

Photo: AP

Outstanding Drama Series

The Americans The Crown Game of Thrones The Handmaid’s Tale Stranger Things This Is Us Westworld

We’re in the home stretch and the most notable thing at this stage is that the big drama nominees – Game of Thrones, with 22 nominations; Westworld, with 21; and The Handmaid’s Tale, with 20 – haven’t exactly stormed the trophy cabinet. Drama series is coming up, so let’s see how this shakes out.

Will Ferrell walks on stage like a geriatric robot. He’s moving so slowly that the 45 seconds allotted for whomever wins this award is probably going to be cut down to a solitary “thank you”. He’s exhausted from the “1000-yard” walk to the microphone, he says, and “these weren’t the shoes to do it in”. It’s more odd than funny, but whatever; it’s another win for Mrs Maisel, which is having a marvellous night. EP Daniel Palladino manages to snatch his full 45 seconds anyway, and then some. Here’s hoping Ferrell makes it off stage before this ad break ends, though I wouldn’t count on it.

The Marvelous Mrs Maisel has won a swag of awards this year.

Photo: Supplied

Outstanding Comedy Series

Atlanta Barry Black-ish Curb Your Enthusiasm GLOW The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel Silicon Valley Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt

In what must rank as the oddest presentation moment in the show, Ben Stiller, Patricia Arquette and Benicio del Toro share the stage and Benicio, seemingly channelling one of his many, many dead-eyed villain roles, says “We kill and we will kill again”. Awkward seconds of silence stretch out between them until Arquette opens the envelope. Those two are in Escape From Dannemorra together, so maybe this is a tightly scripted promotional bit. But man, it’s odd – and because of that, it’s one of the more interesting moments in the whole show.

Benicio del Toro delivered one of the stranger moments in the awards.

Photo: Frazer Harrison

Eric Bana and Connie Britton present the Emmy for variety talk series. Among the nominees is Full Frontal with Samantha Bee. It would be a weird little quirk, really, if it won, because Bana got his start in the business on the Australian sketch comedy show Full Frontal. But that will have to remain an un-footnoted footnote because the award in fact goes to John Oliver for, like, the millionth time (well, ninth actually. But that’s rather a lot.)

Eric Bana back in the Full Frontal days before Samantha Bee took the title Full Frontal.

Photo: Supplied

Outstanding Limited Series

The Alienist The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story Genius: Picasso Godless Patrick Melrose

Saturday Night Live wins, as it has done so many times before. Long-time producer Lorne Michaels gives a very short acceptance speech, probably because he’s had so many opportunities before this to say whatever it is he might have wanted to say. He has received 82 individual nominations, making him the most-nominated person in Emmy history. The show tops the list too, with 252 nominations over its 43 years on air. It has produced so many stars and spin-offs over the years it really is a remarkable factory of funny business.

Sarah Palin stands next to producer Lorne Michaels during her appearance on Saturday Night Live in New York. He is the most awarded Emmy winner in history.

Photo: Supplied

Source: https://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/tv-and-radio/all-the-action-from-the-red-carpet-and-the-awards-for-the-2018-emmy-awards-20180918-p504do.html

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