#kathryn croft

[nacpanaasoup]

Bo to blednie, wie pani. Wspomnienia o zmarłych osobach. Wkrótce zda sobie pani sprawę, że nie pamięta wszystkiego tak wyraźnie jak wcześniej. Czas wymazuje wspomnienia drobiazgów, niezależnie od tego, jak bardzo próbujemy się ich trzymać. Chyba w taki właśnie sposób ludzie radzą sobie ze stratą. Gdyby nasze wspomnienia nie blakły, nieustannie bylibyśmy na pierwszym etapie żałoby i nie moglibyśmy żyć dalej.

Kathryn Croft

[kkecreads]

The Wedding Guest by Kathryn Croft

Published: September 14, 2023 Bookouture Genre: Psychological Fiction Pages: 349 KKECReads Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ I received a copy of this book for free, and I leave my review voluntarily. Kathryn Croft is the bestselling author of eleven psychological thrillers and to date she has sold over one and a half million copies of her books. Kathryn writes full time and is now hard at work on her next…

[papermoonloveslucy]

THE FACE IS FAMILIAR... BUT I CAN'T PLACE THE NAME!

Same Actor / Different Character ~ Part 1: "I Love Lucy"

It used to be quite common for actors to be cast in multiple roles on the same series. Not in principal parts, certainly, but in supporting and minor characters. Lucycoms were no exception. Although the world created by these shows was representative of reality, the characters who populated them often gave viewers Deja vu.

For the purposes of this discussion, we won't include background performers (aka extras) as they were nearly always drawn from the same pool of actors. Also, those who played multiple characters need to have at least two of them identified by name. We will, however, include "the "The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hours" in our discussion of "I Love Lucy".

FRANK NELSON

A busy character actor, Frank Nelson has the distinction of being the only performer to play more than one recurring character (a character seen in more than one episode) on "I Love Lucy": Quizmaster Freddie Fillmore and Westport neighbor Ralph Ramsey. In addition, he played a nearsighted waiter, a TV host, a policeman, a a talent scout, a customs officer, a cruise director, and (perhaps most famously) a train conductor. His turn as the conductor was so memorable, he reprised it on "The Lucy Show" in 1963. Lucy has worked with Nelson on her radio show and new that audiences loved him - so she had no problem engaging him time and time again.

CHARLES LANE

Another familiar face was veteran character actor Charles Lane. Instead of radio, Lane came from the world of film, having done several pictures with William Frawley. He played a total of six characters, including Mr. Stanley, father of nine girls when "Lucy Goes to the Hospital." He followed up with Mr. Hickox "The Business Manager", a casting director, a passport office clerk, a uranium claims officer, and (like Nelson) a customs official, this time at the Mexican border. Lucille Ball created a role for him on "The Lucy Show", only to let him go to make way for a similar character when Gale Gordon finally became available. But that didn't stop Lane, who kept acting until he died at the age of 102!

MARY JANE CROFT

Before settling into the role of Betty Ramsey (with Frank Nelson as her husband Ralph), Croft played the role of Lucy Ricardo's old chum Cynthia Harcourt, who's request for a charitable donation forces Lucy to take a job as a woman from Mars. She returned to new mother Evelyn Bigsby, who sits next to Lucy on the plane home from Europe. Interestingly, Frank Nelson is also in this episode. Just a few months later the pair are back as the Ramseys. Viewers didn't need to have long memories to think the Ricardos' Westport neighbors looked familiar.

ELIZABETH PATTERSON

Viewers fondly remember Patterson as Mrs. Trumbull, the lovable spinster who babysat Little Ricky. On her first episode in 1953, the character was irascible, but grew more likeable over the seven more appearances that followed. Many forget that when Lucy and Ricky renewed their vows in Greenwich Connecticut, Patterson played Mrs. Willoughby the mayor! Mr. Willoughby was played by....

IRVING BACON

Bacon wore many hats (literally) as the man who greeted the Ricardos in Greenwich. But he must've done something right because he was asked back to play Will Potter when the gang drove through "Ethel's Hometown" on their way to Hollywood.

KATHRYN CARD

Best remembered as the scatterbrained Mrs. McGillicuddy, Card was nearly unrecognizable when she was first seen on the series, as Minnie Finch's brusque neighbor in "Fan Magazine Interview" (1954). Mother (she never had a first name) was seen in seven episodes in 1955 and 1956.

HERB VIGRAN

Busy character man Herb Vigran started on "I Love Lucy" playing Jule, Ricky's music agent in two 1952 episodes. But when Lucy's washing machine goes on the fritz, Vigran shows up as Joe, a repairman who also happens to be Mrs. Trumbull's nephew. He also was seen as Hal Sparks, the publicity man who convinces Lucy and Ethel to dress as women from Mars at the top of the Empire State Building.

PARLEY BAER

Baer’s first collaboration with Lucille Ball was playing MGM’s Mr. Reilly in "Ricky Needs an Agent” (1955). He returned to the series as Connecticut furniture salesman Mr. Perry in "Lucy Gets Chummy with the Neighbors” (1957).

SHEPARD MENKEN

Menken did four different characters from season one to season six. He adopted a French accent to teach Lucy to Apache dance as Jean Valjean Raymond, sold Lucy clay as art store salesman William Abbott, examined Lucy's vision as an eye doctor, and reverted to his French accent to sell Lucy mass-produced art as Parisian con-man Charpontier.

DAYTON LUMMIS

Also in "Lucy Has Her Eyes Examined" (1953) we see Dayton Lummis for the first time as producer Bill Parker ("Parker Preps Prod for Pittsburgh Preem"). He returned the following year as publisher Mel Eaton when "Lucy Writes a Novel" (1954) and yet a third time as MGM producer Mr. Sherman in "LA at Last!" (1955).

LOU KRUGMAN

Viewers didn't meet Lou Krugman until season four, when he played the film director coping with Lucy and her unwieldy headdress. Ball was so impressed by him that she immediately cast him as the FBI agent on the train back to New York. When Lucy reprised her heavy headgear routine on a TV special, Krugman was again at her side. In season six, he was cast as the manager of the Club Babalu, formerly the Tropicana. The job lasted just two episodes before the action of the show shifted to Connecticut.

JAY NOVELLO

Novello was one of Lucille Ball's favorite performers from her radio show, playing Mr. Negley the postman and other quirky characters. On "I Love Lucy" he was first (perhaps best) remembered as theatrical producer Mr. Merriweather, who longs to talk to his beloved Tilly in "The Seance" (1951). He returned to play Mr. Beecher, the skittish tenant in "The Sublease" (1954), and "The Visitor From Italy" (1956), who arrives looking for his brother Sam Franchesca. Or maybe San Francisco.

JOHN HART

Another actor to score a trifecta was John Hart.  Producer Jess Oppenheimer didn’t want to pay too much for the actor who would play Tom Henderson in "Lucy Changes Her Mind" (1953), a character who only says two words at the very end of the show. He wrote in the script that he wanted “the most handsome hunk of man anyone ever saw for $15.56.”  Hart was cast. He returned (hopefully with a pay raise) to play the lifeguard who saves Lucy (despite her best efforts) in "The Hedda Hopper Story," and to play Jim Stevens, a studio executive meeting with Dore Schary poolside (the same pool he guarded in the previous episode) in "Don Juan is Shelved" (1955).

ELVIA ALLMAN

Another of Lucy's favorites from her radio sitcom was Elvia Allman. Even the most casual fan of "I Love Lucy" will recognize her as the barking foreperson at the chocolate factory ("Speed it up a little!") but she also returned to play one of Minnie Finch's neighbors ("Do you wanna see Minnie or don't ya?"). In a change of pace, she played Nancy Graham, the prim columnist who thinks Lucy should "cherish" Ricky. She also encountered Lucy Ricardo as Ida Thompson of the Westport PTA, and as Milton Berle's officious secretary.

HANS CONRIED

Perhaps no other performer was as beloved by Lucy and Desi as Hans Conried. He was seen on all of Lucy's TV and radio shows as well as in a film with her. On "I Love Lucy" he had time to do just two roles: the foppish English tutor Percy Livermore and the unscrupulous used furniture dealer Dan Jenkins. These two diverse characters showed Conried's range as an actor, so viewers can be forgiven for not noticing that they were the same actor - even though their airdates were just a month apart!

BOB JELLISON

Most viewers remember Jellison as the bell hop at the Beverly Palms Hotel. He played the portly luggage jockey for six episodes in 1955. Jellison was so convincing in the role that in "Lucy Hunts Uranium" (1958), he was once again cast as the bellboy, this time named Henry. But few remember him in his first series appearance, as the milkman (or “cow juice peddler”, as Bill Foster called him) in "The Gossip" (1952).

JOSEPH KEARNS

Kearns was another veteran of Lucille Ball's radio series. He found fame as Mr. Wilson on "Dennis the Menace". He played Dr. Tom Robinson, a psychiatrist, in "The Kleptomaniac" (1953). He returned to the show in its final season as the Theatre Manager in "Lucy's Night in Town" (1956). "If four people are seeing the show, then four have got to pay!" He died while still playing Henry Wilson so instead of recasting, George's brother arrived in town, played by...

GALE GORDON

Gordon's relationship with Ball goes back to 1938 on radio. She spent the rest of her career casting him on her various shows. She had intended for him to play Fred Mertz, but he was too busy - and too expensive - so Desi cast William Frawley. Lucy, however, wanted Gordon on the show, so the role of Mr. Littlefield, manager of the Tropicana, was created. The character appeared in two episodes. He wasn't seen with Lucy again until 1958, when he played a Judge that is tasked with deciding a case between the Ricardos, the Mertzes, and the Williams', in "Lucy Makes Room for Danny".

PHIL OBER

Ober was Vivian Vance's husband, so it makes sense that he would make at least one appearance - and he did - as the fake husband sent to the Ricardo apartment by "The Quiz Show" (1951). Ober's marriage eventually ended when Vance accused him of cruelty, but before that could happen, he was a last minute replacement for Dore Schary when "Don Juan is Shelved" (1955). Schary was a real-life MGM movie producer who was scheduled to appear as himself. He either got sick or (more likely) got cold feet. So Ober played Schary instead, leaving many unsavvy viewers thinking that Ober WAS Schary! Speaking of bad marriages and "The Quiz Show"...

JOHN EMERY

...played Harold the Tramp that was confused for Ober's character. Emery had been married to tempestuous Tallulah Bankhead from 1937 to 1941. Their four short years together were compared by Emery to "the decline of the Roman Empire". He played a Doctor in Lucy and Desi's 1956 film Forever Darling. It wasn't long before he was back at "I Love Lucy" to play the pet-hating Mr. Stewart when "Little Ricky Gets a Dog" (1957).

MADGE BLAKE

Blake is best remembered as Batman's Aunt Harriet, but after her notable role of the gossip columnist in Singin' in the Rain (1952), she was cast on "I Love Lucy" as Mrs. Mulford, the owner of the hat shop when "Ricky Loses His Temper" (1954). Lucy and Desi were introduced to her talent when she played  Aunt Anastacia in The Long, Long Trailer.  She was asked back in late 1956 to play Martha, the acrophobic prospective tenant for apartment 3B in "Lucy and Superman" (1957).

VERNA FELTON

Felton is probably best remembered as Lucy's demonstrative maid Mrs. Porter, but she first appeared as Mrs. Simpson, a housewife living without electricity but with lots of "Sale Resistance" (1953). The two roles aired just three months apart. A few months later Lucy and Desi cast her as series regular Hilda Crocker on their new sitcom "December Bride" (1954-57).

HAZEL BOYNE

A former dancer, Boyne was born on Independence Day 1883 and was 68 years old when "Men Are Messy" (1953) was filmed. She charmed audiences as Maggie, the Tropicana's Irish cleaning woman, dancing with Ricky during his rehearsal. She would go on to play one of Minnie Finch's neighbors in "Fan Magazine Interview" (1954) and a (don't blink) passenger on "The Great Train Robbery" (1955).

HAL MARCH

March had been an original cast member of "My Favorite Husband." In the first season of "I Love Lucy" he played an actor named Hal March who Ricky asks to masquerade as a doctor when "Lucy Fakes Illness" (1951). At the end of the show, announcer Johnny Jacobs says “The part of Hal March was played by Hal March.”  March returned to the show to play womanizing lingerie salesman Eddie Grant in “Lucy Is Matchmaker” (1953).

WILL WRIGHT

Wright did two films and a radio show with Lucille Ball before being seen on "I Love Lucy." First, he played Mr. Walters, the locksmith from Yonkers, in “The Handcuffs” (1952). He returned to the series to play Bent Fork Sheriff (and father of Teensy and Weensy) in “Tennessee Bound” (1955). 

ALBERTO MORIN

Morin was Carlos, one of Ricky's "Cuban Pals" (1952). He had appeared in some of Hollywood's most cherished films: Gone with the Wind (1939), Casablanca (1943), and Key Largo (1948). He was invited back to play Robert Dubois, waiter turned tutor in "The French Revue" (1953).

HY AVERBACK

Averback played two different Charlies on "I Love Lucy": Appleby and Pomerantz. Charlie Appleby was seen twice on the series, but was only played by Averback on his first appearance in 1953. Charlie Pomerantz was Ricky's press agent in Hollywood in 1955, coming up with the brilliant idea for Ricky to save Lucy from drowning in the hotel pool.

Naturally, there were many other actors whose did double (or triple) duty on "I Love Lucy", chief among them Bennett Green and Hazel Pierce, Lucy and Desi's camera and lighting stand-ins and were omnipresent throughout the series, although not always with specific character names.

[ianchisnall]

We urgently need to protect England’s nature

The House of Lords Environment and Climate Change Committee published its report on Protected Areas on 26th July with the headline of We urgently need to protect England’s nature. The Chair for the Committee is Kathryn Parminter who is a Liberal Democrat member and she is based in Surrey but in the past she was involved in the Horsham County as a Council Leader. One of the other members of the…

[fyeahcompetentwomen]

Submissions so far!

Have a new mosaic header, with the women who were submitted so far, and a list, grouped by show/movie etc., under the readmore!

Don't worry; if your champion isn't in here, you can still submit them via this form, until April 30th!

I chose these pictures based on the following ranked criteria:

included/linked in the submission OR

actual still from the movie/show/whatever, rather than a promo shot or fan art etc. AND

showing them in a characteristic and/or competent situation

for the characters Deanna Troi, Dr. Beverly Crusher and Seven of Nine, I decided to go with their most recent appearances in ST:PIC

If by any chance I chose NOT a still/screenshot, but your manip of the same, please let me know if you'd like me to take it down/replace it, or keep it and credit you!

Ally McBeal (TV show): Ally McBeal

Better Call Saul (TV show): Kim Wexler

CSI (TV show): Catherine Willows

DC (franchise): Alex Danvers DC (franchise): Sara Lance DC (franchise): Zari Tarazi

Doctor Who (TV show): River Song Doctor Who (TV show): Sarah Jane Smith

Drawtectives (Youtube show): Jancy True

The Expanse (TV show): Camina Drummer The Expanse (TV show): Chrisjen Avasarala

Greys Anatomy (TV show): Dr. Addison Montgomery

Harry Potter (franchise): Fleur Delacour

Holby City (TV show): Dr. Bernie Wolfe

House of the Dragon (TV show): Rhaenys Targaryen

Jane Doe books (book series): Jane Doe

Leverage (TV show): Parker Leverage (TV show): Sophie Devereaux Leverage: Redemption (TV show): Breanna Casey

The Librarians (TV show): Eve Baird

Little Witch Academia (TV show): Amanda O'Neill

Lupin III (TV show): Fujiko Mine

Marvel (franchise): Melinda May

Once Upon a Time (TV show): Regina Mills

The Owl House (TV show): Eda Clawthorne

Person of Interest (TV show): Sameen Shaw

Pokémon (franchise): Cynthia Pokémon (franchise): Iris Pokémon (franchise): Nemona

Rizzoli and Isles (TV show): Dr. Maura Isles

Sanctuary (TV show): Dr. Helen Magnus

The Sandman (TV & Comics): Death of the Endless

Sonic the Hedgehog (franchise): Amy Rose

Star Trek (franchise): B'Elanna Torres Star Trek (franchise): Deanna Troi Star Trek (franchise): Dr. Beverly Crusher Star Trek (franchise): Erica Ortegas Star Trek (franchise): Jadzia Dax Star Trek (franchise): Kathryn Janeway Star Trek (franchise): Seven of Nine

Star Wars (franchise): Ahsoka Tano

Stargate (franchise): Samantha "Sam" Carter

Tomb Raider (franchise): Lara Croft

Warehouse 13 (TV show): Claudia Donovan Warehouse 13 (TV show): Helena George Wells Warehouse 13 (TV show): Myka Bering

The X-Files (TV show): Dana Scully

Xena Warrior Princess (TV show): Xena

(please stay civil in the notes: no bashing anyone, no matter who, or where they're from!)

[clarkewayne]

Just watched Abigail, and man! Melissa was born to play Lara Croft!!

and is Kathryn Newton the Scream Queen of this generation?

[ella-cooper]

"Wasn't it Shakespeare who said some shit like 'you look so different in the natural light of the sun than in your dimly lit book store' or something? Either way, I'm definitely realizing your store needs better lighting. Not like LED shit but just a shift. Take it into consideration," Ella offered as they spotted Kathryn. They had just come from smoking with their younger sister and it had easily put a little pep in their step. "I'm digging this little tomb raider vibe you're going for. You interested in a drink, Lara Croft?" @kathrynharinger

[lesbiangummybearmafia]

OMFG WTSF!!! WHO DARED ANYONE PUT THIS OUT INTO THE UNIVERSAL!

From: GIANT FREAKIN ROBOT > Movies & TV

Alicia Vikander Makes An Amazing Captain Janeway For Star Trek: Voyager Reboot, artwork of Alicia Vikander as Captain Janeway for a potential Star Trek: Voyager reboot and the Swedish star looks like a great replacement. By JONATHAN KLOTZ | UPDATED 19 HOURS AGO

We humbly suggest Alicia Vikander as her replacement for a new Star Trek: Voyager series. The star has demonstrated a wide range of characters in her career, from Lara Croft to Gloria Steinem (peruse her IMDB for the full extent), making her a great fit for the tough but compassionate Kathryn Janeway. Giant Freakin’ Robot staff wondered what this would look like, so we ran it through an AI artwork generator, and the result is amazing.

A future version of Voyager was involved in the series, proving pivotal in getting the ship back to Federation space, setting up Kate Mulgrew to reappear as Admiral Janeway, while Seven of Nine is now part of Star Trek: Picard. What if Alicia Vikander and the possible reboot followed the future ship from a timeline that never saw them return?

And this where I lose my collective shit! Ok first things first and I'm sorry to point out the obvious but can I start with fact Alicia Vikander doesn't even resemble Kate Mulgrew in any way! Then there's the fucking fact of if Paramount was going to reboot Voyager for some reason, which I highly doubt...WHY THE FUCK WOULD YOU HAVE SOMEONE BESIDES KATE MULGREW PLAY KATHRYN JANEWAY!!!! I mean seriously is it an age thing, or their completely stupid thing? Because no one and I mean no one can play Janeway better or ever come close to Kate! She knows Janeway's character inside and out. I may not agree 100% with everything she believes about Janeway however no one else is basically Kathryn Janeway. Two pieces of fan art be damned it doesn't mean shit! Which if you want to see them you'll have Google them because I will not put that blasphemy on my page!! This just pisses me off, where is it coming from? When we all know Kate would be more than happy to take up the role of Janeway again and has in Star Trek Prodigy. So if they did a reboot of Voyager I have little doubt she would be willing to play Janeway in that. Also we don't need a reboot of Voyager! We got 7 season of the original with Kate Mulgrew, Jeri Ryan, Roxanne Dawson, Robbie McNeill, Robert Picardo, Tim Russ, Garrett Wang, Ethan Phillips and Robert Beltran. Go watch the original for crying out loud! What I want to see is a Janeway series like Picard got. That would be amazing to see. To see Kate reprise her role as Kathryn Janeway, have her go on new adventures and go more deeply into her character in a way they never truly did on Voyager.

[romilly-jay]

Happy // "This Essay Really Happened" // to me <3

Wee post to mark that an essay I wrote was the featured / subscriber-content / piece for Oct 2024 for Speculative Insight.

Look - here's the screen shot where my piece still leads for the subscriber section of the site (for, I'm thinking, another two weeks?)

I wasn't necessarily going to mention this here again - yet - except that I looked at the archive pattern for this blog and realised I hadn't actually mentioned it all that much in the first place...

This is what Speculative Insight journal says of themselves and couldn't be happier to have been selected as one of their essayists - plus FWIW, absolutely stellar experience working with Alexandra Pierce as editor! Would recommend :)

Speculative fiction;

A type of story set in a world that is different from the one we live in.

Insight:

To have a clear, deep, understanding of a complicated problem or situation.

Speculative Insight:

A journal that explores the breadth and depth of the themes, ideas, and issues of science fiction and fantasy.

Things to know:

Speculative Insight is a feminist journal, although not every essay will be explicitly feminist in analysis. We are anti racism, transphobia, queerphobia, and ableism. Speculative Insight welcomes essays that present non-dominant perspectives and particularly encourages submissions from people from any and all marginalised groups. We will not publish harmful content; articles may include thoughtful discussion that may cause disagreement.

About the editor:

Speculative Insight is edited and published by Alexandra Pierce. As a lifelong lover of science fiction and fantasy, as well as being passionate about history and science, creating a space for SFF-related nonfiction just made sense. Alexandra co-edited the award-winning anthologies Letters to Tiptree and Luminescent Threads: Connections to Octavia E. Butler (both for Twelfth Planet Press). She was a co-host of the podcast Galactic Suburbia with Alisa Krasnostein and Tansy Rayner Roberts; it ran for a decade and won the 2015 Hugo Award for Best Fancast.

Massive thanks to bedrock supporters:

Tehani Croft * Jaunita Landéesse * Amelia Brown * Katharine (thiefofcamorr) * Crystal Huff * Kirsten Campbell * Nike Sulway * Kathryn MacKinnon * Calen Bender * Alison Proietto * Damien Warman & Juliette Woods * Adeline Teoh * Tansy Rayner Roberts * Chris McLaren * Cat Sparks * Micole Sudberg * Alisa Krasnostein * Nina Niskanen * Jemma Pollari * Devin Jeyathurai * Emily D.E. Bell * Spike *

And the link to the journal for anyone who might Be The Audience - or a possible future provider of SF essay content - yes please!

Anyway, it was genuinely thrilling to see these lil purple text-bites appearing in the ether-web over the few days following publication - here they are in their collected glory, just in case I go back and they've already disappeared...

(which too many of us have learned, I think, the hard way - on which point, RIP Television Without Pity - you were my *favourite*)

[thejacksmit]

TheJackSmit.com at the 2024 Lytham International Film Festival

August Bank Holiday meant only one thing - the mother of all storms - but also the second edition of a film festival that's making waves in the North and far beyond. LYIFF returned to the Lowther Pavilion, with 105 submissions from across the globe, 15 world premieres, 3 'foot in the door' workshops for aspiring filmmakers, and plenty of opportunities to meet the talent behind the films in competition. As usual, here at TheJackSmit.com we're quite proud of the North, so it is always a joy to be able to cover the event, and actually talk to the movers and shakers in this industry.

HERE'S SOMETHING WE MADE EARLIER: LYIFF becomes the first festival to feature on The Journal

Usually we'd have a huge written piece on all of the highlights when it comes to the shorts - but we doubled our coverage to see 35 of the 105 selections across features, shorts and music videos in the 2024 festival. So, naturally... we went all out and added The Journal to the mix. Seeing as we made the episode before knowledge of the award winners came through to Smit HQ - we had to wait to be able to name them. So without any further delay, here are this year's winners, all films you should 100% have a read up about.

THE LYIFF AWARDS 2024

BEST FEATURE: The Way to Happiness (dir: Nicolas Steil)

BEST SHORT: Good Boy (dir: Tom Stuart)

BEST REGIONAL FILM (sponsored by Chris Allen Mazda): Autonomous Winter Shelter (dir: Dean Cooper)

BEST ACTOR: Tillman Eckardt (Once and For Real)

BEST ACTRESS: Daria Panchenko (A Day in February)

BEST DIRECTOR: Parker Croft (As Easy As Closing Your Eyes)

BEST SCREENPLAY: Baby On Board (Stephen Volk)

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY: The Last Embrace (Paul Meyers, dir: Diego Contreras)

BEST EDITING: [Insert Short Film Title] (dir: Kory Orban)

BEST VFX: Wild Summon (Saul Freed, dir: Karni Arieli & Saul Freed)

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE - Judged by John Parr (best known for St Elmo's Fire [Man in Motion], and LYIFF 23 winning short Unconquered): The First Time I Never Met You (Joseph Alexander, dir: Eric Kole)

BEST MUSIC VIDEO - Judged by John Parr: You Feel It Too (Moxy the Band)

LYIFF CREATIVITY AWARD: Sound 7406 (dir: Goran Sporcic)

BEST COMEDY: The Snip (dir: Ben S. Hyland)

BEST AFTER DARK (Horror/Thriller): Rain, Rain, Go Away (dir: Sebastiano Pupino)

BEST EXPERIMENTAL: Ava (dir: Stella Brajterman)

BEST ANIMATION: Nerd (dir: Gus Menese)

BEST FACTUAL: Beyond the Beach: The Hell and the Hope (dir: Graeme Scott & Buddy Squires)

BEST DRAMA: In 100 Years (dir: Hektor Hornsleth)

BEST FIRST TIME DIRECTOR: Kathryn Georghiou (Changing Tides)

LYIFF RISING STAR: Csnad Noll (dir: The Files - aged just 15 and showcasing his debut short at the Festival, judges have identified him as a talent to watch in the future)

During our day on site, I got to chat with Kathryn Georghiou (director of Changing Tides), Johnny Herbin (director of Cakes!), Rosie Fox (writer/composer/star of Bonny Chip) and Goran Sporcic (director of Sound 7406) at the various Q&As and between screenings, and this is what makes LYIFF unique- as one minute you can literally be sat with the filmmakers, talking shop about the business, before seeing their work on the big screen. It's a proper family vibe, and I know a lot of the people who attended the festival can attest to that.

WORKSHOPS FOR THE FUTURE

New for this edition was the LYIFF Foot in the Door programme, a way for the filmmakers of the future to learn from those involved in the festival's selections. On the Friday, festival director (and also the director of The Renata Road) Ed Greenberg lead a workshop on exactly what it takes to produce a quality short film, on any budget, that will do well on the festival circuit - including all the ways to get funding, in a 45 minute workshop that ended up going an hour because there was so much valuable information on offer. On the Saturday, the aspiring screenwriters got to talk to filmmaker and author Andrew David Barker about writing for the short form, ahead of a screening of his short film Baby on Board later that evening. Then on the Sunday morning, Richard Albiston gave the workshop most filmmakers want to hear: the inside line on getting your film seen and distributed. Richard knows his onions about all this, as owner of The Cannon Film Company (as well as being the protege of the late Menahem Golan), he has an eye for identifying promising low budget films that will do big things internationally, as well as being a filmmaker in his own right.

2025 AND BEYOND: Northern Film Matters

Artists impression of the Lowther Pavilion's new Education Centre and Studio, due to open April 2025

Speaking to the team at the festival, as well as staff at the Lowther Pavilion, the next two years for LYIFF are going to see some serious evolution - all being well, next April the Pavilion will open their Education Centre and Studio, providing a second indoor venue to supplement the main 450 seater screen and The Tent, as it has become known. There is a serious passion amongst everyone involved in putting it on to take this as big, and as far-reaching as it can, just like the music festival held on Lytham's promenade every July has done since 2015.

All of these chats have prompted us here at TheJackSmit.com to start developing a very special little strand, which we'll reveal more about once submissions open for next year's festival - that hashtag in the Journal is a small hint as to what it's called...

Submissions for LYIFF 2025 open on FilmFreeway.com/LYIFF on September 1st.

[therealimintobooks]

#bookreview ~ The Girl in Room 12 by Kathryn Croft @KatCroft @bookouture @NetGalley #CloakDaggerChal #NGEW2024 #BookRec #bookpromo

My Thoughts “The Girl in Room 12” is a thrilling story that keeps readers wondering until the end. The writer makes the reader nervous by showing how the main character, Max’s wife, gets increasingly worried and suspicious about her husband. The way of writing is simple and fast to read, making it a quick and fun time. The story is about Alice, a young lady who died in strange circumstances. It…

[aviesfics]

End-of-Year Reading List, 2023:

Below is a full list of the 64 books I read this year.

I was indiscriminate in what I counted towards this total. The only requirement was that it was a published book (self or traditional), and I finished it. There are 100 page novellas and 1000 page titans. Several were consumed as audiobooks. Some are fact and some are fiction. Each developed my own style and ability, and that is their relevance to this blog.

This list is alphabetical by author surname, and where an author has multiple books on the list, by release date.

An asterisk (*) indicates I re-read the book in 2023, but read it for the first time one or more years ago.

—

Flatland: a Romance of Many Dimensions - Edwin A. Abbott

The Amityville Horror - Jay Anson

Verona - Benedict Ashforth

The Silence of the Girls - Pat Barker

The Marriage Lie - Kimberly Belle

Hekla’s Children - James Brogden

The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett

Tell No One - Harlan Coben

The Hunger Games* - Suzanne Collins

Catching Fire* - Suzanne Collins

Mockingjay* - Suzanne Collins

The Girl You Lost - Kathryn Croft

Great Expectations - Charles Dickens

The Wonder - Emma Donoghue

Sometimes Amazing Things Happen - Elizabeth Ford, MD

Gone* - Michael Grant

Hunger* - Michael Grant

Lies* - Michael Grant

Plague* - Michael Grant

Fear* - Michael Grant

Light - Michael Grant

The Torment of Rachel Ames - Jeff Gunhus

The Appeal - Janice Hallett

The Twyford Code - Janice Hallett

A Foxcub Named Freedom* - Brenda Jobling

The Grand Hotel - Scott Kenemore

Misery - Stephen King

Under the Dome - Stephen King

Fairy Tale - Stephen King

Yellowface - Rebecca F. Kuang

The Wall - John Lanchester

The Beekeeper of Aleppo - Christy Lefteri

Songbirds - Christy Lefteri

The Haunted - Bentley Little

The Handyman - Bentley Little

Lessons - Ian McEwan

Soon - Lois Murphy

Hamnet - Maggie O'Farrell

Eight Detectives - Alex Pavesi

3:00 a.m. - Nick Pirog

Tell Me Lies - J. P. Pomare

One Across, Two Down - Ruth Rendell

The Killing Doll - Ruth Rendell

The Water’s Lovely - Ruth Rendell

Liar’s Bench - Kim Michele Richardson

The Cove - L. J. Ross

The Creek - L. J. Ross

Elektra - Jennifer Saint

Frankenstein - Mary Shelley

Unnatural Causes - Dr Richard Shepherd

All the Murmuring Bones - A. G. Slatter

Dracula* - Bram Stoker

Spare - Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex

The Game You Played - Anni Taylor

The Hobbit - J. R. R. Tolkien

The Tale of Halcyon Crane - Wendy Webb

The Time Machine - H. G. Wells

The War of the Worlds - H. G. Wells

Foul Play Suspected - John Wyndham

The Day of the Triffids* - John Wyndham

The Chrysalids - John Wyndham

The Midwich Cuckoos - John Wyndham

Chocky* - John Wyndham

Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow - Gabrielle Zevin

[kkecreads]

The Lie by Kathryn Croft

Published: April 20, 2023 Bookouture Genre: Psychological Thriller Pages: 363 KKECReads Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I received a copy of this book for free, and I leave my review voluntarily. Kathryn Croft is the bestselling author of eleven psychological thrillers and to date she has sold over one and a half million copies of her books. After twelve years living in London, she now lives in Guildford,…

[calturnerreviews]

#BlogTour – #BookReview of #TheSuspect by Kathryn Croft @katcroft @nholten40 @bookouture #BooksOnTour

#BlogTour – #BookReview of addictive psychological thriller #TheSuspect by Kathryn Croft @katcroft. Thanks to @nholten40 and @bookouture for the opportunity. #BooksOnTour #bookreviewer #bookblogger #bookrec #wordpress

I’m delighted to welcome you today to my stop on the blog tour for gripping psychological thriller The Suspect by Kathryn Croft. Thank you to Noelle Holten and Bookouture for giving me the opportunity to read and review this fabulous book. About the book: Book: The Suspect Author: Kathryn Croft  Pub Day:  February 8th 2023  Buy Link(s): https://geni.us/B0BL1B8PSQsocial My family said he…

[fuckyeahilike]

I remember his review of Twilight, and how repelled I was that he, as men typically do, equated a desire for sex with a desire for murder, as if holding back on having sex = holding back on murdering. Only men ever think this way and it’s one of the things I’ve always appreciated about Stephenie’s work that it’s written from an entirely feminine perspective, where a desire for killing and sexual desire are two different and opposing things... which is what makes Edward’s dilemma so interesting. What a big fat yawn it would be if Edward only wanted Bella to the extent that he wanted to suck her blood. Yaaawn.

Roger Ebert is the guy who watched Blade Runner when it first came out and thought it a shallow and boring exercise in style; while saving his most lavish praise to Kathryn Bigelow's Strange Days, one of the worst sci-fi movies ever made. Even I, as a child, knew the moment I watched Blade Runner that it was a masterpiece that would live forever.

He's the guy who in the documentary Searching For Debra Winger said that female action adventure heroines like Angelina Jolie in Lara Croft were fake women who were men on the inside because real women can never be that assertive or strong or capable or competent.

I'm no great admirer of the Deep Fat Fried Guys, but they totally got his number when they discussed what a hopelessly shallow thinker he was.

Roger Ebert: Most Overrated Movie Critic Ever?

Roger Ebert Reviewed

I have great respect for the late Roger Ebert, but he was absolutely wrong when he said that Twilight’s Metaphor(tm) was about the virtues of abstinence. If anything, it’s the opposite.

It’s Edward’s reluctance to turn Bella into a vampire that is the central conflict of the romance, one that must necessarily be overcome not only by Bella, but by Edward himself. And of course the two must learn to compromise with each other as part of their dynamic and to serve their respective arcs.

Bella’s desire for Edward, however, is embraced shamelessly and even cheerily by the narrative. The problem is achieving that in a violent patriarchal vampiric world hostile to women humanity. The solution rests not in Edward keeping to his old-fashioned ideas about purity, but for him to let them go. Or at least compromise them. In so doing, Bella achieves her happy ending with him and vice versa.

In the end, Edward’s convictions and self-loathing, the threat of the nomadic vampires and the Volturi, the violent vampiric world itself are just obstacles to delay consummation. (Also because Meyer got a 3-book deal so she really needed to stretch it out). The actual consummation is not only very much desired but demanded in the narrative. And it’s Bella’s unflinching and even narrow pursuit of it in the face of everything is what makes her a true romance heroine.

[fyeahcompetentwomen]

Round 2 Roundup!

or, one post to find them all!

All four groups of Round 2 are now live! Find each group's masterpost with all respective links here:

Group 1

Group 2

Group 3

Group 4

Plus, all 32 individual polls are linked below the readmore.

Group 1

Leia Organa vs. Deanna Troi

Andy/Andromache the Scythian vs. Villanelle

Dr. Maura Isles vs. Sister Beatrice

Seven of Nine vs. Michael Burnham

Evelyn Wang vs. Nyota Uhura

Olivier Armstrong vs. Joan Watson

Barbara Gordon vs. Granny Weatherwax

Parker vs. Lwaxana Troi

Group 2

Xena vs. Anna May

Siuan Sanche vs. Eve Baird

Kira Nerys vs. Susan Ivanova

Chrisjen Avasarala vs. Henrietta Wilson

Susan Sto Helit vs. Naomi Nagata

Melinda May vs. Jane Rizzoli

Dana Scully vs. Erza Scarlet

Root vs. Dr. Addison Montgomery

Group 3

Buffy Summers vs. Scarlet (Gunpowder Milkshake)

Elizabeth Swann vs. Margaret Houlihan

Kathryn Janeway vs. River Song

Gabrielle of Poteidaea vs. Phryne Fisher

Regina Mills vs. Nomi Marks

Galadriel vs. Miranda Priestly

Donna Noble vs. Mulan

Éowyn of Rohan vs. Violet Baudelaire

Group 4

13th Doctor vs. Helena "H.G." Wells

Philippa Georgiou (Prime) vs. Raffaela "Raffi" Musiker

Anne Lister vs. Olivia Dunham

Sophie Deveraux vs. Ahsoka Tano

Lara Croft vs. Sameen Shaw

Inej Ghafa vs. Jadzia Dax

Shuri vs. Annabeth Chase

Claudia Donovan vs. Samantha "Sam" Carter