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purplesurveys · 4 years ago

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survey by tater-tots What is a fruit that you might eat in the morning? Hahahaha. That’s a pass for me; I can’t imagine regularly eating fruit at any set time of the day.

Do you enjoy any food combinations that others might consider to be weird? I like to eat fish with mayonnaise, which was always normal in our household but I realized was weird when I first saw the horrified expressions on my friends’ faces when they saw me use the combination. I like mayonnaise with a lot of other foods as well, which a lot of people generally find weird.

What is a green vegetable that you enjoy eating? Broccoli and asparagus.

Name something you might find in a salad. In my salad, you’ll always find tuna sashimi in it heh.

What is your favorite type of sandwich? Anything that’s like an Eggs Benedict or Monte Cristo.

Which condiment do you use the most often? Mayo, for sure. Banana ketchup too. I also like sriracha sauce but my dad hasn’t been buying a new bottle of it for a while.

Name a chocolate bar that you enjoy eating. It’s called Whittaker’s - just not sure what country it hails from; maybe Australia? - and I like their peanut butter variant. Google also told me it’s a New Zealander brand.

What is a meat that you do not eat - ever. Dog or cat.

Are you lactose intolerant, or have any other sort of food allergies? I’m mildly lactose intolerant but I ignore it because a lot of my favorite foods use dairy. Other than that, no food allergies.

What was the last food that you burnt your mouth on? Just plain rice, haha. I had been extremely hungry and I just wanted to dig in; but I ended up spitting it back out.

Which brand of soup do you eat? I don’t regularly have soup, much less buy canned brands of it.

What are some flavors of ice cream that your enjoy? Cookies and cream, mint chocolate, coffee, chocolate chip cookie dough, queso real.

What is the best type of cookie, in your opinion? I like keeping things classic when it comes to cookies, and I’ve always been perfectly happy with chocolate chip cookies :)

Would you rather have popcorn, pretzels, or chips as your salty snack? Chips. I dislike the other two as I only like the softer, doughy version of pretzels.

Have you thought about going on a diet & actually went through with it? No.

survey by pinkchocolate

When you woke up today, was there anything on your mind? Kinda. I felt sad and I was aware of it instantly, compared to most days where the sadness will take a while to build.

Who was the last person you interacted with for the first time? Literally speaking, maybe the barista at Starbucks who took my temperature at the entrance before I was let in the store. I interacted with her yesterday.

What colour was the wrapper of the last snack you ate? White. It’s more of a tiny bag than a wrapper, though.

Do you have a favourite mug to drink from? What does it look like? Yeah, I’ve since claimed my mom’s mug for myself. It’s a copper mug with the Starbucks label on it. It looks super minimalist which I appreciate.

What was the last thing you used, that came in a spray can? It was a Lysol spray.

What colour is your favourite bra? Don’t really have one.

Who was the last person you went to for advice about something? I think it was Andi. I’ve been going to them a lot for help, advice, extra sanity, etc. lately. If it hasn’t been for them I probably would’ve left a few months back.

Have you had a deep conversation with anyone lately? Yes. I finally met up with Gab yesterday to discuss a lot things, iron some stuff out, figure out where to go from here.

What was the last compliment you recall receiving from someone? I’m not sure, I haven’t been receiving any.

And the last compliment you gave to someone else? It was most likely a compliment for Andi on how helpful they’ve been to me.

What kind of bread did you eat most recently? Flatbread.

What was the last sound you heard, that you found pleasant? We were watching a mass livestream earlier and I was delighted when they played the closing song.

How many books do you think there are in your house? Take a rough guess. I would guess around 60, the overwhelming bulk of them mine.

Of all the books you own, which do you think has the most pages in it? It would definitely either be Gone with the Wind or Les Miserables, but I’m not sure which one is thicker.

^ And how many pages is that? I checked both of my copies and they’re soooo close – GWTW has 1,440 pages while Les Mis has 1,463.

What was the last film you saw at the cinema? What did you think of it? Knives Out. I went to the mall yesterday and the cinemas were still closed, so it’s not like I’d be able to watch new movies at theatres anyway. Anyway, I’ve been vocal about the movie enough times on my surveys but I didn’t enjoy it. Whodunnits were never my cup of tea, but Gab had wanted to see it and I didn’t want to make her watch the film alone.

In the last book you read, what was the main character's name? Haven’t been reading.

What was the last song you heard, that meant something to you? Lose by Niki.

How many people do you know whose name begins with Z? I can only recall one such person at the moment; it’s one of my mom’s aunts who also doubled as a principal sponsor for my mom and dad’s wedding.

What do you expect to be doing at this time tomorrow? Maybe doing my embroidery (my package finally arrived!!) or surveys or watching Start-Up, because tomorrow will be a holiday :)

survey by luckforlemmy

Did you start listening to more Michael Jackson after his death? I can remember that there was definitely a brief period after his death that I caught up with his discography and listened to MJ nearly everyday; I read up on him and his life as well. 11 year old me figured he must’ve been an interesting figure because of the big reception around his death, so I wanted to know the reasons behind it.

When was the last time that you played hide and seek? I can vividly remember the day when Nina and I played hide and seek when the house was newly-built and still devoid of furniture, back in maybe ‘07 or ‘08. I’m fairly certain that was the last time I played hide and seek.

Who was your first celebrity crush, if you can remember? It was a tie between Ashley Tisdale and Zac Efron, though the older I get the more I’ve been convinced that I ‘crushed’ on Zac only because I was surrounded by girls who went crazy over him in school. I’m pretty sure my first real celebrity crush was Ashley, hahaha.

Do you worry about money? Yeah, especially now. I can’t even enjoy my first paycheck because most of it’s gonna go to Christmas presents, but oh well; at least I can finally buy gifts for my loved ones who’ve always gotten me presents.

Have you ever had to beg for a second chance? Kind of, when I was trying to convince Gab to let our relationship have another shot four years ago. Beg is a strong word for what I actually did, though. It was more of me pitching the idea, not begging.

When was the last time that you sent an actual letter through the mail? I don’t think I even ever did that, not even when I was younger and snail mail was still kind of a thing.

Are you excited to return to school? There’s nothing to return to anymore. Unless I decided to take up a post-grad course in the future, I’m done with school.

Do you hate Internet abbreviations? It can just feel a bit jarring when they’re used excessively in a single sentence, but I honestly don’t mind it for the most part. It’s understandable especially now that most, if not all, of my interactions whether personal or for work happen online.

What was the last insult you gave out? I was never really the roasting type of person, not even towards my friends.

What'd you last look up on YouTube? Hahaha I looked up ‘skynwallz.’ I was looking for the episode of Rhett and Link’s vlogs where they painted the rooms of their offices in the color of their entire person – hair, eyes, and skin. They were joking about starting a new business for it called Skynwallz, so that’s what I looked up.

Are you texting someone really awesome right now? No, I prefer to be alone today.

Do you know when to be serious and when you shouldn't be? Er sure, it’s not that hard.

Do you think that you're funny? I like my sense of humor, yeah, but I know it’s not always going to translate to everybody’s tastes. For example, I’m still figuring out the dynamic in the team I was put in at work, so I can’t make the same jokes that I would normally say with my co-interns with whom I have a more comfortable relationship.

Have you ever sent a secret to Post Secret? I don’t know what this is, so no.

What movie do you really want to see in theatres right now? They aren’t showing anything at the moment. A movie I want to see badly, though, is Ammonite.

Have either of your parents shown affection for you today? My mom made breakfast for us, if it counts. She also gives each of her kids a kiss during the peace-giving portion at mass, so there’s that as well.

What's the last thing that you sang out loud? I watched Start Up before this survey and was humming to the song that was being played at the end of the episode. I couldn’t sing along to it because it was in Korean, but I knew the melody so I hummed.

Is there a word that you always misspell? Rhythm is one of my worst enemies for sure. I also have a love-hate relationship with accommodate.

What was the last thing that you bought that someone else benefited from? I met up with Gabie yesterday and bought her her favorite meal from Yabu to break the ice – menchi katsu with brown rice. I originally got mozzarella sticks for myself but when we got to talking, she mentioned her sisters at one point; I remembered how much I miss them, so I gave up my food and told her to just give my food to her sisters since I hadn’t touched it yet anyway.

Has someone ever made you a really great mix CD? Andi gave me one before she made the flight to New Zealand 10 years ago to permanently live there. I believe I still have it, but I’m just not sure where it currently is.

Have you ever been on Omegle.com? Yes, when I was a teenager and it was new.

Did you talk to someone cool there? Not really; most seem to exit our chat after we did the whole asl thing. I also avoided the webcam option because my anxiety for video calls has always been present.

What song reminds you of your best friend? Any song by The Maine.

Who was the last person to hit on you? Some creep on Facebook.

What's on the paper nearest you? It’s the guide for my embroidery kit. It tells me what stitches to do and the colors of thread to use for the different parts of the template I was provided with.

Do you have a set of lyrics that you really love? From Paramore’s Pool: “As if the first cut wasn’t deep enough, I dove in again ‘cause I’m not into giving up Could’ve gotten the same rush from any lover’s touch, But why get used to something new When no one breaks my heart like you” I scream those lyrics every time they come on. I know I often showed the good, shiny side of my relationship on these surveys; but it was very much toxic at a lot of points and those lyrics - and that song - served as a nest for me, something that told me someone understands how I sometimes felt about my own relationship.

Did you get an A in your last English class? I got a 1.25 instead of a perfect 1.00, but I think that’s still equivalent to an A so yes.

What did you last use scissors for? Cutting thread.

Did you ever secretly hate a friend of yours that thought you liked them? That makes me sound shitty lol, but yeah I’ve acted nicely to people I don’t particularly like.

What do you think of when I say "boat"? That episode of Friends where Joey bought himself a boat at an auction; and Canadian accents.

Would you ever get a tattoo sleeve? Nope. I planned on getting one as a teenager, but I grew out of that phase.

Do you know any really fake people? Yep. I think everyone’s got to be at some point.

What does the last blanket you used look like? It’s pink and has multi-colored polka dots on it.

Do you have appreciation for graffiti? Sure, especially if it’s for political purposes (that I agree with).

Why don't you drive? I do. I just have done it a lot less because I have had little need for driving and traveling to places throughout the pandemic.

Does it annoy you when your printer runs out of ink? I think we have the kind of printer that never runs out of ink, but I’m not exactly sure about the terminologies or how the technology works. I let my sister do the printing hahaha.

Have you ever drank anything from a thermos? Yes, mostly water and coffee.

When was the last time you played in the snow? Never.

Do you know any ignorant people? Sure, mostly Gen X-ers and Boomers.

What is the coolest name you've ever heard? Thylane.

What did you last argue with someone about? Relationship stuff. It wasn’t a full-blown argument, but when Gab and I talked yesterday it was natural for us to disagree on a few points.

Is there anyone that you dislike for no real reason? Hmm, I don’t think so. If I feel that strongly about someone, I usually have a reason otherwise it wouldn’t be fair to them.

Have you had a good day? It was okay; it was nice. I got to do my embroidery hoop art thing, got to watch a couple episodes of Start Up, played with Cooper, and now I’m doing these surveys and am planning to continue my embroidery later. It’s nice to feel productive about non-work things :)

Are you going to have a good night? I hope.

#survey #surveys #multiple surveys – chop em up if you wish

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thepermanentrainpress · 5 years ago

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THE IMPOSSIBLE STAIRCASE – A CONVERSATION WITH ANDREW JUDAH

Andrew Judah is based in Kelowna—but don’t call them a Kelowna band.

“It’s impossible not to be influenced by your environment in some way, but I’m not writing about the Okanagan and the sound is not based on anything to do with the Okanagan,” their frontman (and namesake) told us over coffee earlier this month.

“Yeah, it might be shaped by the people you spend time with… less by the lake,” bassist Caleb McAlpine chimed in beside him.

Fair enough, some of the band members themselves having grown up or spent extended periods of time in other cities. Andrew Judah was a solo project first; his debut album, The Preacher’s Basement, came out in 2011.

Judah still writes the material and handles most of the instrumentation on studio recordings, but the group of like-minded musicians has been a boost to his live shows and creative process. McAlpine even co-produced the new record with Judah – or, in the latter’s words, “pulled me back from the ledge when I was having doubts about something, or about to delete everything.”

Impossible Staircase, set for release on April 20th, pulls back from the synth-y melodies of Judah’s last album. It was written about a close friend’s battle with addiction, and ties into an overarching concept of being trapped in a feedback loop.

There is piano, guitars, and drums, but also hints of the less conventional—violin, autoharp, trombone. The recently released single “Burn it Down” is eerily cinematic; Judah’s lyrics are a mix of metaphor and literal, his vocals poised amidst the pulsing rhythm.

Impossible Staircase by Andrew Judah

One of the few instruments Judah didn’t play on every track himself was the drums. Most of the percussion was recorded by Zac Gauthier – who was featured on Judah’s last album, Metanoia, as well – in a cabin near Salmon Arm.

“There are some pretty explosive moments [on the record] that only he could pull off,” said McAlpine. “He is amazing,” Judah agreed.

Chloe Davidson, who is a member of Kelowna bluegrass quartet Under the Rocks, handled violin duties.

Every song on Impossible Staircase flows into the next as if in – you guessed it – a never-ending cycle. Judah also incorporates Shepard tones—audio illusions which give the impression of a pitch rising, or falling, forever.

“It’s a loop, but it tricks your ears into thinking you’re hearing this very stressful, continuously descending sound,” Judah said of the technique. (Film score composer Hans Zimmer is a fan, if you needed another reason to appreciate its emotive power.)

Judah’s favourite song on the album changes day to day, but at the time of this interview he settled on “Lose My Mind,” which will be released as a single on Friday.

“It’s just a very sincere song about a very serious topic, and I managed to do it in a way that… I don’t hate?” He laughed. “It’s hard to write from an honest place about something that’s happening in your life, and not have it be cheesy. I’m pretty critical of things that feel cheesy.”

McAlpine went with “Penrose” – a seven-minute tune that has proven to be quite the challenge in rehearsals.

“There’s a repeating line that feels like it goes on for two minutes… there's no room to breathe. I'm going hard on a shaker, playing keys, singing, and I'm just not thinking. Almost every time without fail, I feel like I'm about to pass out.”

It’s something we don’t often consider—complex arrangements, pieced together between the walls of a studio, written with the headphone listener in mind and not the immediacy in having to recreate them. Rehearsals are the first opportunity the band members have to flesh out the songs for their live show.

Andrew Judah was set to embark on a BC tour this month, but postponed the dates due to COVID-19 concerns. Victoria was one city they were most looking forward to revisiting; they played a sold-out show at Vinyl Envy in October, and have also been on the bill for Psych & Soul – an annual music showcase put on by the record store.

“Really good community there,” said McAlpine. “We will never not go to Victoria to play shows.”

In light of the circumstances, they recorded a live set at Judah’s studio, Sounds Suspicious. It can be enjoyed with a glass of wine, and a friend, providing that friend is streaming the video from the confines of their own home.

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The band is no stranger to larger crowds, having been a part of Skookum, Vancouver Fringe Festival, and Rifflandia in recent years. They were scheduled to play the (also postponed) AltiTunes Festival at Big White alongside Canadian rock darlings Arkells and Dear Rouge.

But there’s nothing quite like the charm of a room, and they lean towards intimate, self-made events at coffee shops and other less traditional venues when performing locally. It is time consuming, Judah acknowledged, but makes the end experience that much more worthwhile. “Everything is intentional, as opposed to playing in a bar where half the people might not even be listening.”

The most anticipated part of their set is also the most unpredictable: the group marches from the stage to the middle of the crowd, and play a song without the use of mics or amplification.

They’ve done it surrounded by hundreds under the cozy lights of Canoe Coffee Roasters, to a lone table of three in Port Alberni. It is a moment that lends itself to connection and vulnerability – and audiences have been receptive to that.

“It turns things from look at what we’re doing, to look at what we’re engaging in,” McAlpine said. “We go back on stage and it changes from that point on.”

The cover art for Impossible Staircase was drawn by Max Weiner, who also did the art for two of Judah’s previous records. Keeping with the cyclical theme, it shows an ouroboros – a snake eating its own tail – in the shape of a DNA strand—“which speaks to our behaviour being more ingrained than not,” said Judah.

The last music video Andrew Judah put out was for “Best in Show” – a song that will appear on the new record, albeit a more resonant version than what is currently released.

They don’t have any others in the works, McAlpine noting it’s something they’ll revisit once the album is out, and they see an opportunity to carry the art forward.

“I'm not a giant fan of music videos in general,” said Judah. “I don't think they’re worth doing unless they're something that can stand on their own; truly another way to look at a piece of music, as opposed to just… (The PRP: A band performing it?) Yes, exactly. That feels reductionist to do it just because.”

When he’s not working on material under the Andrew Judah banner, the frontman is a freelance composer for film and television.

It started back in 2012, when he remixed the song “Let Go” by New York experimental artist Son Lux, a.k.a. Ryan Lott. Lott’s day job was as a composer at Butter Music; one thing led to another, and Judah was offered a residency there himself.

Asked how the commercial avenue has influenced his approach to solo material, Judah admits he wasn’t very intentional with his writing when he started out. “Music was just this thing that happened… the inspiration would lead wherever it led. Since it became my job, [I think more about] what sounds are going to make people feel a certain way. It’s been an education in what to do with my own music.”

McAlpine has his own solo project, Common Fires, and a new single coming out April 13th. But he had always wanted to play in a band, and joked that he was “very sad, very bored. Never getting any better, just getting more sad and bored; slightly worse,” in the solitary endeavour.

He returned to Kelowna in 2014, having not lived in the city for about 10 years, and was planning to move again when the opportunity to collaborate with Judah – whose work he was already a fan of – arose.

“It’s been a very fruitful relationship,” McAlpine surmised.

The other members of the live band are Nathanael Sherman (guitar) and Kevin Dreger (drums). Sherman also releases music under the moniker N. Sherman, and put out a single titled “Sweet Boy” last week.

So, it seems Impossible Staircase is a fitting analogy for the musicians themselves. Multi-faceted and never satisfied. Continuously pushing their craft.

“You as a musician are probably always practicing,” McAlpine said. “You’re never not riding that bike.”

And we can be appreciative of that.

Written by: Natalie Hoy Header image by: Nathan Peacock

#Andrew Judah #Caleb McAlpine #Nathanael Sherman #music #interview #Kelowna #Natalie #Canadian music #Impossible Staircase #new music #Burn it Down #Vancouver #indie rock #band #Common Fires #ylw #yvr #Kevin Dreger

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kevinpolowy · 7 years ago

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From 'Anchorman' Assistant to 'The House' Helmer: Andrew Jay Cohen Climbs the Ranks of Comedy

Andrew Jay Cohen at the premiere of ‘The House’ (Getty Images)

Andrew Jay Cohen has one of the cooler origin stories you could imagine in contemporary Hollywood comedy. In 2003, he was hired as an assistant to Original Nerd of Comedy Judd Apatow on the instant-classic Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy. This weekend, Cohen makes his directorial debut with The House, a suburbia-set sendup of Scorsese’s Casino that teams comedic heavyweights Will Ferrell and Amy Poehler.

In between, Cohen’s résumé is loaded with various roles on other beloved laughers. Freaks and Geeks. Undeclared. The 40-Year-Old Virgin. Talladega Nights. Neighbors.

“He cut his teeth in our world,” Ferrell said fondly when remembering his House helmer’s humble beginnings. “I remember when he worked for Judd. He was always in good spirits.”

Ferrell followed that last comment with a belly laugh, and upon meeting Cohen for coffee and croissants one hot and sunny morning in Beverly Hills, it quickly becomes clear why. The 40-year-old Scarsdale, New York, native carries a contagious energy and unbridled enthusiasm for the craft of comedy — and by all accounts, life in general. And he’s amiable as hell.

Mantzoukas, Ferrell, and Poehler in ‘The House’ (Warner Bros.)

The motto Cohen has subscribed to since packing up for Hollywood at 21? “Don’t be a d–k. Just be cool and pay your dues.” After graduating from Yale with a degree in film production, Cohen moved to Los Angeles with “delusions of grandeur” alongside his childhood friend Brendan O’Brien, with whom he’d go on to co-write Neighbors, Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising, Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates, and The House.

He landed an entry-level gig assisting a lit agent at CAA, and she was “awful,” he said. “Straight out of Swimming With Sharks.” But it was an industry bootcamp for the wet-behind-the-ears transplant.” I got humility, organizational skills, comfortable at a fast pace… and I learned how to lie,” he laughed.

Cohen made a spec commercial for Nokia “that nobody asked for” and shopped it around CAA, and it ultimately helped land him his first film gig: in New York as assistant to Adrian Lyne on the auteur’s not-so-funny Diane Lane-Richard Gere thriller Unfaithful (2002). He helped Lyne construct a lookbook of cues for the movie, and did whatever the director needed, like read Olivier Martinez’s lines as Lane spoke to him on the phone. “Adrian Lyne taught me so much about visual filmmaking,” he said.

Back in Los Angeles, Cohen came across the job listing at another talent agency, UTA, that would change his life: “It said, ‘Comedy Producer Looking for Assistant,'” he remembered. “I was like, OK, I like comedy, I like producing… Yeah it was Judd Apatow for Anchorman. But back then he was ‘failed TV producer Judd Apatow.’ He’d had two shows canceled. Then he’d had a kid [Maude], and now he’s gonna produce this movie with these guys from SNL [Ferrell and head writer Adam McKay]. But that was the mothership.”

Cohen knew immediately that the classy San Diego-set comedy was destined for greatness. “It was a dream. Like Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, golden ticket. I was in the front row,” he said. “I had never seen anything like it, the way [David] Koechner, [Paul] Rudd, Will, Christina Applegate, Fred Willard, Steve Carell, the way they were constantly going and riffing with the type of improv that we take for granted now. It blew my mind.”

Rudd, Ferrell, Koechner, and Carell in ‘Anchorman’ (Paramount)

In addition to being at Apatow’s beck and call, Cohen also shot behind-the-scenes footage for the film, and found his calling. “I was able to watch the process, watch Adam McKay direct Will, watch Will shine, watch Adam shine behind the camera, yelling [lines] out. I was like, want to do that! I want to be that guy.'”

Apatow then hired him to produce DVD extras for his two canceled shows-turned-cult classics: Freaks and Geeks and Undeclared. “When he said you’re gonna produce DVDs, I had a lump in my throat cause I was so excited. I tell students, ‘You gotta take it. Whatever the job is. If you excel at it, even if it’s just making coffee — if you make amazing coffee and remember the sugar and ice or milk, whatever they ask for — it’s all weirdly a test of how badly you want it.”

Cohen wrangled the likes of James Franco, Jason Segel, and Seth Rogen to record commentaries for the episodes, and made lifelong friends in the process. He shares Los Angeles Clippers tickets with Martin Starr to this day. And his relationship with Rogen would pay major dividends a few years later.

After those two stints in home video (“Because you have to test twice, never once,” Cohen laughed), he was promoted to associate producer on The 40-Year-Old Virgin (2005), which marked Apatow’s feature film directorial debut. Once again he captured behind-the-scenes footage, but was also now in charge of any of content shown on television screens in the film.

Rogen and Rudd in ‘The 40-Year-Old Virgin’ (Universal)

His claim to fame came when the producers weren’t able to clear the video game Mortal Kombat until the 11th hour. Once it was finally cleared the day of shooting, he rushed to learn the game’s signature special moves. “That move you see in the movie [with Rogen and Rudd trading gay jokes as one of them pulls off the “heart rip” fatality], I learned that that morning. That’s my cameo,” Cohen boasted. “It was nail-biting. Like, ‘Will I get fired if I can’t perfect this special move? Is this what I went to Yale University and NYU Sight & Sound for?'”

Cohen would serve as associate producer again on Talladega Nights (2006) and then a co-producer on Funny People (2009), where he continued to press directors McKay and Apatow, respectively, for intel and score fly-on-the-wall filmmaking knowledge.

All the while, he and O’Brien plugged away at writing projects, and they got their big break after approaching Rogen to help spur Neighbors (2014) into production. Cohen remembers going on the set of The Guilt Trip, the actor’s comedy alongside Barbra Streisand, where they pitched Zac Efron the concept in Rogen’s trailer. “I’m just like, ‘Oh my God, this is the funniest face-off I’ve ever seen,'” he said. “It immediately felt iconic.”

The inspiration for The House originally came from Cohen and O’Brien’s days as lonely high school freshmen in Westchester. The girls they knew had all started to hang out with older guys — a very universal, very real struggle for freshmen dudes — so they started spending their nights playing poker and craps at a friend’s house. “Originally it was the kids keeping it a secret from their parents,” Cohen said. “But my manger was like, ‘You write adults acting like idiots so well, why don’t you make it about the parents?”

So The House became the story of Scott and Kate Johansen (Ferrell and Poehler), middle-class suburban parents whose teenage daughter (Ryan Simpkins) loses her full-ride scholarship to Bucknell because of shady small-town politics. Desperate to raise the capital for tuition, Scott and Kate start a casino in the Brady Bunch-esque abode of their friend Frank (Jason Mantzoukas) — and things quickly go haywire from there, dismemberments and all.

Cohen on the set of ‘The House’ (Warner Bros.)

Cohen said there have been real-life cases of in-home casinos that they looked at for production design, but they were no laughing matters. “It’s super sad,” he described. “The photos are bleak, man. You see the plastic ties and all the stuff marked. Like it’s so low-rent you could see it was born out of desperation. But I think there’s a darkness in the movie that reflects that.”

Cohen and O’Brien brought the concept to Ferrell (“We were like, ‘Let’s Robert De Niro’ you”), who immediately attached himself to the project — and subsequently helped lure his fellow SNL alum Poehler. Cohen desperately wanted to make it his debut behind the camera, but for writers, “No one wants you to direct, ever,” he said. “They’re like, ‘Couldn’t we get a director who’s made a movie before?'”

Still, Cohen’s long history of dues-paying in the comedy world endeared him to Ferrell and the Warner Bros. brass. Plus, there’s that youthful vibrancy. “He brought so much energy and passion,” Ferrell said. “He was as amped on the last day as he was on the first day, and so excited to be making a movie, which I think is contagious to be around, especially if you’ve done a lot of movies. It just reminds you, ‘No this is really fun. This is really cool to be around.'”

The House is now in theaters. Watch the trailer:

yahoo

Read more on Yahoo Movies:

Will Ferrell on Sharing ‘The House’ With Amy Poehler, Odds for ‘Step Brothers 2’

Does ‘The House’ Share the Same Universe as ‘Neighbors’? Jason Mantzoukas Connects the Comedies

Get a Tour of Frank’s Place Casino in This Exclusive Featurette from ‘The House’

#movie:anchorman #movie:the-40-year-old-virgin #_author:Kevin Polowy #_revsp:wp.yahoo.movies.us #_uuid:2f1eb4c3-6fe3-3730-bb6e-807680f5e3e5 #Judd Apatow #movie:the-house #_lmsid:a0Vd000000AE7lXEAT #Andrew Jay Cohen

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neighbourskid · 4 years ago

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Blow Us All Away

(original date: 07 June 2016)

In 2007, a young Puerto Rican went on vacation, a book by Ron Chernow under his arm, and came back inspired to write something that is today known as "the best goddamn musical on Broadway ever". Kidding. That's just what I'm saying. But it's getting seriously good reviews. Like, astonishingly good reviews.

Lin-Manuel Miranda went on holiday to relax, came back with an idea and nine years later he performed at The White House, had the Obamas come see his musical, has his musical nominated for 16 Tony Awards -the most nominations in history-, his show is sold out until January 2017 and a whole generation of teenagers and young adults are suddenly interested in American History. Like, He Did That!

"Lin-Manuel Miranda? Yo, who the f is this?" Well. Let me educate you.

Lin-Manuel is the most precious little bean of a man you will ever hear of. As I said, he started working on Hamilton: The American Musical nine years ago after reading the biography of Alexander Hamilton (one of the Founding Fathers of the United States, in case you're like me and didn't know). In 2009, after working on first raps about Hamilton, Lin performed the intro song "Alexander Hamilton" at the White House Evening of Poetry, Music, and the Spoken Word, and received Standing Ovations for it. Little did the shy young man then know, that his work would be appreciated by tens of thousand of people. Little did he know, that his musical would be so loved and that it would inspire new generations of writers and singers and actors. Little did he know, that he would blow us all away.

The musical itself is a masterpiece. I haven't really realised until of late, that I have so much love for musicals. But I do. I love musicals. I have come to realise that this is probably also the reason why I love Disney movies so much, because they basically are musicals, too. As a kid, I genuinely liked High School Musical. I loved Mamma Mia! and I enjoyed Glee as well as Pitch Perfect. It's not necessarily the stories. Actually, I don't think it is the stories at all. It's the music. The singing. The breaking out into a song mid-sentence. That was what I liked. Same goes with Disney. I loved the stories of course, well, most of them anyway. But the thing that hooked me, was that Mulan freed China in a song, that Hercules became a Hero in a song, that Simba grew up in a song. And that is the beautiful thing about musicals. Marius and Cosette fell in love in a song. Javert went through an emotional crisis in a song. Jean Valjean realised who he was in a song. The French Revolution happened in a song or two. That's the beauty of it. It happens in a song. It's not a boringly told story. It's music in your ears and you don't even notice that it's already over shortly after.

And that is what makes Hamilton a wonderful musical, too. It takes the story of some old boring white dude that you didn't care about in your history lessons because your teacher just didn't manage to make it at least a little bit interesting, and it makes music out of it. Lin tells Hamilton's story with raps and rhymes, with music and dance. Cabinet meetings become rap battles, the war becomes a beautifully choreographed dance fight number. Washington, Jefferson, Madison, Laurens, Hamilton, Burr- they are not these boring old white dudes on your money anymore. Suddenly, Madison is this powerful Nigerian American man with a booming voice, Hamilton and Laurens are young Puerto Ricans who know how to rock long hair, Washington is this tower of a man with the brightest smile, Burr's dancing is amazing and Jefferson knows how to spit some serious verses and can rap like hell. Suddenly, American History is pretty attractive.

I first listened to the entire Cast Album on May 11 this year. 46 songs later and I was a changed person. A few days after that I bought the album on iTunes and have been listening to it more or less non-stop. Sometimes I mix it up with a bit of Les Miserables or a few other songs that I have on my phone. But the other thousand songs I have in my library are mostly forgotten and ignored in favour of Lin's masterpiece of a musical. It's been now nearly a month, and I know basically all of the lyrics. Well, I can sing/rap along side the tracks, a few songs I even know by heart. It's not even rare anymore that I wake up in the morning with a song from Hamilton on my mind. I am a goner for this musical.

On Sunday 12th are the Tony Awards. 16 Nominations for Hamilton. That's a lot. Lin himself is nominated for "Best Book of a Musical", "Best Original Score" and "Best Actor in a Musical". Lin wrote the book, he wrote the score and music, he plays the leading role. The man is non-stop. And he doesn't just stop there, either. Pretty usual for Broadway shows, there's a lottery for 10$ tickets before each show. But they are obviously pretty limited. The lottery for Hamilton is, to say it mildly, pretty well used. The musical is sold out until next January, so the lottery is the only way right now for people to still get tickets. On the first preview night -so, before the musical even officially opened- there were 700 people queueing for the lottery. SEVENHUNDRED PEOPLE! That's insane. And guess what? Lin, the precious human being he is, gives back. He gives back something to the people coming to the lottery. Each day, before each performance, for each lottery, he goes out there in front of the Richard Rodgers Theater and thanks the people for coming, for spending half an hour to get tickets for his show. He encourages them to come back the next day if they don't win, because they will be here for a bit. And it's not just that. He brings friends, brings co-stars, and gives the people an experience. What is now known as #Ham4Ham is Lin's way of giving back and thanking people. He now does short videos to put online, because he can't always come out, and because there's an online lottery, too.

And besides all that, he also manages to be the freaking most gentle and genuinely nicest human being ever. Just- just look at the way he tweets.

I mean. I am at a loss of words, to be honest. He does so much. He keeps giving. He is non-stop. And there's still a million things he hasn't done.

I haven't heard of Lin before Hamilton managed its way into my line of sight. Apparently he was in a House MD episode once, and I have probably seen it, but I can't remember. Anyways. In this last month, Lin has managed to secure himself a place on my bucket list of people I'd like to meet, right next to Benedict Cumberbatch (whom I've met before briefly) and Zachary Levi, who are both people that inspire me so much to chase my dreams and to not give up. Ben always inspires me to read, to keep learning stuff and to not let go of my dream to work in the film industry. Zac has always been the one to inspire me to be nice and kind to strangers, to keep giving. He is a role model especially in my believes and my faith. He inspires me to be genuinely myself. Now Lin. He managed to spark something inside of me, that I didn't know was there. I have always loved music, and always sang along the music I was listening to. I'm not a very good singer. I tend to imitate the singing of the person I'm listening to, instead of actually singing myself. But Lin, he managed to spark this love for singing again. I don't give much fucks about what people think about me, but I think singing has always been a thing where I did care that it was more or less good. But now I drop some verses of rap from time to time while listening, and I don't give a shit.

Lin is right there with Zac and Ben, inspiring me to be who I truly am. He inspires me to be passionate about music and writing. And especially my love for musicals. And he inspires me to unapologetically portray and show people who I am, what I like. Shove it into their faces, that this kid is a big nerd. That I am enthusiastic about the things I like, that I consume them wholeheartedly and not just a bit. If I like something or someone, then I know a shit ton about it. And Lin inspires me to cherish that.

I seriously wish that the Hamilton Musical finds its way to Europe as well. Apparently there's something planned for London and then also continental Europe. It won't be the same cast, of course. And even though, I find that rather sad, I appreciate the fact that they're thinking about coming to Europe. Because I haven't had the chance to see the musical. I saw snippets and some gifs. I have seen them "perform" at Ham4Ham. But it's not the real show, the real story. I think the cast album covers a lot of the whole play, but not all of it. And I would of course love to see the whole dancing, and apparently the lighting is amazing. But yeah, I'm willing to wait for it.

I hope that if I will ever get the possibility to go to New York (I'm going to San Diego this summer, so no luck in going this year), that they will still be on Broadway and that I will get the possibility of seeing this masterpiece live, with some of the original cast. That would be amazing.

But for now, I can only wish them all the best. I will be watching the Tony's on Sunday, will cheer them on, because Lin and the whole cast deserve this so much. I will continue to follow Lin's career, see what he's up to, check out his projects.

Until then, there's one last thing I can say:

Lin-Manuel Miranda. America (and the rest of the world) sings for you.

We have the honour to be your obedient servants.

A. (Ham)

#blog post #import from old blog #hamilton #lin-manuel miranda #musicals #musical theater #inspiration

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kartiavelino · 5 years ago

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The MixtapE! Presents Missy Elliott, Charlie Puth and Extra New Music Musts

FOX; Shutterstock/E! Illustration One other week, one other huge new music dump. By now, you have most likely given Taylor Swifts beautiful new album Lover all of the obsessive repeat listens that 18-track magnum opus deserves, parsing through its lyrics for all the hints about her ultra-private relationship with boyfriend Joe Alwyn, but when that is the place your musical journey has stopped this Friday, you’d actually be lacking out on far more great things. That is the place we are available. Welcome to week two of The MixtapE! After spending our morning listening to only about every part this New Music Friday needed to provide, we return to you with our picks for the very best of the very best, the stuff that is demanding you make room for it in your Spotify playlists. It simply is likely to be the right soundtrack for no matter you have received deliberate this weekend. And sure, earlier than you ask, T.Swift is within the combine. However which track made the record? You will must learn on to seek out out! (And if you happen to missed week one, you possibly can check it out here!) Missy Elliott – “Throw It Again” Are you able to imagine it has been 14 years since Missy Elliott final launched a full-length album? Certain, there have been one-off tracks—2015’s “WTF (The place They From)” is a killer—and visitor appearances right here and there, nevertheless it’s been a reasonably agonizing watch for a correct return. And that wait is lastly over. Forward of receiving the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award at this yr’s MTV VMAs on Monday, Aug. 26, she’s launched a brand new EP appropriately referred to as Iconology. Whereas the entire thing is price a pay attention, the standout right here is “Throw It Again,” which finds the long-lasting rapper reminding the youngsters simply why she’s revered as such. True to kind, the accompanying video is stuffed with eye-popping lewks and slick choreography. Welcome again, Missy. Please do not make us wait this lengthy ever once more. Charlie Puth – “I Warned Myself” For the lead single off his upcoming third album, Charlie tries on a way more mature, sensual sound than ever earlier than. And it suits him like a glove. His silky falsetto will get an help from a throbbing bassline courtesy of Benny Blanco‘s manufacturing, making for one severely attractive quantity. It is the start of an entire new period for the hit maker and we’re all the way in which right here for it. Taylor Swift feat. The Dixie Chicks – “Quickly You will Get Higher” Like we mentioned, there was no means Taylor could be left off this week’s record. However selecting only one monitor from Lover was a near-Herculean feat when nearly all of them had been worthy of inclusion. And whereas we debated making the pitch-perfect kiss-off anthem “I Forgot That You Existed,” the spiky feminist bop “The Man” or “Miss Americana & The Heartbreak Prince,” which finds her out-Lana Del Rey-ing Lana Del Rey, we stored coming again to this heartbreaking monitor. With a refined help from the legendary Dixie Chicks, “Quickly You will Get Higher” finds Taylor bearing her soul as she sings about her mother Andrea’s battle with most cancers. See if you may make it previous the primary refrain with out getting a lump in your throat. Ben Platt – “Rain” Ben Platt has been a busy boy. The Tony winner has already launched one album this yr, on high of filming the primary season of Ryan Murphy‘s debut Netflix collection, The Politician, dropping on the streaming service subsequent month, and now he is again with extra new music. And it simply is likely to be his greatest monitor but. Teaming with producer Alex Hope, who’s labored with the likes of Troye Sivan and Tove Lo, Ben takes his crystalline vocal to the dance flooring on this emotional banger about working via heartbreak to offer love one other likelihood. “I hope it brings you dance and catharsis,” he tweeted. “Might I counsel you blast it.” We second that emotion. Charli XCX – “Miss U” One other week, one other Charli monitor. With simply weeks to go earlier than the discharge of her self-titled third album, she’s dropped one other monitor, solely this one involves us as part of the 13 Causes Why season three soundtrack. “Miss U” is a little bit of a tragic banger, discovering the English pop star opening up about heartbreak. Typically‚ I miss you once I’m on their lonesome/And regardless that we each moved on/Typically I play your favorite track/I play it on and on,” she tells her former lover. Who hasn’t been there? Mura Masa & Clairo – “I Do not Suppose I Can Do This Once more” And now for one thing just a little left of middle. Mura Masa (born Alexander Crossan) is again along with his first new track since his 2017 self-titled debut album, which featured appearances by alt-pop faves like Charli XCX, Christine and the Queens, and Damon Albarn (the lead singer of Gorillaz). Right here, he groups with Clairo, whose debut album Immunity, launched earlier this month, has made her one in all pop music’s latest rising stars. We’re comfortable to report that his demented strategy to pop manufacturing stays in tact, and when the track erupts after the primary refrain, it took us proper again to a few of our favourite alt-pop of the early aughts. (Suppose The Faint or Interpol.) Mura Musa won’t be for everybody, however if you happen to like your pop just a little off-kilter, you will dig this. Alessia Cara – “Okay Okay” This new monitor off the Canadian pop star’s forthcoming EP This Summer time is simply the kind of track you’d hope to get on one thing so seasonally themed. After explaining that her good friend requested for a track “we might really feel ourselves to,” the typically-downbeat singer busts out her greatest braggadocio on the refrain. “I am one million trick pony/The primary and solely/On a scale of 1 to 10, I am at 11,” she sings. “Okay, okay.” Flip it on and also you simply would possibly really feel your self too. Emotional Oranges – “Simply Like You” Who’re Emotional Oranges? Nobody actually is aware of. The R&B collective has been releasing music anonymously for the final yr now, and their newest is a sultry little slice of heaven that sees a female and male vocalist commerce verses about lacking that somebody particular. It is good for these scorching August nights when you end up eager about the one you wanna be with and issues get just a bit bit too steamy. Come on, you realize you have been there. Zac Brown Band – “Want This” You understand these weekends the place you simply must let off some steam, when it has been a protracted week, work’s been exhausting, and also you simply neglect about all of it for just a little bit? The blokes within the Zac Brown Band do too and their newest single off their upcoming sixth studio album, The Owl, is an ode to only that. Again by manufacturing from Ryan Tedder, Andrew Roberts, Jason “Poo Bear” Boyd, and himself, frontman Zac Brown sings, “Drop these baggage, let’s get right down to enterprise/Did not drive all night time simply to witness/Mild me up like 12 days of Christmas/All I do know is true now I would like this.” Let this monitor be all of the permission you should let your hair down this weekend and reside. it. up. Bonus Tracks: Why Do not We – “What Am I”: After profitable Selection Music Group at this yr’s Teen Selection Awards, the boy band returns with a monitor penned by none aside from Ed Sheeran. It is a romantic little factor that should function a reminder that the time-honored custom of American boy bands is alive and properly of their palms. Lana Del Rey – “F**k it I love you”: Every week forward of the discharge of her sixth studio album, Norman F–king Rockwell,” pop’s most ethereal vocalist offers us one final preview of what is in retailer with this monitor, co-produced by Jack Antonoff. It is a suitably moody affair, so, you realize, traditional Lana. 5 Seconds of Summer – “Teeth”: This Australian boy band are constructing on a more moderen, extra mature sounds they launched final yr on their third album, Youngblood, as they put together to launch their fourth. Lead single “Easier” completely slaps, and this newest one does, too. Rising up has by no means sounded so good. Cheat Codes, Sofia Reyes & Willy William – “Highway”: For his or her newest single, DJ trio Cheat Codes (consisting of Kevin Ford, Trevor Dahl, and Matthew Russell) went worldwide, tapping the Mexican singer Sofia and French DJ Willy for this sparkly little late-summer bop that is simply begging you to roll down the home windows in your automobile and sing alongside on the highest of your lungs. Joyful listening! https://www.eonline.com/information/1067486/the-mixtape-presents-missy-elliott-charlie-puth-and-more-new-music-musts?cmpid=rss-000000-rssfeed-365-topstories&utm_source=eonline&utm_medium=rssfeeds&utm_campaign=rss_topstories The post The MixtapE! Presents Missy Elliott, Charlie Puth and Extra New Music Musts appeared first on Kartia Velino. https://kartiavelino.com/the-mixtape-presents-missy-elliott-charlie-puth-and-more-new-music-musts/

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latestnews2018-blog · 6 years ago

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Teen Choice Awards: ‘Riverdale’, BTS Army steal the show

New Post has been published on https://latestnews2018.com/teen-choice-awards-riverdale-bts-army-steal-the-show/

Teen Choice Awards: ‘Riverdale’, BTS Army steal the show

Highlights included Zac Efron bromancing Hugh Jackman, while Anna Kendrick threw shade at Ryan Reynolds

It was a night of bittersweet celebration and some cheeky interplay as the Teen Choice Awards 2018 unspooled with plenty of on stage action at The Forum in Los Angeles.

The ceremony, which was hosted by Nick Cannon and Lele Pons, saw teen drama Riverdale sweep the awards with nine wins, while Zac Efron threw some love at Hugh Jackman on stage in a long and rambling speech.

The night saw some great performances by Khalid, Lauv, Evvie McKinney, Bebe Rexha and Meghan Trainor, while Chris Pratt, Chloe Grace Moretz, Anna Kendrick and Nina Dobrev beamed their way on the red carpet.

Gulf News tabloid! breaks down the top moments of the night:

Zac Efron fanboying the cast of The Greatest Showman

One of the best things to come out of The Greatest Showman — aside from the soundtrack — is the budding bromance between the lead stars Hugh Jackman and Zac Efron. Love was in the air as Efron gushed over his acceptance speech while winning three awards on the night, including Choice Drama Movie Actor, Choice Movie Ship (with Zendaya) and Choice Collaboration (Rewrite the Stars).

Speaking on his win, Efron said: “Like, from the bottom of my heart, I couldn’t ask for a more cooler, amazing person to work with. He’s my best dramatic actor, and a hero, and a mentor and a good friend. Thank you Hugh Jackman.”

Just when you thought, the actor had rambled on long enough, Efron took a breath and continued to thank Zendaya as well, with a final message: “Look what we did! We rewrote the stars!”

Anna Kendrick throwing shade at Ryan Reynolds

If there was ever any doubt why everyone loves Anna Kendrick, her acceptance speech after winning the surfboard for Choice Comedy Movie Actress and a surprise Choice Twit gong was a riot.

Needless to say, Kendrick used the opportunity to fuel her mock feud with Ryan Reynolds.

“Ok, did I just hear that I won Choice Twitter? Oh my God!… I have so much fun on Twitter. And I know that Mindy [Kaling] and Kumail [Nanjiani] were also nominated,” she said, before adding: “And also I know that Ryan Reynolds was nominated, so in your face Ryan! Stay in your lane!”

The Pitch Perfect 3 star has been hilariously shading Reynolds on social media with a little help from his wife Blake Lively, and her co-star from A Simple Favor.

In June, Lively tweeted an image of the poster of the upcoming thriller, posting: “@annakendrick47 is the hotter, female(r) version of my husband… so, would it reaaaally count as cheating??”

Kendrick soon chimed in to write: “So glad we’re finally taking this public. I let Ryan have Deadpool, he can give me this.”

Reynolds, meanwhile, wouldn’t have any of it. In an interview with ET at Comic-Con, Reynolds responded to the war of tweets saying: “I know a lot of guys that would be fine with that, but not me. I would like to hang onto her.”

Riverdale’s still waters run deep

The teen drama swept the Teen Choice Awards with a total of nine solid wins, including Choice Drama TV Show and Choice Liplock. The whole cast, including KJ Apa, Cole Sprouse, Lili Reinhart, Camila Mendes, Madelaine Petsch and Vanessa Morgan, turned up for the night with their cheeky behaviour firmly in check.

Apa was on a roll with that epic photobomb of real-life couple Sprouse and Reinhart who won Choice TV Ship and Liplock. Although, Sprouse, who plays Jughead on the Archie-comics inspired show, wouldn’t let Apa get off so easily.

While accepting the Choice Drama TV show, Sprouse gave his best bud a friendly little spank on stage to ebb him on with his speech.

Shadowhunters for the win

It was a bittersweet moment for fans when the cast of the Freeform series, Shadowhunters: The Mortal Instruments, turned up on stage to accept the surfboard for the Choice Sci-Fi TV Show. Earlier this week, the show’s makers confirmed there would be no fourth season after it wraps up the current one.

Fans have been campaigning for Netflix or some other streaming platform to come in to sweep the day.

After seven nominations, this Choice win, along with an award for lead star Matthew Daddario for Choice Sci-Fi TV Actor, was a fitting end to the series for fans.

Spoiler alert: It’s Chris Hemsworth again

When Chris Hemsworth is in the picture, you can be rest assured some goofy antic is about to go down. The Aussie star accepted his Choice Sci-Fi Movie Actor via FaceTime, with a little help from the awards mascot, Choicey.

Hopping with glee, Hemsworth, who plays Thor in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, was quick to give fans a bit of gossip of what would go down in the upcoming sequel to Avengers: Infinity War.

Unfortunately for us, the connection quiet conveniently cut off at all the key moments. Although, Hemsworth did get a final message out where he thanked his fans for the win, before shouting: “Thanos! Stop killing my friends!”

All hail the BTS Army

K-Pop continued its global domination with boy band BTS and its Army of fans winning top awards at the Teen Choice 2018. While BTS was not around to accept its Choice International Artist for the second consecutive year, its Army of fans were definitely around to win Choice Fandom, beating out against fans of Taylor Swift, Fifth Harmony and One Direction. That is a feat in itself.

Watching them storm the Teen Choice stage was pure gold!

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FULL LIST OF WINNERS

Film awards

Choice Action Movie: Avengers: Infinity War

Choice Action Movie Actor: Robert Downey Jr (Avengers: Infinity War)

Choice Action Movie Actress: Scarlett Johansson (Avengers: Infinity War)

Choice Sci-Fi Movie: Black Panther

Choice Sci-Fi Movie Actor: Chris Hemsworth (Thor: Ragnarok)

Choice Sci-Fi Movie Actress: Letitia Wright (Black Panther)

Choice Fantasy Movie: Coco

Choice Fantasy Movie Actor: Anthony Gonzalez (Coco)

Choice Fantasy Movie Actress: Carrie Fisher (Star Wars: The Last Jedi)

Choice Drama Movie: The Greatest Showman

Choice Drama Movie Actor: Zac Efron (The Greatest Showman)

Choice Drama Movie Actress: Zendaya (The Greatest Showman)

Choice Comedy Movie: Love, Simon

Choice Comedy Movie Actor: Dwayne Johnson (Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle)

Choice Comedy Movie Actress: Anna Kendrick (Pitch Perfect 3)

Choice Summer Movie: Incredibles 2

Choice Summer Movie Actor: Chris Pratt (Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom)

Choice Summer Movie Actress: Bryce Dallas Howard (Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom)

Choice Movie Villain: Michael B. Jordan (Black Panther)

Choice Breakout Movie Star: Nick Robinson (Love, Simon)

Choice MovieShip: Zac Efron and Zendaya (The Greatest Showman)

TV awards

Choice Drama TV Show: Riverdale

Choice Drama TV Actor: Cole Sprouse (Riverdale)

Choice Drama TV Actress: Lili Reinhart (Riverdale)

Choice Sci-Fi/Fantasy TV Show: Shadowhunters: The Mortal Instruments

Choice Sci-Fi/Fantasy TV Actor: Matthew Daddario (Shadowhunters: The Mortal Instruments)

Choice Sci-Fi/Fantasy TV Actress: Millie Bobby Brown (Stranger Things)

Choice Action TV Show: The Flash

Choice Action TV Actor: Grant Gustin (The Flash)

Choice Action TV Actress: Melissa Benoist (Supergirl)

Choice Comedy TV Show: The Big Bang Theory

Choice Comedy TV Actor: Jaime Camil (Jane the Virgin)

Choice Comedy TV Actress: Gina Rodriguez (Jane the Virgin)

Choice Animated TV Show: Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug & Cat Noir

Choice Reality TV Show: Keeping Up With the Kardashians

Choice Throwback TV Show: Friends

Choice TV Personality: Chrissy Teigen (Lip Sync Battle)

Choice TV Villain: Mark Consuelos (Riverdale)

Choice Breakout TV Show: On My Block

Choice Breakout TV Star: Vanessa Morgan (Riverdale)

Choice TV Ship: Cole Sprouse & Lili Reinhart (Riverdale)

Films and TV

Choice Liplock: Cole Sprouse & Lili Reinhart (Riverdale)

Choice Hissy Fit: Madelaine Petsch (Riverdale)

Choice Scene Stealer: Vanessa Morgan (Riverdale)

Choice Summer TV Show: So You Think You Can Dance

Choice Summer TV Star: Olivia Holt (Marvel’s Cloak & Dagger)

Music

Choice Male Artist: Louis Tomlinson

Choice Female Artist: Camila Cabello

Choice Music Group: 5 Seconds of Summer

Choice Country Artist: Carrie Underwood

Choice Electronic/Dance Artist: The Chainsmokers

Choice Latin Artist: CNCO

Choice R&B/Hip-Hop Artist: Cardi B

Choice Rock Artist: Imagine Dragons

Choice Song: Female Artist: Camila Cabello (feat. Young Thug) for Havana

Choice Song: Male Artist: Ed Sheeran for Perfect

Choice Song: Group: 5 Seconds of Summer for Youngblood

Choice Collaboration: Zac Efron & Zendaya for Rewrite the Stars (The Greatest Showman soundtrack)

Choice Pop Song: In My Blood by Shawn Mendes

Choice Country Song: Meant to Be by Bebe Rexha (feat. Florida Georgia Line

Choice Electronic/Dance Song: All Night by Steve Aoki & Lauren Jauregui

Choice Latin Song: Familiar by Liam Payne & J Balvin

Choice R&B/Hip-Hop Song: Love Lies by Khalidi & Normani

Choice Rock/Alternative Song: Whatever It Takes by Imagine Dragons

Choice Breakout Artist: Khalid

Choice Next Big Thing: Jackson Wang

Choice International Artist: BTS

Choice Summer Song: Back To You by Selena Gomez

Choice Summer Male Artist: Shawn Mendes

Choice Summer Female Artist: Camila Cabello

Choice Summer Group: 5 Seconds of Summer

Choice Summer Tour: Harry Styles — Live on Tour

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sheminecrafts · 6 years ago

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With its goofy video loops, YC backed Splish wants to be the ‘anti-Instagram’

Is there any space on kids’ homescreens for another social sharing app to poke in? Y Combinator backed Splish wants to have a splash at it () — with a super-short-form video and photo sharing app aimed at the under-25s.

The SF-based startup began bootstrapping out of their college dorm rooms last July, playing around with app ideas before settling on goofy video loops to be their social sharing steed of choice.

The Splish app pops content into video loops of between 1-5 seconds. Photos can be uploaded too but motion must be added in the form of an animated effect of your choice. So basically nothing on Splish stays still. (Hence its watery name.) But while wobbly, content on Splish is intended to stick around — rather than ephemerally pass away (a la snaps).

Here are a few examples of Splishes (embedded below as GIFs… but you can see them on its platform here, here and here):

It’s the first startup for the four college buddy co-founders: Drake Rehfeld, Alex Pareto, Jackson Berry and Zac Denham, though between them they’ve also clocked up engineering hours working for Snapchat, Facebook and Team 10.

Their initial web product went up in March and they landed a place on YC’s program at the start of May — when they also released their iOS app. An Android app is pending, and they’ll be on the hunt for funding come YC demo day.

The gap in the social sharing market this young team reckons it’s spotted is a sort of ‘anti-Instagram’ — offering a playful contrast to the photo sharing platform’s polished (and at times preening) performances.

The idea is that sharing stuff on Splish is a bonding experience; part of an ongoing smartphone-enabled conversation between mates, rather than a selectively manicured photoshoot which also has to be carefully packaged for public ‘gram consumption.

Splish does have a public feed, though, so it’s not a pure messaging app — but the co-founders say the focus is friend group sharing rather than public grandstanding.

“Splish is a social app for sharing casual looping videos with close friends,” says Rehfeld, giving the team’s elevator pitch. “It came out of our own experience, and we’re building for ourselves because we noticed that the way you socialize right now in real life is you do activities with your friends. You go to the beach, you go to the bar, the bowling alley. We’re working to bring this same type of experience online using Splish through photo and video. So it’s more about interaction and hanging out with your friends online.”

“When you use Instagram you really feel like you’re looking at a magazine. It’s just the highlights of people’s lives,” he adds. “And so we’re trying to make a place where you’re getting to know your friends better and meeting new people as well. And then on the other side, on Snapchat, you’re really sharing interesting moments of your lives but it’s not really pushing the boundaries or creating with your friends. It’s more just a communication messaging tool.

“So it’s kind of the space in between broadcast and chat — talking and interacting with your close friends through Splish, through photo and video.”

Users of the Splish app can apply low-fi GIF(ish) retro filters and other photographic effects (such as a reverse negative look) to the video snippets and photos they want to send to friends or share more widely — with the effects intended to strip away at reality, rather than gloss it over. Which means content on Splish tends to look and feel grungy and/or goofy. Much like an animated GIF in fact. And much less like Instagram.

The team’s hope is the format adds a bit of everyday grit and/or wit to the standard smartphone visual record, and that swapping Splishes gets taken up as a more fun and casual way of communicating vs other types of messaging or social sharing.

And also that people will want to use Splish to capture and store fun times with friends because they can be checked out again later, having been conveniently packaged for GIF-style repeat lols.

“Part of the power here in Splish is that relationships are built on shared experiences and nostalgia and so while [Snapchat-style] ephemerality reduced a lot of the barriers for posting what it didn’t do is strengthen relationships long term or over time because the chats and the photos disappeared,” says Rehfeld.

The idea is a content format to gives people “shared experience that lasts”, he adds.

They’re also directly nudging users to get creative via a little gamification, adding a new feature (called Jams) that lets users prompt each other to make a Splish in response to a specific content creation challenge.

And filming actual (playful) physical shoulder pokes has apparently been an early thing on Splish. That’s the merry-go-round of social for ya.

Being a fair march north of Splish’s target age-range, I have to confess the app’s loopy effects end up triggering something closer to motion sickness/vertigo/puking up for me. But words are my firm social currency of choice. Whereas Rehfeld argues the teenager-plus target for Splish is most comfortable with a smartphone in its hand, and letting a lens tell the tale of what they’re up to or how they’re feeling.

“We started with that niche first because there’s a population in that age range that really enjoys this creative challenge of expressing yourself in pretty intuitive ways, and they understand how to do that. And they’re pretty excited about it,” he tells TechCrunch.

“There’s also been a little bit of a shift here where users no longer just capture what they have in real-life using the camera, but the camera’s used as an extension of communication — especially in that age range, where people use the camera as part of their relationship, rather than just capturing what happens offline.”

As with other social video apps, vertical full screen is the preferred Splish frame — for a more “immersive experience” and, well, because that’s how the kids do it.

“It’s the way users, especially in this age range, hold and use their phones. It’s pretty natural to this age range just because it’s what they do everyday,” he says, adding: “It’s just the best way to consume on the phone because it fills the whole screen, it’s how you were already using the phone before you clicked into the video.”

Notably, as part of the team’s soft-edged stance against social media influencer culture, Rehfeld says Splish is choosing not to bake “viral components” into the app — ergo: “Nobody’s rewarded for likes or ‘re-vines’. There’s no reblog, retweet.”

Although, pressed on how firm that anti-social features stance is, he concedes they’re not abandoning the usual social suite entirely — but rather implementing that sort of stuff in relative moderation.

“We have likes and we have a concept of friends or follows but the difference is we’re building those with the intention of not incentivizing virality or ‘influencership’,” he says. “So we always release them with some sort of limit, so with likes you can’t see a list of everybody who’s liked a post for example. So that’s one example of how we’ve, kind of, brought in a feature that people feel comfortable with and love but with our own spin that’s a little bit less geared towards building a following.”

Asked if they’re trying to respond to the criticism that’s been leveled at a lot of consumer technology lately — i.e. that it’s engineered to be highly and even mindlessly addictive — Rehfeld says yes, the team wants to try and take a less viral path, less well travelled, adding: “We’re building as much as possible for user experience. And a lot of the big brands build and optimize towards engagement metrics… and so we’re focused on this reduction of virality so that we can promote personal connections.”

Though it will be interesting to see if they can stick to medium-powered stun guns as they fight to carve out a niche in the shadow of social tech’s attention-sapping giants.

Of course Splish’s public feed is a bit of a digital shop window. But, again, the idea is to make sure it’s a casual space, and not such a perfectionist hothouse as Instagram.

“The way the product is built allows people to feel pretty comfortable even in the more public feeds, the more featured feeds,” adds Rehfeld. “They post still very casual moments, with a creative spin of course. So it’s stayed pretty similar content, private and public.”

Short and long

It’s fair to say that short form video for social sharing has a long but choppy history online. Today’s smartphone users aren’t exactly short of apps and online spaces to share moving pictures publicly or with followers or friends. And animated GIFs have had incredible staying power as the marathon runner of the short loop social sharing format.

On the super-short form video side, the most notable app player of recent years — Twitter’s Vine — sprouted and spread virally in 2013, amassing a sizable community of fans. Although Instagram soon rained on its video party, albeit with a slightly less super-short form. The Facebook-owned behemoth has gatecrashed other social sharing parties in recent years too. Most notably by cloning Snapchat’s ‘video-ish’ social sharing slideshow Stories format, and using its long reach and deep resources to sap momentum from the rival product.

Twitter voluntarily threw in the towel with Vine in 2016, focusing instead on its livestreaming video product, Periscope, which is certainly a better fit for its core business of being a real-time social information network, and its ambition to also become a mainstream entertainment network.

Meanwhile Google’s focus in the social video space has long been on longer form content, via YouTube, and longer videos mesh better with the needs of its ad network (at least when YouTube content isn’t being accused of being toxic). Though Mountain View also of course plays in messaging, including the rich media sharing messaging space.

Apple too has been adding more powerful and personalized visual effects for its iMessage users — such as face-mapping animoji. So smartphone users are indeed very, very spoiled for sharing choice.

Vine’s success in building a community did show that super-short loops can win a new generation of fans, though. But in May its original co-founder, Dom Hofmann, indefinitely postponed the idea of reviving the app by building Vine 2 — citing financial and legal roadblocks, plus other commitments on his time.

Though he did urge those “missing the original Vine experience” to check out some of the apps he said had “sprung up lately” (albeit, without namechecking any of the newbs). So perhaps a Splish or two had caught his eye.

There’s no doubt the space will be a tough one to sustain. Plenty of apps have cracked in and had a moment but very few go the distance. Overly distinctive filters can also feel faddish and fall out of fashion as quickly as they blew up. Witness, for example, the viral rise of art effect photo app Prisma. (And now try and remember the last time you saw one of its art filtered photos in the wild… )

So sustaining a novel look and feel can be tough. Not least because social’s big beast, Facebook, has the resources and inclination to clone any innovations that look like they might be threatening. Add in network effects and the story of the space has been defined by a shrinking handful of dominant apps and platforms.

And yet — there’s still always the chance that a new generation of smartphone users will shake things up because they see things differently and want to find new ways and new spaces to share their personal stuff.

That’s the splash that Splish’s team is hoping to make.

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theinvinciblenoob · 6 years ago

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