#obviously voice actors are rarely exactly like the characters they play

[fox-guardian]

after watching the wrap up vod and seeing the crew share a similar sentiment I feel compelled to make a meme

[ID: The scary dog/cute dog meme with the scary dog labeled "Gwen Bouchard" and the cute dog labeled "Anusia Battersby". end ID]

[invisibleicewands]

Michael Sheen on ‘Good Omens’ Season 2 & Reacting to the Show’s Cult Following

With a career spanning the last thirty years, there are a number of things that audiences might recognize Michael Sheen from — maybe Masters of Sex, or Frost/Nixon, or, if you’re of a certain age, the Twilight saga. But many recognize him as part of one of Prime Video’s most beloved series, a show that garnered itself not only a cult following but also what many deemed impossible: a story beyond the ending of the book it’s been adapted from.

This month, Sheen co-leads the highly anticipated second season of Good Omens, adapted from the novel by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman. In the series, he plays the goody-two-shoes angel Aziraphale, one of many lovable characters and a lover of tea, antique books, and classical music. Formerly under service to Heaven, he’s since been cast out by the other do-gooders after preventing the apocalypse with the help of his good friend, the demon Crowley (David Tennant). How that counts as an infraction, we aren’t sure, but now he’s found himself in the midst of another crisis — figuring out just why the archangel Gabriel (Jon Hamm) has shown up in front of his quaint little bookshop in London’s SoHo, and why he can’t remember a single thing about himself. Not an easy task, surely, but one Sheen plays to perfection as the anxious angel who only ever wants to do the right thing. (A challenge, when your best friend’s a demon formerly employed by Hell.)

Collider was excited to sit down with Sheen to discuss Aziraphale’s journey in Season 2, and what it was like collaborating with Neil Gaiman to create a story beyond the end of the original novel. During this interview, we also discussed what it’s been like for him to work with David Tennant on both Good Omens and Staged, where they play fictionalized versions of themselves, and how playing Aziraphale compares to voicing Lucifer in Audible’s version of The Sandman.

COLLIDER: Obviously, when you were making the first season of this show, you had the book to work off of, you had a characterization to work off of, but because this season is an all-new thing that Neil Gaiman has written, did you get to work with him at all to develop what Aziraphale was doing this season, or was it all dependent on what he wrote?

MICHAEL SHEEN: Yes, I think when we were doing the first season, Neil always talked about the idea that he and Terry [Pratchett] had talked quite a bit about future storylines and that they had worked out quite a lot of it, actually. They just never got around to writing it down in a book. So there was quite a lot of material already in his head. One of the wonderful things about this, as well, working on this project, has been how much myself and David have been able to collaborate with Neil on the characters and inhabit them and bring them to life, and developing the relationship between them and the storylines. So it’s felt very collaborative, but then, of course, Neil is very good at making it feel collaborative even when he knows exactly what he wants.

Speaking of that relationship between Crowley and Aziraphale, you are obviously quite close with David Tennant. You work with him not only on this but also on Staged. What's it like getting to put that friendship dynamic to use on those shows, especially since Staged is something that's so completely different from Good Omens?

SHEEN: It's just wonderful, really. You know, often you work with actors that perhaps you have very good chemistry with on-screen or on stage, but maybe off-stage, off-screen there's not a particular spark. It's fine, but there's nothing particularly special about your relationship on stage or on-screen. Then other times, there are people you get along with really, really well, but maybe there isn't necessarily that amazing chemistry on-screen or on stage. So it's very rare that you have both. I think with us, we've just sort of discovered that that is the case, or it seems to be that people feel like we have good chemistry together when we're working. And we just have a lovely time together in between working as well, so it's such a pleasure to be able to do that, and to be able to work on projects like Good Omens and Staged with the characters that we play in those. It's just a real joy, so, you know, long may it continue.

Personally, I love the relationship between Aziraphale and Crowley, and the show has had such a massive fan response. How much are you aware of that, and what do you hope fans take away from this season as opposed to the first one?

SHEEN: Oh, I'm very much aware of it. Yeah, it's one of the most enjoyable aspects of working on this, to see how much the audience and in particular Good Omen fans just give to the project. It does feel like a fulfilled kind of creative collaboration with the fans as well. There's so much talent when people come to writing fanfiction or artwork, or just discussing ideas or things that have sort of been born out of it. I mean, there are all kinds of amazing groups who fundraise now for charities and do all kinds of incredible things. There are conventions and all sorts. I love that, and I love seeing how people have made friends, really close friends, through their connection to this and these characters in this story, and how communities have been created, and how much people are helping each other. I see all that online and I hear about it. It feels very in the spirit of the story, you know, it feels very in keeping with what it's all about. I think that's a big part of why Neil and I and the rest of us have all really opened ourselves to that fan community, because I think it feels like a very living part of the story.

How do you think Aziraphale has changed between where we leave him at the end of Season 1 and the beginning of Season 2? Is there anything unusual that we can expect from him this season?

SHEEN: Well, I think he's in a quite odd position for him because, on the one hand, he's got a lot of the things that he's always wanted. He's always wanted to just be left alone and live in his bookshop, and drink tea and listen to music, and read books and go to the theater, and eat nice meals and drink nice wine, and be with the being that he loves being with the most. But on the other hand, he's also someone who feels very anxious about not being part of the company, you know, being out on his own and sort of independent. It’s quite a challenge for him. It’s that thing about “be careful what you wish for.” He got what he wished for, but he still feels a bit off-kilter, I think, and then this unexpected guest arrives and turns the world upside down for him again.

But one of the things that we wanted to explore with Aziraphale in this series is perhaps finding something a little steelier underneath the apparent soft surface, that maybe there's something else going on under there. So we see that kind of come out as the story goes on, as well.

In addition to playing Aziraphale, you also did the voice for Lucifer in The Sandman audio series, which is obviously also a Neil Gaiman joint. So what's the difference between playing an angel and playing a demon?

SHEEN: Well, of course, Lucifer is an angel, was once a fallen angel. My first experience of Neil’s work was The Sandman. That was what I first read when I was still a teenager in the late ‘80s, and it just absolutely blew my mind and opened me up to all kinds of things and started a journey [with] Neil’s work, but also all the people that Neil kind of points you towards through his work as well. It opened so many doors for me. So to be able to then be a part of The Sandman world, as well, to play such an iconic character, it was and is, because we're still doing it, just a bit of a dream come true.

I have one last question for you, and it's a little bit of a silly one. One of the most iconic parts of Good Omens is Crowley's Bentley, which is cursed to play nothing but Queen songs forever and ever. I would love to know what you think Aziraphale’s favorite Queen song is.

SHEEN: Well, I think he likes the more operatic ones. So he probably…I think he likes “Bohemian Rhapsody.” All those nifty chorus bits. He’d love that. So yes, probably “Bohemian Rhapsody.”

[wolfanddragon98]

BLOOD AND THORNS CHAPTER 4 SIBLINGS OF MINE (REVIEW) @dreaming-for-an-escape

I think this is by far my favorite chapter so far. It was so beautifully written that I had to re-read a couple of paragraphs before I could carry on reading more. I absolutely love the pacing you’re doing here. It doesn’t feel too rushed, but at the same time the story in not stuck in one place. So big kudos to you for that!

Margaery sneakily taking Maeve away from her studies to have a sibling group meeting is honestly such a Margaery move. And Loras freaking out about Maeve leaving for North? Perfection. But what I absolutely love about Margaery and Loras is that when they’re speaking I can literally hear the voices of the actors who portrayed them. Like, I can literally imagine them saying those lines. They are so in character.

Loras using the broom to keep the lords away from her was so funny to imagine. I literally pictured like a small mini-game where you play as Loras and you have to defend his youngest sister, by fending off the zombies, uhhh I mean the lords that want to reach Maeve.

I love how they started talking about Maeve’s betrothal only to move on to other subjects like how Lord Dunn’s son smells of cabbage. This is such a sibling thing to do. Like, how did we get there in the first place? XD

Willas slamming that cane. Okay, Rodrik Forrester. I see you. PURR.

Garlan pulling that prank. Poor Maeve. Honestly I don’t blame her for not speaking to him for five days. I would have been petty like that as well. XD

I also love how Margaery brought up the fact that Maeve’s marriage pact with Robb is probably the best alliance that they can hope for. Not only do they have their sister as the wife to the future Warden of the North, but also Maeve’s future son would be the Warden of the North one day. They would have their blood ruling the North. That’s a win win for them. It makes sense that Margaery would be one of the first siblings to see that. 

‘There was an epic romance in particular she often thought of.‘ OKAY GIRL, I SEE YOU. *wink wink* We love that subtle mention.

“But when we part ways please do remember, winter yields to spring…”

“And when it does, the rose blooms once more.”

Not me fangirling because that’s exactly what Margaery also said in the Tyrell History Lore. 

Robb staring at Maeve’s portrait is such a mood. And him thinking for a second that he was catfished (medieval style) because he couldn’t believe his luck in getting such a beautiful bride is so funny to me. XD

Aww, Jon smiling. This is too cute. One of those rare smiles that we love seeing on him. 

Theon and his big mouth. Perfectly captured.

“I’ve heard so little about the youngest rose of Highgarden. But for years now I’ve heard tales of the beauty her older sister possesses. Margaery, her name is.” 

Why do I see Theon trying to go after Margaery when she arrives with her family? Margaery would entertain him because she would find him amusing, but obviously this would lead nowhere and Theon will have his heart broken once she’ll leave for Highgarden. But something tells me one trip to see Ros will cure him of his ‘broken heart’. XD

Robb putting Theon in his place after he talked some suggestive things about his betrothed. *fanning myself* 

[joshjacksons]

Joshua Jackson interview with Refinery29

Against my better judgement, and at the risk of losing any semblance of journalistic objectivity, I start my conversation with Joshua Jackson by effusively telling him what a dream come true it is to be talking to him. See, like many millennial women who grew up watching the late ‘90s and early 2000s teen drama Dawson’s Creek, Jackson’s Pacey Witter means a lot to me. Pacey is one of the rare fictional teen boys of my youth whose adolescent charisma, romantic appeal, and general boyfriend aptitude hold up all these years later (unlike The O.C’s Seth Cohen or Gossip Girl’s Chuck Bass) and that is due in large part to the wit, vulnerability, and care Jackson brought to the character.

It’s the same intention he’s afforded all of his famous roles — Peter Bishop in Fringe, Cole Lockhart in The Affair, and even as a 14-year-old in his first acting gig as sweet-faced heartthrob Charlie Conway in The Mighty Ducks. Now, Jackson, 43, has matured into a solid supporting actor (with memorable turns in Little Fires Everywhere and When They See Us) and as a leading man who can draw you into a story with just his voice (Jackson’s latest project is narrating the psychological thriller and Canadian Audible original, Oracle, one of the over 12,000 titles available today on Audible.ca’s the Plus Catalogue) or find humanity in the most sinister men (he’s currently playing a sociopath with a god complex in Dr. Death). His magnetic pull is as evident as it was when he was the guy you rooted for in a show named after another guy’s creek. Jackson has never seemed to mind the fact that so many people still bring up Pacey decades later, and that’s part of why as an adult, he’s one of the few childhood crushes I still have on a pedestal. I tell him just a tiny slice of this, and Jackson graciously sits up straighter and promises to bring his A-game to our Zoom exchange. Jackson is in what appears to be an office, flanked by mess, like a true work-from-home Dad. He and his wife, fellow actor Jodie Turner-Smith, welcomed a daughter in the early days of the pandemic in 2020, and he tells me that fatherhood and marriage are the best decisions he has ever made. Jackson and Turner-Smith are a rare Hollywood couple who choose to let us in on their love, but not obnoxiously — just through flirty Instagram comments and cheeky tweets. Their pairing is part of Jackson’s enduring appeal. It’s nice to think that Pacey Witter grew up to be a doting dad and adoring husband, even if his wife’s name is Jodie, not Joey.

Jackson is an animated conversationalist, leaning into the camera to emphasize his points — especially when the topic of diversity comes up. White celebs don’t get asked about racism in Hollywood the way their counterparts of colour do, and when they do, they’re usually hesitant at best, and unequipped at worst, to tackle these conversations. Jackson is neither. He’s open, willing, and eager to discuss systemic inequality in the industry he’s grown up in. It’s the bare minimum a straight white man in Hollywood can do, and Jackson seems to know this. When he ventures briefly into trying to explain to me, a Black woman, the perils of being Black, female, and online, he catches himself and jokes that of course, I don’t need him to tell me the racism that happens in the comment section of his wife’s Instagram. The self-deprecating delivery is one I’m familiar with from watching Jackson onscreen for most of my life, and seeing it in person (virtually) renders me almost unable to form sentences. Jackson’s charm is disarming, but his relaxed Canadian energy is so relatable, I manage to maintain my professionalism long enough to get through our conversation. Refinery29: Your voice has been in my head for a few days because I've been listening to Canadian Audible Original, Oracle. What drew you to this project and especially the medium of audio storytelling?

Joshua Jackson: The book itself is such a page turner. I also love the idea of those old radio plays. It's like a hybrid between the beauty of reading a book on the page where your imagination does all of it. We craft a little bit of the world, but because this is a noir thriller married with this metaphysical world, there's a lot of dark and creepy places that your imagination gets to fill in for yourself.

I'm noticing a trend in some of the roles you've been taking on lately, with this and Dr. Death, these stories are very dark and creepy. But so many people still think of you as Pacey Witter, or as Charlie Conway, the prototypical good guys of our youth. Are you deliberately trying to kill Pacey and Charlie?

JJ: I'm not trying to kill anybody — except on screen [laughs]. It's funny, I didn't really think of these two things as companion pieces, but I won't deny that there may be something subconscious in this anxiety, stress-filled year that we've all just had. That may be what I was trying to work out was some of that stress, because that's the beauty of my job. Instead of therapy, I just get someone to pay me to say somebody else's words. So, yeah, that could be a thing [but] the thought process that went into them both was very different. Even though this is a dark story, [lead character, police psychic] Nate Russo is still the hero. [Dr. Death’s] Christopher Duntsch very much is not at all. I can't pretend to know my own mind well enough to be able to tell you exactly how [these two roles] happened, but it happened.

That might be something that you should work through with an actual therapist. JJ: Exactly. Yeah, maybe real therapy is on the docket for me [laughs].

So I was listening to Oracle and you're doing these various creepy voices — I’m sorry the word “creepy” keeps coming up.

JJ: Are you trying to tell me something? You know what? I wanted to skip straight to the creepy old man phase of my career. So, it sounds like I'm doing a good job.

You're doing amazing, sweetie [laughs]. So, I was thinking you must be really good at bedtime stories with your daughter doing all these voices. Or is she still too young for that?

JJ: No! She's all the way into books. Story time is my favourite part of the day because it gives me the opportunity to have that time with her just one-on-one. Her favorite book right now is a book called Bedtime Bonnet. Every night I bring out three books, and she gets to pick one. The other two shift a little bit, but Bedtime Bonnet is every single night.

I love that. Since you're married to a Black woman, you know a thing or two about bonnets. JJ: ​​Yeah, well I'm getting my bonnet education. And I'm getting my silk sheet education. I'm behind the curve, but I'm figuring it out [laughs].

You said in an interview recently that you are now at the age where the best roles for men are. And I wonder if you can expand on that and whether you think of the fact that the same cannot be said for the majority of women actors in their 40s?

JJ: What's great about the age that I'm at now as a man is that, generally speaking, the characters — even if they're not the central character of this show — are well fleshed out. They're being written from a personal perspective, usually from a writer who has enough lived experience and wants to tell the story of a whole character. Whereas when you're younger — and obviously I was very lucky with some of the characters that I was able to play  – you're the son or the boyfriend, or you're a very two-dimensional character. It's gotten better, but still a lot like you're either the precocious child or you're the brooding one. I will say that while I would agree with you to a certain point for women, I think that this is probably the best era to be a not 25-year-old-woman in certainly the entirety of my career. And it is also the best time to be a Black woman inside of the industry. There's still more opportunity for a 40-year-old white man than there is for a 40-year-old white woman, but it is better now than it has ever been. The roles that women are able to inhabit and occupy and the opportunities that are out there have multiplied. If I started my career in playing two-dimensional roles to get the three-dimensional roles, most women started their career in three-dimensional roles and end up at “wife” or “mom.” And that's just not the case anymore. There's just a lot of broadly diverse stories being told that centre women. So you're right, but in the last five years, six years I would say, there has really been a pretty significant shift.

And I think that shift is happening because who's behind the camera is also changing. JJ: Right? Who holds the purse strings. That's big. Who gets to green light the show to begin with? You have to have a variety of different faces inside of that room. And then, who's behind the camera. What is the actual perspective that we're telling the story from? The male gaze thing is very real. Dr. Death had three female directors. The central character of Dr. Death is an outrageously toxic male figure. Who knows more about toxic male BS than women? Particularly women who are in a predominantly male work environment. So these directors had a very specific take and came at it with a clarity that potentially a man wouldn't see, because we have blind spots about ourselves. We're in a space where there's a recognition that we've told a very narrow band of what's available in stories. There's so many stories to be told and it's okay for us to broaden out from another white cop.

I hope that momentum continues. Okay, I have to tell you something: I’m a little obsessed with your wife, Jodie Turner-Smith. JJ: Me too. As you should be! I love how loudly and publicly you both love on each other. But I need you to set the scene for me. When you are leaving flirty Instagram comments, and she's tweeting thirsty things about you, are you in the same room? Do you know that the other one is tweeting? What's happening?

JJ: We're rarely in the same room [writing] the thirsty comments because that usually just gets said to each other. But, look, if either of us misses a comment, you better believe at night, there's a, "Hey, did you see what I wrote?" One, she's very easy to love out loud and two, she's phenomenal. And I have to say, the love and support that is coming my direction has been a revelation in my life. I've said this often, and it just is the truth: If you ever needed to test whether or not you had chosen the right partner in life, just have a baby at the beginning of a pandemic and then spend a year and a half together. And then you know. And then you absolutely know. I didn't get married until fairly late in the game. I didn't have a baby till very late in the game and they're the two best choices I've ever made in my life.

I'm just going to embarrass you now by reading one of Jodie's thirsty comments to you. She tweeted, “Objectifying my husband on the internet is my kink. I thought you guys knew this by now,” with a gif that said "No shame." JJ: [laughs] That sounds about right.

She's not the only one though. There's this whole thirst for Joshua Jackson corner of the internet. And it feels like there's been a bit of a heartthrob resurgence for you now at your big age. How do you feel about that?

JJ: I hadn't really put too much thought into it, but I am happy that my wife is thirsty for me. What about the rest of us? JJ: That's great for y'all, but it's most important that my wife is thirsty for me. Good answer. You're good at this husband thing. You recently revealed that Jodie proposed to you. Then it became this big story, and people were so surprised by it. How did you feel about the response? JJ: Thank you for giving me the opportunity to give context to this story. So I accidentally threw my wife under the bus because that story was told quickly and it didn't give the full context and holy Jesus, the internet is racist and misogynist. So yes, we were in Nicaragua on a beautiful moonlit night, it could not possibly have been more romantic. And yes, my wife did propose to me and yes, I did say yes, but what I didn't say in that interview was there was a caveat, which is that I'm still old school enough that I said, "This is a yes, but you have to give me the opportunity [to do it too]." She has a biological father and a stepdad, who's the man who raised her. [I said], ‘You have to give me the opportunity to ask both of those men for your hand in marriage.’ And then, ‘I would like the opportunity to re-propose those to you and do it the old fashioned way down on bended knee.’ So, that's actually how the story ended up.

So, there were two proposals. I do feel like that is important context. JJ: Yes, two proposals. And also for anybody who is freaked out by a woman claiming her own space, shut the fuck up. Good God, you cannot believe the things people were leaving my wife on Instagram. She did it. I said ‘yes.’ We're happy. That's it. That's all you need to know. That has been a real education for me as a white man, truly. The way people get in her comments and the ignorance and ugliness that comes her way is truly shocking. And it has been a necessary, but an unpleasant education in just the way people relate to Black bodies in general, but Black female bodies in specific. It is not okay. We have a long way to go. Jodie is such an inspiration because it seems like she handles it in stride. She handles it all with humour and with grace. JJ: She does. And look, I think it's like a golden cage, the concept of the strong Black woman. I would wish for my wife that she would not have to rise above with such amazing strength and grace, above the ugliness that people throw at her on a day to day. I am impressed with her that she does it, but I would wish that that would not be the armour that she has to put on every morning to just navigate being alive. That's a word. That's a word, Joshua Jackson.

The 13-year-old in me needs to ask this. We are in the era of reboots. If they touched Dawson's Creek — which is a masterpiece that should not be touched — but if they did, what would you want it to look like? JJ: I think it should look a lot like it looked the first time. To me, what was great about that story was it was set in a not cool place. It wasn't New York, it wasn't LA, it wasn't London. It wasn't like these were kids who were on the cutting edge of culture, but they were kids just dealing with each other and they were also very smart and capable of expressing themselves. It's something that I loved at that age performing it. And I think that is the reason it has lived on.  We have these very reductive ideas of what you're capable of at 16, 17, 18. And my experience of myself at that point was not as a two-dimensional jock or nerd or pretty girl. You are living potentially an even more full life at that point because everything's just so heightened. [Dawson’s Creek] never talked down to the people that it was portraying. That's one of the things that I loved about it as a book nerd growing up. The vocabulary of Dawson's Creek was always above my level and that was refreshing. To go back to the “diversity” conversation, you can't really make a show with six white leads anymore and that’s a good thing. But I also don't know how I feel about taking a thing, rebooting it, and just throwing Black characters in there. 

JJ: I hear that. And there's certain contexts in which it doesn't work unless you're making it a thing about race, right? If you watch Bridgerton, obviously you're living inside of a fantasy world, and so you're bringing Black characters into this traditionally white space and what would historically be a white space. And now you are able to have a conversation about myth-making and inclusion and who gets to say what and who gets to act how. So that's interesting, but I don’t think you’re just throwing in a Black character if you changed Joey to a Black woman [or] Pacey to a Black man. What you're doing is you're enriching the character. Let's say one of those characters is white and one of those characters is Black. Now, there's a whole rich conversation to be had between these two kids, the political times that we live in, the cultural flow that is going through all of us right now. I think that makes a better story. All these conversations around comic books in particular like, "Well, that's a white character." It's like, Man, shut up. What are you talking about? It is a comic book character! Joey and Pacey don't have to be white. Dawson and Jen don't have to be white. And this is what we were talking about a little bit earlier. We get better the broader our perspective is, both as humans, but also in the entertainment industry. So if you went back to a story like [Dawson’s Creek], what was important in that show was class not race, which I think is true for a lot of small Northeastern towns. They are very white. But if you brought race into that as well, you don't diminish the amount of the stories that you can tell. You enrich the tapestry of that show. So I think that would be a great idea.

Make Pacey Witter a Black man in 2021 is what I just heard from you. JJ: Hashtag ‘Make Pacey Witter A Black Man’. There we go!

[therobotmonster]

“The road to crime ends in a trap that justice sets! Crime does not pay!”

That’s the character’s motto. He says it every episode.

Thanks to my need to stim bringing me back to Fallout New Vegas, I’ve been diving into old-timey radio plays, thanks to the “Old World Radio” mod. One of the radio shows included, is, well, it’s something.

The Avenger is, near as I can tell, a successful attempt by the creator of the Shadow to sell the Shadow twice. The Avenger is a somehow famous biochemist named Jim Brandon, who, in addition to mainly working as a personal CSI department for a single bumbling police detective, invented invisibility and a telepathy machine in his spare time.  

He, of course, uses these gadgets to fight crime as the Avenger. The show is pretty forgetable, unless you’re a weirdo like me, in which case it is quite the opposite. Points of interests include:

The “Black light of Invisibility” Jim uses to turn into the Avenger, despite being called a light, is portrayed more as a mist or gas, complete with the activation sound-effect being very obviously one of the actors trying to make the sound of a pressurized canister opening with their mouth. 

The Avenger’s telepathic gizmo is basically a ham radio they can sit by an monitor for flashes of thoughts from people who are being murdered or who are in states of deep terror. The broadcast provides a few context clues but never solves the crime on its own.

The Avenger’s preferred means of crime fighting is solving a case through careful detective work. Once he’s done that, he tends to make himself invisible, follow the baddie into an incriminating situation, and then scare them as a disembodied voice until the cops show up. Thankfully, people are very prone to confessing their crimes loudly to ghosts just as the detective walks through the door.

If you are wondering if invisibility is a thrilling power for a character on a radio program, it is not.

While he tended to fight murderers and blackmailers, the Avenger once battled a mad scientist who made an army of robots to harvest animal, and if he weren’t stopped, human, brains to create a giant amalgam super-brain for his ultimate robot. 

He also thwarted a pair of scamming spiritualists from trying to claim a sort of prototype James Randi prize.

Despite being a vigilante, Jim gives more care to evidence and innocent until proven guilty than the cops, and rarely engages in combat.; He doesn’t really even break locks, he just follows behind people as they go through doors.

My favorite part of the show, however, is the sidekick. Like any good pulp superhero Jim needs someone to talk to (it is a radio program) and thus, there’s his beautiful assistant Fern Collier. She knows his secret, and they’re both clearly smitten with each other. They might as well be married but it was the 40s. I expect if they were written married she’d be expected to be at home. 

She also has an amazing name for a beautiful sidekick character. She sounds like a supporting character in a mid-90s Nicktoon.

Fern is Jim’s assistant, and one would assume that means she’s learning biochemistry, but nope, he seems to be teaching her to be a detective. The thing he isn’t. At least not officially. 

Fern as two main passions:

The first is celebrities. This is partially a division of narrative labor thing, so she can fill Jim in on all the details about actors and socialites that get offed or kidnapped so the audience can know who they are (Jim does the same with scientists and underworld figures), and partially part of her excited, kinda dingy personality. Being an autograph hound sometimes moves the plot along by getting her face-to-face with suspects.

More relatable to ladies today, I think, is Fern’s love of food. There’s a running gag of Jim dragging her to do undercover work at banquets, fancy restaurants and parties only for the crime to keep her from eating. She always comments on the spread anyplace they go, and most episodes end with Jim taking her out so she can make up for the meal she missed out on due to shenanigans. 

Fern’s other job in the story is to get Jim to explain how he figured everything out at the end of the episode, in her role as apprentice detective. Fern’s own detective skills aren’t as sharp as Jim’s, she jumps to conclusions and usually suspects the red herring suspect, but that’s also exactly what the detective does, and Fern’s track record is better.

TLDR: As D-list superheroes go, The Avenger sure is one of them. 

[brindaneer]

Film-making, like almost every other creative endeavour, requires not just an incredible level of talent and hard work but also immense fortitude. Naturally, good films are hard to come by. Masterpieces, however, are rare. A movie is most often just a source of entertainment for viewers; at times, it is a medium of abstract communication with actors they admire. However, cinema truly becomes art only when it is able to stimulate the emotions as well as the artistic sensibilities of its audience. And Jodha Akbar does exactly that. It is without an iota of doubt, a masterpiece of the modern era that ought to be watched by art lovers across the world.

The words ‘Akbar’, ‘Jodha’ and ‘Mughal Empire’, whenever uttered in the context of Indian cinema, have been primarily associated with the all time classic ‘Mughal-e-Azam’. K. Asif’s epic directorial venture of 1960 has remained the benchmark of historical costume dramas in India since its release, not without any reason. Created on a budget of rupees 1.5 crore, considered mammoth six decades ago, Mughal-e-Azam continues to be the greatest Indian blockbuster of all time even today. It amassed roughly 11 crore rupees after its run at the box-office then, which is equivalent to about a massive 2000 crores now. Such is the film’s aura that substantial interest was generated among cine-lovers during the release of its coloured version even as late as in 2004 and 2009. Hence, those were enormous shoes that Ashutosh Gowarikar had to fit in; there was no way of escaping the comparison since the subject matters of both films were too closely related. And because it was Ashutosh Gowarikar, he succeeded.

Not only did he find the perfect story (courtesy of Haider Ali) and draft a soulful script with Haider Ali and K.P. Saxena, he also roped in musical maestro A.R. Rahman and poetic genius Javed Akhtar to take care of the ‘music and lyrics’, two attributes that were required to be absolutely flawless in a period film such as this. While Neeta Lulla’s costumes and accessories made every actor look the part, ace set designer Nitin Desai recreated the Agra and Amer forts at shooting locations with faultless precision. However, all of this could have gone to waste had Ashutosh not been able to get the perfect cast on board. Having Hrithik Roshan and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan as Mughal emperor Akbar and feisty Rajput princess Jodha respectively was nothing short of achieving an ultimate casting coup. And these two were going to be indispensable for the grand success of this colossal project, probably more so than anyone else, except the director himself.

Hrithik Roshan might have already established himself as a terrific nuanced actor in the industry by the time he signed Jodha Akbar but taking on a role which would draw comparisons with the iconic Prithviraj Kapur and the legendary Dilip Kumar himself was a challenge he was yet to undertake. Likewise, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, despite being the undisputed claimant to the title of the ‘most beautiful woman in the world’ during that time (which she still probably is) had never had her talent and beauty measured against the ethereal Madhubala before. Naturally, the burden of expectations lay as much on their shoulders as their director’s. The task at hand was going to be difficult for both but even more for Hrithik since he would be setting foot into the world of period films for the first time. His co-star had had previous experience from Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Devdaas and Doug Lefler’s The Last Legion. The Last Legion in particular, deserves to be mentioned in this context because the sword-fighting training that Aishwarya had received for her role in that film probably helped her in Jodha Akbar too.

Despite not having the advantage of prior experience, Hrithik, like a true artist, owned the character of Akbar, making it seem like he had been playing historical characters all his life. His body-language, attitude, diction, voice modulation and movements were so attuned to someone of Akbar's stature that it took real effort to remember that the latter was a separate person. In a promotional interview before the film’s release, Ashutosh Gowarikar revealed how amazing an experience it was for him to see Hrithik get into the skin of the most famous Mughal of all time with an approach that was a combination of preparedness and spontaneity. Aishwarya too gave everything to the role of Jodha, and made this her career best performance since ‘Provoked’. Anyone who has watched ‘Jodha Akbar’ will agree that it is impossible to even imagine other people playing these two characters. If praise of the common man is not credible enough, let it also be known that Dilip Kumar saab himself was impressed by Hrithik’s versatility as an actor after watching the film at a special screening arranged for him by Ashutosh. He also admitted that the film had rekindled memories of the Magnum Opus ‘Mughal-e- Azam’ for him. Aishwarya too received immense praise for her performance as Jodha from critics, audience and industry colleagues alike.

Although comparisons between Mughal- e- Azam and Jodha Akbar were inevitable, it must be noted that both films dealt with very different aspects of Akbar’s life. While the older classic was about the aged Akbar’s conflicted relationship with his son Salim over the latter’s love affair with Anarkali, a courtesan renowned for her exquisite beauty, Gowarikar’s Jodha Akbar depicted the love story between the young emperor and his first wife, the Rajput princess Jodha. The similarity between both films, apart from Akbar and the Mughals, lay in the fact that the identities of both Anarkali and Jodha had been a matter of contention amongst historians since decades. However, staying true to his meticulous nature, Ashutosh correctly issued a statement explaining that it was not his intention to disrespect any one; Jodha was one among the several historically mentioned names of Akbar’s Rajput wife and it had been chosen in the film over the rest due to its considerable popularity among commoners. Ashutosh was also very clear about the love story between Akbar and Jodha being completely fictional since no such account had ever been documented in history. Basically, the film was a fiction set against a historical backdrop, and as far as that setting was concerned, Ashutosh tried to be as accurate as possible, building a story around events that had been recorded in the Akbarnama.

Now that we have given the prelude, it is time to experience the film all over again, and we hope that prospect excites our readers. ‘Jodha Akbar’ opens with the second battle of Panipat that took place in 1556 A.D. between Mughal forces led by the child Emperor Jalaluddin Mohammad’s regent, Bairam Khan, and King Hemu. After defeating the latter, the Mughals were able to recapture the throne of Delhi. The war scenes are all flawlessly directed, keeping in mind the period and style of warfare adopted during that time, something that is naturally expected from a director whose resume boasts of films like ‘Lagaan’ and ‘Swades’. By the time Hrithik appears on the silver screen in one of the most challenging roles of his life, six years have elapsed and Jalal is an adult. Demonstrating his terrific grasp of the character, Hrithik sweeps the audience off their feet as Jalal finally sends Bairam Khan away to Mecca after stopping him from beheading the unarmed defeated opponent, and effectively takes over the administration of ‘Hindustan’ ('Ab apne faisle hum khud lena chahte hain'). Hrithik’s portrayal of Jalal’s suppressed rage as well as authority in this scene was a delight to watch then, and remains so even after all these years. As Jalal plans to annex the entire Rajputana, we are introduced to the other half of the film’s title, princess Jodha. Adept at sword-fighting, having learnt the skill from her cousin Sujamal (played beautifully by the talented Sonu Sood), Gowarikar’s Jodha is the perfect example of ‘beauty with brains’. Aishwarya is as graceful at sword-fighting as she usually is while dancing and imbibes the exact body language required to play a Rajput princess aptly.

Staying loyal to historical facts, Ashutosh Gowarikar depicts Jodha and Jalal’s marriage just as it actually was- a politically motivated alliance. Troubled by Jalal’s over-ambitious brother-in-law Sharifuddin, Jodha’s father, the King of Amer, requests Jalal to marry his daughter so that Amer could obtain Mughal security (In the film, Raja Bharmal of Amer sees Jalal for the first time as he tames a wild elephant in a superbly executed action sequence. Hrithik obviously did it himself, and in order to ensure his safety, he used to feed the said elephant regularly before the shooting of this particular scene took place). Her father’s decision comes as a rude shock to the young Jodha who does not want to compromise her culture after marriage, and is therefore left devastated. Despite not being completely sure about the proposal initially, Jalal eventually agrees to it in front of the Dargah of Khwaja Moinuddin Chisti as he realizes that this inter-faith marriage may be of assistance in promoting religious harmony throughout the country. In a beautiful monologue, he admits to the Khwaja that religious differences were the reason why previous rulers had not been able to establish their rule over the entire ‘Hindustan’; he believes his marriage with Jodha shall solve that problem.

However, Jodha’s decision is yet to come. She is not a stereotypical submissive sixteenth century female, unable to stand up for her own rights. Instead, she is brave enough to summon the Mughal emperor to her tent and lay two conditions in front of him, the fulfilment of which, is mandatory for her agreement with this new association (the famous ‘Humari do maange hain’ scene). First, she does not want to be forced into giving up her religion and customs; second, she wants a temple to be built inside her room in the Mughal palace for her spiritual guide, Lord Krishna. Aishwarya is enthralling in this scene; her calm yet rigid posture and polite yet bold speech are worth watching. Hrithik is simply magnigficent here; no other adjective is suitable enough to describe his phenomenal performance as Jalal hears Jodha out and later recounts the two demands to her relatives and rest of the entourage. He obviously goes on to accept these demands, his respect for Jodha increasing in leaps and bounds at her fearlessness and simplicity (‘Amer ki Rajkumari ke bekhawf jasbe aur saadgi ko hum salaam karte hain’). Naturally, Jodha has no other option left other than agreeing to the marriage.

Had the director wanted, the wedding could have been an elaborate dramatic affair, but Ashutosh Gowarikar is not just another director looking for success through gimmicks. The grand wedding sequence lasts only for about a few seconds during which Jodha and Jalal wed each other as per both Hindu and Islamic traditions in an exemplary display of socio-religious amalgamation. Any extra time devoted to this would have been unnecessary and detrimental to the pace of the movie. After the wedding, a group of Sufi singers perform the utterly captivating ‘Khwaja mere Khwaja’, one of A.R. Rahman’s all time best compositions, in probably the most poetic Hindi film sequence of recent times. Such was its impact upon Mr. Bachchan that he termed it the ‘most apocalyptic moment’ in cinema since the great Stanley Kubrik’s ‘2001: A Space Odyssey’. It is not just the song that casts a spell upon the audience during this scene; rather, the direction and acting, in conjunction with the soulful music engender a near hypnotic effect among viewers which last in their minds forever. Hrithik’s expressions as Jalal experiences a spiritual epiphany and joins the Sufis in a trance are simply fascinating. He is a privilege to watch. The scene is an acting masterclass in itself and had he received every existing accolade for this moment alone, it would still not have been unfair.

Jodha and Jalal’s first night together is another instance of the subtlety that this film ceaselessly displays. Jalal, perceptive enough to understand that Jodha’s unyielding attitude towards his romantic gestures is not shyness in disguise, but unwillingness to be with him, has the perfect solution- she is free to leave him if that is what she wants. However, once again giving proof of her simplicity and honesty, Jodha directly confesses that she has no intention whatsoever of walking out of this relationship despite her inhibitions towards it; for her it is an unbreakable bond that shall last unto death. Respecting her wishes, Jalal vows to never be intimate with her against her will. Hrithik and Aishwarya’s acting styles truly compliment Ashutosh’s direction as is evident from this scene among many others in the film; without an ounce of melodrama, they are able to set the stage for an epic love story ridden not just with external impediments but personal inhibitions as well.

The rest of the movie is basically a collection of beautiful moments between the two leads, interspersed with an optimal amount of drama to propel the plot. The first sequence post their marriage that needs to be discussed in detail is the Deewan-E- Aam scene followed by the part wherein Jalal and Jodha see each other's faces without a curtain or ‘ghoonghat’ in between. As Jalal conducts his first hearing at the Deewan-E-Aam after his marriage to the Hindu Jodha, he, quite expectedly, faces opposition from the Ulemas of the court regarding his decision. However, before he is able to solve the problem at hand, the melodious voice of his newly wed bride distracts him, thereby interrupting the court proceedings. The expressions on everyone's face are worth watching as Jalal leaves his throne and begins to walk out of the court, clearly too engrossed to even officially dismiss everyone present. Realization hits him a bit too late, leaving him embarrassed in front of the entire Deewan-E-Aam, but he manages to salvage the situation by uttering an awkward 'Takliya'. This entire scene is once again a brilliant testimony to the skills of the director who expertly incorporates subtle humour in such a serious scene without overdoing any of it or making it seem farcical. Hrithik's performance here is admirable, his comic timing being absolutely flawless. Drawn by Jodha's entrancing voice, Jalal enters her 'Mahal' and they see each other for the first time in what was arguably the most romantic meeting sequence of Bollywood then and has been so since the last two decades. Ashutosh does not provide the actors with any dialogues here, who, therefore, rely completely on facial expressions to convey their feelings towards each other. Hrithik has been a master in expressions since he first entered the industry and in this scene, he is at his nuanced best. But Aishwarya is no less, and that is precisely why their interaction looks so natural and enchanting. With tiny eye gestures and body postures, they express admiration for each other's physical appearance, their eyes speaking a thousand words at once. The part where she wants him to put sindur on her, and he fails to understand initially, is such a wonderful portrayal of his willingness to understand and respect her culture that it strikes a chord with one and all.

For Jalal, it is almost love at first sight. Though completely smitten by her, he knows instinctively that Jodha is going to take more time, no matter how impressed she is with him. In the next few minutes, Ashutosh shows Jalal and Jodha gradually treading the first steps of love with Javed Ali's mellifluous voice ringing in the background. 'Kehne ko jashn-e-bahara hai, ishq ye dekh ke hairaan hai, phool se khushboo khafa khafa hai gulshan mein, chupa hai koi ranj fiza ki chilman mein'. When the inimitable Javed Akhtar is in charge of lyrics, songs get transformed into dialogues and help the story to march forward. Jashn-e-bahara does just that, and does so exquisitely. It challenges the notion that romantic scenes must always entail physical intimacy, and proves that sometimes a look or a smile is worth much more. Most of the credit for this should go to Hrithik and Aishwarya who defy every existing idea about screen chemistry by making heartbeats race even through mundane acts such as walking side by side while glancing furtively at each other, or smiling in embarrassment as they sit miles apart in a garden. Who says old-fashioned romance is always boring? When two individuals are able to set silver-screens ablaze by just standing together in one frame, every trivial action becomes exciting.

Scattered in between their light-hearted romantic moments during this prolonged sequence are two ‘more important’ ones. The first one depicts Jalal in an angry mood as he admonishes Maham Anga’s son Adham Khan when the latter dares to insult Jodha; as his awe-inspiring authoritative ‘Khabardar Adham, Rajkumari ka naam adab se lo. Ye na bhulo ki ab wo Malika- e- Hindustaan hain’ echoes through the silent night and reaches Jodha, she understands the extent of his respect for her and there is an expression of happy pride on her countenance. The second is probably everyone’s guilty pleasure and inspired multiple ‘tele-serial adaptations’ back in the day; while Jalal practices moves with the sword bare-bodied, Jodha suddenly catches sight of his chiselled body and cannot stop staring. In a brilliant directorial move, Ashutosh makes her put the plate of worship down so that she can actually concentrate on the view better 😂😁🤩🤩. Aishwarya is terrific here, portraying Jodha’s attraction to her husband perfectly although in an extremely nuanced manner. Of course when the man in question is Hrithik Roshan, it helps. Jalal is shrewd enough to notice his ‘wifey dearest’ and catches her off guard by turning around suddenly after which the poor girl hastily draws the curtains. Hrithik’s mischievious look is a treat to eyes! But seriously, how mean of him to intrude upon his wife’s private moment of ‘adoring her husband’ that way?🤪🤪

Being one of the best directors in the industry, Ashutosh Gowarikar ensures that his film contains the right mix of romance and drama. The first instance of drama in the movie since the wedding is provided by Maham Anga, Jalal’s ‘Badi Ammi’ (played by the exceptional Ila Urun) a politically shrewd woman, whose possessiveness for her foster son and displeasure at the advent of a strong-willed intelligent Rajput princess into the fort of Agra makes her vindictive towards the said person. When Jodha decides to prepare authentic Rajput food herself after Jalal orders a ‘Rajputi Daawat’ on the day of ‘Peer’ in her honour, Maham Anga spews venom at her through harsh words and accuses her of trying to establish control over the kitchen, and eventually Jalal himself. Jodha, although shocked, gives her befitting replies, and ultimately completes the entire cooking by herself. The scene that follows could easily have been a disaster if it had been handled by an ordinary director; it could have been an excruciatingly slow and boring sequence testing the patience of the audience. The fact that it is one of the most interesting parts of the entire film is a measure of Ashutosh Gowarikar’s genius. Substantial credit must also be given to the actors including supporting ones without whom Ashutosh might not have been able to produce the desired outcome in this scene ultimately. However, this scene belongs to Aishwarya Rai Bachchan. Her shock at being insulted by Maham Anga when she asks her to taste the food before serving it to the emperor, rage as she turns to her husband for support, and suppressed anger as well as sadness when she realizes that there is no way out are nothing short of mesmerizing. Her genuine happiness when Jalal decides to have food from the same plate she has eaten and her sly look towards Maham Anga are a sight to behold. Truly, Aishwarya is probably one of the most underrated actresses in our industry; she is fantastic but does not always get the due credit for it. Most of the time, it is her beauty and personality that gets talked about. Nevertheless, she is a terrific actress too and we sincerely hope people acknowledge that more often. Hrithik supports her fascinatingly throughout the scene, his eyes showing anger, helplessness and embarrassment at his wife’s insult flawlessly. It is the mark of a great actor to allow his co-actors to soar when the scene requires so. In an old interview, while explaining why Aishwarya was his favourite co-star, Hrithik said that they had very similar working styles which made them more compatible with each other; according to him, both of them were more concerned with the larger picture, and did not care if they were being given importance in every frame or not. This particular scene is the perfect example of that working style he was talking about.

The ‘Rajputi Dawat’ sequence changes something between Jodha and Akbar; they have managed to cross that initial threshold of hesitation towards each other. However, just when they are gradually coming closer, circumstances and people pull them apart. When Adham Khan murders one of Jalal’s most trustworthy ministers, Shamsuddin-Muhammad-Atgah-Khan, and intrudes into the emperor’s personal premises with a sword, the latter tackles him and orders royal guards to throw the traitor with his head downwards into the ground below. When he is only half dead after the first fall, Jalal, showing his cruel side, orders his soldiers to bring Adham up to the roof so that they can throw him down again. Future generations will remember Hrithik for this scene among many; he is spectacular here with a stance that is completely majestic and a face that exudes rage and grief in equal measure. He was actually able to generate tangible fear amongst the audience back when the film had released; we still remember the collective gasp at the theatre during this scene. This is also the first time Jodha gets acquainted with Jalal’s darker side. Until this moment, she had known him as a gentle, understanding young man; now she sees him as capable of being cruel to someone. Aishwarya’s portrayal of fear is spot on and subtle with no melodrama whatsoever, for which the director also deserves praise.

The next scene had actually been deleted from the movie to manage its length but we genuinely feel it should have been included due to its significance. Horrified at Jalal’s action, Jodha confronts him in a terrific angsty sequence only to realize that Jalal is mourning the loss of a father figure in Shamsuddin-Muhammad-Atgah-Khan. Hrithik is superlative as Jalal breaks down and confesses to his wife about being orphaned again. This is the most tender moment both have yet experienced, and that realization is clearly etched upon Jodha’s face, who gives her heart-broken husband sound advice. She understands why he killed Adham, but asks him to apologize in front of Maham Anga, despite all the troubles the latter has created for her. We surely would not have minded sitting in the theatre for a few extra minutes to watch this brilliant scene Mr. Gowarikar!

The scene wherein Jalal explains his behaviour to Maham Anga is one of the most important sequences in the film for multiple reasons. Firstly, the acting is phenomenal; emotions have always been Hrithik’s forte and what do we say about Ila Urun? We are probably not qualified enough. So, its better to just bow our heads in respect and keep quiet. Second, this is when Maham Anga is able to instigate Jalal against Jodha by feeding him false information. She shows him a container of poison that her spy had extracted from Jodha’s personal belongings earlier and lies that his wife may be planning to harm him. In reality, Jodha’s mother had given her the poison so that she could kill herself if she feared of being dishonoured by her husband after the marriage. Maham Anga also misleads him by talking about a letter that Jodha has written to Rajkumar Ratan Singh, the Rajput prince, she had been betrothed to since her childhood. This letter had actually been written by Jodha to her cousin Sujamal, who had left Amer after being denied the throne. In the letter, Jodha had requested him to rescue her from being married off to the Mughal emperor. However, she had never sent it. After finding it in Jodha’s room, Maham Anga sends it to Sujamal, to take advantage of the situation and create a rift between Jalal and his wife. Unfortunately, this diabolical ploy works because of Jalal’s blind trust in his ‘Badi Ammi’. Upon receiving the letter, Sujamal believes it to be genuine, and goes to the Agra fort at night without caring about the risk. Jodha comes out to meet him, surprised at this sudden visit, but assures him that she is happy with Jalal. To her misfortune, her husband, who has never seen Sujamal or Ratan Singh before believes the intruder to be the latter and sends soldiers to capture him. Sujamal escapes, but only after thinking that Jodha deliberately called him there to be arrested. Meanwhile, Jalal accuses her of plotting with Ratan Singh behind his back. Outraged and shocked at this humiliation, Jodha tells him that Maham Anga is the one who has caused this entire misunderstanding. When Jalal refuses to believe her, she asks what punishment he has in mind. And, he tells her to go back to her parental house! Jodha naturally feels terribly insulted at his decision, and decides to leave him and protect her self-respect! This is a wonderfully executed sequence with the two leads reacting to each other masterfully, and turning it into one of the best angsty interactions ever. This was also the moment that Ashutosh chose as the point of intermission, a sound decision obviously because to be very honest, by this time the audience was indeed in need of some food and drinks 😄😄. On a serious note, this was a watershed moment in the lives of our two lead characters, and a perfect opportunity to take a break and come back refreshed.

Any analysis of Gowarikar’s Jodha Akbar is bound to be elaborate simply because it is impossible to designate any scene from the film as unimportant or bad. It is not for nothing that we termed this film a masterpiece at the beginning of this blog. Every second of it is still a pleasure to the senses and deserves mention. However, for the purpose of your sanity and ours (not to mention the time constraint), it is vital that we take an ‘interval’ too, and analyse the second part of the movie in a separate blog. Don’t worry, we will not take too long. So au revoir as the French say ; hopefully you will bestow your good wishes upon us once again like you have till now.❤️❤️

[luninosity]

Okay, I’d already had the idea, so I couldn’t resist! One final @whumptober2020 ficlet (so...extra completion, I guess? :D ) for theme 30 (because I’d forgotten I’d already done that one!) NOW WHERE DID THAT COME FROM? prompt: Ignoring an Injury

This one’s in the Character Bleed universe! It’s a Sam/Leo story, set sometime in the future...

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Sam had seen a decent amount of television, and a decent amount of science fiction. He’d even seen a few episodes of this particular show, though not one in which Leo’s amoral space villain character popped up.

 He waited very quietly where he’d been told to wait, out of the way behind cameras. He gazed at the movie set. They were filming in Ireland, in a wild jumble of dark rocks and crashing waves that’d stand in for an alien planet. Sam had never been to Ireland, or on a movie set, before.

 Before Leo Whyte. Before kisses like rainbows, and brightly-colored teacups appearing in the morning, and the way Leo’s eyes warmed, green and brown shifting like shyly happy sand, every time Sam took his hand.

 Dating an actor wasn’t without complications. Leo spent more money on new couch pillows than Sam had spent on an entire couch, and generously offered to pay for Sam’s whole family to visit London, and genuinely had no idea how to navigate a supermarket. Leo wasn’t Colby Kent levels of famous, but was recognizable enough that cameras popped up at airports and restaurants, and only the day before Sam had stepped to the side while Leo smiled and took pictures, as requested, with a group of fans who’d spotted them in a Reykjavik bookshop. That’d taken at least twenty minutes.

 He watched Leo and the other actors get into position, crashed spaceship behind them. The male lead, the counterpart to Leo’s delightfully over-the-top petulant wickedness, said something that made Leo laugh, a joke or a comment. They were all dressed in tattered post-crash versions of science fiction extravagance, colorful and quirky. Leo’s long coat billowed in Icelandic wind; he glanced across rocks and cameras toward Sam, and waved enthusiastically before flopping down into rubble.

 Dating an actor might be complicated. But dating Leo Whyte made Sam’s whole world more wonderful. Bigger. Way more full of rainbows. He wouldn’t be anywhere else.

 He stayed out of the way. No one minded him being on the set—in fact, the director had been enthused about Leo’s photographer boyfriend dropping by, especially after Sam’s portraits of Colby Kent and Jason Mirelli’d had such an impact, and had said it’d be an honor if Sam wanted to document some of the filming process—but Sam was also very aware that he knew next to nothing about the intricacies of television production.

 He had been capturing moments all week, and he’d happily contribute to a behind-the-scenes book. He was honestly amazed to have been asked, and asked in that tone of voice. He was still getting used to people knowing his name.

 They began rolling. Leo’s character woke up first, struggling upright. He’d been responsible for sabotaging the ship, of course; but he had not planned for an outright crash.

 He gazed around: at broken rocks, at a split-open ship hull, at flung bodies of companions. His expression changed; his whole posture changed. So many emotions ran through hazel eyes, lingered in the tip of his head, the set of his shoulders. He could escape. He could finish off his sworn enemy. He could try to contact his evil minions, back with the fleet.

 Leo was so good at embodying a character, Sam thought. So brilliant. So talented. So much nuance. So amazing.

 And his chest and body and even fingertips glowed, despite chilly wind: that was his boyfriend, being a genius.

 Leo—clearly still shaken from the crash—staggered to the body of that adversary, that equal. The hero. Injured—badly so, a skewer of metal through his stomach—and bleeding, unconscious. At his mercy.

 Leo, in character, dropped to both knees. Looked at the hero; looked at the blood; looked at the rocks, his own hands, the pouch at his belt that held poisons, communications arrays, sonic weapons. They’d fought each other and challenged each other and taunted each other for years, in the course of the show, on and off: a relationship fraught and crackling with intensity.

 Leo’s character had studied energy transference, vital forces, psychic powers. He put out a hand. Rested it on the dying hero’s chest. No other characters, no companions, had stirred yet, though they would momentarily, on cue.

 Special effects wizardry would transform the moment, Sam knew. But he looked at Leo’s face: calm, making a choice, no hesitation.

 The wounds should fade. Vanishing. Healing.

 Transferred.

 They did not cut—the visual effects would handle the vanishing—but let the scene play out. The hero gasped in a breath, woke, sat up easily. Took in the situation with rapid-fire intellect. Spun to glare at Leo’s villain, who was now leaning back insouciantly against a broken piece of spaceship, arms crossed.

 Leo just smiled. The hero demanded, “Don’t just stand there, be useful!” and pushed himself to his feet. “Shouldn’t expect anything else, should I…”

 “No.” Leo didn’t move. “Why would I help you?”

 “You’re still here. Why didn’t you run?”

 “Perhaps my plan requires my presence. Shouldn’t you assist your minions?”

 “They’re companions!” But he was, even as he scowled at Leo some more. “Just stay out of the way.”

 Leo gave an ironic small salute. The main cast pretended to come to, waking up, groaning, checking on each other. Discussions began happening: where they’d landed, repairs, what to do next.

 Leo, with no one paying him any mind, slid a hand inside his shirt, between fasteners. His fingers came away red; he looked at them for a moment, then buttoned his coat, dark and tight, over the shirt. Hiding the wound. Concealing the layers of emotion.

 Sam, watching, felt his heart speed up. Of course it was the character, of course he felt for the character—but it was Leo too, his Leo, beautiful and wounded and exhausted, and nobody’d ever know how much he’d just done, the pain he’d taken, for a man who’d sworn to fight him…

 Leo’s face was aware of all of that, in that second. And Sam, despite knowing it was fictional, ached for him. Hated everyone who’d ever made him lonely. Loathed the blood on Leo’s hand, under the shirt.

 Leo looked up as the good characters all turned his way, and said brightly, “Come to a glorious optimistic decision, have we?”

 “Be quiet for once,” grumbled the angriest of the companions, “prisoners don’t get to talk. We’re taking you to the Time Authority.”

 “Ah, a plan. I shall look forward to seeing how you’ll manage it, with no working transport or communications.” Leo held out both wrists for binders, ironic. “Lead on.”

 They began to walk, just enough for the shot; Leo stumbled. Caught himself, bound hands lingering against a chunk of ship for support, for an instant. “Sorry, just a rock, terribly treacherous, aren’t they?”

 “You’d know about treacherous,” said the hero, quiet and frustrated and not knowing anything of what had happened moments ago; and he caught Leo’s shoulder. “Come on.”

 They took a few more steps. And cut there.

 Sam sagged into his chair, worn out by emotion. And he was only watching. Christ.

 They did it all again, and again. Four times. Five. Leo was brilliant every time: dry and clever with dialogue, and silently profoundly compassionate, in a complicated and selfish way, when kneeling beside his adversary. Transferring the injury, letting himself bleed for the man he loved and battled and hated and was drawn to; and saying nothing about it, knowing they’d all believe he simply didn’t want to lift a finger.

 Six times, and they were done; they’d have a bit of a break while moving to the next location, the corner of a fortress in black rock and whipping winds. Leo wriggled hands out of prop binders, waved at cast-mates, and ran over to Sam. “What’d you think?”

 “I think you’re amazing.” He caught both of Leo’s hands, laughing; he leaned into the kiss. “So much emotion. Your expression—I mean, wow.”

 Leo’s whole face brightened. He loved compliments, and rarely believed them, Sam knew: a hell of a lot of self-doubt hid under on-set pranks and kitten-adoption events. “It worked, then? I did think it went well, but then again I never feel like I know for sure. And it’s been some time since my last appearance. I was worried about getting back into the rhythm.”

 “I felt it all. And I’m not even caught up with the show.” Sam glanced at Leo’s fingers, at a smudge of fake blood. Some of it had soaked through his shirt, and the coat. “It felt…real.”

 And for a second, a split second, it did. He knew it wasn’t—he knew—but he’d said it aloud, and he could see the red, and he’d just watched Leo stumble and trip and stagger with pain, and it’d looked so…

 “Oh, Sam.” Leo’s hands tightened around his, grip made of fingerless gloves and affection. “Thank you for the lovely praise, and I shall try not to let it feed my ego? What does one feed an ego? Is it like an eagle? Sort of carnivorous, and rather dangerous? I expect it could be, if one pushes the metaphor. Would you like tea?”

 Sam, who knew exactly how Leo’s brain worked by now—the steps might not be obvious but made perfect sense, from bashful deflection to silly word-association to surprisingly insightful philosophy to making sure other people were taken care of and well-fed, both in terms of comfort and tea—said, “I love you, you know.” He did.

 “I love you, and I love it when you say nice things to me.” Leo batted eyes at him, long-lashed and weightless. That was a joke, one that covered up absolute sincerity. “I’m glad I managed to make it believable. I’m obviously not at all presently being skewered by a spaceship section, not even a magically transferred invisible one, so it’s a bit difficult to act, in that sense.”

 “Yeah,” Sam said. “I’m glad you’re not being skewered.” He held Leo’s hand; they wandered toward craft services and a tea break, over scattered rocks, through slicing wind. Sam’s own coat was cozy and thick; he nearly asked whether Leo wanted it. That outfit couldn’t be very warm.

 A personal assistant ran up. Thrust a blanket, large and woolly, Leo’s way. Leo took it and managed to transform it into a swooping fashion statement, a bundle of plaid and protection, and thanked her as she bounced off to continue blanket-deliveries elsewhere. Sam relaxed a little more.

 Leo said, watching his face, “They do keep us warm, you know.”

 “I know.”

 “Are you having thoughts about ways we might warm up back at the hotel? Scented oils in a bathtub? A massage? Fabulous sex while I give you a massage in the bathtub with scented oils?”

 A passing pair of extras, dressed for guard duty at the planetary fortress, froze mid-step and turned wide eyes Leo’s direction. Leo put up a hand and wiggled fingers, a wave. “I’ll see you in a few moments, and you can menace me with those laser spears! Looking forward to it!”

 The taller extra opened his mouth, closed it, and managed, “Us too!” Leo beamed, saluted them, and kept walking.

 “You’re not actually going to die, though,” Sam said. Leo’s fingers were still too cold, in his. He despised the invention of fingerless gloves. “I mean, on the show. They love bringing you back. Though—are you allowed to tell me? Don’t, if you’ll get in trouble.”

 “You and I are such different people,” Leo said cheerfully, and stopped walking just to kiss him. “I love spoilers. I love knowing everything. Especially when no one else knows. But, sadly, it’s not a secret, at least not here on set. No, I’m decidedly not going to die. He’ll choose to let me go. So I can show up again later on. Everybody lives. It’s marvelous.”

 “I like that,” Sam said. “Everybody lives. It’s a good ending.”

 “Even the villain of the story,” Leo said. “Yes.”

 “You’re not the villain. Antagonist, yeah. Anti-hero. But not a villain.”

 “Really?”

 “You save people. Yeah, it’s what you want too, it’s because you need him alive, you’re obsessed, all that. But you still save him, and then you help him, because you know he won’t leave his crew behind, and you want him to be…not happy, exactly, but…out there. Free. For you to find again. So, yeah. Not a villain.”

 “Yes,” Leo said, “yes. That’s what I—thank you. For that.” His eyes were green and brown and pleased as spring.

 “I get to give you a massage later,” Sam said. “And warm you up. You know. While you recover from magically transferred skewerings.�� I love you, he meant. I want you warm and happy, underneath me, on top of me, whichever you want, as long as you’re here and laughing and probably making terrible jokes about the size of someone’s laser spear, in bed. I’ll make tea after, if you want. That blend that reminds you of home.

 “All of that sounds splendid,” Leo agreed, clutching a fold of blanket as it started to slip, other hand still in Sam’s. The wind tugged at his hair, ruffling dramatically spiked blond strands. “You know how much I love your hands on me. All over. Every…inch of me.”

 Sam had to grin. Leo Whyte, he thought again. His Leo. Finding a way for Sam to fuss over him, guessing Sam might need to affirm that every last bit of red was only fake, just in case, just to know; and then flipping it all into a sex joke. Ridiculous. Adorable. Perfect.

 He said, “Sounds like a plan, then. I love all your inches.”

[thecrownnet]

Josh O’Connor may best be known for this breakthrough role in 2017’s God’s Own Country but the Southampton-born actor has been cultivating a catalog of great film and television performances for years. From The Riot Club and The Program in film and Doctor Who, Peaky Blinders, Ripper Street and The Durrells on TV, O’Connor has built a resume that made him the perfect choice to play the most challenging role of his career, Prince Charles in season three of Netflix’s The Crown. O’Connor play the Prince of Wales at a turning point in the would be king’s life, from the early years of his relationship with Camilla Bowles (the Diana years will show up in season four) to the daunting task of figuring out how to lead the commonwealth when the time comes.

I caught up with two-time BIFA winning actor to talk about God’s Own Country, his role in The Crown, what he likes and doesn’t like about biopics and playing real people and Todd Haynes’ I’m Not There.

I wanted to start by talking with you about God’s Own Country, which quickly became a cornerstone of queer cinema, and I think took off in a way most people weren’t expecting. Can you tell me a little bit the impact working on that film had for you?

It was a kind of monumental moment for me and I think a big moment for queer cinema and insofar as it was kind of a gay love story that we hadn’t seen before, you know, in terms of one that ended with hope and one that told a kind of positive story. It was something maybe we’d seen before, but, it’s rare and people were obviously hungry for that. And so it touched many people and I feel like it’s rare that your project gets to have that effect on people. So it was a kind of, it was a huge moment for me. In terms of kind of career wise also just as a creative, as an actor, I think it was a moment of realization about technique and how I want to work. It built a process, which I still use the basis of now. And so yeah, it was really impactful for me.

I love that. Earlier this year you had Emma., how was it stepping into Mr. Elton’s shoes?

(laughs) It was very different than anything I’ve done before. I’ve never done comedy before. Autumn de Wilde, who is an exceptionally talented director, came in and it was very clear she wanted a kind of Peter Cook-esque Mr Elton and we’ve talked about him having a sort of darker side, which we touch on in the film. I think it was real, I loved it, it was kind of getting to stretch my muscles, my comedic muscles I suppose. And yeah, it was a real treat and it’s a lovely, beautiful ensemble film.

Diving into The Crown, had you watched the first two seasons of the show to help inform you of the style or approach to the series?

Yes, I had. I’d seen the first two and I’m very good friends with Vanessa Kirby who played Margaret so, I initially watched it as a kind of support for my friends, but then absolutely, obviously got hooked and I think the first two series’ are exceptional. Claire Foy is kind of spellbinding, Matt Smith I think is extraordinary as Philip, and often sort of, it’s underplayed how brilliant he was. I absolutely loved it and then be a part of this group of actors who I totally adore and look up to, you know, the likes of Tobias Menzies, to go from Matthew is extraordinary, and Olivia Colman and Helena Bonham Carter, you know, these are all people that I aspire to so it’s been a real treat.

What were the main sources and figuring out who Prince Charles is on a personal level?

Well, I think there were a few things to kind of brought out the personal, but initially when I started with Charles, I spent so much time watching footage of him, or hearing recordings of him from the period. After a while I got to the point where I was like, actually, I don’t know that this has helped. It certainly isn’t helping me get any closer to the character and certainly isn’t getting close to who Charles really is behind closed doors. And so I sort of threw all that out the window. The thing that got me there more than anything was something that Peter Morgan had written, which is I think episode eight of series three. Charles described his life as being like he as being like a character in Dangling Man. He says, the character is a working class blue collar guy from Chicago and he’s waiting to be drafted to go to war and he actually wants to be drafted because it’ll give his life meaning, even though it means that they’ll go to a certain death.

And the idea that Charles, Prince Charles is this young boy who’s actually waiting for his own mother to die in order for his life to take meaning, I just thought that was a kind of, it locked into a sort of tragic narrative of this young boy that is so rare and an extraordinary. So that was the kind of, that was the crux of it.

When you’re playing somebody that is so well known, how do you strike the balance between impression and interpretation and what do you think you brought to Prince Charles?

Yeah, that’s such a good question. It’s a question I don’t know the answer to, yet. The best way to, for me, in my personal view of it as an audience member, is that I never enjoy seeing in any kind of biopic or whenever I see an actor playing a real person, I find it very difficult to watch and actor to do something really exactly like the person.

I don’t know why. I think it becomes too much like an impression. And what I always loved is that there was a great film called I’m Not There, which is about Bob Dylan. And so it was like eight or nine actors playing Dylan at different stages in his life and not just different stages but playing different aspects of his personality. So Cate Blanchett, plays the kind of more recognizable Dylan, which is the sort of public eye Dylan, you had Heath Ledger playing the kind of rock and roll Dylan, you had a young actor [Marcus Carl Franklin] playing the Woody Guthrie influenced Bob Dylan. So you had all these different actors, all totally different and most of them looked nothing like and resembled him in no way. And I remember that was the most powerful representation of Dylan I’ve seen or of anyone I’ve seen and I thought when I’m playing Prince Charles there’s no point in me spending all this time trying to get his voice and trying to look like him and walk like him.

Those things will happen naturally. And I think, you know, it’s good to have little aspects and little notes that people feel safe and comfortable in the knowledge secure that you are playing Prince Charles. But as soon as you can get rid of those, the earlier you can get rid of those, the the more interesting and the more adaptive that character is, the more influential that character can be. And as I say, it’s more interesting seeing Josh play Prince Charles than it is seeing just seeing Prince Charles.

I love that example of I’m Not There. It’s a brilliant movie and it is such a great way to bring an audience into a character without feeling like you’re just watching video footage.

Exactly. Because there’s documentary. We also undersell the brilliant art form that is documentary, which I absolutely adore it. There’s nothing better than watching old footage of Charles. I love it. But it’s not the same. I want to see an actor play and Claire Foy is a great example. I should stop rambling but Claire Foy is a great example of an actress who plays the queen so stupendously everyone in the world sat up right when they watched Claire and Matt Smith in series one and two. And it wasn’t because there was, ‘Oh my God,’ she looked and speaks exactly like the queen at that age. Most of us don’t know what the queen looked like at that age and it sounded like at that age because there wasn’t very much TV. So actually all we’re looking at is an incredible performance of the character. And I think I remember watching Claire and Matt and thinking ‘let’s focus on that.’ Let’s not try and play Prince Charles, let’s try and play the character.

Again, that’s a perfect example that makes perfect sense. There’s a turning point in the series when Charles, as the Prince of Wales, has to learn to speak Welsh. Did you know any Welsh or was this something new for you as well?

I mean, I certainly knew no Welsh. I’d never spoken a word of Welsh in my life a lot. I’d heard the language. One of the most kind of influential or most magical moments from when I was in grammar school was I heard an old recording of Dylan Thomas reading Under Milk Wood and was a beautiful radio play that he wrote and it was and poetical and beautiful and Dylan speaks it in this kind of like raucous Welsh voice. It’s like, mind blowing, and it was a kind of really special moment. So that combined with the fact that I love Wales the country, I felt very great affinity for the Welsh language. But as I said, I had no idea. So it’s very much, it was very much kind of like Charles’ feelings about having to learn it. There were muffs the same as mine and we went through a long process of learning everything. And yeah, I mean it’s great. I still know the speech now, but I don’t know what it means.

Which brings us right to that monumental episode where you have to give the speech for his investiture. Tell me about that sequence, which I think is just extraordinary in this series.

It’s a beautifully written episode. It has so much significance because it’s about Charles stepping up and becoming an adult. To me it was the thing that convinced me to take the role in the first place. I suddenly realized this as a young man who is, in my in recent history, is kind of known as a bit of a wally [British slang for ineffectual or foolish]. He goes around and talks about the environment, which of course we all know he was right. In the 80s and 90s he was considered a bit of a buffoon. And then there’s the Diana years and the thing that got me and took and basically convinced me to take the role was I suddenly realized he’s a lost boy and the investiture episode is him taking that lost boy and going, ‘No, I’m going to own this and I’m going to become a man.’

Jumping off that a bit, what do you think was the most misunderstood thing about Charles from this period of his life?

I think sort of the misunderstood thing of most of the Royal families, is that they had some perfect childhood. I mean, in terms of financially, they probably had a pretty great childhood, but I think terms of relationships to parents, relationships to siblings, they’re just like anyone else. I mean, they’re difficult. They have their ups and their downs. He was a lost boy but a lost boy with the knowledge that he was going to have to at some point lead, be the king, the reign of England, of the Commonwealth of this huge empire and we now know, it’s taken an entire lifetime and he still isn’t the King.

I think that’s the biggest thing that hopefully people have taken. There’s been a great response within people calling out and saying they feel great sorrow for Charles now. So hopefully that’s what they’ll take.

In looking forward to the future of your career, do you have a dream role in mind that you’d like to play?

I don’t know actually. It’s one of these questions that so hard because I’m always surprised when I say something quick and then a script will come through with a totally original role and there’s nothing better than a new script and a role that you’ve never thought of. It grabs me. But I suppose there are plenty of performances I’ve always kind of aspired to like Daniel Day-Lewis has played and those kind of fully formed characters or Tom Hanks. Those are the kinds of roles that you dream of. In terms of theater it’s easy because everyone wants to play Richard II or Hamlet. I’ve always wanted to play Richard II, so one day hopefully I’ll be able to do that. But beyond that, certainly the dream is to keep getting to play new characters and work with great directors.

All seasons of The Crown, including S3 where Josh O’Connor appears, are streaming exclusively on Netflix.

[hellzyeahthewebwieldingavenger]

Why (most of) the 2010s Marvel legacy characters didn’t work

For Marvel characters I think it comes off as profoundly undermining when they get legacies, at least in the specific way Marvel attempted this throughout the 2010s.

To explain this we need to actually first look at DC’s characters in order to compare and contrast why legacies for them tend to work out better than they do for Marvel.

Simply put back in the 1930s-1950s (if not even later) DC’s characters were almost always created as powers first, people second. Wish fulfilment fantasy figures over flawed mere mortals.

Consequently you could legacy Green Lantern and the Flash in the 1950s and then do so again in the 1980s-1990s because so so long as you had a guy with a ring and another guy with super speed you were retaining the essence of both characters, the fundamental point and appeal of them.

But the Marvel characters were the other way around and practically deliberately designed to be so. 

Thor was the story of the life and times of Thor Odinson. Spider-Man was the story of the life and times of Peter Parker. The Fantastic Four was never the story about a brainiac who stretched, a girl who could go invisible, a kid who could burst into flame and a guy who looked like a rock monster. 

It was about a stern scientist obsessed with his work. A nurturing young woman who loved him but was frustrated by his tendency to get lost in his work. Her younger brother interested in sports cars, girls, excitement and other typically hot headed teenage endeavours. And an average Joe who was tortured and depressed that he was no longer human. 

Ben Grimm could’ve looked like any kind of monster and the central point of his character would have been retained. The F4′s specific powers, complemented their personalities, but they were not the driving point unto themselves. 

In contrast let us consider Captain America, probably the Marvel character who’s done the ‘replacement legacy hero’ storyline the most (at least within 616 canon). How comes he  lends himself so much better to this type of story than the other Marvel characters? 

Simple, because unlike most of the big name Marvel characters you know of, he wasn’t created in the 1960s or beyond. Cap was the product of the 1940s and was a peer to those same early days super heroes from the Golden Age, including the original Green Lantern and Flash. Like them he began fundamentally more as a symbol and powerset than a person. 

But now flashing forward to the 21st century many (most in my view) Flash fans were upset (and continue to be so) Wally West’s ascension to the Flash mantle was undermined and ultimately undone for the sake of restoring Barry Allan to the spotlight. The reason for this upset when Wally himself had replaced Barry? Wally had proven himself a far more flawed, nuanced and complex character than Barry had ever been. 

He demonstrated a degree of characterisation in the Flash role that Barry never had. It wasn’t even that he simply had more of this than Barry, but that Barry, just like Jay Garrick preceding him, had little to speak of in the first place. Thus the contrast between Jay and Barry was mostly superficial but the contrast between Barry and Wally was as stark as comparing Spider-Man to 1950s Superman.*

But Wally West, and the entire DC Universe from Post-Crisis onwards in fact, were in that mould precisely because they were trying to be more like Marvel comics has been since the 1960s onwards. 

DC in effect began prioritising the people beneath the costumes over the powers.** But Marvel starting in the 1960s had pretty much always been like that with their heroes.

Consequently when legacies popped up and those new characters were pushed as being just as good, just as worthy, or (in some cases) lowkey pushed as being better  than their predecessors it naturally rubbed those fans with decades of emotional investment the wrong way. OBVIOUSLY  a woman or a POC can be just as worthy and just as capable as a man or a white person as a superhero. But series to series, character to character, it was almost like Marvel was taking away your beloved pet.

Imagine for a moment you had a pet named Rex that you’d known and loved for years. 

Then Marvel insisted on taking Rex away from you when there was nothing wrong with him. In his place they give you another clearly different pet with Rex’s collar, who gets Rex’s bowl, Rex’s food, Rex’s toys, Rex’s bed and even Rex’s name and asks you to treat them not as just a new dog but straight up the new Rex.

Except he isn’t Rex. Rex is Rex. The ‘new Rex’ playing with Rex’s toys, doing the same tricks as him or having his collar doesn’t change that.*** 

Because Rex was more than a collar, his toys or his tricks. He was an individual that you’d known and loved. And even if you know Rex is going to come back ‘eventually’ having Rex taken away from you at all, having the new Rex supplant them (especially if old Rex was screwed over for the sake of new Rex’s arrival) and having so many people insist new Rex is just as great or more great than old Rex (to the point where many people loudly proclaim they don’t even want the old Rex back and the old Rex was kinda lame and boring) is going to create a massive dissonance. Maybe you would’ve been chill with the new Rex is he was just another additional pet called Rover or even like RexY who was similar yet different to Rex, but not actually promoted AS Rex or as his replacement. 

Maybe you would’ve been okay with the new Rex if the old one got too old, died naturally or accidentally. But you aren’t okay with it because there was nothing wrong with Rex, you LOVED Rex and Rex had been with you and been around generally forever. So the new Rex felt like he was undermining him, especially undermining Rex’s individuality. 

That’s how I think most Marvel fans felt about practically EVERY legacy situation that’s ever cropped up from the 1960s onwards, not even the ones just from the 2010s. I remember  the outrage when Bucky was announced as the new Cap. I know there were people salty about Eric Masterson as Thor and the Spider-Man Clone Saga speaks for itself.

Compounding the situation is that more than a few media outlets (despite imo not representing the feeling’s of the majority at all) promoted (and in some cases still promote) the new characters as not just better than they are (see the dozen or so lists talking about how great Riri allegedly was) but along with many fans tear down the older characters whilst doing so. 

See every article ever talking about why Peter Parker in the movies (and sometimes in the comics) NEEDS to die for the sake of Miles becoming the new Spider-Man in spite of their rationales rarely making sense from a creative/financial POV and utilizing misrepresentations of both characters to varying degrees. Even fans that appreciate the social/political relevancy of the new characters are going to naturally be upset in response to that and angrily voice opposition when the character they love gets dragged through the mud like that. And that then gets exacerbated when they are labelled as bigots for feeling upset by the changes or reacting against the character they love being dragged through the mud.**** 

Especially considering they would’ve reacted the same way regardless of who was the replacement hero.  Again, fans at first didn’t take kindly to John Walker or Bucky as the new Captain Americas so the idea that backlash against Sam Wilson was entirely or primarily racist was itself profoundly ignorant. Especially when you consider black reviewers such as those on the Hooded Utalitarian were calling it out as bad storytelling and bad representation for black people. SpaceTwinks went issue by issue through Spencer’s Sam Wilson run and called it out as racist, ignorant and naive. NONE of which is me saying that there isn’t more than a little bigotry going around detractors of these new characters nor that there aren’t obviously bad actors.

But those people did not and do not represent the majority and framing the situation as though they do is disingenuous and highly unethical. In conclusion, the backlash against the 2010s Marvel legacy characters was entirely natural, understandable and for the vast majority came from a place of love for the original characters not a bigoted hatred for the new characters skin colour or sex. 

It was a testament to Marvel’s, and the wider media, misunderstanding the psychology of most comic book fans. 

P.S. In regards to that, though it isn’t exactly talking about what I’ve spoken about I’d highly recommend checking out this video which touches upon the disenchantment Star Wars fans felt over the Sequel Trilogy, which itself could be viewed as doing the same thing Marvel did with it’s replacement legacy characters.

P.P.S. The reason I think the likes of Miles Morales or Kamala Khan succeeded where others failed is chiefly due to their rise to the role of legacy replacements stemmed from their predecessors not  being sidelined for their rise to the spotlight. Miles never ever replaced the 616 version of Peter Parker, widely considered by most fans and Marvel internally as the true and legitimate version of the character. Kamala Khan meanwhile picked up the Ms. Marvel only when Carol Danvers discarded it and became Captain Marvel. She was still in the spotlight in her own right, Kamala simply got her own spotlight using Carol’s obsolete name. Which isn’t all that dissimilar to fan favourite Cassandra Cain’s rise to the Batgirl mantle now I think about it.

P.P.P.S. A possible counter argument to all I’ve said is the success of the Superior Spider-Man/Otto Octavius. After all why was he embraced when Sam Wilson and Jane Foster wasn’t? Was a double standard rooted in bigotry at play?

No, but the answer isn’t neat and simple.

I think Ock as the new Spider-Man was more embraced partially because Ock had been around essentially as long as Spidey himself. But more poignantly  pre-Superior Spider-Man was so atrocious that a sizzling and sexy idea like Superior (which generated tons of cheap novelty) felt utterly refreshing, even to people who had actually LIKED pre-Superior Spidey under Slott. It’s like how people praised the early Big Time stories despite their problems because compared to BND they were genuinely better.

Plus Superior, for all it’s god forsaken writing, didn’t exist to clearly workshop potential movie ideas or chiefly in aid of a social/political cause. Someone can agree that there should be more black or female superheroes but disagree that the older characters should be sidelined in the attempt to achieve that.

Especially when there were better alternative options such as introducing those newer characters within and alongside the established hero’s narrative or simply introduce them independently as has happened recently with the likes of Lunar Snow.

*This is also why I suspect Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman survived from the Golden Age into the Silver Age. Because they were the DC characters who (more than any of the other ones) had actual personalities/substance to them. **Of course this didn’t begin wholesale with the post-Crisis era. But noticeably the characters who had worked with this new shift in priorities prior to Crisis on Infinite Earths stayed generally the same thereafter (E.g. the Titans, Batman) whilst characters who had largely vacillated or struggled (e.g. Superman and Wonder Woman) were given fresh starts which proved critically and financially successful.  

***Not even if he does everything just as well as Rex did or does some stuff differently that’s still good (although the overwhelming majority of the time new Rex is clearly not as good as the old Rex).

****I’ve seen people be called racist and misogynists for calling out Riri Williams honestly ridiculous degree of competency as a hero/tech genius in spite of her age. This is not an invalid criticism, yet disliking the character because of those reasons is grounds to be labelled as something ugly by another (imo minor yet also vocal) contingent of fandom. 

Hell I was called a Trump supporting Breitbart reading bigot for calling out Marvel as two-faced due to never putting a black writer in charge of Sam Wilson as Captain America or a woman in charge of Jane Foster as Thor. It isn’t exclusive to comics either as I and other people have been accused of racism/misogyny for disliking the Last Jedi in spite of that film to my eyes being itself racist and sexist anyway.

[darkstar6782]

1.16: Shadow - My Rewatch Review

While I often feel like I am heaping the same praises on this show over and over again while rewatching these early episodes, there are some scenes in some episodes that stand out from all the others, not just for the power they hold in the moment in terms of storytelling, but for the character building they do that will resonate throughout the next fourteen seasons of this show. And this episode has not one, but two of those amazing moments; the ones that I wait for with baited breath upon every rewatch. I hang on every word and nuance of expression when they show up, and every time I see them, I am reminded with painful clarity exactly why I love this show, and why I am still mourning its end now that it is over.

The two scenes in this episode that stand out, obviously, are Sam and Dean’s conversation in the hotel room about what happens if they do kill the demon that night, and the reunion scene between the boys and their father. The first scene always breaks my heart, because it brings up all of the insecurities that Dean voiced through Shifter!Dean back in ‘Skin’ about everybody leaving him, and it hurts to see him admit that he just wants things to go back to the way they used to be, and that he doesn’t understand why Sam doesn’t want the same thing. And his pain at being left behind is understandable, because unlike Sam, who chose to go off to college, and his dad, who chose to disappear into this hunt without a word, Dean has never voluntarily chosen to leave his family behind. He hasn’t reached a point in his life where he wants to be without them, so he has a hard time wrapping his head around why they don’t feel the same way about him. The vulnerability that he shows in this scene takes him from the older brother who is always secure in himself and in charge to a scared young man who just wants things to go back to the way they were when he was a kid, when things may not have been any safer or less scary, but he at least had his family to count on. And it is all the more heartbreaking to know that not only is he right—this fight will never really be over for him—but that this is just the beginning of a tug-of-war that he and Sam will play for seasons, of Sam wanting to get out and Dean just wanting to live the life he knows with his brother by his side. It is slightly comforting to know that they both do find peace with this life and with one another eventually, but to see where it all started, and to get a reminder of just how young and insecure Dean and Sam both are in these early seasons and just how far they have to go, will never not be bittersweet and painful.

And then, as if the show hasn’t broken your heart enough, their dad actually does show up, and the boys get the reunion that they have been desperately searching for since the show began. To see Dean’s relief that his father is alive, to hear the stammered, ‘manly’ apology that Sam and John exchange, and to see John so happy that his sons are alive and together is the culmination of everything that the show has been building up around their family dynamics so far, and it is beautiful. And then, in true Supernatural fashion, it gets ripped away from them, and, in the end, Dean is the one that has to realize that they are better off apart, no matter how badly it hurts for him to admit it. And you see that hurt, but you also see his resolve to do whatever it takes to make sure they are not apart forever, which makes thinking about what comes next for all of them even more painful.

I know both the fandom and the show’s narrative itself have a complicated relationship with the character of John Winchester, and they both wrestle with the choices that he must have made in order to keep his boys safe and raise them as hunters and what that says about his personality, his parenting style, and the effect that growing up like that had on Sam and Dean, but every time I watch these early episodes, in which he is a real character and not just a memory or a line in someone else’s narrative, I have absolutely no doubt that he loves his boys with all his heart. He may not always know how best to express it, and it is definitely complicated both by his personality and the fact that he chose to raise his boys by himself under some truly unique and terrible circumstances, but the love he has for them is written all over his face every time he looks at them, and it breaks my heart to know that we don’t have much time to see his relationship with his sons as grown men unfold before he is taken away from them for good.

As one final aside, I feel like it’s worth mentioning that the condition that the boys are in by the end of this episode always bring up one of the major disconnects between reality and television that I rarely fail to notice, and that is the fact that we know that all traces of Sam‘s and Dean’s injuries are going to be gone by the time we next see them. This observation can be made about a lot of episodes of this show, but I feel that this one is a bit more blatant than most because they both end up with some serious claw-marks to their faces, the kind that would probably require stitches and that would almost definitely leave scars. And then, that leads me to thinking about how, as beautiful as both of these boys are, with the lives they lead, they have to be covered in scars, and stab wounds, and maybe even the occasional bullet wound. It’s something that gets mentioned every once in a while on the show, but for the most part, it’s left entirely up to our imaginations, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. It means we get to enjoy some seriously hot actors playing these characters on-screen, and then we can head on over to our favorite fanfiction sites to get more realistic portraits of what the hunting life has done to these boys.

[kindredsoulsoftimesofold]

Incoming TROS rant

yes, there will be spoilers as I will be breaking down everything I saw tonight. If I manage to type choking on my tears well after the movie finished.

----

FINAL WARNING IF YOU DON’T WANT SPOILERS

Let’s start with a few opening words, this rant will indeed be a long one.

ALL THE LEAKS ARE TRUE. And I mean ALL of them. To a T. As soon as I saw the first half was exactly as I’d read, I was crushed. As I knew what was coming. On that note, i was probably the only person in the theatre who was crying like 15-20 minutes before we were supposed to, I’ll get to that in a bit. I’m saving the WORST for last. Let’s break this shit down.

1. The plot is a mess. An actual mess. I feel like every five minutes I was shaking my head and mumbling ‘what kind of nonsense is this’. The breaking of lore or COMMON SENSE really is substantial. But that is definitely not what I cared about, as I already KNEW this even without the leaks. When you can’t get your two directors to FUCKING WORK TOGETHER TO MAKE A COHESIVE STORYLINE it is bound to grasp for straws and make shit up. IT AIN’T NOTHING NEW.

2. Here’s the kicker. THE DIALOGUE WAS SO BAD, it makes Anakin’s AOTC speech seem like a hymn, or poetry or whatever. They CONSTANTLY say what they’re doing, they’re literally reciting the exposition to each other and it comes off as extremely annoying and makes you feel like a toddler. No hate against toddlers, but I’d rather not be one right now. It feels unnatural, forced and STUPID to the point where I would start WISHING for 3PO to come back on screen because Anthony Daniels somehow managed to snag some actually decent lines for once? I love the man, but the droid usually really annoys the crap outta me. He was literally the highlight of the film. Don’t get me started on the stupidity of all of Lando’s lines, poor Billy. Daisy has to stare angrily most of the time so I don’t really care to recall her lines. Adam, my dear Adam, he tries SO HARD to make do with what he was given but even his lines 90% of the time come off as stupid and out of place. Or the worst type in this movie, EXPOSITIONYY. Don’t get me started on Mark Hamill and Harrison Ford. Boys looked like they didn’t sign up for this shit and were literally force choked to be there. I feel you guys, I feel you. ALSO FOR THE LOVE OF THE FORCE THE TIMES THEY REPEATED WORD FOR WORD LINES FROM OTHER MOVIES I WANTED TO SCREAM. Once is too much, THIS MANY TIMES IT IS A FELONY. And it needs to be punished somehow.

3. Let’s get the positives out of the way because there were FEW. The two scenes I actually REALLY enjoyed watching, for different reasons were:

Ben and Palps meeting. The scene was much longer than the clip and SUPER badass. Sheev’s voice echoes, Ben looks fucking cool and the whole scene is GORGEOUS.

The other is when Ben fights as a Jedi in the end. I’ll get to Ben later BELIEVE ME but without overexplaining, he fights with Anakin’s lightsabre, he’s really speedy and is doing all the Jedi spins and whatnot. I fucking ATE THAT UP. Replay that scene forever please CAUSE I LOVED IT. But I was already crying here so we’ll touch more on that later.

To conclude this segment, the visuals were SUPERB, the sound was AMAZING and (some) of the fights were jaw droppingly cool. But that about concludes the positives!

4. I will comment, as I know a lot of people will care even if I don’t particularily. Finn, Poe, Rose and the merry gang aside from our Jedi are reduced to EH this movie. If you thought you’d never miss Rose boy were you wrong. They introduce new characters and expect you to care about them when they SIDELINED the ones they’d hoped you’d care about BEFORE. And it made me care about NO ONE. Not to mention that, sadly, they are ALWAYS reduced to the boring side plot that really isn’t interested or key to much of ANYTHING. Sure they roused the people and all but would’ve been TOAST if Rey didn’t go all Jesus on the fleet. So at the end of the day, you MAY find some enjoyment with the side characters but their lines were some of the worst, you WILL be force fed new people and you might not really enjoy your previous faves here because even I found myself being completely indifferent this time. (I actually really ENJOYED Finn since TFA. He had a compelling storyline and John Boyega was alright. Couldn’t give two wits about him in this movie. Not a single one. But again, I may not be the perfect person to ask if you really,really like any of these characters.

5. Finally, we have arrived to the main event. THE REYLO.

The backbone of this clusterfuck of a new trilogy. The last Skywalker and Palpatine, coming together instead of apart. The arguably BEST actors (legacies aside) Disney managed to get. Now, I will start this off that I didn’t HATE Rey before this movie. I loved her in TFA, enjoyed her less in TLJ but the novelization fixed that. I was BACK ON BOARD to be her number one stan. In this movie, I couldn’t STAND her. Her lines are basically the director walking you through things, her plotline was obviously made last minute so almost none of it makes sense,  I literally wanted to curl up and DIE from cringing so hard every time someone said ‘you’re a Palpatine’. I thought I was looking at a very expensive rendition of terrible fan fiction. (Not to diss fan fiction in any way, you guys will be my heroes after this catastrophe.) ‘Empress Palpatine’, COME THE FUCK ON AND GET OUT WITH THIS SHIT. Bring back crusty old Snoke for crying out loud! Or even HUX! Who got killed off in a second and had three lines of dialogue, not important I guess? Like a great many things I guess, JJ. But, EVEN Palpatine aside, it was great seeing him again and every scene he was in I got chills, who cares that it makes zero sense at this point. Back to reylo.

Ben. Ben Solo Organa Skywalker. The last hope. The final remnant of something I have loved FOREVER. I grew up with Star Wars, like many others just in a different, post prequel era and they are still my favourites. This might sound ridiculous but Star Wars was part of my heart, my happiness. It brought me joy to watch it, read it, fantasize about it and have it in my life when times were dark or miserable. It MEANT something to me, as I am sure many of you will agree. And Ben was part of that. He was part of something that MEANT something to all of us. He was the last line of the characters we all grew up with and loved. The GRANDSON of Anakin, my favourite character of all time. This was their chance to stop the trend that Loki’s death in IW and Daenerys’ death and turn and many others started and STOP killing people who did wrongs. PEOPLE can change, they can grow and they can learn. Hell, to not stray to far from this franchise REY has killed A LOT of people in this movie alone. She DECIMATES the room full of Palpatine’s followers and never blinks an eye. SHE NEARLY KILLS CHEWIE, DOES KILL BEN (for a minute) and SHE DOESN’T NEED TO DIE. Of course she doesn’t but BEN DOESN’T EITHER. After all that YOU JJ, YES YOU, show me that the LAST SKYWALKER has gone through, suffered, alone and frightened. I would’ve ENDED you if you’d suggested killing him off to me, EVER. He was your chance to do a reverse Vader, AS YOU CLAIMED YOU WOULD. To show a character can come back to the light and be worthy of it WITHOUT DYING. You even set it up as such, which is my next and CRUCIAL POINT.

I’ve been a reylo since 2015. Their dynamic has always been fascinating to me and beautiful. I LOVED all the moments in TLJ, LOVED THEM. In this one, every time they force bond (terrible dialogue aside, again) I was happy. I had a hope that she would bring him back from the darkness and he will keep her balanced. WELL, JJ, guess fuck me huh? And anyone with common sense and human decency. JUST WHEN you shove Ben’s turn in my face, you make him talk to Han, you make him strut in to fight alongside Rey in full Ben Solo Jedi mode, hair blown and casually dressed. It was when he runs onto Exegol that I started weeping. Because knowing that he dies as I did, it broke my heart how it was done. You give me the scene where he fights and you give me hope of what his future could’ve been if only you’d listened to reason and done what was supposed to be done. He is chucked into the pit, WHICH MIGHT I ADD WOULD’VE MADE ME MAD IF THAT WAS HIS END BUT WOULD’VE BEEN SOOOO MUCH BETTER THAN WHAT WE GOT, comes back. And now comes the scene that cemented this as the ABSOLUTE WORST insult to me as a fan, possible. Ben is heartbroken that Rey is dead, the moment is sad and he cradles her dead body and hugs her desperately. Which would’ve been a beautiful and GOOD DIFFERENT type of ending. Or rather not having her die at all and being NEAR her death and him saving her and both living happily ever after BUT NO. JJ AFTER THAT has her come back, smile happily when she sees it’s him, her love her hope and the other half of her SOUL literally (the diad or whatever it’s called is so rare that Palpatine was thrilled they’d formed such a bond, basically space soulmates), he has them kiss, then hold each other and smile at each other with genuine feeling of joy and belonging both of them had sought all their life AND THEN YANKS IT FROM UNDER YOU. The scene where Ben falls flat onto his back is quite comical and I couldn’t help but laugh in my misery and sobbing. Rey doesn’t even cry, we don’t even LINGER on his body or mourn him afterwards or even mention it or EVEN SEE her, THE PERSON WHO LITERALLY FOUND HER SOULMATE AND WAS SO HAPPY WHEN SHE KISSED HIM AND WAS LITERALLY SAVED BY HIM, but no guess that doesn’t require a scene, sure, fuck it LIKE EVERYTHING ELSE. The cheery music that plays up until the moment of his fall, YES THE FALL OF SKYWALKER MIND YOU NOT A FUCKING RISE, was an insult to every fan everyhwere, lifelong or recent or otherwise, it was a punch to the gut, a slap in the face and after this happened I no longer paid attention to the movie. I’d been crying for some time leading up to the moment, I knew what was coming and the execution only made it worse and a more desperate cry rather than only sad, I was hoping it wouldn’t happen somehow. I choked back tears until I finally got home and cried. One of the things which MEANT so much to me, was dead. I no longer have any doubts, that this was intentional. Look at Game of thrones, that was this year. It seemed intentional to make series stop, right? Everyone agrees. They wanted to finally bury the Skywalkers so they could make something unrelated? They kill off all the Skywalkers. Well guess what disney? YOU DIDN’T HAVE TO BRING THEM BACK IN THE FIRST PLACE, YOU MONEY HUNGRY PIECE OF SHIT. No one would have minded a new trilogy, with new characters doing NEW things. Why even drag the Skywalkers and the leagies into this if YOU DON’T WANT THEM HERE? All you got was millions of lifelong fans of the old movies who have already felt or are only now beginning to feel BETRAYED. I swear it disney, I don’t want to feel this misery again. You won’t take Star Wars away from me and the joy it brought me. I will without a care in the world dismiss this new trilogy as something completely separate from canon. You’ve killed your own fanbase. You could’ve had us but you LOST us. You dangled something we wanted in front of us for our money and then you ripped it apart.

If you are anything like me, anything like me at all and have loved SW for however long. if it MEANS ANYTHING TO YOU, I beg you not to see this movie or at the very least, pay for it. You WILL feel betrayed, insulted, heartbroken, devastated and miserable, as I am feeling right now. I was supposed to go see this movie another two times but i cannot and will not spend another CENT on a company that chooses to alienate me. Fine, have it your way. I’m done.

This concludes my rant as I am tired and upset. If I missed out on anything and you are interested in anything else, please do DM me or leave a comment :) We’re all in this together now, the reylos the antis the new fans and the old. We’re all in the same heartbreaking boat, I love you all. And I will love Star Wars. The REAL Star Wars forever. I wasn’t even sad the ‘FRANCHISE’ was ending because it wasn’t. It had ended a long, long time ago.

[televinita]

Little Women (2019): Thoughts

REQUIRED READING: the prequel post about my background going in to this film.

SNAPSHOT VERSION: Though I have some casting qualms, and may adjust my opinions after I reread the book, mostly I think this is everything my heart has needed since the magic of the ‘94 movie was broken for me. My heart is very full.

FULL VERSION: Twice as long as the prequel post (a.k.a. 1800 words), starts below.

I did not expect LW to be the first Unexpected Comeback Fandom of 2020 (or a comeback fandom ever, really), but here I am, having spent every day since I saw this film mooning about this story and looking up different editions and supplemental books in the library catalog, so I'd better process how I feel about it while the memories are relatively fresh.

Most of my thoughts are on casting rather than specific scenes because like I said, I can’t remember the book super well, so I’d like to get my movie memories to fade so that the book can surprise me. Also because I think I will have a more in-depth post about them when I watch the film a 2nd time, whether that’s in theaters or on DVD. But here’s what I’ve got for now.

ON CASTING

In no particular order --

* Emma Watson is very pretty but it is so hard to take her seriously as an actress. She's just Emma Watson, Famous For Being In Harry Potter and Getting Hired For Other Big Name Projects. I feel like she's so consciously acting all the time. She made a not-terrible Meg, I guess? No worse than she made a Belle. But it was roughly as hilarious watching her try to be a mother now as it was watching her try to be a mother in the last Harry Potter movie. To the point that I just kept hearing the "Damn! I'm SO maternal!" song playing as her theme in the background at all times. * I realized 6 days prior to seeing the movie that Florence Pugh is recognizable because she's in Midsommar and honestly, that just ruined everything for me. I didn't even see that film, I just know it's gross and I would hate it and while she is not tainted forever like the 50 Shades actors, she is definitely too tainted for Little Women. Also I could not stop thinking about how I associate Amy with being very dainty and prim and Florence, while perfectly lovely, is not. * Laura Dern was kind of strangely modern and kooky for Marmee, but I love her as an actress and I loved that she was just like "HELLO STRANGE NEIGHBOR BOY, COME BE MY FIFTH CHILD." So I was OK with that. * ARE YOU KIDDING ME WITH BOB ODENKIRK. What kind of anachronistic garbage. What crack were you on, because it was obviously not the good stuff. "Did I stumble into an SNL parody??" I wondered more than once. * Meryl Streep as Aunt March was AMAZING. Ten Oscars. * Beth consistently looked younger than Amy, so that was weird. She was okay but kind of childlike, and failed to make Beth my favorite like she is in the book. * JO! Saoirse Ronan is by far my favorite actress in this set, but I didn't think she was right for Jo going in. "Jo's not a redhead!" I said, indignantly stamping my foot, because my childhood-era love for this novel reigns defensively supreme like for no other classic besides Black Beauty. (another 1994 classic they should remake soon, even though I love that version. Just saying.)

But damned if she did not COMPLETELY embody every essence of Jo there is and make Jo my favorite character this time. Truly, nobody except Meryl Streep so thoroughly matched my expectations for their character. Ten Oscars, part II. Or at least the one she is actually nominated for. If Jo loses to ScarJo I will riot. * John was nice. I feel like he was exactly what he was supposed to be, which is to say kind of plain and milquetoast but perfect for Meg. I don't actually remember him existing in the novel, so that was an interesting game of "how important is this guy?" until suddenly Meg was getting married and I realized I did, in fact, have a very dim memory of a wedding from the book. I think I will like their romance more the second time around, though. * Mr. Laurence was VERY EXCELLENT. IDK why I know the actor, even after looking him up, but I liked him in this role a lot. His grandfatherly quasi-adoption of Beth was so sweet. * As for Professor Bhaer...UGH. I hated him on sight and my brain wouldn't even let me recognize who he was for like 3 scenes, I was just like, "who is this random boarding lodger and why are we focusing on that weirdo." I mean, he's objectively handsome? But he did not do it for me. He lacked the gravitas I expect from this character and his thick accent scraped my ears and drove me insane (update from the future: his accent is also driving me insane in the book, where I have peeked in at a few chapters as incentive to reread. whyyyyyyy). * LAURIE: maybe it's been too long since I read the book, but never could I ever have imagined I'd want to use the term "fuckboy" to describe Laurie. It wasn't even Ski Chalet's face so much as it was that in all present-day scenes (post-rejection), he is such an insufferable, melodramatic, pouting trash heap that I didn't want him to marry any of them at that point. (Also YOU STILL DIDN'T MAKE ME UNDERSTAND WHY HE GOES FOR AMY, so good job.**) However, I took especial delight in paying attention to all the cuddly platonic friend cuddling he heaped on Jo growing up, in focus or in the background, and I loved it...kind of a lot? The ship radar made noise. That noise is getting louder by the day, smoothing away his faults. He may have permanently taken up residence in my mind's eye as the new Laurie. ...this is the worst. Make it cease. (**update from the future, I am peeking at the book and it looks like it's a lot easier to understand both in text and when you're inside Laurie's head. He is still clearly sulking his way through Europe, but in a way it's easier to recover from. Also, I don’t have time to unpack this but as I finish the edits on this post I started 5 days ago, I’m starting to think I could not only ship Laurie/Amy, but believe in it from the start.) ACTUAL PLOT AND FILM QUALITY

+ The shifting between past and present was very jarring right off the bat, but after that I think it worked.

+ I loved the attic play rehearsals so much

+ I am so glad Jo’s shorn hair is both fleeting and as hideous as it should look, and not Pixie Cut Chic (Childhood Me wailed at that part reading the book)

+ I remember hardly anything about the book's Part II / Good Wives, so basically everything in their adult lives was news to me. Amy and Aunt March go to Europe? Jo goes to live by herself in New York? Meg marries a relative pauper? Any of this could be true to the book or just made up as an alternate idea to explore, and I would be none the wiser. That made it more fun. (NOBODY SPOIL ME ON WHAT'S TRUE)

+ It did not occur to me until just now that the part where Jo publishes her version of Little Women is not in the book (right?), but that was beautifully done.

+ The house interiors were breathtaking. It's not like I don't regularly watch period pieces, but this time there was just something about seeing an old house, like the ones I am often in for estate sales, decorated the way I always imagine seeing when I enter those homes, that kind of made me tear up. + The outside shots were pretty too + Jo made me cry with her I'm so LONELY! speech, rude. (I went into this movie thinking I was 100% on board to finally read Alcott’s sequels for their Jo/Professor content, and now I'm like 'ah damn it is gonna be the season for the Jo/Laurie AU novel, isn't it.')

+ A strike against Beth and/or the actress playing her: I did not cry about her death (in my defense I was busy crying about Jo's pain).

+ I did NOT remember precisely how Laurie & Amy got married, so even though I knew it happened eventually, I felt that sucker punch to the gut reveal just about as hard as Jo did. WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOUR WIFE.

+ My mom said she’d heard this movie was lauded as being super feminist, which rarely goes well for me, but I thought it felt like really authentic "married women literally were not allowed to control their own income and it sucked" 19th century feminism, and not someone using their 21st century voice to claim this is how people would have REALLY talked if The Patriarchy Of Historical Record hadn't silenced/suppressed it. Nothing rankled me. I’m very confused by the people who think it says Jo is queer and/or didn’t end up with the Professor, but if that’s what you see then I guess it’s a win/win situation for all of us. + LOVED the closing montage. + Basically, at all times that I wasn't annoyed by the casting, I was feeling the same magic I did while reading the book and/or while watching the 1994 movie as a child. I can’t think of any parts I really hated.

IN CONCLUSION

Part of me is honestly kind of sad I didn't reread the book before watching this movie, because even though I usually prefer to go movie first and then get the Expanded Edition that is the book, in this case I wish I'd taken my last chance to properly visualize everything in my head on my own -- since I’ve mostly forgotten the ‘94 film -- before the new movie washed it away forever. This is one of the rare times I would have liked to hope and guess what would be shown vs. cut, and be able to anticipate the thrill of seeing the page come to life.

However, seeing it was the impetus I needed to finally take my childhood copy off the shelf (and thank heavens I have it, because the library request is backed up 3 or 4 deep for every copy), and it took all of 5 minutes to get instantly sucked into chapter 1 and feel such rapturous joy and familiarity that I consciously cut myself off and decided I am going to journal out my feelings after each chapter on this reread. So that’s something!

[bigskydreaming]

regarding actors getting tattooes. how much does covering them all up cost exactly? like, is it expensive or what? i know next to nothing about the whole process except that there’s apparently a lot of people (make up artists, probably) involved

Waaaaaay too many variables involved to have any kind of baseline. It depends on how many tattoos we’re talking about, where they’re located, if they can be covered up by clothes most of the time or if the actor specifically has to be in a state of undress that makes one or all tattoos clearly visible...

Then there’s the matter of is it a show or a movie, are we talking about a main star or a guest star....because yeah, actual covering up of any tattoos that can’t be covered with appropriate wardrobe choices, that’s gonna come down to the make up artists, but like....if for instance we’re talking about a regular star of a show, that show’s make-up crew by the third or fourth time has it down to a science. Make up crews know their shit. They work out a process to cover up things like tattoos as quickly and efficiently and sparingly as possible, so if we’re talking about a recurring role where this has to be done frequently, in the long run its pretty much a negligible cost because they’ll have worked out a way to cover up only the essential areas for any given scene with as little time in the makeup chair as possible.

If like, an actor has a ton of tattoos that don’t fit the role and they need to do a mostly undressed scene, like in just their boxers, or appear to be naked for a sex scene...first off, camera angles are used to ‘cheat’ stuff all the time. On the better sets, the actors in sex scenes are rarely fully naked, but wearing minimal clothing that matches their skin tone. 

There’s literally hundreds of reasons why a director might need to cheat a specific camera angle to account for something like an actor having a tattoo that’ll break continuity if it shows up on screen.....or a person walking by in the background of a city scene where its literally impossible to completely block everything off....or needing to hide the fact that its evening when most of the scene was filmed during peak daylight hours, because that’s how long they’ve been filming and they’re still not quite done....or they have to avoid getting a billboard in the shot because there’s a large brand name or logo they can’t have show up on camera without having to negotiate an agreement with that brand-owner, etc, etc. 

The list goes on. Point being, something like tattoos that need covering up don’t really fall under their own category so much as that they’re just one of a pretty much limitless number of potential variables that filmmakers have to account for when shooting. Like, if you cast an actor in a role, like, that was your choice, you did that, and you did that for their talent or whatever it is about them that sold you on them being the best fit for the part....and that means you get everything that comes with that actor, including their tattoos because like....that’s a person’s body. Hollywood has waaaaay more influence on actors’ physical bodies than is healthy as is, but like, there’s no justification for insinuating that hiring an actor for an ultimately finite role like....means you get to regulate their actual body. You get to hire them or fire them, according to how well they fit the part you cast them for, but you don’t get to hire them AND say ‘now you’re forbidden from getting tattoos or piercings as long as you’re on this show.’

Now to be clear, this doesn’t mean that directors and producers and studios don’t TRY and pull this kind of shit ALL THE TIME. Like if they’re gross enough, there’s no limit to the amounts of control or influence they try and subject actors to....and a lot of actors will cave due to like....the mere fact that for most actors, roles are never something to sneeze at and there’s a lot of things many actors will put up with if they want the role badly enough. And this is gross as fuck, but it doesn’t mean there aren’t plenty of powerful people in Hollywood willing to exploit this at any available opportunity. Like the thing is....there is no such thing as a CONTRACT that can enforce like...a studio having authority over what an actor does with their body while under contract...BUT that doesn’t mean various studios or producers won’t PRETEND they can enforce that, won’t look for loopholes, won’t apply pressure or leave things implied or take advantage of actors not always knowing what the studio can or can’t get away with...

But ultimately, the bottom line is even though there is an actor’s union, SAG, that exists to protect actors from things like this.....that can only come into play if an actor actually initiates like....asking the guild to step in and be like hey studio, you can’t fucking do this. And a lot of times, actors just won’t want to risk that because there’s not really any insurance that at the end of it the studio won’t just...blackball them for ‘causing a fuss’. Even a guarantee of job security for an existing role, if fought for, can’t guarantee anything when it comes to future roles from a studio...or whomever else listens to that studio about so and so being ‘difficult.’

Which sucks, obviously. But a huge part of why Hollywood culture is the way it is, is because people so rarely even INVOKE the guild’s power to protect actors from predatory business practices, because it simply can’t account for repercussions to an actor’s career longevity. Bleh.

But again.....the ACTUAL REALITY is that like....you hire an actor who has tattoos that ‘break’ the role or character? Its your responsibility to find a way to make it work, no matter how much time or money that costs in terms of time in the make-up chair and the make-up crew’s labor, or if you have to get really creative about cheating scenes or even just really thrifty about how many scenes require the actor wearing wardrobe that displays the tattoo(s) in question. If its really difficult to cover up with make-up, or really time consuming, that’s a large part of what photo doubles are for. Actors hired because they have the same body type and general appearance as the regular actor, and ‘step in’ to film the scene or specific scene angles that requires their bare skin be on full display....but just with the camera angles cheated so that they never capture the photo double’s face onscreen. 

And essentially, that’s the same basic principle as using stunt doubles, so if you know how to film a stunt double’s scene without capturing their face onscreen, you can use a photo double just as versatilely, for scenes where the actor has to be naked or in their underwear or shirtless. And photo doubles tend to be a relatively cheap option for studios and film crews, because if you know you’re going to have to use one and plan properly in advance, you can cut costs by having the regular actor filming close-ups of another scene with your A crew, while your B crew shoots footage of the MUCH less expensive photo double, since they’re only used for visual scenes or footage, since obviously their voices would break the character every bit as much as their face showing up onscreen.

You’ll hear producers or directors or showrunners bitching about what a nightmare it is to cover up this actor or that actor’s tattoos on a show or movie, but like. Whatever. That’s just them being cheap and petty because they were inconvenienced, not because the actor did anything wrong by like, having or getting tattoos, or anything that the studio/director/showrunner ultimately knows is still their job to account for or work around....same as it is to account for or work around every other variable that pops up during a filming - let alone ones that they knew about before casting a particular actor.

[mirika]

Another Dutch Comic Con weekend, the Winter edition. I went as Ladybug on Saturday and as Mimi on Sunday.

Adding links etc later!

It was a bit of a sad weekend for me for reasons I prefer not to talk about because it’ll just make me more sad, but despite the events I still had fun and I don’t think I had my friends notice much I wasn’t feeling too good. I am still glad I went and cosplayed despite my mood. I will highlight the happier things!

Day one!

On Saturday I went with my two best friends which is obviously a treat. We wandered a lot at the con shopping and I actually saw a different Miraculous holder other than the usual Chat Noir and Ladybug!

The lighting wasn’t great, but I was happy to see her and we had a little chat. She liked my custom Ladybug look which was very nice, I explained that Ladybug is always someone else over time and they wear different outfits, so it’s not that odd for me to simply be another Ladybug of another era.

She was actually the only one I made a photo with, all the other Ladybug, Chat Noir, Adrien and Marinette.. they were all cosplayers I took photos with before. On Sunday I did see different cosplayers, even someone dressed as Luka, but I wasn’t wearing my Ladybug outfit then. Bummer!

I did get a fair bit of merchandise from the artist alley. Once again... okay, listen. Jonny Cruz, voice actor of Lucio from Overwatch, was visiting Comic Con. My hopes were high: there used to be a lot of Overwatch merchanise, but they rarely sell Lucio. They MUST have got Lucio now, right? Nope. Only new Lucio merchandise I found was a charm. I was a little sad about that, because I know he’s not exactly unpopular. I do very much like the charm though! Merchandise below, Lucio charm is the one bottom left.

When you flip him over he wears the yellow outfit instead of green. 

I also have my millionth Patamon plushie. I was happy to see Digimon merchandise in the first place, but it’s always either Patamon or Agumon. I love Patamon anyway, so I bought it. The fox plushie... was pure impulse. He is extremely soft and foxes are by far my favourite animal. His name tag says his name is Fred, I wanted to name him myself, but I love Fred as well.

Those buttons are actually commissions of my Dungeons & Dragons hobbits halflings!

So button commissions are apparently a thing! And I also made another commission that I’d pick up the next day. These two ladies together were only 14 euros. If you want to know more about my girls just ask me. They are actually family, not siblings though. 

Other than that I found an artist that sold Digimon stickers. She only had a couple, so naturally I bought every single one of them.

If you wonder why some look similar, they are appparently old and new versions. I absolutely love, LOVE how the bottom Agumon turned out. Look at that fireball. Amazing. 

That already sums up Saturday, it was mostly shopping. I saw a Fire Emblem cosplay I really wanted to take a photo with, but after seeing her once, I never found her again. She was dressed as Elise, my favourite female character.

Onto;

Day two!

This day I only went with one of my two best friends. We went a little later than the day before, which is common when a whole weekend is visited. I went as Mimi from Digimon because I knew a Rosemon cosplay would be there, but I never found her. Since she was the sole reason I went as Mimi of course this was a bit of a letdown, especially after seeing all the Miraculous cosplay gathered together. I even saw a few cosplayers I hadn’t seen before. Maybe next time! I did make a photo of myself which I don’t usually do.

It’s not my best pic, but let’s be real, I was walking while I took it and still had my bag on and wasn’t in the best mood. Because it was the only photo I took, I decided to upload it. The mother of the lass who did my commission below actually thought I was wearing a wig cause when I explained I looked different yesterday she referred to probably having had a different haircut too. Not sure if that means my hair looks fake, hah. 

The commission was my goblin from World of Warcraft and I honestly think this is the best part piece I’ve gotten of her yet, and that while it was a Comic Con commission! (I say this because commissions at an event are less flexible, you cannot discuss design choices well)

Does she not look absolutely amazing? She was worth being my most expensive button, and even then I’d say it could’ve been worth more (but I would’ve less likely been able to afford it). Let me show you what else I got on the Sunday.

It’s mostly small stuff:

On the left is a sticker my friend bought me without me noticing it, not really at least. It refers to the Dungeons & Dragons bard and it suits me as in D&D version 3.5 a bard does not get damaging spells until a high level, so I always feel like all I can do is inspire my allies. Inspiring allies is strong, but it feels silly to say every turn “yeah I’m still singing.”

The two dice are d3 dice, meaning they count from 1 to 3. They are often not included in dice sets, and with often I mean always. Some skills do use them though.

The button below my goblin is a commission of my hobbit in Lord of the Rings Online. I found said artist quite late sadly since she had the most affordable ones. I had a hard time explaining what exactly I wanted, so I told her I just wanted her to be smiling.

The last button is of Miraculous Ladybug. Not a commission, just one I found. I liked it cause of the akuma (the butterfly) floating there and her hands being like that. I don’t know. I just liked it.

Other than that my friend and I mostly just finished what she had not seen yet (she left early) and then rested mostly. We visited the Q&A of Jonny Cruz (Lucio from Overwatch) and Boris Hiestand (Sigma from Overwatch). As a Lucio main I was mostly there for Jonny, but it was a fun Q&A altogether. What was also fun was what came after the Q&A: they would play the game against each others and fans from the audience would have to carry them.

Jonny lost all three matches, but I am confident that’s because I think the poor lad does not realise he can heal... erm, let me explain. Lucio has two modes: heal mode and speed mode. Speed mode is actually not used much in combat. What did Jonny do? He left speed mode on fulltime, leaving his team with only one healer instead of two. I lowkey wished I was on stage to tell him he needs to hit Shift to heal, but I purposefully did not participate because I am a below decent player. At least now I know I at least play Lucio better than Lucio himself, haha. Boris was actually quite alright as his character, Sigma!

Some images I took.

It’s a shame I kind-of forgot the contents of the Q&A other than them saying each other’s voice lines in their own character’s voice, them trying to imitate the cowboy character (I always forget his name, needless to say I never play him), Boris actually killed it at that, Jonny not so much, haha. They also got Jonny to say “boop” and of course “can’t stop won’t stop” (which he referred to as his favourite quote at the time) and Boris of course talked about stroopwafels being lekker. He also said he wasn’t overly fond of a fan-favourite quote of Sigma because it opposes his own point of view, but he does understand where the liking comes from. 

I also tried to take a photo during the match, but didn’t realise how silly I was holding my phone.

Both Jonny and Boris had some serious game faces on.

After the event my friend and I went to the Dunkin’ Donuts since we don’t have one in our town, grabbed a batch and left for the train.

All-in-all I had a good event despite events that aren’t mentioned. I really hope to see Rosemon next time though, I really was on the lookout for her. I actually just remembered I saw a group of Once Upon A Time cosplayers as well that I wanted to take a photo with... dang.

--- WDCC 2019 - Ladybug (Miraculous Ladybug) / Mimi (Digimon) ACC 2019 - no report, little happened

DCC 2019 - Ladybug (Miraculous Ladybug) / Mimi (Digimon) DCC 2018 - Ladybug (Miraculous Ladybug) ACC 2018 - Ladybug (Miraculous Ladybug) DCC 2018 - Ladybug (Miraculous Ladybug) RCC 2018 - Mimi (Digimon) WDCC 2017 - Mimi (Digimon) ACC 2017 - Mimi (Digimon) DCC 2017 - Mimi (Digimon) RCC 2017 - Mimi (Digimon) ACC 2016 - Hook (Once Upon A Time) DCC 2016 - Ladybug (Miraculous Ladybug) DCC 2015 - Sunday - Hobbit (Lord of the Rings) DCC 2015 - Saturday - Ellie (The Last of Us)

I have been to Elfia in 2015, but I cannot find this post. I was Donna Noble and I actually had a really bad day, which is why I have never returned to Elfia.

[justgotham]

I really must thank the organisers of the Heroes & Villains event. I met up with the agent who had organised our passes, and arranged our interviews. He led me to a behind the scenes meeting room, knocked on the door, and inside I saw two of my favourite actors waiting for me. What was that line about real life, again?

My initial reaction was disbelief, I was immediately star-struck. To their credit both gentlemen put me at ease. By the end of the conversation It felt more like I’d been in a room with old friends. At first I couldn’t even get my fingers and thumbs working to hit the record button, but got there eventually. This wasn’t a tech issue, this was interviewer malfunction!

Action!

Dark Knight News: Right, it’s finally recording.

Robin Lord Taylor: Boom!

DKN: So, I’m here for Dark Knight News and DC Comics News with Cory Michael Smith and Robin Lord Taylor AKA Edward Nygma and Oswald Cobblepot. First of all, how are you finding London? Have we been nice to you?

Cory Michael Smith: Oh, yeah. I love it.

RLT: It’s been fantastic.

CMS: This is my fifth or sixth time here, it’s probably my most visited city outside the U.S. I love it! I came early, I’m staying late… it’s great!

RLT: Yeah, the same. I think it’s maybe my third or fourth time. It’s just fantastic. When I first came to London I was like oh my gosh, there’s actually another city I could conceivably see myself living in besides New York.

DKN: That’s how I feel about New York!

RLT: Really? Wow. They feel like sister cities in a way. They’re very similar in many ways.

Riddle Me This

DKN: I have loads of questions for you from the whole team, but… let’s have a look. (Under my breath) Are you single? Nope, skipping that… Do you have a girlfriend/boyfriend/partner/significant other? Nuh-uh… Will you marry me… What th’ … (Back in full voice) Ah, here we go (CMS and RLTare laughing at this point.)

Edward and Oswald… radical departures from the way that anyone has played them before, which is awesome. A conscious decision, or did the producers want you to go down fresh avenues of interpretation?

CMS: It was very conscious. In the beginning we had a conversation with the creators about the character, but it’s felt pretty hands off for most of it. Early on with Nygma we were trying still to find the character, we were so far away from The Riddler. So we had some course corrections, and tried some stuff and had some different plot lines. It’s been so fun to go from Nygma to The Riddler. It’s felt like a really exciting evolution. Then the back and forth…. it’s felt like a very organic development of character. It’s been really fun.

RLT: I don’t know if you’ve heard, but it was really fascinating the way they cast the show. When I auditioned (Robin looks over to Cory) and I don’t know if it was the same for you, but we were not allowed to see the script. We weren’t even supposed to know what the project was, so they had sent out just scenes that were written just for the audition, with very little description.

When I came in to audition I made choices not knowing it was The Penguin. I was given a scene, and so, OK, here’s what I’m gonna do with that, and it just happened to be exactly what they had in mind. And that was the same for all of us, they didn’t want us to come in with any expectation or any thought about what came before. So it was very intentionally, made to be a departure for all of us, from the characters as we knew them before.

DKN: That makes so much sense. That’s a much more organic way to form a character naturally. One of my favorite parts of the show is how organic and natural it does feel from a character performance standpoint. I was speaking to Drew (Powell) earlier, and having a real, physical Solomon Grundy, rather than a CGI monstrosity was brilliant.

CMS: Thanks.

RLT: Thank you.

Roses Are Red, Violets Are Blue. I Have Multiple Personalities… And So Do I.

DKN: Obviously duality is a huge theme in Gotham, and in Batman’s universe. Robin, you started out as a good son, a family man, forced into becoming a monster. Cory, you were a nice, stand up guy, working for the police. You then had your heart broken, and your mind destroyed by guilt, forcing you to become the Riddler. Has it helped you, as actors, playing these two radically different personalities, that are the same person?

CMS: Absolutely! After four years of doing this, I feel way more in command of my body, and my voice, and there’s something really exciting about being on a TV show that feels so… operatic, and big. We both come from a theatre background, and you have the allowance to really fill a space when you’re doing theatre.

That’s rare in TV and film today, to be granted the authority to really flex your muscles that way. To learn how to do it on-screen, in a way that is focused, but still like… eruptive… it’s been a great education.

RLT: Yeah, definitely. It’s been great. There’s the idea that, when you’re on film that everything has to be smaller. This show has completely stripped all that away.

DKN: Every episode feels like a movie, and every performance is full of life.

RLT: Exactly, it’s larger… it’s like the largest performance you can give, and they want that. They encourage us to be big, and to be brave and put it all out there. That’s what I’ll take away from this whole experience. Feeling so much more confident in who I am, and knowing that when I walk into a room, I know how to command a space now… which I don’t think I really understood that before.

The Tools Of The Trade

DKN: Would either of you like to have the comic-book toys, like the staff, or the umbrellas in the final season?

CMS: Oh, yeah! Give me my cane! (All three of us laugh)

RLT: Yeah, he gets a cane, I get my umbrellas.

CMS: Give me my cane!

RLT: I’d love the helicopter umbrella, that would be great. Also, I’m really hoping that we get the monocle next year. In the storyline it’s an injury, so I don’t know who would cause it in the show (points at Cory) probably him… (We laugh) I think it would be fantastic! Especially since it’s wrapping up, I feel like, by the end, all of the pieces are gonna start coming together for all of us.

CMS: (To Robin) Do you plan on gaining 50 lbs this season? (We all laugh) Can you imagine? Oh, my God!

RLT: And shrinking! (More laughs)

DKN: That’s too funny.

I Did it My Way

DKN: Like you said, Robin, sadly things will be wrapping up. There’ve been quotes from the show-runners saying that characters like Mother and Orphan / The Lady Shiva and Cassandra Cain are coming onto the show. Are you guys excited about that? Some new blood?

CMS: Absolutely, yeah, totally.

RLT: I’m excited about new blood, but really what I’m hoping is, since it’s the last season, that even with the introduction of new characters, we’ll still be able to come back and focus on the core family, the core group that has been there since the beginning.

DKN: The backbone of the show.

RLT: Exactly. That’s going to be really gratifying, and it’s going to be very emotional. I’m already anticipating that.

CMS: I know, It’s a lot.. It’s a lot.

Men For All Seasons

DKN: The fans are, obviously, really sad about it ending too. I’ve been reporting on the show since it started, and one small comfort is that you’ll be going out with a bang, and not with a whimper.

CMS: Oh… it’ll be epic!

RLT: It’ll be fantastic. Also, just to know that it’s the end. I’ve been saying that once the show is done and time goes on, new people will still be discovering it. I’m just so glad that they’ll be able to watch it, all five seasons as though it’s a movie. The fact that we will have an ending, and that it will be, over five years, the big arc of the whole thing. I think it will be really great.

DKN: I was hoping you’d get ten years, like Smallville did, but…

(They both laugh and smile)

RLT: Hey, you never know… maybe Netflix will pick us up.

(More laughter from all three of us)

Every Girl’s Crazy ‘Bout A Sharp Dressed Man

DKN: It’s great seeing you both so casual, and relaxed. You’re usually in these sharp suits, and all dressed up. The costumes in the show are great! Do they feel as good to wear as they look?

CMS: Oh my God, yes. It’s extraordinary. We’re fortunate to have them custom made, and when you put them on you feel… powerful.

RLT: Yeah.

CMS: It feels right, and the fabric is beautiful, or it’s glistening, or it’s velvet, or whatever it may be. It just feels rich, and you can walk into a room and really own the clothes.

RLT: Yeah. It’s like putting on the skin of the character. I love working that way too, to be able to go from the outside into the emotional interior. To be able to put on the suit, have the nose, and then the hair. It’s like all these pieces come together, and then I’m Oswald. It feels really great.

Comic-Book Men

DKN: What was your relationship with comics. Before working on Gotham, and since?

CMS: Before the show, I didn’t have a relationship with comics, we didn’t grow up with them in our house. My brother and I didn’t read them. Now… (Laughing) now I have a collection! Particularly of Batman. I’m mostly focused on reading Batman comics, and now I have a little library that I’m pretty proud of.

DKN: Cool!

RLT: Yeah, same. I wasn’t a huge comic-book person as a child, but I was obsessed with the movies. Now it really is so rich. The art, the creativity and background of these characters I find so fascinating. It really feels like it’s mythology… the mythology of today, and I think it’s so exciting. The fact that it inspires both myself, and other people, that’s exciting.

DKN: Thank you so much.

So, to close. Any final message to our readers, your fans, from Cory and from Robin. What would you like to say?

CMS: Join us on the ride to the finale. It’s gonna be epic!

RLT: I love you, and thank you.

DKN: And we all love you, and thank you. Thanks guys!

RLT: Cheers, mate!

CMS: Thank you, man.

DKN: Fingers crossed, we’ll see you next year!

CMS: Yeah!

RLT: Fantastic!

[centineoah-blog]

I Hate Everything About You - Part 1 (Noah Centineo)

She’s the daughter of Robert Downey Jr., struggling to find her own name in the industry, while he’s the internet’s collective crush, learning how to deal with his new-found fame. What happens when they get cast together in a TV adaptation of her favourite book series?

Word Count: 2.6 K

Pairings: Noah Centineo X Reader

Warnings: None as far as I’m aware, bit of love/hate if you're not into that, bit of drinking, spray tans, paparazzi

There is just something incredibly satisfying about kicking back, putting your feet up and lying in the sun, doing nothing at all. The sound of the waves crashing, little kids squealing all around and the sultry rays of the sun beating down on you, warming you up from within – it’s summer at its absolute best. Which is why, I’m sprawled out on a deck chair on Santa Monica Beach, California, sipping a Piña Colada – I’m only seventeen but here with my very lenient mother – With a pair of shades shielding my eyes and the rest of my bikini-clad body exposed, so as to work up a tan. Hard work, I know, since I’ve been at it for nearly four hours now and there isn’t even a toasty hint on my skin to show for it. My complexion is pasty and uneven, which I have no idea how because I’ve been in California all my life. The least I should have is beautiful, evenly bronzed skin.

Ugh, I think in frustration, I should’ve just gotten one of those terrible, orange, spray tans to match the president. At least they’re easy to get.

Correction to my earlier statement, then – There is just something incredibly satisfying about kicking back, putting your feet up and lying in the sun, doing nothing at all, when you’re capable of tanning! My back is stiff and I’m sweating like a pig, as there is hardly any wind today. The humidity has resulted in my hair going beyond frizzy and I’m completely unrecognizable, so at least there is no chance of any paparazzi getting candid shots of me and making them viral with headlines like- ‘Y/N Downey shows off sexy bikini bod!’ Or something equally ridiculous.

Now, I said ‘unrecognizable’ and ‘paparazzi’ so you must be wondering what the hell that’s about. No, no, I’m not some narcissistic bitch with an absurdly high opinion of herself. Although, you aren’t that far off. Let me explain.

My name is Y/N Downey. I’m an up-and-coming actress although people hardly refer to me as that. Generally, people know me as the only daughter of Robert Downey Jr., one of America’s most successful and famous movie actors, and I’m not just saying this cause he’s my father. You might also know him as Iron Man but to me, he’s just dad.

Obviously, since my father is ‘the great Robert Downey Jr.’ everyone just naturally expects me to be a stuck-up, spoilt brat who gets everything handed to her on a silver platter. They think it’s all a piece of cake for me, that I don’t have to work for making a name for myself since my father has so conveniently made it for me.

Wrong.

To this day, my father has never pulled any strings or called in favours to get me a part. In fact, that was his one and only condition when I expressed that I wanted to take up acting as a profession. He made me promise that I’d never use his name to get my way and work hard on my own to achieve something. Luckily, and not to be too full of myself or anything, but I’m a good actor. I suppose it has something to do with being in my dad’s company, since it can’t be genes. That’s because I’m adopted, and the Downeys are the only family I have ever known.

Anyway, every single role that I have done until now, I’ve got it through legit auditions in stinky and badly lit rooms. Mr. Downey has never influenced any aspect of my career. So, you see, I’m just another teenaged girl with a big dream. Okay, that might be an exaggeration. But except for the fact that my dad is a big movie star and I live in an unreasonably large house, and have more cars than I could possibly want to drive and I’ve never been to a public school – whaddup, homeschooling! – Really, I’m just the same as your typical teenaged girl.

So that’s my story. Now let’s get back to the present day. It was all my mother’s stupid idea.

“We never spend any quality time together.” She’d cooed the night before. “How about we head to the beach tomorrow? You could sunbathe.” She’d added temptingly and like the idiot that I am, I was sold by the allure of a tan. 

Hence, my discomfort now. Hell, last night I’d even thought I’d go for a nice little swim down here.

My brain wanders off on its own trail – Is this day ever going to end?! And what the heck is up with the sun? Move a bit dude, go shine your bright face in someplace they need it.

I groan in irritation.

My mother snaps her head to me. She pushes up her sunglasses to her head and glares at me. 

“If you’re so annoyed, you shouldn’t have come.” She growls.

“You made me.” I mutter quietly.

“I didn’t make you do anything.”

“Of course you did. You held up tanning like a bait and you knew I’ve always wanted to –” I’m cut off by the sound of my phone ringing. I fish it out of my bag.

“Ava!” I’m met with a shrill but pleasant greeting from my agent, Joanna.

“Hey Jo!”

“So guess the best thing that could’ve possibly happened?”

That’s how Joanna Preston always talked. Whatever you wanted to find out, you guessed. I think she’s incapable of forming non-interrogative sentences. It gets annoying a lot of the times.

“Um, everything in the world is made of chocolate?” I ask, unsure.

Joanna laughs. “No. Hint – it has something to do with Colors.”

My heart stops. There’s only one reason Joanna’s calling me about Colors.

“Someone’s making a movie about it?” I breathe in disbelief.“Better.”

What’s better than a movie?

“Someone’s making two movies about it?” I question dubiously.

“Someone’s making a TV Series about it.” She states firmly. Oh, non-interrogative! Perhaps there is hope for her yet.

A little gasp escapes my lips.

The Colors trilogy is my favourite book series in the world!

“And guess who the best agent in the whole wide world is?” She’s back, ugh, never mind.

“You, obviously.” I say rolling my eyes.

“That’s right!” She exclaims. “And guess who landed the lead?”

My jaw pops open.

“Me? They just gave it to me? No auditions or screen tests?” I ask, disbelieving.

“Yeah!” She squeals.

I furrow my brows, not quite understanding where this was all going. Joanna must’ve been able to sense my apprehension because she promptly launches into an explanation.

“Apparently they loved you on Teen Wolf and they wanted a new and fresh face, so they decided you’d be perfect. I’ve managed to find out that they’ve practically finalised you but of course, they’d still like you to show up and read some lines but that’s purely formal. The part is yours!”

I did a two-episode cameo in the third season of Teen Wolf and it was received very well. More importantly, it resulted in me becoming friends with Tyler Posey. He is pure perfection.

A dumbass grin spreads over my entire face.

“Do you know who’s playing Mason yet?”

Mason is my almost-character, Ali’s love interest in the books.

“Yeah, but he’s in the same condition as you. In fact, I suppose they’ll be asking both of you to go down there together.”

“Who is it, though?” I can’t contain my excitement.

“Noah Centineo.”

I almost fall out of my deck chair.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It’s been nearly two weeks since I found out I’m almost playing Alison in the TV Series adaptation of Colors and today, I’m going to be finalized. Or I’m hoping to be, since I’ve been called down today for my ‘audition’ and I’m absolutely thrilled and raring to just go down there and bag it. A couple of days ago, the producers contacted my agent, Joanna, and gave them the final dates for the trial. Also, just as Joanna had predicted, Noah Centineo, is being called in to audition for Mason and we’re auditioning together. I must say, that, I’m not thrilled about. 

I’m not exactly sure why I get hostile at just the thought of this guy and somewhere in my head, a rational voice answers that it’s because of how much I love this character. Mason Scott is my favourite fictional character and if some douchebag with cool hair messes it up, then as a loyal fan, I have every right to have a vendetta against him. It could be that he’s the biggest actor at the moment, answers the rational voice again but I ignore it. Of course it had to be him. I am sick of seeing him everywhere, and how everyone is obsessed with him. Honestly, how is it that someone who literally just blew up overnight, lands a role as big as Mason Freaking Scott?! He must have pulled in some serious favours. 

It suddenly dawns on me, then, that he would probably be thinking the same thing about Robert Downey Jr.’s daughter getting the lead – that it wasn’t my skill that got me this part. I quickly brush it off.

“Blue or beige?” I hold up two identical blouses, trying to decide which one to wear to the audition.

“Definitely the beige. Wear the brown skirt with it.” My mother comments from her spot on my bed.

My mother and I had a tiff about this role earlier, since it’s gonna have a fair bit of nudity in, but I’m happy to tell you that I was able to finally get through to her about how big this role is for my career.  Everybody’s excited to see a reboot.

My dad helped as well, explaining the whole situation to my earlier apprehensive mother and now she’s supporting me whole-heartedly. Or she’s pretending to, but either way, I’m glad she’s accepted that I’m going to do this and that she’s really cool about it. 

I, on the other hand, am a sack full of nerves right now. I might appear to be confident and, quoting my own self ‘raring to go’, but on the inside I’m. Freaking. Out. It’s like a dream role and I do not want to mess this up in any way. I don’t want the makers to have second thoughts about casting me; I don’t want to give them any reason to so much as even think about someone else. And obviously, that leaves zero room for error on my part. None. Nada.

So, clearly, there’s no pressure!

My head is pounding as I walk into the studio, script in hand. The audition is the part when Mason first takes Ali to his apartment and tells her about his lifestyle and what he does for a living, letting her know what she’s in for if she agrees to be with him. I know all my lines by heart and my dear friend, Tyler, and I have been through them almost a hundred times but it’s still a rather difficult scene if you consider the acting side of it because it really shows Ali’s innocence and her willingness to step into the dark with Mason.

Speaking of, where the hell is this overrated hero?! I’d really like it if I could just run through these lines with him at least once before the main audition.

I’m walking around the studio with an expression that says I own the place because people keep stepping out of my way, when, really, all I’m doing is being annoyed as I try to find my arrogant co-auditioner.

Yeah, yeah, I know it’s a bit premature calling him arrogant. Seriously though? Who on earth would just waltz in there and read their lines with an unknown person, for the first time, to audition for the role of a lifetime? An arrogant person, that’s who, because even I am willing to swallow my pride and look for this brat for a little practice.

I somehow end up walking to the kitchen, well not somehow because I could murder a coffee right now, and surprise, surprise, Mr. Centineo is sitting right there with his posse. I stop dead in my tracks as soon as our eyes meet and he stares at me for several seconds, not blinking. And then, slowly, he raises a brow as he gives me a relaxed, deliberate once-over.

And it pisses me off.

Like, I know I’m looking nice right now but seriously dude, I’m about to be your goddamned co-star! Show a little respect, for god’s sake!

To be honest though, I don’t even know why I’m so offended. Maybe it’s his gorgeous hair. I notice that there are three other guys sat next to him and I assume those are his ‘buddies’; they look the type – all dude bro-ish in their stupid hoodies and ripped, skinny jeans. Not that I have anything personal against hoodies or ripped, skinny jeans. Or dude-bros, for that matter. But I wasn’t told I could bring my friends.

Ass.

Finally regaining my ability to walk, I make a bored face as if I audition for huge shows every day, and then head straight to the counter off the side of the room, ignoring him completely. Behind me, I hear snickers and hushed voices as I’m pouring my coffee in a paper cup. I roll my eyes.

Grow up, boys.

I dump two packets of sugar and stir it vigorously. Putting on the lid, I turn around and my coffee is knocked out of my hand.

“ARGH!! The fudge!” I growl.

I’m surprised at my ability to control myself. I had a whole variety of choice expletives I could’ve used in this situation. I look up and standing in front of me is the newest bane of my existence. And he’s smirking.

I reward him with the stoniest face I can manage.

“Hey, I’m Noah.” He says and okay, I’ll admit it, his voice is So. Hot. 

No! I’m furious right now, I can’t think about that. What the hell is he playing at? I need an apology.

“You spilled my coffee.” I mutter in quiet fury as I point out his first misdemeanour.

“Whoa woah, not the friendly type, are you?”

“I suppose I wouldn’t be either if my dad was Iron Man.” He adds with a snigger. My jaw pops open.

How dare he?!

Strike Two. I’m overwhelmed by how much I want to break his pretty little jaw.

“What the hell?! You have no right to say that.” I yell.

Further to my irritation, he grins – teeth and all. Perfectly straight, white teeth and all. But, anyway.

“What?” I snap.

“You’re fiery.” He remarks in amusement and the next thing I know is a sharp, stinging feeling in the palm of my hand and Centineo’s shocked expression.

Okay, so I might’ve slapped him.

Before I can react or try to apologise – not that I was going to, he clearly had three strikes, but it’s the thought that counts – I get a call from Joanna.

“Y/N, they’re calling you in now. Stage 36.” 

“I’m coming.”

“If you see Noah on the way, let him know they want him too.”

“I haven’t seen him.” I bark as I hang up.

I walk around Noah Centineo in a huff and he stares after me, dumbstruck, as I walk out the door, still holding the cheek that holds proof of my assault.

Now how’s that for ‘fiery’?

Part 2