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vivwritesfics · 1 year ago

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Keep On Rolling - MV1

Chapter Ten

Summary: Lando's best friend having feelings for anyone on the grid? Impossible, right? She worked with them, sharing her friendship with the grid with the world via the FormulaY/N youtube channel.

After film a video including... spicy water (alcohol), everything changes between her and a certain world champion. Good thing she hasn't had a crush on him since his F1 debut, right?

Right?

1.5K words

Series Masterlist

The first race back after the summer break. It was the Dutch Grand prix, Max’s home race. It had been months since Y/N and Max had last spoken and she was finally ready to sort things out.

So, she made her way up to her hotel room, after getting the floor and room number from Charles. Her bag was stuffed full of…

The elevator dinged and she stepped out. His hotel room was just three doors away. Knocking quickly, Y/N stepped to the side and waited for Max to open the door.

He heard the knocks. Standing from the bed, he walked over to the door and looked through the peephole, at who was on the other side. They were standing just out of view, with him only able to see their arm. But their arm had no tattoos, no kind of identifying features. So, Max pulled open the door.

Y/N stepped out in front of it and Max went to push the door shut. But Y/N got inside before he could. “Max, wait,” she said, pulling her bag forward and reaching inside. She pulled out a small, white box full of Stroopwafels.

Pulling them out, Y/N placed them down onto the circular table in the middle of the hotel room. “Just hear me out, okay?”

Max looked at the stroopwafels, picked them up and sat back on the bed, the box cradled in his lap. “Fine,” he said, his voice cold as he pulled the box open and began eating them.

And so, Y/N talked. She talked for a full ten minutes before stopping to take a breath. The whole time Max listened, his eyes never leaving her as she paced about the hotel room.

As soon as she had finished with the body of her rant, Y/N took a seat at the round table and let out a sigh, her hands moving through her hair. “I feel like you hate me and I don’t understand what I’ve done.”

Quiet filled the hotel room. Max stared at her and Y/N stared at him. Say something, please! she thought as they stared. But Max was still quiet. “Max-”

“When those pictures of us got released, I got a call from my father,” he confessed before Y/N could say anything more. “He was so angry with me for letting myself be distracted by you.” His fingers drummed against the top of the box.

Before those pictures were leaked, Max had won almost every race. Red Bull certainly had won everything, and he’d been the one stood on the top of the podium more time than not. “But, you-”

“I know. Trust me, I know. He went on, threatened me, the usual dad stuff. And I was ready to ignore it, until Lando came knocking on my door.”

Y/N’s head shot up. Her eyes were wide, eyebrows scrunched together as she stared at him. Lando hadn’t mentioned this. He’d had plenty of opportunity to, but he had never told her about it. “What happened when Lando came knocking on your door?” She asked, somewhat timidly, almost like she was afraid of the answer.

There was a moment before Max answered. He hadn’t yet eaten her stroopwafels, still tapping away at the side of the box. “He asked me to stay away from you. Well, actually he told me I needed to stay away from you.”

“And you listened to that?”

He nodded his head. “I couldn’t concentrate on driving when I had my father calling me, telling me I needed to forget about you, when I had Lando threatening me to stay away from you and then I had you there at every single race. I couldn’t concentrate. My favourite part of the weekend used to be the racing, but it became filming your videos.” And Max hated his media duties. I had to get my mind back on racing, so I pulled away from you. But it didn’t help. Suddenly I couldn’t eat, I couldn’t sleep. Any time I was sim racing I was crashing because I was thinking about you.”

Y/N stood from the table. She took two strides and sat herself on the end of the bed, facing him. Y/N placed the stroopwafels down onto the small table beside the bed and looked at Max. “You’ve been thinking about me?”

“Obviously I’ve been thinking about you,” Max replied quickly. “I haven’t done anything but think of you.”

Her hand was on his face as she leaned forward. Max let his arms fall to her waist as she leaned forward onto the bed and shut her eyes. She pressed her lips to his, waiting a moment for Max to kiss her back.

It took Max a moment, surprise clear on his face. But he kissed her back, his fingers running through her hair. His hand quickly moved from her hair to her waist, pulling her closer as Y/N pulled her face away from his.

She stared at him. For a full minute Y/N stared at Max. She didn’t say anything as she pulled her hand away from his face and pushed herself away. “I’m sorry,” she said, standing up. “I’m so sorry.”

But Max had a grip on her waist still. He easily pulled her back down onto the bed, almost pulling her onto his lap. “Stay,” he said, and Y/N folded her leg under her body.

Y/N didn’t kiss him again. She stayed where she was, sitting on one side of the bed while Max leaned back against the headboard. He grabbed the box of stroopwafels, offering Y/N one. “You kissed me back,” she said as she took one. “I kissed you and you kissed me back.”

“Yeah, I did.”

Y/N let out a huff as she bit into the stroopwafel. Delicious, as always. “Want to tell me what that means for us?” She asked. “Like, are we friends again, or what?”

Why just be friends? Max wanted to say. Why can’t we be something more than friends? But he didn’t dare say it. Yes, she was the one that kissed him, but she’d regretted it instantly, it seemed. If she regretted just a kiss, what would she do if Max asked her to love him?

“Yeah, we’re friends again,” Max said, stopping himself from scoffing. Friends. He could live with being friends. It was going to be tough, but he could live with it. For the time being, at least.

Y/N pulled out her phone. “Lando and I are in the newest Quadrant video. Do you want to watch it with me?” She asked, opening up the Youtube app.

It was Y/N’s technical return to Youtube. She hadn’t posted a video in months, her summer break currently going through editing before it was uploaded.

Max nodded his head. He didn’t say anything as Y/N pulled up the video and propped the phone up in front of them.

It was strangely normal, something a two-time world champion didn’t get very often. He and Y/N sat together, closer than ordinary friends would, as they watched the video. It was funny, the Quadrant group and Y/N completing an obstacle course that ended in a karting track. Ria, Y/N and Max (Fewtrell) were on one team, and Lando, Aarav and Niran were on the other team.

Most of the obstacle course was inflatable. The video started with Y/N and Lando running towards the inflatable obstacle course, pushing each other as they went. Lando reached over and held Y/N pack as she tried to move through the inflatable poles. At the end of the inflatable obstacle course was a small bit they had to climb and then a slid that went down to karting track.

It really was good fun; Y/N couldn’t help but smile as she watched it. Quadrant videos were maybe one of Y/N’s favourite parts of being a Youtuber.

But Max (Verstappen) wasn’t laughing. Max wasn’t even watching the video. He couldn’t stop himself from staring at Y/N as she leaned against him. This. This was what he wanted. This was what he didn’t have.

She stayed for a little bit, but things were still not normal between them. She had kissed him, that was all Max could think about. He wanted to kiss her again, but it would only make things worse. She wanted to be friends, clearly, but then why did she kiss him.

Once the video ended, Y/N stretched her back and stood up. She grabbed her phone, slipped it into her pocket and grabbed her bag. “I better go,” she muttered and walked towards the door. Jumping up from the bed, Max followed her. He said nothing as he pulled open the door. Friends. They were just friends. That fucking sucked. Max let her out, watching her go as she headed towards the elevators.

As Y/N walked, she pulled out her phone.

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kana-daydreams · 8 months ago

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𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐟𝐨𝐥𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐦𝐨𝐨𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐝 || 𝐆𝐨𝐣𝐨

summary: Satoru comes home to see you wearing his blindfold. genre: fluff cw: none? Just some affectionate smooching. wc: 1.8k

With arms and legs sprawled out like a lifeless starfish across the plush cream carpet of Satoru’s bedroom, an audible sigh sounds past your lips at a pestering memory that has been swimming through your mind for the last couple of days.

“You guys have been dating for how long now?”

Outside at a frequented cafe front, shaded under its thick green awning from the heat of the summer sun, you peered across at Shoko who sat in the seat opposite your own with a cigarette tucked between her fingers.

Both of you were on a short lunch break, relieving yourselves of the taxing demands of your jobs as Jujutsu High’s only two proficient healers.

“…a month.” Your answer came out in a timid reply and sounded more like a question as you hid your embarrassed expression behind your extra large cup of iced coffee.

Shoko hummed and you watched as she took a long drag of her cigarette that burned away inches near the butt, a puff of smoke exhaling past her lips.

“Known each other for five years—been dating for a month,” she muses. “And still, he hasn’t made a move?”

You winced at her words. “No. He hasn’t.” You averted your eyes, confirming the disappointing reality that you and your boyfriend, Satoru Gojo, were yet to explore any forms of romantic intimacy beyond that of hugs and chaste kisses.

“You’re going over to his place this weekend, right?”

You direct your attention back at Shoko. “Yeah…”

“Then shoot your shot.” Shoko stubbed out her cigarette in an ashtray in front of her.

Your brows wrinkled at her words. “Huh?”

“Make the first move.” She clarified and was not surprised when she watched you with tired eyes instantly blurted out the words “Impossible! Never! No!” in one breath, loud enough to garner the attention of the cafe’s other patrons around you.

The embarrassing moment as you recall it, makes your face warm, especially at your friend’s suggestion — ‘Make the first move.’

An action you didn’t think yourself capable of doing unless you were willing to die from a massive heart attack.

But still.

You wanted to know what it would feel like to kiss your boyfriend.

What it would feel like to have Satoru’s lips pressed against yours.

And what he would taste like.

Sweet, maybe?

You trace the tip of a finger absentmindedly along your lower lip, and when you realise you’re acting like a perverted old man (well woman in your case), you release a frustrated kind of cry.

You pull yourself to sit up, shaking your head to stop yourself from thinking too much about your dilemma. And decide to distract yourself until Satoru gets back from the short-noticed mission he’d left your cuddle session to attend to.

Momentarily, your endeavour leads you to seek interest near a dresser tucked away near one corner of the room.

The large mirror above it captures the reflection of a woman attired in an oversized Tee and pyjama pants donning a strip of black cloth tied loosely around the upper half of her face, while her swagger-like poses mirrors your own.

Snap!

Your phone snaps a few times and after a couple more snaps, you raise the blindfold you adorn a bit to look at your work. “I can’t wait to send these to Toru.” You scroll through the ton of pictures you’ve just taken, giggling at the reaction Satoru would pull when he sees them.

“Maybe I should do a video?” You muse before acting on the thought as you reattach your phone to the tripod on the dresser, tap the record button, and pull down your—Satoru’s blindfold.

You then arrange your body in a pose dripping with arrogance and confidence—and of course a lot of rizz. And commence your act when the timer runs down.

“I. am. the strongest!” You attempt to say in a deep voice but fail.

You stop the video and clear your throat. You do a few voice checks then repeat the filming process.

“Don’t worry baby boo, sugar lumps, my apple pie.” You give the camera a smug look , biting down seductively on your lips and say in a deep, gruff voice. “You know who I am?” You glance at the camera head-to-toe. “Well baby girl, I’m the strongest.”

“Hey! I do not sound like that.”

You freeze, startled at the real masculine voice that suddenly comes from behind you. And you slowly pivot your body around, raising the right side of the blindfold an inch to see none other than a tall figure with snow-white hair and a black blindfold that matches your own, standing at the entrance of the room with furrowed brows and cheeks puffed from a playful pout.

“Toru, you’re home!” You can’t help but giggle at your boyfriend’s childish reaction before, pausing the video, crossing the room in a few strides and throwing your arms around him in a tight embrace.

Satoru wraps his arms around your smaller frame being careful not to ruin the pink sparkly gift bag you were yet to notice in his hand containing a gift he’d gotten you during his mission. He then leans down to your height, touching a soft kiss to your forehead. “I see my baby’s missed me.” He smiles.

“Of course I did.” Your words are muffled against his broad chest, a satisfied smile gracing your face from the gentle feel of his kiss.

“Here. I’ve got you something.”

You unwillingly pull away from Satoru and fully tug the blindfold down to see the gift bag he holds towards you.

You retrieve it from his hands, peering into it to see brown doe eyes staring back at you.

“Toru, it’s so cute!” You squeal as you free the fluffy stuffed toy from its sparkly confines, cuddling it against your chest. “I love it!”

Satoru’s face beams at your response, the corners of his lips stretching into a somewhat bashful smile. “I’m so happy my baby likes it.” He says before his attention shifts to his spare blindfold that hangs around your neck, remembering that a moment ago he’d walked in on you rizzing up his mirror. “So what’s with the blindfold?”

“Oh, this?” Your fingers find themselves fiddling with the piece of said fabric. “I was just messing around.” You wave a hand dismissively at him, leaving his side to lay the toy against a plush pillow on the bed further across the room.

“You were that bored, huh?” Satoru chuckles as he trails behind you, before a teasing smirk winds its way onto his face. “How needy. I didn’t know my pretty girl would be so lonely without me. Maybe next time I’ll give you a body pillow with my face on it.”

Your face steams at his words, and you whirl around to meet his shadowed gaze. “I am not needy. I was simply bored, okay.” You cross your arms and jut out your lips—your plump and very, very kissable lips—Satoru thinks, finding it hard to peel his gaze off them. But reluctantly does when a thought clicks to mind.

“I’m sorry babe. You’re not that needy.” Satoru apologises and gently takes one of your hands, raising it to his lips before pressing a tender kiss on the back of your palm. “By the way, I’ve got another surprise for you. Do…you want it?”

“I won't be bribed, Toru.”

“C’mon baby. I think you’ll really like it.” He releases your hand to clasp his together and says in a sing-song voice, “And besides, I really, really would like to give it to you.”

“Is it food? Money?”

Satoru chuckles at your words. “You’ll see, but…” he drawls. “You’ve gotta put the blindfold back on.”

You arch a sceptical brow at that.“Why?”

You know Satoru.

And you know he’s probably scheming something—you can see it in the way the corners of his mouth curve up into an I’m-up-to-something smile.

“‘Cause…” He drags. “It's a gift I can’t give you unless you put the blindfold back on.”

His words don't make much–any– sense to you, but eventually, you relent after losing a minute–long staring competition between his translucent ocean-blue eyes and your own, persuaded by the pleading expression of your strikingly handsome and adorable Toru.

You sigh in defeat when Satoru finishes securing his blindfold with a loose knot across your eyes.“Now what?”

Your question is answered by Satoru's large hands reeling you in by your hips with gentle care, drawing you close and into his firm body.

The feeling of his strong arms circling your waist follows, leaving you to settle the palms of your hands against his chest. And with the little space left between your bodies, the soothing scent of him and a hint of his masculine cologne wraps itself around you, cloaking your senses like a fuzzy blanket.

“Don’t tell me this is the surprise?”

“So what if it is. My hugs are the best.” He says rather smugly and you can’t help but chuckle lightly at that.

“Yeah, they are.” You lean in closer to his soothing warmth.

A kiss to your forehead follows your boyfriend’s loving and comforting embrace, and a pleased hum leaves you at the affectionate gesture—you’ve always adored his forehead kisses.

Another kiss, equally as loving and tender is pressed to your blindfolded eyes, one at a time and your face scrunches slightly when he next, unexpectedly, plops a wet one to your nose.

“Toru!” You giggle, giggling some more when he kisses your nose again before moving to pepper feather-light kisses to your cheeks. Though your jubilant laughter abruptly cuts short when his lips start to slowly trail soft kisses along your jawline. One of the many parts of your body that has never been touched by his lips.

Heat rises up your neck and settles at your cheeks when his kisses continue to trace along your sensitive skin, burning more furiously when you feel his warm breath caress the right corner of your mouth.

He gives it a peck which makes your heart stutter.

“T-Toru?”

“Hm?” Satoru hums in response, and you feel the sensation of it vibrate against your skin.

“Is…Is this the surprise?” You question a second time, your voice a bit shaky as you do.

Satoru presses a kiss, this time to the left corner of your mouth. “Nope.”

“Then…what’s the sur—”

Your words are muffled when Satoru’s soft lips connect to yours. And your heart leaps, your face burning as both your lips meld together in a slow and tender kiss. A pleasant sensation for both you and Satoru short-lived when he pulls away, the deep blush that colours almost his entire face, obscured from your view by the black blindfold on your own.

His forehead presses gently against yours. “That is.” He says almost breathless, referring to your unfinished question, before capturing your lips in another and this time, much longer, deeper—and addictively sweeter kiss.

#𓇻 kana's jjk ddrms #gojo x reader #gojo fluff #gojo x you #gojou satoru x reader #jjk fluff #jjk x reader #jjk satoru

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unfxrgetwble · 1 year ago

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through time

Paring: Calum Hood x fem!reader

Warning: swearing & crying

Summary: Watching 5sos play Gotta Get Out makes you look back over the past ten years.

Word count: 3k

Author’s note: this is the first fanfic i have written since i was like 14 so plz be nice <3

enjoy!

★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★

2021

5SOS SHOW

You have been friends with the boys since the beginning of their career. You were one of the 11 people at their first show. You went to their rehearsals at Luke's moms house. And now you were sitting on the side watching them record their 10 year anniversary show. They were filming Gotta Get Out and your mind starts having flashbacks to the past 10 years.

2011

You are there sitting behind the camera as Luke and Michael tune their guitars and Calum and Ash set up the mics. They all sit down on their respective seats. You give them a countdown and then start the camera. Luke starts to play the guitar followed by ash on the drums (whatever that thing is). You make eye contact with calum and blush. You knew the boys from school and had a small crush on Calum so when Luke asked you to help with the video you obviously said yes. You had a little bit of experience with videography. By the time you zone back in they had finished the song. You told them you would edit it and get it back to them. You head back home and edit the video and send it back to them. The next day calum sees you after school

“(Y/N) (Y/N)” Cal is practically screaming. You whip your head around to see who is screaming at you. “We are going viral” he says out of breath.

“Wait, slow down cal. What? Y’all are going viral?” You say questioning.

“The video you edited for us, it’s going viral” he says as he finally catches his breath.

“That’s amazing! I’m so happy for you” you say, grabbing his shoulders. He pulls you into a hug out of excitement. It takes you a second to realize that he is hugging you then you hug back. You both pull away with red tinting both of your cheeks.

“Me and the boys would like it if you helped with our videos from now on.”

You agreed and from then on you helped with all of their video stuff from covers to vlogs.

2013

You were there when they launched their first ep. You were there when they went to London. You were sitting with them when Heartbreak Girl hit 1 million views. You were there for the try hard music video. When they told you that they were going on tour with 1D you were over the moon. You were so proud of them. When they asked you to go with them you almost started crying because that meant that you got to meet the One Direction. Of course you said yes. You went to America with them and helped film and edit the LA Vlogs. You traveled the world with them and you became so close with all of them. But you grew extremely close to calum. You would say he was your best friend. You still had your crush on him but you never said anything. You had also grown kinda close to Niall which made Calum a little jealous but he never brought it up.

2014

Release of 5 Seconds of Summer

You went on the Rock Out With Your Socks Out Tour that supported the album. Calum’s feelings for you had grown but he had always pushed them to the back of his mind due to fear of messing up the dynamic of your friendship with the band and also out of fear of the public. He had seen how other celebrities’ girlfriends had gotten hate and didn’t want you to experience that. But Luke, Micheal and Ash knew how you both felt and tried to get yall together but it just went right over both of your

2015

The release of SGFG

There were so many people there and you didn’t know a lot of them. You were always behind the camera. People knew of you but you were never in the spotlight. You were always the support. And now you were in a room full of people who live in the spotlight. There were flashing lights and loud music so you found a small couch in the corner and were sitting by yourself.

“(Y/n) how are you enjoying the party,” Luke had come up to me without me knowing.

“God Luke, you can’t sneak up on me like that dude.”

“Sorry man, I just saw you sitting by yourself and came to check on you” he says sympathetically.

“I’m okay I just don’t know a lot of people here,” you say quietly.

“Well I think Cal is looking for you and you know him” he says in a teasing tone while poking your side.

“Shut up please, I’ll go find him in a little bit” you say, slapping his hand away. He gets up, gives you a wink and then turns to leave. Now you are sat there thinking about all the feelings you have for Cal that you have bottled up over the past 4 years. You have been with him and the band for so long. You loved him. You couldn’t deny it much longer. When you were with him you were always laughing. He knew you like the back of his hand and vice versa. When you were upset you would always make you laugh by telling a stupid joke or something along those lines. When he was upset you would always help him work it through. He loved you for that. You were so intune with your emotions and gave the best advice. You were about to get up to find him and you see him standing there in the light looking like a god. He had on a graphic tee with black skinny jeans and converse. He looked beautiful in the lights. You get and walk over to him.

“(Y/N) you look amazing tonight, are you having fun?” He says yelling over the music.

“ Hey Cal, you look great, I’m having fun, Luke said you were looking for me” you yell.

“ Well I’m always looking for you”he says winking “but i just wanted to check on you, make sure you were having fun.”

You are slightly blushing now that you were used to him flirting. “Yeah, I’m having a good time, i might go home soon. You know this isn’t really my scene.”

“Aww (Y/n), please don’t go. We can have fun, I promise.”

“Idk cal, you know I’m not the party type.”

“(Y/n) please don’t make me beg.” He says starting to get on his knees. Now you are beet red. You grab Calum's arms and pull him up.

“Fine cal, I’ll stay” His face lights up as he pulls you into a hug. You end up having an amazing time. Playfully flirting back and forth all night.

2018

The release of Youngblood.

You went on tour with them for the Meet You There Tour. After one of the LA shows you all went to a bar to celebrate. You sat at the bar waiting to get a drink, the boys were sat up in the VIP section with drinks in their hands. While you are waiting for your drink, you look over and see Cal sat next to this beautiful girl. She had long blonde hair in a tight beautiful dress. You couldn’t help but feel a little jealous. So after you got your drink you continued to sit at the bar instead going back to the VIP section. You then felt a little tap on your shoulder , you turn around and see the one and only Niall Horan. You stood up and gave him a hug.

“Niall, oh my goodness, it's so good to see you. It’s been years. How have you been?” You say stepping back from your hug.

“Oh (Y/n), it is amazing to see you. I am good. You look amazing!” He says gesturing to you.

“Thank you so much Niall.” You say as you finish your drink, then ask for another one. You are hammering back drinking while having a conversation with Niall. By the end of your 30 minute long conversation you are pretty drunk. At this point you are telling Niall about how you are in love with Cal and you are jealous of the girl who was sitting next to him.

“(Y/n), what girl? Calum is sitting by himself staring at you”, he says matter of factly.

“What are you talking about? There was a gorgeous girl sitting next to him. She was all over him” you say, kind of slurring your words. He turns your body to look at the VIP section and Cal was sitting there by himself staring you down.

Calum had just sat down when this blonde girl came over to him. He looks over at her as she sits down. She starts to speak and he’s pretending to listen. He didn’t want to talk to other girls, he was just waiting on you to get back to save him. He finally realizes that you are taking so long so he turns away from the girl to see you hugging Niall. He watched as you talk to Niall and he has a pain in his chest. He watches you talk to Niall and you look absolutely stunning. All the feelings of jealousy from when they were on tour with 1D came rushing back. At this point the girl had gotten up because Cal was ignoring her. When Niall turn you towards him, you make eye contact with him. He stands up and walks over you. Niall says hey to cal and gives him a hug and hands you off to him.

“(Y/n) how much have you had to drink?” He says with worry as you almost fall out of your chair.

“I have no idea but why do you care? Why don’t you go talk to that blonde chick.” You slurred with an attitude.

“ What are you taking about?” He says and then you point in the direction of the girl. He looks over his shoulder and scoffs.

“I didnt want to talk to her. I was waiting on you to save me and you didn’t come back.” He states as he helps you stand.” Im taking you home. You are so drunk.”

You finally made it outside and you can’t help but stare at him. He is wearing black jeans, a white button up with a leather jacket and black boots. He looked so good.

“ Cal, I can’t do this much longer” you say with tears brimming your eyes.

“Do what (Y/n)?” He asked, confused.

“ I can’t keep watching girls obsess over you and not be able to call you mine. I'm so in love with you it hurts. I have liked you for the past 7 years, and I never said anything because I didn’t want to hold you back but seeing you with that gorgeous girl hurt. I couldn’t stop telling Niall about you. I talked about you almost the whole time. You are everything I have ever wanted. You are so kind and so thoughtful. You always know how to make me laugh and cheer me up when I’m crying. I don’t ever want to lose you but I can't sit back and not tell you how I feel. I just have to get it out. My feelings for you are so strong I just have to tell you.” At this point you are crying, tears streaming down your face. Calum looks so conflicted. There are so many thoughts running through his head. He is so happy that you liked him back, he was confused as why you thought that he was interested in other girls. He was sad that you were crying and he didn’t know what to do. After a good minute of silence he grabs your face, wipes your tears, and kisses you. You were shocked and it took you a second to kiss him back.

“You are drunk, lets get you home and we can talk about it in the morning.” He says and he takes your hand and starts walking home. The next morning you wake up with a headache and an arm wrapped around your waist. You turn around to see Cal laying next to you.

“Good morning, love.” He says with a deep morning voice.

“Goodmorning, what happened last night?” You ask with worry on your face.

“Well you got jealous, got drunk and then confessed your love to me, and then when we back here you told me you didnt want to sleep alone so i stayed over” he says nonchalantly.

“Fuck. Cal Im so sorry, I didnt want to tell you because I didnt want to make things weird between us, you are my best friend.” You put your head in your hands embarrassed.

“Do you mean it?” He ask.

‘What?’

“Do you mean it (Y/n)?”

“Yeah” you say looking at him. He grabs your face and he kisses you. You kiss back, and you felt a spark. When you finally pull away he just looks at you.

“(Y/n) I practically begged Luke to ask you to film that video. I have had a crush on you since year 9. I never had a reason to talk to you but I knew you liked videography so I mentioned you to the boys and Luke said you were friends. I would not leave him alone until he asked you. There were so many times that I wanted to confess by undying love for you but I chicken out. Like at the release party for Sounds Good Feels Good. Luke came up to me and told me that I should do it and that he told you that I was looking for you but when I saw you I got nervous. You are my dream girl but I never wanted to put you in a weird position and I didnt want you to get hate if you did like me back.” He confesses while holding your face in his hands.

2020

The release of CALM

You were in lockdown with your boyfriend of three years, Calum. You had kept your relationship with him a secret and the fans didn't think anything different because you were always around. They had their theories but they have had them since the boys got big, but you were a pretty private person. You had just made dinner for you and Cal. You had made your plates, feed Duke, and you make your way to Cal’s office to give him his dinner because he is on a call with the boys. You walk in, place his food down and kiss his head and as your are about to leave he just kinda looks at you with worry in his eyes.

“What’s wrong babe?” You ask with a worried look on your face. He looks at the computer then tells the boys he will be right back and puts himself of mute.

“Love, this is live. So now I think this means our relationship is public.”

“What?” You ask with shock on your face.

“You just called me babe and kissed me on stream.” He says calmly.

“Are you mad at me?” You ask holding is hand in yours.

“What? No love, I’m not mad at all. It is kinda funny, and now i get to finally post all of the cute pictures i have of you and duke.” He says with the laugh you love so much.

“Okay baby. Im sorry to interrupt,” and you kiss him as you leave. He goes back to the live stream and says “Well I guess its out, that is my girlfriend (Y/n). Some of you might know her she used to film all our vlogs back in like 2014. She has been friends with us since the beginning.” Luke chimes in with “be nice to her” and Michael and Ash backing him up. As you get back to the kitchen to eat Duke jumps up in your lap and you decide to check twitter and you are getting so many followers and many tweets of the clip from the live stream. You got a little bit of hate but so much love. You decide to tweet a picture of Cal and duke with the caption “now that we are public, here is a picture that Cal took on my phone of him and duke” and immediately there were so many replies and it was mainly people saying that they were excited for all the cal content they would get. It made you giggle but you shut your phone off and finished your dinner.

2021

5SOS SHOW

As all those memories flood though your mind you begin to tear up. Watching the boys sing Gotta Get Out has reminded you of where they had come from and how proud of them you were. You have watched them grow and come so far. They had just finished singing and Calum looks over to you and walks over to you. He grabs your face and looks into your eyes.

“My love, what’s wrong?” He says kind of giggling.

“I'm just so proud of you and the boys. I was there when you first filmed this song and I have watched you all grow so much. I'm just so proud of y’all.” You say as tears stream your face. Chrystal and Sierra had seen you crying and were right by your side. You had grown very close to the girls over the last couple of years. Soon all the boys were all around you too. The girls had heard your explanation to Cal, but the boys were so concerned. You looked at Cal standing next to Ash, Micheal, and Luke and started crying more. They just look at Cal with so much concern.

You finally calm down and say, “I am so proud of you boys. I have loved being able to be here throughout your entire careers, you have done huge things and seeing you play that song the same way it was the first time I heard it was surreal. I have watched you go from 14 year old boys to men and it is amazing. You guys are my family and I’m just so proud.”

They all gather around you and give you a big group hug.

“We wouldn’t be the people we are today without you (N/n),” Luke says.

“You were our rock during so many crazy times,” Ashton adds.

“You helped shape 5sos, you kept us going when we wanted to quit,” Micheal blurted out.

You were in full blown tears now, and cal looks at you and says “You were what we needed when we didn't know we needed it. You are the band's backbone. You may not have been in the spotlight, and you may have not told you but we love you and like what Luke says we wouldn’t be here without you. We love you. But I think I love you in a bit of a different way though.” He kisses you on the head and you give him a big hug and when you pull away you give Luke, Micheal, and Ash hugs.

★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★

#calum hood #5sos #calum hood x reader #calum 5sos #calum 5 seconds of summer #5 seconds of summer #luke hemmings #ashton irwin #micheal clifford #luke 5sos #ashton 5sos #micheal 5sos #5 secs of summer

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kylesvariouslistsandstuff · 4 months ago

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Well, something rather important dropped this weekend.

A re-release of THE LION KING, in time for its 30th anniversary.

It pulled in $1m on its opening weekend, and is being considered a poor performance...

I dunno, this re-release had barely any marketing and it just... Showed up outta nowhere. While two big new family movies, one of which from the big Diz, are out...

SHREK 2, earlier this year, took in $1.3m on opening weekend back in April... So, I don't think LION KING's haul is all that bad, honestly. For a 30-year-old movie that's moved zillions of units on home video and has been seen by virtually everybody...

No matter, I was happy to see it on the big screen myself. I was a year and a half old when THE LION KING first released in the summer of 1994, so either I *did* see it on the big screen and I don't remember because I was an infant... Or I didn't, and my first go with it was via my 1995 VHS copy that I played and played again and again and again.

I saw the film in 2011, when Disney did a solid 3D conversion of it and gave it a theatrical run ahead of its Blu-ray release. But that experience sucked. Noisy audience, talked through the whooole thing... This time, I was all alone in the auditorium. Had that theater all to myself, and it was just glorious to experience the film. In 2D, and 2D. On the big screen. The way it's supposed to be seen.

Though, MINOR NITPICKS because I am *insufferable*...

This was clearly the version of the movie struck in 2011 for the 3D re-release and subsequent Blu-ray releases, as it opens with the 2006 CGI Walt Disney Pictures castle logo, thus cutting off some of the savanna ambience that accompanied the 1990 Walt Disney Pictures logo on the original release, AND the glowing orange one used on the 2002 IMAX re-issue and the ensuing 2003 DVD/VHS releases. Furthermore, the 2002 re-drawn crocodiles are used in 'I Just Can't Wait to Be King', and the traveling clouds after Simba speaks with Mufasa's spirit in the sky are absent.

Also, like most Disney DVD and Blu-ray releases, the CAPS file is used instead of a 35mm negative... And hot damn, I would've LOVED to have seen LION KING on 35mm. On film. I feel something's missing when the film grain is absent. Hooo yes, I'm one of THOSE people. The grain and film elements are the finishing touch, and without them, the presentation looked a little... Ermm, flat? It of course didn't ruin any of my enjoyment of the film. Hell, on a fuzzy VHS it still moves me something fierce. I just think for a theatrical release, it would've been fantastic to see it the way audiences saw it in 1994. As a FILM. With the grain. I think when making those visuals using CAPS, the filmmakers knew that that would be the next step and bringing a finishing touch to the visuals they created.

youtube

But that's just my wack opinion, the film's artistry still looks great without all of it... And it would've been cool if Disney released this a little later in the year, and gave it a better promotional push. Heck, I would love for them to re-release more animated classics. And wider. Last year's Disney 100 batch of re-issues didn't come to my area, and in the states, they didn't seem to want to go back to before the Renaissance. The UK, on the other hand, got a freakin' SNOW WHITE re-release. Lucky bastards!

Disney hasn't re-released a pre-LITTLE MERMAID animated movie of theirs in YEARS. The last one, I believe, was 1988's OLIVER & COMPANY, which received a re-release in 1996 ahead of a video premiere. SLEEPING BEAUTY got a limited re-release the year prior, SNOW WHITE ran one last time - wide - in American theaters in 1993. Only special screenings held at participating theaters presented older Disney films, both animated and live-action, on the big screen. I remember a few Cinemarks across the country doing that, showing titles like THE ARISTOCATS and one of the old Herbie movies.

I get that most of these films have long been staples in American homes, and there's not too much of a drive for most people - trying to save money - to go and see what they already have in their house. Just a click away, at that. At the same time, it would just be so cool. Disney re-issues Star Wars movies like there's no problem, both the recent RETURN OF THE JEDI and PHANTOM MENACE re-releases did pretty well. The latter especially. At the theater I work at, those TPM screenings were p-a-c-k-e-d. Right down to the front row. Not bad for a Star Wars movie that's been long painted as a big ol' disappointment and seemingly despised by so many people. Star Wars movies are also staples in peoples' homes, like the biggest Disney animated classics are.

But that we got THE LION KING in theaters again to begin with, is nice. A little treat. Maybe Disney will still do re-issues just for the heck of it. Last year we got a 30th anniversary re-release of THE NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS, and HOCUS POCUS as well. Next year, well, one anniversary off the top of my head is FANTASIA. At 85... Just sayin'...

FANTASIA actually had a limited Cinemark re-issue back in 2015, and I was out of state when that happened. Damn it! Please, one more time Disney? I beg ya.

And so many more... You have no idea. I'd see all the pre-Renaissance classics, honestly. I don't live in L.A., so I can't make it to one of those special El Capitan screenings or whatever, c'mon Disney, something.

Oh yeah... INSIDE OUT 2 and DESPICABLE ME 4 still trailblazing, with the latter on its way to outgross DUNE: PART TWO domestically. If not for DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE being right around the corner, this would settle for being the 2nd biggest movie of the year stateside. Still, animation pulling all the weight, and sure to do it again this autumn.

TRANSFORMERS ONE I think will do solidly, THE WILD ROBOT I actually have a *really* good feeling about. At my theater, that poster get so much attention. Lots of "we gotta see that"s from people passing by it in the hallway. When I took my mum to see KUNG FU PANDA 4, after that trailer was over, even she said "That looks really good." I think it's gonna surprise, genuinely. MOANA 2, 'nuff said. That may give INSIDE OUT 2 a run for its money.

And hey, if there's a shortage of animated movies next year because they have to delay them due to the strikes that must happen... Fill the gap with re-releases.

C'mon Disney, pretty please with cherry on top!

#Youtube

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jules-has-notes · 6 months ago

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2017 VoicePlay fall activities — go, go, go ’til you ho-ho-ho

The last few months of the year are usually a busy time for singers, and this year was no exception for VoicePlay. Once they had wrapped up their summer projects, they rolled right on.

And they're off

The boys leaped into autumn by heading north once more for shows in NYC and Reading, PA.

They also threw their hats in the ring for a Hostess snack cake giveaway. (They didn't win, but that's okay. Some of the fans always made sure to keep them well supplied with sugar anyway.)

Back home, it was time to start rehearsing for their third and final year of residency at Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party. They also needed to prep for their upcoming trip to the west coast, and film their next music video. Eli did manage to sneak in a bro brunch with their old friend, Jeremy James, though.

A little West Coast swing

For the third weekend in October, the guys embarked on a fast-paced trip to Los Angeles. They crammed a concert and three video shoots into just three days.

They kicked things off with a Saturday night show in Palos Verdes (and teased the locals a bit by calling it by the translated name "Green Sticks").

On Sunday, they packed in two music video shoots. They started with one of their two Christmas tunes for the year and new collaborator Shoshana Bean. Then they hopped over to reunite with Kurt Hugo Schneider for a little Broadway music.

Monday was time to get silly and messy with the pocket.watch ladies and some Taylor Swift.

Keep it going

When they flew home, the boys were met by Rachel Potter once again for their second Christmas song of the year.

Merry Hallowee-mas

All the preparation the guys had been doing for the upcoming holiday season didn't mean that they would ever neglect spooky season. After a few days of rest, sound guy Paul Kaleka and J.None kicked off the weekend by winning Indaba Music's Spooky Jams contest with a song called "Ghosts and Goblins".

VoicePlay released their video for "What's This?" from The Nightmare Before Christmas on the day before Halloween, and used it as a segue into their new holiday EP, "Warm Up", which they announced at the beginning of November.

The tracks are a combination of revamped tunes from the previous year with J.None's vocals added into the mix, this year's three new offerings, and one more new song that received a video during the following holiday season.

Note that J.None is credited as a member of the group, not a featured guest.

One more spin

Just over a week after they'd gotten home, the boys headed out of town again for a student workshop and a concert at Western Illinois University.

Off to the races

One week after that, it was time to kick off their MVMCP schedule in the Magic Kingdom.

With sixteen shows per week for the rest of the year, it would be reasonable to think that job would be their sole focus. However, persuing a career in the performing arts isn't usually a path for sensible folks. There were still plenty of other engagements to keep them busy. For the second night of the residency, VoicePlay handed the reins to their backup guys and scooted up to Ohio.

But wait, there's more

The reason for their visit to Dayton was headlining the Kettering National A Cappella Festival. The trip there didn't go nearly as smoothly as they would've liked.

Once they actually reached their destination, though, the concert went off without a hitch, and the audience had a grand time.

The next weekend, they took a drive down to Avon Park for a show at South Florida State College. Because it was close to home, Kathy and Geoff decided to bring little William along for the first time.

Uncle Earl always seems to end up holding the babies in group photos. 😁

Having the week of Thanksgiving free from their Disney World duties didn't mean that they just kicked back and relaxed. First they hopped on the middle leg of a Disney Magic cruise for a three-day jaunt to The Bahamas and back.

Then on the evening of Thanksgiving itself, they gathered up Erik Winger and scooted down to the southeast coast to perform at the annual tree lighting ceremony for the Boca Raton Resort & Club.

On another day off from MVMCP in early December, the PattyCake guys teamed up with their friends at Entertainment Central to film a very beachy Christmas romp for their Atlantic City Boys group in Cocoa Beach. The final "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town" / "Here Comes Santa Claus" mashup video was originally posted to Michael Evans's channel a week later, then reposted to the group's channel a year and a half after that.

That weekend, Winger joined VoicePlay for a two-show day at Mariner Church in Sping Hill, FL.

important preparations — ear plugs and power naps

When Rockapella came to town on their holiday tour near the end of the month, Layne and Cyndi took little Doris to see some of their pals.

J.None spent both the weekend before his birthday and New Year's Eve rocking out at local shows with Paradigm Party Band.

That's all, folks

With the year coming to an end, the VoicePlay guys finally took the chance to relax, spend time with loved ones, and prepare for the coming months. But those are tales for another post.

#VoicePlay #traveling musicians #behind the scenes #long post #link-o-rama

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denimbex1986 · 1 year ago

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'Want to do a "Barbie" and "Oppenheimer" double feature at home? You might have to wait a while.

"Barbenheimer" shows no signs of stopping in its cultural dominance. The box office phenomenon has collectively grossed over $850 million domestically and nearly $2 billion worldwide, making the cinematic twin flames some of the most profitable films this year. Released in late July, both films have proven to be the perfect summer fixtures that studios desperately crave. Even in their fifth week at the box office, both are continuing to make waves. Of course, that momentum will stop sooner or later, especially as the summer movie season wraps up.

Luckily, audiences looking to revisit "Barbenheimer" can do so at home, at least partially. Warner Bros. Pictures and Greta Gerwig's "Barbie" will hit digital store shelves on September 5 2023. Viewers eager to rewatch Margot Robbie's exploits as the iconic doll will be able to do so from home on their favorite PVOD (Premium Video on Demand) platform. This early September release date is in line with Warner Bros. Pictures' exclusive 45 day theatrical window. While it remains to be seen when "Barbie" leaves cinemas for good — it's currently dominating in over 4000 theatres stateside, per The Numbers — audiences don't have to wait long to see the film at home...

But what about "Oppenheimer"? Unfortunately, it doesn't look like both films will debut on PVOD or streaming on the same day. Seeing as director Christopher Nolan reportedly negotiated a 90 to 120 day exclusive theatrical window for "Oppenheimer" per Variety, it's unlikely that audiences can expect to stream the film soon.

Oppenheimer might start streaming in October

The report by Variety says that Christopher Nolan, who jumped ship from Warner Bros. Pictures to Universal Pictures after the release of 2020's "Tenet," negotiated a 90 to 120 day theatrical window for "Oppenheimer. It's unclear if the British auteur actually received it. Considering the fact that "Oppenheimer" has grossed over $700 million worldwide and has consistent, steady legs, it's possible that Universal Pictures will give Nolan the window that he wanted. So far, the film has been out in cinemas for just over a month and is barely showing signs of withering.

As it stands, "Oppenheimer" is set to dominate in most IMAX cinemas until the release of Denzel Washington's "The Equalizer 3," which debuts on September 1. The World War II flick has already given a number of its prestigious IMAX screens over to Warner Bros.' "Blue Beetle." Of course, "Oppenheimer" can take over in other PLF (Premium Large Format) screens if there's space.

Should Nolan get his extended theatrical window, it's all but possible that "Oppenheimer" won't hit PVOD until mid-October. Perhaps Universal Pictures will even save the film until November, coinciding with the Thanksgiving holidays. While a digital release strategy hasn't been confirmed, it's likely that the film will be available on PVOD for a few weeks, or even months, before it hits Peacock. Those hoping to do a "Barbie" and "Oppenheimer" double feature at home will likely have to wait until mid-October or early November to replicate the iconic phenomenon at home. It certainly would have been hilarious (and genius) to have both films grace streaming on the same day but, alas, life isn't perfect. Seeing as there's still a considerable time until then, audiences should make it a point to revisit both films in cinemas while they can.

Christopher Nolan wants audiences to see Oppenheimer in cinemas

It's no secret that Christopher Nolan is a huge proponent for the cinematic experience — it's one of the reasons why he called it quits with Warner Bros. Pictures. Following the release of "Tenet" and the studio's decision to debut its 2021 theatrical slate on Max, Nolan publicly called out the studio he called home for two decades. "There's such controversy around it, because they didn't tell anyone," Nolan told Entertainment Tonight about Warner Bros.' decision back in 2020. "... They've got some of the biggest stars in the world who worked for years in some cases on these projects very close to their hearts that are meant to be big-screen experiences," the director said, before describing the situation as "messy."

By 2021, Nolan had made the decision to wrap up his creative relationship with Warner Bros., deciding to move forward with Universal Pictures, a studio that was willing to play ball with his demands. Based on the critical and financial reception that "Oppenheimer" has basked in, one can only imagine the joy and excitement that Universal execs feel for being able to poach Nolan.

When it came to the release of "Oppenheimer," Nolan was adamant that his biopic on the father of the atomic bomb was meant for the big screen, especially in IMAX. "We put a lot of effort into shooting the film in a way that we can get it out on these large format screens," the director told The Associated Press. "It really is just a great way of giving people an experience that they can't possibly get in the home." Audiences are clearly receptive to Nolan's vision, as they showed up in droves to make "Oppenheimer" a box office juggernaut.'

#Barbie #Oppenheimer #Christopher Nolan #IMAX #Warner Bros #Barbenheimer #Greta Gerwig #Margot Robbie #Tenet #Universal

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genericpuff · 3 months ago

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Very personal response, as someone who was right in that middle grey area of Millennial and Gen Z, I can attest to the loss of rewatch value for movies, and even shows and games, as a consequence of streaming services. I'm old enough to remember growing up with landline phones and VHS tapes and DVDs and home videos, but also young enough that I was still in middle school when the iPhone first released. I distinctly remember my big brother buying me a copy of The Wind Waker on Gamecube when I was like 7 years old (still one of my favorite memories, love you big bro) but also remember being 13-14 and getting the pants scared off me watching the first few episodes of Marble Hornets at my best friend's house on a much smaller version of Youtube, before the days of content creators, social media influencers, and Raid: Shadow Legends sponsorships. I remember learning how to draw from books like How to Draw Pokemon and How to Draw Disney Princesses that I got at school book fairs and book orders, but also from anime bases and tutorials on DeviantArt and RateMyDrawings.

And I can confidently say that the replay value of films and movies and games and entertainment media in general is one of the biggest things we've lost in the advent of streaming services. When I was a kid in a low income household that liked to play video games, I only had the games that I owned, meaning I'd often be replaying games from my limited collection that slowly built up over the course of many birthdays and Christmas seasons. If there was a game I really wanted to play but couldn't wait until Christmas or my birthday to get - or maybe it was on a console I didn't own - I'd have to rely on whoever I was friends with at school to either play it with them at their house, or trade one of my own games with theirs (this is actually how I wound up owning my Gamecube copy of Tales of Symphonia, which I loved so much that I kept borrowing it from my friend at school, until he finally just let me keep it years later as a gift because he wasn't interested in beating it and knew I'd get more fun out of it, thanks Edmund LOL). And when that all failed? Welp, guess it's time to crack open the bag of games that I have and see what I'm willing to replay. Half the time I wouldn't even actually progress the game, I'd just fuck around in the overworld making my own stories. Many hours I've spent riding around Hyrule Field on Epona and visiting towns to talk to the NPC's in Sylvarant.

And hoo boy, did this make the experience of buying new games a whole ass event. If you were lucky, you'd get a new game on Christmas or your birthday, in which case the worst of your waiting would be getting through the festivities until everyone left so you could hole yourself up in your room with your new copy of Pokemon Colosseum. If you were unlucky, you would get the chance to buy a game from the actual game store an hour away in the city, but then you'd have to be stuck in the car and god knows where else your parents dragged you while re-reading the instruction manual for Kingdom Hearts 2 cover-to-cover and begging them to just take you home already, what the hell do you mean we're staying for the weekend at dad's friend's place-

And yeah, this was often the case with movies too, we only had the movies we owned, oftentimes on VHS tapes in a box in the basement that we would dig through when the DVD's we owned weren't cutting it. There are movies that I'm still sick of despite my fond memories of them because we'd watch them back to back just to make the time pass, especially during summer vacation when school was out and there was nothing to fill the day with besides whatever entertainment we could make for ourselves. We had a couple family friends who knew their way around a computer and were able to pirate and burn DVD's for us, but that always came with video quality that would jump from high to low, and hilarious audio glitches that almost trained us to expect them in clean versions of the film when rewatching it years later, just for us to go "oh yeah, that was a bootleg copy of Hancock, the music isn't supposed to suddenly blip out and then blip back in during the credits". Other than that, there were rental spaces, but growing up in the sticks meant the selection of rental films was limited to whatever was available at the nearby family-run gas station and the library.

If any of this resonates with you, and you now find yourself in the position I do where you're more than willing to rewatch the same movies and shows you watched as a kid but find yourself completely uninterested and almost disconnected from the sensationalized artificial hype created by studios and streaming services like Marvel and Disney and Amazon, well let me assure you, you're not alone, it's not just you. Yes, we are getting old. Yes, we are experiencing much of the same disillusionment that our parents did and their parents did that comes from simply growing older. This is unavoidable.

But it's absolutely also still worth discussing the consequences of these changes, because as it stands right now, much of that disillusionment is being sped up by the effects of the exponential technological growth and oversaturation of media around us. I'm sure this could very well be a flawed comparison, but it makes me think of the things that have managed to survive even to this day compared to the things that came around in the height of the technological boom of the mid-2000's - newspapers were around for centuries and still managed to survive the rise of radio and television until the advent of the Internet as a popular method of consumption around the mid-2000's which is when they were truly threatened to become obsolete... meanwhile streaming services as we know them today have been around for barely two decades and they're already failing, and that's nothing compared to the tech bros who are constantly coming up with new gimmicks and "miracle technology" like NFT's and AI which are often clung to immediately by corporations purely on the basis of hype and inflated promises, just to become financial black holes within a year that they then have to find sneaky ways to profit off of until something else comes along to fill their void for something "new and innovative".

Case in point, I'm not even thirty yet, I shouldn't already feel like I'm falling behind the way my parents did when they were in their 40's. That whole feeling of life being "over" at 25 isn't just psychological, it's being actively enabled by the titans of capitalism shifting the goalposts of how we interact with the world faster than ever before. I can absolutely still quote the entire script of Shrek as it's happening onscreen, but I can't for the life of me remember a single video I watched while doomscrolling in bed last night.

And this HAS had its effects on art and media, because now movies and shows are simply hype-events that people consume and never touch again, never re-analyze, never rewatch with updated perspectives. You'd be shocked how many times I've rewatched old Spongebob episodes like Squid on Strike and Selling Out just to realize that Hillenburg himself knew what was up and was both empathizing and warning the adults of that time period what was happening in the creative industry - and now those episodes are still timeless and relatable even more than they were back then because we're now living in the exact reality that such episodes were trying to warn us about. Don't even get me started on films like Idiocracy which may as well now be a prophecy uttered by ancient gods that we should have probably paid more attention to.

This effect of turning art and media into mindless "content" is even bleeding into the smaller industries as well. Within my own special interest and experience, webcomics, a virtually endless library of indie media to enjoy that isn't gatekept by industry control, is now becoming controlled by corporate platforms which pump out cheap media that's trained people to value quantity over quality, oftentimes resulting in fanbases who barely even read what they're swiping through and will deadass forget the name and plot of the comic weeks after they've stopped seeing it in their reading lists. Many of those same readers will immediately get nervous as soon as anyone even mildly criticizes or questions the content that's being consumed, often jumping on the defensive with arguments like "you need to turn your brain off if you want to enjoy the story" and "stop thinking about it so hard" and "just let people enjoy things".

I don't know about you, but as a seasoned webcomic artist myself who loves engaging with discussion and discourse surrounding their favorite pieces of media, I'd be livid if I found out my readers were saying that shit about my own work. I want you to think about it. I want my work to get your brain moving. I want you to come up with your theories even if they're wrong. I want you to re-read and change your opinions and re-think your perspectives as you re-engage with the text with a new lens that changes both over time and over the course of reading the work in full. I want you to be capable of engaging in nuanced critical discussion and thought without it automatically becoming a polarizing battle between "fan and hater". I suppose I was born just a little too late to exist in the time period that allowed projects like my own weird convoluted "work for the lore" meta-commentary shit to exist without needing to maintain a company's bottom line. Instead, I was born just in time to exist in the world that's solely serving the "turn your brain off" population of consumers who don't even realize how much their senses and thought processes have been numbed by the effects of late-stage capitalism, with only the hope that maybe there will be a renaissance within my lifetime.

The disillusionment we feel from "what the kids are watching today" isn't just a symptom of getting older. It's a symptom of all of us - as a collective society, across all the generations - getting fucked by corporations bombarding our senses for profit.

Matt Damon explains why they don’t make movies like they used to. Pls watch.

#reblog #rant

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pitchshitterarchiver · 7 months ago

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Black velvet interview with J.S Clayden from Pitchshifter.

PITCHSHIFTER

(JS Clayden Questionnaire - Taken From Black Velvet 20 - May 99)

By Shari Black Velvet

When JS Clayden sang ‘I must be some kind of genius’, he was not too far wrong. www.pitchshifter.com is an immaculate piece of artwork in one of its noisiest forms. It rips, cuts, tears, bleeps, bops, blares and generally twirls you around in circles leaving you dizzy and decidedly off-balance afterwards. JS Clayden, his brother Mark, plus Johnny Carter, D Walters and Jim Davies are one of the most inventive quintets in rock today. Let’s find out more... courtesy of an email questionnaire which JSC was kind enough to fill in.

J = Js clayden

BV = black velvet interviewer

Black Velvet : What has been the highlight of your career so far?

JS Clayden: Meeting Jello Biafra, selling out the Astoria, playing with Black Sabbath, playing Reading Festival to a full crowd, going to Troma Films offices, not having to get a real job for the last five years.

BV: If you were a contestant on Mastermind, which subject (excluding The Life & Times Of Pitchshifter), would you most like to answer questions on?

J: Punk rock/jazz/art.

BV: How was your UK tour back in February? Do any gigs stick out? Which and why?

J: The UK tour was amazing. We sold out about five venues which was a nice surprise. Our fans in the UK have been very patient while we have been touring the world in '98. It was great to get back home and play to a very appreciative crowd. The London gig was obviously awesome, as there were 2250 nutters up for a mad night out.

BV: Which has been your favourite tour to date and why?

J: Personally I loved the American tour with Gravity Kills, Junkie XL and Cold. It was summer, we had a great tour bus, the tour was 3 months long and we all got along really well. I met a lot of really cool people that I still correspond with over the net and it was just one of those Summers, ya know? Japan was also amazing, but I think America had it.

BV: What would be your dream gig? Where? When? Supported by whom?

J: My dream gig? Dead Kennedys, Big Black, Plug, The Walking Seeds, DJ Shadow, Sex Pistols, Jeff Mills, The Specials, Everclear, The Ruts, Shellac and Girls Against Boys.

BV: Are you looking forward to the 'Big Day Out'? How do you think it will be?

J: We are all looking forward to it. The Ozzfest at the same place was amazing and the Big Day Out will be just as cool I'm sure. I like the fact that crowds get so see different facets of harder edged music rather than just a day of ‘heavy metal’. We'll have to wait and see, I guess. Hopefully I can get in the crowd again and meet the folks down front.

BV: What do you think of Earache's re-issue of 'Infotainment?'?

J: I think for someone who doesn't already own the release it is a great package. And for those who already do, well you get the 3 mixes and all the videos for free if you have a computer. Although the band had nothing to do with the re-release it is quite tastefully done and it looks pretty good. The CD-Rom portion is comprehensible and easy to use.

BV: Fanzines - your thoughts on them...

J: They get to review stuff commercial mags are too afraid to, or can't sell. I like fanzines. Pitchshifter have always featured well in zines. Good luck to them all!

BV: Is there such a thing as a typical Pitchshifter fan?

J: I don't think so. Our public is very cross-genre. I would hope that one thing all our fans have in common is their willingness to be open-minded. We try and give our fans every opportunity to experience new things when we can. We take new bands on tour with us, we talk about what affects us on our website, we get interesting remixes done etc.

BV: You're admired as a band by all sorts. Who would you say is your most famous fan? How do you feel knowing that you might have fans who are also into bands ranging from Bon Jovi to 3 Colours Red to Napalm Death?

J: I was out with 3CR last night! They played Rock City and we had a party afterwards (ouch!) (S: I know, I was there). I am always flattered that people have even heard of the band. We never get any radio play or major press. It's through the small indie stations and fanzines and mags like Metal Hammer and Kerrang! and Terrorizer and our website that people know what we are up to. Our most famous fan? The aliens that left the crop circle in the shape of our eye logo!

BV: Since the Seagram merger/Universal Group takeover, have you found any major changes occurring that involve Pitchshifter? How do you think, as a band, this change will affect you?

J: I can't discuss that element of our deal right now. I can assure you that the new LP is on its way however.

BV: The tour diary on your web site is very interesting and enjoyable to read. When is the release of the book and will it be available worldwide?

J: When I collate it and find a publisher! I am actually in the process of writing a novel based on the first tour diary I did in 1994. It won't be finished for some time though. I am actually far more comfortable writing prose instead of music.

BV: Why did you start writing a tour diary in the first place? Do you keep a regular diary? When did you first start keeping a diary?

J: I have the worst memory. I started writing a tour diary to try and remember what the hell I've been doing for the last 5 years. It was just for me. I think being able to see what you think on paper on the screen also acts as a cathartic catalyst for what you think. You should try it.

BV: You've been touring pretty much constantly for ages. How do you keep things fresh and fun on the road?

J: Satanism, child slavery, sex before marriage, crack cocaine, AC/DC records and Sony playstations. No, seriously - we are having so much fun playing music that we just enjoy it every night. We just literally goof around with each other on stage. Watch us and you'll see us laughing as we stage dive. It's a great life style and it's a shame it can't last for ever. The plethora of laptops, digital cameras and samplers that travel with us keep us on our toes too.

BV: How would you like to see Pitchshifter in the 21st century?

J: Madder, balder, fatter, richer, more irreverent, more cynical.

BV: You once said "The music that spoke to us unemployed kids on sh**ty estates in the North of England was punk music... It was angry and we were angry...". Are you still angry now? What makes you angry?

J: Take a look outside your door... GM foods, police brutality, racism, us f**king the 3rd world over, bulls**t politics, right wing lunatics, pro-life extremists, restrictive religions... Want me to go on?

BV: Is there any subject you'd really like to write a song about that you haven't so far?

J: I think we should write a love song. Now that would be funny.

BV: You come up with all sorts of samples. Where do you get your ideas from for them? Have you thought of anything you'd already like to sample for the next album? Anything really weird?

J: We just go to the studio and sample what we like. I think there will be some more back tracking on this LP. We tried dog whistles but they are outside the audio range of a CD. I have sampled my answer phone messages, my flatmate talking drunk, a woman sleep talking and the sampler feeding back through my computer - I'm sure other stuff will ensue.

BV: If you could introduce three new conditions/regulations into today's society, what would you like to introduce?

J: 1 - Radio stations would be forced at gun point to play wide variety of music and the DJ is only allowed to talk if she/he is telling you the name of the record. 2 - Politicians are not allowed to own ANY businesses and any that are caught lying have to parade naked with a dunce hat around Trafalgar Square for 30 minutes while the populous get to throw rotting vegetable matter at them. 3 - Big business is never allowed to regulate itself, no more BSE scenarios please.

BV: Similarly, you like to get people to question what's going on and you hope to open their eyes by writing and/or talking about your beliefs. What do you currently think the masses should open their eyes to?

J: The continual stream of bulls**t in the news and the government line. The classics from Tony Bore: 1 - "We will not support actions that will endanger the lives of people in minority communities abroad". So what does he do? Grants MORE weapons licences to countries like Indonesia who we know for a fact will use to kill people in East Timore. 2 - "GM foods are safe". Yeah, just like BSE baby. We have no idea what the repercussions of altering food might be until 10 years down the line when they say "Oops, actually they kill you". Just like the pill, just like BSE.

BV: When you originally set up the band, and when you bring new members in (i.e. when Jim began working with the band), do things such as whether the guy is a vegetarian, into Greenpeace and all the other same political and social beliefs as you take up as much a role as whether he's a good musician?

J: They are not mandates but they are important. Jim is a veggie and he believes in a lot of things that we think are important anyway and so all is well. We don't care if people eat meat. It's up to the individual. We don't do it and it works for us and we will be happy to explain why to you. But if you don't want to know then we aren't going to shove it down your throat. It's about education not indoctrination.

BV: Describe the other members of the band.

J: Drinky, mumbly, randy, and happy (does that make me snow white?).

BV: Sum up Pitchshifter in ten words or less.

J: Degenerate low life, mal-adjusted freaks.

BV: Anything else you'd like to add?

J: Go to http://www.pitchshifter.com now and see what's up!

Yep, do as the man says.

#alt #alt metal #alternative #alternative metal #metal #metalhead #nu metal #pitchshifter #idk #industrial #industrial metal #industrial nu metal #British #black velvet

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yessadirichards · 1 year ago

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What to stream this week: 'Indiana Jones,' 'One Piece,' 'The Menu' and tunes from NCT and Icona Pop

LOS ANGELES

”Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny” and the second season debut of the third “Power” spin-off “Power Book IV: Force” are among the new television, movies, music and games headed to a device near you

Among the offerings worth your time as selected by The Associated Press’ entertainment journalists are the new musical game for the Nintendo Switch called Samba de Amigo: Party Central, the fine-dining satire “The Menu” being served on Hulu and a new album from the 20-member K-pop super group NCT.

— ”Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny,” Harrison Ford’s last outing as the adventure-seeking archaeologist, is finally available to watch at home starting on Tuesday via video-on-demand. This fourth installment might not be quite as great as “Raiders” or “The Last Crusade,” but it’s also more fun than many gave it credit for on its bumpy release this summer. Veteran director James Mangold took the helm from Steven Spielberg and does his best to capture all the things we love about Indy, including a possibly too-extended flashback featuring our hero de-aged to 45. It’s really not necessary because Ford, at 80, is firing on all levels — as funny, vibrant and game as he ever was. Plus there’s the added bonus of a great new character played by “Fleabag’s” Phoebe Waller-Bridge.

— It being the beginning of the month, Hulu has a lot of great new offerings coming on Friday, Sept. 1, including the Coen brothers “Hail Caesar!” and “Raising Arizona,” Lars von Trier’s “Melancholia” and the always re-watchable “The Devil Wears Prada.” And on Sunday, Sept. 3, Mark Mylod’s fine-dining satire “The Menu” arrives, too, with its terrific ensemble, including Ralph Fiennes, Anya Taylor-Joy and Nicholas Hoult, and sharp critiques of wealth and privilege. In his review, AP Film Writer Jake Coyle wrote that while it may be aimed at “somewhat low-hanging fruit,” that Mylod brings an icy, stylish flare in another kind of cleverly staged eat-the-rich comedy that — particularly thanks to the elite eye-rolling of Taylor-Joy and Fiennes’ anguished artist — is still a very tasty snack.”

— And if “Gran Turismo” has you feeling the need for more speed in your life, The Criterion Channel has the answer with a '70s Car Movies anthology pulling into your living room starting Friday, Sept. 1. Among the offerings are Steven Spielberg’s 1971 nail-biter “Duel,” Lee H. Katzin’s Steve McQueen racing classic “Le Mans,” Michael Cimino’s Clint Eastwood and Jeff Bridges crime caper “Thunderbolt and Lightfoot” and the original “Gone in 60 Seconds.”

— AP Film Writer Lindsey Bahr

— They came from Sweden by way of outer space and now the explosive electropop duo Icona Pop return with their third full-length album and first in 10 years, “Club Romantech.” Members Aino Jawo and Caroline Hjelt made sure the wait was worth it. The release is stacked with post-hiatus cosmic pop, earworm hooks as addictive as the one in the Charli XCX -penned hit “I Love It” that put them on the map in 2012. That’s evidenced in their single with Galantis, “I want you” and the playful chorus “I want you/We don’t have to play these games, play theses games/ ’Cause I want you.” It pays to be direct.

— In their lead single and title track from their fourth full-length album, the 20-member K-pop super group NCT announce they’ve entered their “Golden Age.” Who could argue otherwise? The track, which serves as the LP’s closer and its thematic anchor, is an eclecticist’s dream: absurdist trap, glossy vocal harmonies, and an interpolation of some Beethoven — Piano Sonata No. 8 in C minor, Op. 13, “Sonata Pathétique” II. Adagio cantabile — in one. And that’s not even the best part: all 20 members are heard on it, a rarity and feat in itself, which of course includes NCT’s famed subunits, NCT 127, NCT DREAM and WayV. No matter your bias, there’s a lot to love.

— AP Music Writer Maria Sherman

— “One Piece,” a new live-action fantasy series coming to Netflix has been adapted from a beloved Japanese manga and anime series. The graphic novels by Eiichiro Oda have sold more than 516 million copies across 103 volumes in 61 countries, making its success similar to the “Harry Potter” book series. The story follows a protagonist named Monkey D. Luffy who sails the ocean in search of treasure with his band of pirates. “One Piece” debuts Thursday on Netflix.

— The fantasy series “The Wheel of Time” returns to Prime Video for its second season on Friday, Sept. 1. Rosamund Pike stars as Moiraine Damodred, a member of the Aes Sedai, a group of women with magical gifts. We meet Moiraine on a quest to find the Dragon, a long dead leader with the ability to save or destroy the world. “The Wheel of Time” is based on a 14-book series of the same name created by Robert Jordan. A third season has already been ordered.

— The third “Power” spin-off, “Power Book IV: Force,” debuts its second season on Starz on Friday, Sept. 1. It centers around Joseph Sikora’s Tommy Egan character, a convicted drug dealer who leaves New York for Chicago to continue his criminal enterprise.

— Alicia Rancilio

— This summer’s Final Fantasy XVI brought dramatic changes to the storied franchise — and made some of us a little nostalgic for the FFs of the 1990s. Canada’s Sabotage Studio aims to scratch that itch with Sea of Stars, its new retro-inspired adventure. Its pixelated, top-down graphics and turn-by-turn combat are designed to induce flashbacks in fans of old-school role-playing games. And then there’s its story: Two mages, the Children of the Solstice, team up with other do-gooders to stop an evil alchemist, The Fleshmancer, from destroying the world. It even has fishing and cooking minigames! You don’t need to travel back in time 30 years; this epic begins Tuesday on PlayStation 5/4, Xbox X/S/One, Nintendo Switch and PC.

— Speaking of old-school, Sega has decided it’s time to revive a long-dormant character from the ’90s: Amigo, the sombrero-wearing, maracas-shaking Brazilian monkey. He’s back in Samba de Amigo: Party Central, a new musical game for the Nintendo Switch. It turns the Switch’s palm-sized Joy-Con controllers into a pair of maracas, and your challenge is to shake them in rhythm to an assortment of dance hits. The 40-song soundtrack ranges from current stars like Ariana Grande and Carly Rae Jepsen to geezers like Culture Club and Gloria Gaynor, with more downloadable tunes on the way. Amigo is ready to bring the fiesta to your living room on Tuesday.

— Lou Kesten

#yessadirichards

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glorioustidalwavedefendor · 3 years ago

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What if the future of our planet depended on the reintroduction of large herbivores in the Siberian tundra?

That's the Zimov's hypothesis.

Back to the Ice Age and welcome to Pleistocene Park.

Past the Arctic circle, in deepest Siberia, two Russian scientists, Serguei Zimov and his son Nikita, are conducting a unique experiment : going back in time and restoring the Ice Age ecosystem to save humanity from climate disaster….

For all scientists agree at least on this point: In the list of climatic disasters to come, the melting of permafrost is at the top.

This frozen soil holds millions of tons of methane, beneath the earth’s surface, a powerful greenhouse gas. But methane isn’t the only problem.

In fact, there are also millions of tons of CO2, mercury and quite a few forgotten viruses, that are still imprisoned in the icy lands of the Arctic.

A few degrees more, and the weakened permafrost will release its climate bomb.

According to Zimov's hypothesis, a massive reintroduction of large herbivores in the ancient mammoth steppes of Siberia would slow down the permafrost thawing.

How? Large herbivores stimulate the growth of steppe grasses, whose light colour reflects

sunlight into the atmosphere like a mirror. This is the A lbedo effect. Thus, in summer the

earth absorbs less heat and protects the permafrost. In winter, the trampling of large

herds of cattle compresses the snowpack, which acts as an insulator. Denser snow keeps the ground and permafrost frozen.

This hypothesis, nowadays studied by many scientists, has become a life-size experiment conducted by the Zimovs in the Pleistocene Park, a 20km2 enclosure in the depths of Siberia. Facing the Siberian climate, the isolation of these deserted lands, the vastness of the Siberian territory, they import reindeer, buffalo, yakut horses, musk oxen to populate the Pleistocene Park and prove the cooling effect of the presence of these large herbivores on the permafrost.

The French-Russian director Denis Sneguirev, followed them for 2 years, at the Park, in international climate summits, and during expeditions farther out in the Arctic to bring animals back.

A great ecological-adventure film to alert the world on the necessity of acting now. And not wait for the announced disaster to come true before taking action.

http://www.zimov-le-film.com/en/home-en/

Watch here (if copyright or your VPN let’s you ... ):

https://www.arte.tv/en/videos/091130-000-A/back-to-the-ice-age-the-zimov-hypothesis/

SUPPORT THE PROJECT HERE:

https://pleistocenepark.ru/

#Zimov's hypothesis #Pleistocene Park #climate change #methane #perma frost

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kyotakumrau · 4 years ago

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2021.02.16 1st talk session of Meguro Rock-May-KanGIG at Zepp Yokohama

Zepp Yokohama is a such a nice venue, I really hope we will get to see dir play there live properly!

The concert recorded at Meguro RockMayKan was great! The setlist surprised me quite a lot (especially encore!!!)! And I think that was the smallest stage I ever saw dir on!😆 the footage definitely deserves a separate entry and I don't want to spoil anyone if they go to next events.

After the concert film screening staff quickly prepared the stage, bringing two long tables and four chairs, they also placed a water bottle at each seat.

Punctually (thank you for not repeating Nagoya's situation😆), at 3:30 Fujieda came on stage and started with greeting everyone, and asking us to greet the band members with applause.

After a moment of uncertainty (even as my heart was almost set it will be Kyo) Die came on stage with Kyo after him.٩( ˆoˆ )۶

They both looked super classy. Die had a dark grey suit with a long jacket, his usual award winning hair and wore sunglasses.

Kyo had a black jacket (with a round Chanel pin) and shirt, green hair, he wore glasses (not sunglasses).

When they sat (Kyo stood in front of the chair first until Fujieda gestured them to sit) F asked them to introduce themselves.

D: ども、Dieです

K: 京です

...and then F announced 'today is Kyo's birthday!' and a birthday song melody began to play😆

Kyo turned on his murder face glaring at Fujieda who happily observed 'oh what's this song?'😂

The soft Happy Birthday melody got then a guitar joining in and Takabayashi came on the stage carrying a small strawberry shortcake (with a chocolate message おめでとう京さん) which of course he placed in front of Kyo.

We couldn't sing but we clapped.

Kyo snatched a strawberry and popped it in his mouth. He gestured 'throat slashing' looking at Fujieda😂

And then ate another strawberry🍓😂

F: the song was made by Die.

K: (only interested in the cake) Could I get a fork?

(staff went to get him one)

F: how do you feel? (about your own birthday)

K: I don't care.

The fork arrived and Kyo literally dug in right in the middle, scooping a huge piece he put whole in his mouth.

Fujieda wisely left Kyo to his cake then and started talking about RMK footage. Die said they had hard time deciding on a tour or events like this in COVID situation. They also mentioned the secret show in 2009 was held in RMK.

Next Die talked about how nice it was to rehearse and play together with the band, first time since March, he was happy about the show, creating sound together as 5 people.

F: did you finish eating K?

K: yup

(there was last 🍓 left (out of 4 big ones), he ate about 25~35%?)

F: then tell us about recording the RockMayKan show!

K: the place was very narrow.

F: anything else?

K: Not really.

But then he added more, that as it has been a while it felt like the first day of the tour.

F: was there anything that was difficult? Was a struggle?

K: when recording I can do it at my own pace, I can do one song when I want, but that day it was back to performing over 10 songs all at once, it was tough, hard on my throat, energy/stamina wise.

But at the same time it was exciting, meet with other members, play music together, that was nice.

F: 2019 was filled with shows, it was busy, then things changed. So after a break to see an audience again got me nervous, in a good way.

Next F said had would like to talk about the release of Oboro.

D: what do you want to know?

F: so the song is not out yet, any hints?

D: it's gonna stay a secret for a bit more.

F: the 2nd track is TDFF？

D: (interesting letters ???didn't catch exactly) it's a powerful song.

F: how is Oboro for you Kyo?

K: quite fresh/refreshing

F: really?!

D: especially the video

...but then Kyo just burst with a whole speech how Fujieda always ask something and when he gets an aswer he didn't expect he doesn't react well, just says what he wants, is not listening to what Kyo says and... it went for a while😆

Next F moved to the topic of the merchandise and asked the band members which items they like.

K: the big badge, before the big pick was huge, shouldn't the badge be like this size (showing about 20cm with his hands). It bothered me from when I saw it. Isn't it just normal?

in the end they agreed it's just 'a bit big' 😂

F: how about for you, D?

D: the rubber key chains?

F: they got sold out very quickly, sorry to fans about that.

D: they are cute. And I like the wristbands too. The color combinations are nice.

T: the badge has the old band's logo, it brings me back

D talked about old times when artists made stickers like that, with logos, to put on their equipment, they worked a bit like business cards, he said he still have some at home.

T picked the rechargeable heat pack.

K: so it's to be used instead of heat packs? (ホッカイロ)

F: uh, it's already warm.

D: huh? Show me? (F passed it to him) it's like a phone that gets hot when charging.

Next they moved on to fans questions. ("~~" is a question from fans they read)

K (unusually picks the first question super fast): "what's your favourite cake?"

K: Well, the strawberry shortcake is good, but this one doesn't have strawberries inside, just some jam, it should have strawberries inside too.

(F so dead😂😂😂)

F: "what's your best or bad memory connected to birthdays?"

K: at a concert somewhere, it was quite long time ago, I got a present all wrapped and in a bag from a silver accessories brand I liked, so nicely wrapped, I opened it and it was empty, isn't that really strange? I looked at the attached letter and it said the person is keeping the item for themselves. It annoyed me so much, the worst bd memory ever.

☹️

F: how about you D?

D: it's not exactly bad memory, but many band members have birthdays in February, in the past when we were still giving each other presents Toshiya and I had to think what to get for 3 people, it was always tough. We stopped that at some point.

T: "any memory/story about China Town?"

D: I like China Town

T: do you go often?

D: sometimes. But only to my favorite restaurants. (?? Talked more about the stadium?)

T: do you usually order the same thing?

D: Mabodofu, the spicy version

(then I think he said something like there's no point in overdoing spicyness, it's not healthy??)

K: I don't know which restaurants are good so I get annoyed. I don't know what decides it's a good one or not.

F: I don't go, but I'd like to.

then they talked about the types of Chinese food and food they tried when in other Asian countries.

K: when we were touring in the US I ordered Chinese abd it was terrible, it was all bad. The egg soup was all clumpy, so bad.

D: "any stories about RockMayKan?"

D: honestly I don't have good memories with this venue, when with a previous band we played together with more senior bands and they took over the dressing room, we couldn't use it, and we also had to greet all senpai musicians.

K: remember when Shinya sat on the lockers? Like on top of the 170cm lockers?

D: was it in Nagoya?

K: he's done his make up there, like a cat or something

D: Shinya climbed a locker and made a space for himself there

K: He's not exactly human. Normally you would not even consider climbing a locker...

D: we usually did our make up on the stairs, didn't use changing room. When we played at RMK as dir for the first time I saw 'this is the changing room!'

He also talked about how the hair spray used by all the bandomen would stink up the whole place 😂

F: "what do you usually wear to sleep?"

K: just underwear. Doesn't matter if it's summer or winter I want to feel the towel like fabric, I use towel cloth for my bedding, I want my whole body to feel it so there's no point in wearing pajamas.

D: at home...wait you mean my home or my family house? At my parents' I always wear the pajama my mum got me, currently the Mickey Mouse one. I only have that one there.

K( with sudden interest): can you draw it?

D: it's about this big, quite big print. The one I wear at home, it wasn't sent by my mum.

K: not Mickey one??

D: that's Nightmare Before Christmas.

K: Disney theme?

D: this one has a face in the front.

K: do you change characters (for pajamas) every year?

D: this year it's Nightmare.

Next was something they wanted to say to F. K chose to comment on his haircut, because it's asymmetric K is bothered that it will end as an uzumaki in the back. They talked more about F's style.

F: "I'd like you to tell us about your costumes you wore for RMK show".

D: I wanted something motovating so red colour.

K: I had no special reasoning, just what I wanted to wear then.

D: "have you gotten any food delivery?"

He said he only got it once or not much, I think he said he's not fond of shops that don't do it properly, but when recording it's good???

F: Shinya said he orders Uber almost everyday.

K: I only got Uber once.

F: what did you get?

K: Burger King. I quit McDonalds. After eating Burger King I can't go back to McDonalds.

They talked about sizes of burger here?? Whooper versus Junior Whooper?

F: So McD is not good?

K: the meat taste is different. McDonald now tastes like trash.

F: what about the Mc fries, when they get a bit soft.

K: not only a bit. Gross.

D: in the US we usually also have some American staff, when we had some time and we went to eat out, it was funny, American staff went for sushi, Shinya went for McDonalds.

F: was it last time?

D: no, quite some time ago.

F: when did you eat McDonalds the last time?

D: I also don't eat it, it's been some time already.

They talked more about the food, some restaurants D liked in the US (didn't catch the name🙃 but in Sacramento?), then F talked more about event schedule and the time was over.

Last comments from the band members:

Die: From today the new series of film screening starts, thank you for coming to the first day. So well... the band is working on the new album while coming to the events at the same time, we're working on creating a great album. Please come amd enjoy the events.

Kyo: I don't have a special thing to say. Many of you will be coming to few or many events and will end up with many t-shirts, you can do whatever with them, even use them as a doormat, there are many ways to use them, no problem for the whole year.

#dir en grey #kyo #京 #die #目黒鹿鳴館gig #爆音会 #attempt at live report

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wulfies-kpop-fanfics · 3 years ago

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The Rest is History → Jeon Jungkook

↳ ��Pairing: Jungkook/Reader

↳ Word count: 1,679

↳ Notice: Italic sentences are spoken in English.

⁙ Summary: Jungkook comes up with a plan to get you back after your best friend comes to Korea for a vacation, stealing you away in the process.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jungkook stirred awake as bedsheets rustled and his arm suddenly was no longer draped over your side. He groaned, turning over and huddling into himself, wedging his hands between his knees. It wasn't until he heard the soft click of his bedroom door that he fully woke up, curiosity outweighing his fatigue.

His eyes fluttered open and a yawn escaped his mouth. "(Y/N)?" His voice was met with no answer, and through the darkness, he felt that your side of the bed was empty. He sat up, rubbing his eyes. Maybe you had just gone to the bathroom, but when he checked the time, he wasn't so sure. 3 AM.

Jungkook had realized more than once that you had gotten up at this exact time in the middle of the night; every single day for the past month. He had let it slide, never suspecting much because he trusted you. Today, however, he was determined to find out why this was always happening. He peeled the blanket from his body and stood up from bed, quietly making his way out of the bedroom.

Across from the bedroom door was the door to the computer room, where you and Jungkook had desktop elaborate setups and nerdy decorations sprawled about. You had a keyboard and Jungkook had his own mixing station as well, the room a safe place to think and compose. Jungkook smiled when he saw light coming from the bottom of the door, immediately knowing you had gone in there.

He approached the door and furrowed his eyebrows when he heard you giggle, a little lost on who would be discord calling you this late at night. Ever so gently, he turned the doorknob and pressed the door open, hoping that you wouldn't be startled. He almost didn't notice that he was holding his breath, trying to ignore the pang of jealousy and worry in his chest.

All of his tension was released into a sigh when he saw you, curled up in a star wars blanket and sitting cross-legged in your gaming chair, laughing quietly at a video feed of your best friend, who was cloaked in daylight. He smiled, leaning against the door frame and watching the two of you talk. He worried for nothing, but he still got to see how adorable the two of you were while you were interacting. He couldn’t catch all of the English you were speaking to the monitor, but he still found it all so endearing.

He had seen Rhiannon a few times but had never met her in person. You talked about her all the time, how she was sweet, funny, smart, and always there for you even when you had decided to move to Korea on a whim. You had told Jungkook once that Rhiannon was actually the one to convince you to follow your dream, and as a result, met and fell in love with him. Rhiannon was still attending college in Canada, having taken a longer course than you had. Jungkook's eyes widened and he began to blush wildly when he realized he was standing where the webcam could pick up his image and now Rhiannon was pointing at her screen, causing you to turn around and see him standing in the doorway.

"Hey baby," you say sweetly. "I'm sorry, did I wake you up?"

"Not really," Jungkook said quickly. "I was wondering why you were awake, though."

"Oh, I'm sorry. Here, let me leave the call." You turned around, facing your monitor. "Sorry, Rhi, but Kookie woke up. I should go back to bed. Talk soon,"

"So this is why you're always getting up at 3," Jungkook softly says as you hang up and shut down your computer, turning back around and standing. Quickly you move across the room to embrace your boyfriend, who immediately melts into the hug and sighs.

"Yeah," you say softly, "she gets home from work around now and... I miss her a lot. I'm sorry if I woke you up, I don't mean to."

"It's okay, baby," Jungkook runs his hands up and down your back. "Let's go back to bed. Do you think that maybe she can get some time off of work?"

You begin to follow him back to your bedroom, "What do you mean? I guess I can ask her, but why?"

"Well, I have a few extra bucks… maybe she can come for a visit. It's summer vacation for her college, right?" Jungkook smiled down at your shocked face.

"Y-yeah! Are you sure?"

"Anything for my baby and her best friend."

After weeks of planning, Rhiannon had gotten two weeks off of work and gotten the most obscure flight possible so that Jungkook could accompany you to the airport. You had even prepared a silly rainbow sign with her name on it to greet her when she got off the plane.

"There it is, that's the flight from Toronto!" You grabbed Jungkook's hand and began pulling him to the exit gate before he could react, excitedly jumping about as you walked. The two of you waited for a little while by the exit gate until the passengers began to file out from the check-in stations. Sign be damned because as soon as you saw Rhiannon's face in the small crowd, you dropped it and took off running.

Jungkook couldn't help but smile beneath his face mask as he stayed behind to avoid the crowd. Jungkook watched you essentially pounce onto your best friend, toppling both of you over into a giggling mess of hugs and noogies. That was how the rest of his day went, watching quietly as you and your best friend wreak chaos wherever you were; as you collected her luggage, walked through the airport, drove home and settled her into your guest room.

On the third day of Rhiannon's visit, you had spent so much time with her that Jungkook had actually begun to feel a little jealous. You had taken her into the heart of Seoul, to a mudflat and to an NCT concert all in the first few days she was here. Even though Jungkook knew you hadn’t seen each other in a long time, he still wanted you to himself for a little while. So, he devised a plan. The first step of that plan was eavesdropping.

Jungkook had been in the kitchen making a sandwich on the morning of the fourth day, yawning and feeling a little lazy when he heard the giggling. He was almost used to it at this point: girls will be girls. What he found interesting however was the faint mention of Yoongi. With a mischievous grin, Jungkook set down his sandwich and began making his way to the door of the guest room. He pressed his ear up against it, listening.

"This is another picture of Kookie and I while they were filming a bangtan bomb- and there's Yoongi in the back. I have no idea what kind of expression that is, but it's a goal of mine to find an excuse to use it as a reaction image one day." Jungkook smiled when he heard you speaking.

"Ah, you're so lucky you have so much time to spend with them!" Rhiannon responded. "You're just lucky in general."

"Hm, I suppose, but hey, once you graduate you'll be able to find a bomb job too, right?"

"Yeah," Rhiannon agreed softly. "Let's keep looking. What other Yoongi pictures do you have saved?"

Yoongi. Jungkook caught the name, even if it was in English, and he grinned mischievously. That was going to be his angle. Licking his lips, he stood up straight and rapped his knuckles on the door.

"You girls okay? I can make you a snack if you'd like before I head to dance practice," he called sweetly. "Unless… you wanna come with me." Jungkook already knew he had won when Rhiannon was the one to open the door a few seconds later, looking up at him with wide eyes.

"You'd really take us to dance practice?" She asked, her voice nearly reaching a squeal. You appeared behind her, searching Jungkook's expression.

"Yeah, why not?" Jungkook tilted his head toward the front door of the apartment. "Better choose quick cause I gotta leave in a few."

With that, Rhiannon was already bolting past him with a giddy smile on her face.

You took Jungkook's hand, smiling and pressing a kiss to his cheek. "What are you planning?"

"Nothing," Jungkook said with a laugh. "Nothing at all."

Jungkook wasn't one to outright call himself a genius, but he certainly felt like one. He introduced Rhiannon to everyone once you both had followed him up to their practice room, and before the music started you all shared a small snack. Yoongi already seemed taken with Rhiannon's polite yet giddy attitude, smiling brightly at her with a blush as soon as she began making conversation. It was almost too easy.

Jungkook danced with confidence, making sure to shoot plenty of confident smiles and winks your way, but blushing as soon as you crossed one leg over the other, raising one eyebrow at him.

When it was time for a break, you got up and passed Jungkook his bottle of water. "Those two are really hitting it off," you comment idly, latching onto your boyfriend in a hug.

"Yeah, they are," Jungkook agreed. "It's really cute,"

"Did you plan this, you little sneak?"

Jungkook nearly burst into laughter. "Maybe a little bit, but I wasn't expecting them to glue themselves to each other," he nods in their direction, your eyes following his gesture. "I just wanted you all to myself again."

Rhiannon and Yoongi were practically glued to each other, chatting away quietly. The ways they looked at one another reminded you of you and Jungkook when you first met.

"Seeing that look from the outside is really endearing," you comment, pressing your ear against Jungkook's chest, listening to his heartbeat. "If they start being like that so quickly,"

Jungkook grinned triumphantly, "the rest will be history."

#jeon jungkook #jungkook x reader #jeon jungkook x reader #reader insert #kpop imagine #kpop scenarios #kpop fluff #kpop fanfic #bts #bts imagine

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bisexualbumblebee-writes · 3 years ago

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Interview- Jake Gyllenhaal x OC

Jake Gyllenhaal x Rosalie Mayson

Description: Jake and Rosalie are in a YouTube interview for their movie Spider-Man: Far From Home.

Word Count: 2k

“Can I get you guys anything? Some water or a snack?” An assistant asked while Jake and Rosalie sat down in their chairs.

“Water would be great please,” Rosalie answered politely with a small smile.

“Same for me please,” Jake added, adjusting in his seat. The assistant nodded and walked off. They sat there making small talk with the crew for a few minutes before the interviewer walked in.

“Hi, it’s nice to meet you. I’m a big fan,” the woman Rosalie knew as Summer Louis greeted as she shook each of their hands. Rose grinned and thanked her as she sat down.

“Getting ready to roll,” the cameraman called to the three of them.

“So you said you’re a YouTuber, right?” Jake asked, making Rosalie’s eyes widen as she looked at him.

“Do you seriously not know who she is?” She questioned, looking absolutely bewildered. Summer laughed, half in humor and half in disbelief.

“Wait you know who I am?” Rosalie nodded immediately.

“Of course! I watch your videos all the time, I literally love your content!” Summer blushed profusely and thanked her shyly, making Rosalie smile brightly. She could faintly see the red light of the camera turn on out of the corner of her eye, signaling the start of the video.

“Hey Rose,” Jake called softly, effectively catching her attention. “What is cans spelled backwards?” The girl stared at him silently, her confusion visible on her face. Rather than saying anything, Jake just gestured for her to answer.

“Cans,” she trailed off slowly in thought. “Snac?” She guessed.

“Girl you’re looking like one just sitting there!” He suddenly exclaimed in a funny tone, making her burst out laughing. Rosalie’s laugh was contagious enough for Summer, Jake and a few members of the crew began laughing as well.

“That was the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard you say,” she giggled out, looking at him.

“Wait, hold on,” he chuckled before his laughter died down. “I think I can top it, give me a few minutes.” The laughter in the room died down shortly before the camera operator called that they were ready and the camera was rolling.

“Hello everyone!” Summer spoke to the camera. “Welcome back to my channel. If you don’t know me, I’m SummerThings, nice to meet ya. Today I have the extraordinary privilege and pleasure to be interviewing Jake Gyllenhaal and Rosalie Mayson for their new movie Spider-Man: Far From Home, released in movies on July 2nd, where they play Quentin Beck and Valerie Urson.” Jake and Rosalie waved to the camera that was pointed at them when Summer said their names and Summer turned from the camera to face them.

“Thank you guys so much for being here,” she spoke sincerely. Jake leaned back in his chair dramatically.

“Yeah because our schedules are just so busy,” he said sarcastically. “I mean just one thing after the other, if anyone wants to interview us after this they’ll have to wait three years, eight months, six hours, twenty-four minutes, sixteen milliseconds,” he continued to rant until Rosalie smacked his arm enough to grab his attention but not hurt him.

“Dude shut up,” she muttered with a small laugh. Jake stuck his tongue out at her in response before facing the now laughing Summer.

“Anyways,” she continued pointedly, still chuckling. “I had the pleasure of seeing it at the premiere and I loved it so much. I do want to mention real quick, the battle at the Prague Carnival really stressed me out. I really thought Valerie was done for when Molten Man hit her into the building.”

“Yeah, it was super intense to shoot,” Rosalie spoke, crossing one leg over the other. “With filming any Marvel movie you have to put yourself in the hero’s mindset of like: I am about to fight for not only citizen’s lives, but mine and I may die in the process.”

“Oh yeah, there was a point in the scene where it looked like Molten Man had killed you by smacking you into the building. I really thought Valerie had died at that moment,” Summer responded with a nod.

“Obviously that ended up being one of her clones, but yeah, pretending to be knocking into a building and dying kind of scared me during filming. I had to do multiple takes because I couldn’t stop accidentally moving,” Rosalie added, also nodding. Conversation quickly led to Summer beginning the actual interview questions.

“What has been the most difficult part of this entire process? Like, filming, PR, interviews, all that jazz?” Summer asked.

“Policing Tom so he doesn’t spoil the movie,” Rosalie answered without a second thought. Jake nodded knowingly then groaned dramatically.

“Oh my god yes. I swear he’s trying to make a game out of it. He can’t be in an interview without someone else from the cast or crew nearby,” he added.

“Oh that must be difficult,” Summer giggled out before looking at her notecards again.

“Who is your favorite person to work with on set?” She read aloud. Jake hummed thoughtfully then looked at Rosalie.

“What would you say?” He inquired. Rosalie deadpanned for a split second before laughing and resting her arms on the arms of her chair.

“I know that my answer should be Jake, but I really like working with Tom and Samuel. They’re literally so fun to work with. Ask anyone on the set and they’ll say we had to do multiple takes because one of us kept laughing.” Jake made an offended expression and rested his hand over his heart.

“You wound me, Rose. I really thought we had something, I thought I was your boyfriend,” he said, a pout replacing the offense on his face.

“Well what’s your answer then? Me?” She laughed and faced him. Jake suddenly looked embarrassed and slowly shook his head.

“No,” he answered, making the girls burst out laughing. “I’d have to go with Tom as well.” Rosalie looked into the camera like Jim on The Office then gestured to her boyfriend.

“Do you see what I have to put up with?” She asked humorously. Summer giggled and moved onto her next card.

“Okay speaking of which, obviously you two are from much different places. Jake is American and you’re British, plus you’ve never been in a movie or show together before this one. How did you guys meet?” She asked, genuinely curious. Rosalie perked up at the question and rested her hands in her lap.

“We met at the Met Gala in 2018 actually. I had just walked in from the red carpet and-”

“And she tripped over her own dress,” Jake finished, starting to laugh. Rosalie blushed in embarrassment, hiding her bashful smile by covering it with her hands.

“Aw don’t be embarrassed,” Summer spoke sympathetically, leaning forward to rest a comforting hand on the girl’s arm. Jake grinned and gingerly moved Rosalie’s hands away from her burning face.

“Anyways, she tripped over her dress and I helped her up. After that we ended up just staying near each other the rest of the night. I asked her on a date when I walked her to her car. The rest is history,” he ended with an airy tone.

“Okay, in my defense, I had been wearing a ballgown and I literally couldn’t see like two feet in front of me because it was so big,” Rosalie defended herself with a small smile.

“Well you looked beautiful either way,” Jake muttered softly which caused her to smile at him. Summer cooed at them.

“You guys are too cute together,” she complimented, making Rosalie blush once more and thank her.

“Alright, moving on to our next question,” she continued, looking over her next card. “This one is for Jake.”

“Oh no,” the man joked in response.

“Don’t worry it’s not bad,” she added with a chuckle before reading aloud. “So there is a point at the end of the movie where Beck is defeated and he dies. Before that he shows that he didn’t really care about Peter, but more important, Valerie. He says ‘She meant nothing to me, all she was was a pawn in my game to take you down. If I’m going down, she’s going with me.’ What was it like to pretend to hate your real life girlfriend in that scene?” Jake’s eyebrows shot up and he exhaled a deep breath. Rosalie glanced at him expectantly, genuinely curious about his answer.

“It was difficult if I’m being honest. It was really hard to look Rose in the eyes and pretend that I didn’t actually love her. She’s literally my entire world and I love her so much and I’m pretty sure for a second she actually believed it,” he finally answered. Summer looked at Rosalie expectantly.

“It wasn’t that I believed it,” she started, adjusting in her seat. “It was just a matter of seeing the man you loved say that you're nothing. I got more in my head about it because on one hand I know that it’s just acting, but on the other you have to remember that you’re supposed to fake believe it. Whether it’s just like some words on a paper, it’s still kind of hard to hear something like that from someone you hold so high up. It’s like watching a family member pretend to die on screen.” Jake’s mouth had dropped open just a bit at her explanation and Summer’s surprise was more prominent.

“Wow, well said Rosalie,” she responded after a minute. “Jake, is there anything you’d like to add to that?” Jake glanced at the girl in front of them before looking directly into the camera that faced him.

“Just that I love Rosalie with my entire being and I’d rather die than see her get hurt like that.” It felt like a sitcom when he said that. Rosalie’s heart melted and she smiled adoringly at him while Summer cooed at them yet again.

“This is starting to feel like couples therapy,” Rosalie joked, squeezing Jake’s hand gently. That gave the atmosphere a more lighthearted tone as they continued on with the questions.

“Alright you guys, if you haven’t seen Spider-Man: Far From Home in theaters, go watch it now because I guarantee you will absolutely love it. Thank you so much for this,” Summer spoke once she ran out of cards. She, Jake and Rosalie stood at the same and she shook hands with each of them.

“Thank you so much for having us,” Rosalie responded, picking up her water bottle once they let go. The camera turned off and Jake’s arm went around her waist and, after bidding everyone goodbye, they walked out side by side. He opened the front door of the building for her and they began walking to the car.

“Where do you want to eat?” Jake asked as they reached his car. Rosalie shrugged.

“Well, we look really nice so I don’t want our outfits to go to waste,” she responded, getting in the car after he opened the passenger door for her.

“How does Taste of France sound then?” He asked, not waiting for an answer before closing the door and jogging to the drivers side and getting in.

“You know me too well,” she giggled, reaching over her shoulder to grab her seatbelt. After buckling, she looked up only to see him already looking at her. He had a smile that he only wore in her presence, a loving and adoring smile.

“What?” She asked with a small laugh. “Is something wrong?” Jake shook his head.

“I just love you Rose,” he responded gently. A light blush crept over her cheeks and she smiled shyly.

“I love you too,” she responded, waiting for him to start the car before grabbing his hand.

He lifted their enclosed hands to his lips and kissed the back of her hand lovingly as he pulled out of the parking lot, heading towards her favorite restaurant to spend the rest of his day with his favorite girl.

#jake gyllenhaal #jake gyllenhaal x oc #jake gyllenhaal fanfic #jake gyllenhaal imagine #jake gyllenhaal fanfiction #marvel

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brokehorrorfan · 3 years ago

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Interview: James DeMonaco (The Purge franchise)

James DeMonaco thought he had purged himself from The Purge. Having written and directed the first three entries in the hit dystopian action-horror franchise then writing and producing two more sequels and a TV series, he publicly declared that The Forever Purge - released in theaters in July and on home video last week - would be the final installment. "I say it's my last Purge at the end of every one, so I feel like a fool saying there's going to be another one, but I definitely thought [The Forever Purge] was it. I can't lie. That was it for me. I thought I ended America appropriately."

It was the United State Capitol insurrection on January 6 that sparked an idea for a sixth entry. "The country felt like it was coming apart at the seams, and I think the sociopolitical discord fueled something in a nightmare of mine. I woke up with this idea, and I pitched it to Sébastien Lemercier, my producer, then Jason Blum, the other producer. I don't know if they were ready for another Purge, but they liked it. We pitched it to the studio, and they liked it, so I was given the green light to write it.”

The script brings back Frank Grillo's character of Leo Barnes, who was introduced in The Purge: Anarchy and returned in The Purge: Election Year. "I said, ‘If I do another one, I’d like to do it with Frank Grillo.' People loved him, and I love working with Frank." The script is complete but production is uncertain at the moment. "I’m guessing the studio is evaluating the COVID release of [The Forever Purge], so we’ll know soon I guess... I’m hoping we get to do it. I can’t give any definitives other than it’s written and Frank’s excited to do it."

As for the plot of the proposed seventh installment, "It takes place 10 years after The Forever Purge. America has been completely remapped. The states are much different and how they’re broken down is much different, without giving too much away, but there’s a tribalized nature to the new America. [Leo] is living kind of off the grid, but he’s pulled back into the Purge world that still exists in some way, shape, or form."

Truth be told, DeMonaco never expected The Purge to become a franchise. "I didn’t see it going past one [movie]. When we had the script, I think we counted 37 financing entities that had read the script and almost all said the same thing: ‘It’s too anti-American. It’s too nihilistic.’ We really thought if we did get it made, it was going to be a small Michael Haneke film, something like Funny Games, that would play at arthouse theaters and wouldn’t have a wide release."

It was horror producer extraordinaire Jason Blum - who had optioned scripts from DeMonaco when he was an executive at Miramax earlier in his career - that recognized the possibilities of The Purge. "We didn’t see the scope of the potential release until Jason [Blum]. He read it, and he saw something in the conceit that I don’t think I saw; the bigger potential of it. We had no idea I’d be here five movies and two seasons of a TV show later. It’s been a strange ride!"

DeMonaco stepped down as director after three installments of The Purge, but he was eager to guide the franchise as writer-producer. "I was ready to move to something new. I had been Purge-ing for many years in a row. It’s a dark world to live in. I still wanted to shepherd the story. I was always afraid, if it went into someone else’s hands, it potentially could become something I didn’t want it to be. Maybe it could be even better than what I would do, but it also could be something more exploitative in a way that I didn’t want it to go."

DeMonaco found filmmakers he could trust to hand over the reins, but he's eager to return to the director's chair if the next chapter comes to fruition. "When we found Gerard [McMurray], I felt like we were in great hands [on The First Purge]. He understood the sociopolitical nature of the piece. It’s what he loved even more than the genre elements. He felt like the right guy to take over, as did Everardo [Gout] on Part 5. But for 6, I was excited to direct again when I came up with this conceit, so I do believe there’s a chance, if Frank came back, we could re-team and do it together.

Any successful, long-running franchise - particularly one as politically-charged as The Purge - is bound to have its critics, and DeMonaco takes it all in stride. “To my detractors I often say, ‘The Purge is not a subtle film.’ There’s no subtlety at all. I’m hitting people over the head with a sledgehammer with my thoughts on the current political climate in the country. I think some people think it’s too political, and I get that. They don’t want to be preached and proselytized to. Some people love it for those exact reasons. My favorite movies are usually in the 50 percentile on Rotten Tomatoes. They’re gonna piss a lot of people off, and they’re gonna make some people really happy. I think sometimes you have to be bold in what you’re doing. For the people who hate it, that’s their right to hate!” he chuckles.

DeMonaco challenges himself to make every entry in The Purge series unique. "I really take a lot of time to make sure each one is very different than the previous, so even if you’ve seen the first four, we have a mandate between us to say, ‘Let’s not repeat ourselves. Let’s really try to flip it on its head.’ I think [The Forever Purge] feels new. Even the visual palette of the film is new. It takes place in a new territory, a new terrain; it’s not back in an inner city. It takes The Purge to a new level that we haven’t seen before, and I think the characters are wonderful. These are people you truly come to care about, and you want to go on the journey with them. It’s not a rehash that I’ve seen in some franchises. It’s very hard to keep doing new things, but I think it’ll feel fresh."

The Forever Purge's original release date was delayed due to the pandemic, and then it became one of the first wide releases once vaccines were rolled out. "We still don’t exactly know how to process if it’s good or bad financially. It’s hard to know, to be honest. I’m not privy to the backdoor meetings with the adults regarding the financials," he smirks. "But they’re great partners, so I hope they’re happy. I know it was a weird time. A Quiet Place [Part II] came out of the box so big that we all thought, ‘Hey, we’re back!’ But I didn’t know anybody at the time that was going back to the movies. It was a monstrous opening, yet I didn’t know one person who saw it in the theater. It’s still confusing as to what the future of the box office is."

"My biggest fear is that the box office doesn’t return, because I think we can’t replicate inside a movie theater. It’s a scary time." The impact of the theatrical experience is the centerpiece of DeMonaco's latest film, This Is the Night. It reunites the writer-director with Grillo and Blum, but it plays like an antithesis to their work on The Purge. “I think it was something I needed to do,” DeMonaco explains. “Movies have been my guiding force in life. My religion was cinema, and it’s been my passion. I always wanted to make a movie about that love of cinema and what it can inspire. It was wonderful to do after the first three Purges.”

Set in Staten Island during the summer of 1982, the coming-of-age story serves as DeMonaco’s love letter to cinema. "It’s about Rocky III - or any movie, which is why I don’t show any of Rocky III during the screening - that can inspire people to rise up and be better people. It’s about the power of art. It was great to make. I think it’s a very sweet, good-feeling film. I think I needed that myself after making The Purge.”

DeMonaco is currently developing a new horror movie starring Saturday Night Live favorite Pete Davidson. "We’re friends, we live close together. He was a big Purge fan, so we hit it off through a mutual friend." While he's elusive regarding plot details, he does offer a few hints. "I can’t really say it’s contained. It takes place in one place but a big place, so it’s not Purge-size. It’s bigger than that; a facility of some sort."

On working with Davidson, DeMonaco notes, "Big Time Adolescence is a great performance, so is The King of Staten Island, but there’s some humor in those films. There’s almost zero humor in the one we’re doing together. I think that’s exciting for me working with Pete, in that he’s going in a very new direction. This one is much more straightforward for his character." He enthuses, "I’m psyched to work with Pete. I can’t wait."

#james demonaco #the purge #the forever purge #this is the night #pete davidson #frank grillo #interview #article #jason blum #blumhouse #the purge: election year #the purge: anarchy #the first purge #the purge election year #the purge anarchy

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letterboxd · 3 years ago

Photo

Halfway—2021.

Two Filipino indies lead the Letterboxd Top 25 at the 2021 halfway point, as the coronavirus pandemic continues to shake—and reshape—the film industry. Jack Moulton and Gemma Gracewood take stock.

Cleaners, Glenn Barit’s photocopied, hand-colored, stop-motion feature about high schoolers in the northern Philippines city of Tuguegarao, is the highest-rated 2021 film on Letterboxd at the halfway point of the year, with a weighted average of 4.3 out of 5 stars. Ode to Nothing, by Barit’s fellow countrywoman Dwein Baltazar, is in second place, and Shaka King’s two-time Oscar-winner Judas and the Black Messiah rounds out the top three.

Last year was a transition year in many ways: for the world, a pandemic-led move away from cinema screenings to at-home virtual theaters and streaming-first releases; for Letterboxd, a move away from US-led release dates in our annual calculations. This has opened the way for notable films from around the world to be included on our lists far sooner than their oft-delayed American releases (which had resulted in, for example, Brazil’s Bacurau not making the 2019 Letterboxd Year in Review).

Both of these factors help to explain why we have two Filipino independent features leading our midway Top 25. “Cleaners and Ode to Nothing are exactly the kind of small Filipino films that would have struggled to get national distribution in theaters in the before times, despite the buzz that they garnered,” writes Manila-based film critic Philbert Dy in his companion essay to the Top 25, in which he explains how the Philippines’ particularly long and harsh Covid lockdown has “led to smaller, quirkier films being made accessible to more Filipinos, whose consumption of cinema were once beholden to the whims of conglomerate cinema owners”.

‘Cleaners’, written and directed by Glenn Barit.

When we shared the good news with him, a delighted Cleaners director Glenn Barit specifically shouted out his nation’s film lovers: “It is a testament to a vibrant Filipino film community still actively watching and supporting films of our own. Especially with a film like ours set in a small city far from the capital, it is amazing to read in reviews that it resonates with a lot of people (sometimes even outside our country).”

From this year forward, our mid-year rankings include films that have been released in any country, with at least a limited theatrical, streaming or video-on-demand run, and a minimum of 1,000 views on Letterboxd. These new rules allow us to celebrate the love for Katie Found’s lesbian romance My First Summer—released in Australia in March—without having to wait for the US to catch up. It joins indie highlight Shiva Baby, Michael Rianda’s animated hit The Mitchells vs The Machines and Heidi Ewing’s swooning romance, I Carry You With Me, on the Top 25 in putting young, queer characters on the screen.

‘My First Summer’, written and directed by Katie Found.

As expected, many films on the list have suffered pandemic delays. We use premiere dates to mark the year of record for each film, so A Quiet Place Part II will always be attached to its March 2020 red-carpet screening, despite the fourteen-month hibernation that followed. This is Not a Burial, It’s a Resurrection by Mosotho director Lemohang Jeremiah Mosese screened at 2019’s Venice Film Festival and had a very long festival run until Mubi picked it up for streaming in the UK this year. The film’s lead, Mary Twala, passed away a year ago, July 4, 2020 (see her also in Beyoncé’s Black is King). Gabriela Cowperthwaite’s Our Friend—one of the eight women-directed films on the list—went to TIFF, London, and AFI before being released this January without screening once in 2020.

More than half of our Top 25 films are directed by BIPOC directors, nearly a dozen of whom are of Asian descent, illuminating a key benefit of the new eligibility system. Challenging the US for the most represented country is India with five films in the list, taking advantage of Amazon’s distribution deal and creating greater accessibility for Hindi, Tamil and Malayalam-language films at home and abroad.

‘Red Post Post on Escher Street’, written and directed by Sion Sono.

Also among the Asian directors making the list are legends Tsai Ming-liang and Sion Sono. Tsai’s Days recently received a limited run in Spain (it will be brought to the US by Grasshopper Films this August), while Sono’s Red Post Post on Escher Street had a quick VOD run in February courtesy of Japan Society Film.

Produced in the US and directed by Japanese-Brazilian Edson Oda, Nine Days qualifies due to an exclusive run at the Singapore arthouse theater The Projector in May—it’ll be released in the US later this month. Finally, Asian American director Jon M. Chu makes the list with his adaptation of Quiara Alegría Hudes and Lin-Manuel Miranda’s In the Heights. We are also happy to see a couple of Letterboxd members in the halfway 25: Cleaners’ Barit and Chad Hartigan (Little Fish). If you’d like to discover more 2021 releases by our member-filmmakers, we have a list for that.

The Top 25 is, of course, solely made up of narrative feature-length films. On the documentary front, Flee is currently the highest-rated non-fiction feature of 2021. Neon is expected to release the film in the US for an awards run later this year, but it’s eligible now due to a release earlier this month in director Jonas Poher Rasmussen’s homeland of Denmark.

‘Flee’, directed by Jonas Poher Rasmussen.

Fellow Sundance Film Festival winner Summer of Soul (or… When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised) is currently the year’s highest-rated documentary in general, but was 48 hours shy of eligibility for the halfway list, releasing in theaters and on Hulu on July 2. The runners-up are: Sir Alex Ferguson: Never Give In, directed by the notorious football manager’s son; David Attenborough’s The Year Earth Changed, directed by Tom Beard; and rock-docs TINA and (in his doc-directing debut) Edgar Wright’s The Sparks Brothers.

In other categories, It’s a Sin is the highest-rated narrative miniseries at the midway point, Can’t Get You Out of Our Head by Adam Curtis is the highest-rated documentary miniseries, Bo Burnham: Inside is the highest-rated comedy special, Blackpink: The Show is the highest-rated music film, Save Ralph is the highest-rated animated short film, and Four Roads, by Alice Rohrwacher, is the highest-rated live-action short film.

With Cannes underway and more festivals to come, it is still a long road to the 2021 Year in Review for these films—but given the journey most of them have already travelled, it is pleasing to celebrate the filmmakers’ success. Ang galing ninyong lahat!

On top of its meticulously bonkers production process, our highest-ranked film, Cleaners, had a long journey to its first theatrical distribution, and it’s far from over. The film premiered at the QCinema International Film Festival in October 2019, to raves from Filipino Letterboxd members, and it still holds a firm grasp on its high rating nearly two years later. Ultimately, the first non-fest release for Cleaners occurred when Singapore’s Asian Film Archive screened it for a week in April, thus qualifying the film for our 2021 lists.

‘Ode to Nothing’, written, directed and edited by Dwein Baltazar.

Ode to Nothing has been on an even longer journey. The film also debuted at the QCinema Festival, but in 2018, and finally arrived on local streaming services iWantTFC and KTX.PH earlier this year.

Being celebrated by their countryfolk on Letterboxd is one thing, but how can those of us outside the Philippines see these top two films? Perhaps we need to give our local distributors a nudge. As Cleaners director Barit explains: “We are a team of three first-time filmmakers and producers. We are still learning the ropes of film distribution and marketing—and it’s been very hard. I just want to shamelessly say that our doors are wide open for distribution and acquisition; we are not yet available on any streaming platforms locally or internationally [winks nervously].”

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See the Halfway 2021 list on Letterboxd and watch the Top 10 countdown on YouTube

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