#the concern here is more what *kind* of actor could bring each character's essence to life

[isfjmel-phleg]

Okay, I can't do fancasting, but I can pinpoint what I personally would be looking for in actors for a YJ-and-adjacent adaptation.

Whoever would play Tim would need to be able to convey a lot of seeming contradictions. Friendly and affable but intensely private. The Only Sane One but in fact just as unhinged as the rest of his friends. Resident logician and strategist but brimming with (mostly) controlled emotionality. Comes across as mature and sensible but also has lots of annoying little brother energy. He would need to demonstrate a wry, self-deprecating humor while also having the capacity to be driven and serious and sit on rooftops to brood when necessary. Should have the physicality of someone who has carefully trained for what he does, not someone who has effortless natural talent.

Kon should be the charismatic teenage hero type, like something escaped from a Disney Channel show. Lots of Attitude™, lots of style, lots of action. Boisterous and cocky but can be caring and gentle. This actor needs to have fantastic comedic skills because Kon needs to be funny. Deliberately, consciously, genuinely hilarious and witty. Not at all dark and brooding. But he should also be able to pull off a very specific type of angst--depressed but in denial about it. Kon's happy-go-lucky persona is both an expression of his natural personality and a front he clings to avoid being vulnerable, so his actor should be able to convey these layers of complexity. Hypothetically, his actor would also be playing Match and would have to pull off a cold, efficient, vindicative (but ultimately tragic) persona too.

Bart needs to be played by someone who can avoid making him a caricature. The fun and humor and lightheartedness need to be there, of course, but they're combined with a very teenage belligerent and stubborn side. This needs to be someone who can convey a unique style of thinking and get across that Bart is in fact quite intelligent and perceptive. There should also be an ability to effectively emote without words. It's a highly energetic role with a distinct physicality. Ideally, Bart's actor would also be playing Thad, so he would need to be able to pull off the contrasting roles, to give each of them their own distinctive mannerisms and styles of speech and physicalities, and to absolutely nail the emotionally intense climax of Mercury Falling.

Greta's actress should be able to be both genuinely sweet and genuinely terrifying. One is not a mask for the other; she is both at the same time. She should be able to deliver some of the most disturbing and hilarious lines ever with utter sincerity (things like "Death is coming, and...he's on skis"). She has a vindictive streak and can be harsh but not so much that the audience won't feel for her. There's an innate vulnerability and waiflike quality to this child despite her powers. This is a very dramatic role that would require a broad range as Greta gradually goes to the Doug Side dark side before being restored back to life.

Cissie needs to have the air of someone overtrained since childhood in athletics with a side of pageant-like skills--like a child on one of those dreadful reality shows about exploitative parents. She is poised and controlled and elegant and knows how to make an impression. At the same time, she is intensely emotionally driven and would need to pull off highly dramatic scenes, like her attempt to get revenge on her school counselor's killer--but also drama played for laughs, like her expectation that she'll have to become a villain after the failed revenge or her reaction to being dragged into the baseball game.

Cassie is an interesting combination of reckless enthusiasm and struggles with self-confidence. Not big on tact and can be toxically optimistic. Her actress shouldn't be the glamorous type; she needs to seem like a very ordinary, relatable, down-to-earth girl (who happens to have superpowers). No big transformative makeover moments--she should just become more and more comfortable with and confident in who she is as she matures. Her actress should be able to convey the stages of an arc in which she gradually figures out her distinctive identity and develops as a strong leader and role model.

Anita's actress needs to have a strong, authoritative presence. You should really feel that she can compel others to do her bidding at the sound of her voice. She should have a warm quality too that really comes through in her relationship with Slo-bo in particular. There needs to be a balance of her formidable powerfulness and the fact that she's a teenage girl who is increasingly in over her head, and her struggles as she is stuck raising her deaged-to-infant parents must be poignant.

Slo-bo should be cast as someone who has the quality of an old soul despite being the technical youngest of the group. He should combine the tough abrasiveness that he feels he needs to assume as Li'l Lobo's successor with a keen sensitivity and struggles with self-loathing. He insists he's not a good guy and presents himself in the most morally gray terms he can, and this isn't an act (exactly), but it's complicated by the fact that he is legitimately kind and self-sacrificing. If played right, the audience won't initially know what to make of him but by the end should be heartbroken by his apparent death.

For Ray, someone who can portray the heroic nature of the character, but neither formidably muscular or a suave heartthrob type--he's rather ordinary. This needs to be someone with good comedic timing, someone who can pull off the naivete and the Absolute Disaster-ness and seem out of his depth in the real world, but also convey introspectiveness and a longing to be loved. He wears his heart on his sleeve, struggles with some depressive episodes, and can be quite vulnerable, with some notably dramatic scenes. There should be a bit of an edge to the character as well, as he becomes more jaded and makes choices that could potentially result in his going evil.

Grant needs to have a sort of ordinary-teenage-boy quality. Earnest, sweet, eager to prove himself, awkward, a bit of a goofball. But his actor should also have the capacity to handle a highly dramatic role. He should be able to convey explosive anger without being brutish and unsympathetically aggressive. There's an underlying anxiety in how he responds to the world, something ingrained in him by his abusive upbringing. Despite his powers and the anger and strength associated with them, he is emotional and vulnerable, with quite a few scenes that would require him to weep. He undergoes a striking change in demeanor after his face is scarred, and his actor would need to make the transition into bitterness believable.

[jageshemashftw]

About the ENDGAME grievances... (MASSIVE SPOILERS AHEAD!!!)

So there are a couple things I’ve been hearing about Endgame that I need to address.

First and foremost, let’s get the time-travel stuff out of the way.

As far as Endgame is concerned, quantum time travel works via multiverse theory. In essence, your not actually travelling through your own timeline, but transporting yourself to a completely different timeline that splintered off from your timeline the moment you arrived there. From that point on, it is a parallel universe and absolutely nothing you do in that timeline will affect your timeline short of bringing things from that timeline into your timeline, like the Infinity Stones or Thanos’ army. You cannot change the past, only create an entirely new, entirely different future separate from your future.

And no, what the Ancient One said to Bruce does NOT contradict this in any way. At no point did she say anything about her timeline being destroyed immediately by the absence of the Infinity Stones. She was expressing worry over the EVENTUAL dangers her PARALLEL timeline could face without the stones. Bruce’s offer to return the stones to the exact time they were taken was meant to ease the Ancient One’s concerns, nothing more.

Now, with that out of the way, let’s go at this one at a time.

*Why didn’t they use the Infinity Gauntlet to bring Tony back to life?*

Because it damn near killed the Hulk the first time they used it, who was literally the most likely to NOT die. It’s one thing to use ultimate god like power and nearly destroy yourself in the process in a last ditch, desperate gamble to undo the genocide of half of all life in the universe, it’s another thing entirely to do the same for one man. Frankly, I don’t think Tony Stark is the kind of man who would WANT them to take that chance just for him.

*Couldn’t they just use the Time Stone or the Soul Stone then?*

Possibly, but that’s assuming any of the Avengers have the foreknowledge of how each individual Infinity Stone works to make that happen. The Time Stone could conceivably bring Tony’s BODY back to a predeath state, but his SOUL would still be in the afterlife. A similar problem when just using the Soul Stone, assuming, and this is a BIG assumption, that the Soul Stone even works that way.

Under most circumstances, deciding life and death to an absolute degree like that takes absolute, unlimited power. In which case, ALL Infinity Stones would need to be used, and that’s a no-go.

*Captain Marvel is so much more powerful than any other character. She makes them all retroactively pointless.*

... No, she doesn’t? I seriously don’t get this one. Yes, Captain Marvel is insanely powerful. Potentially the most powerful character in the MCU thus far. But I don’t see how that somehow invalidates every other character. No one had a problem with Thor being on the same team as Hawkeye or Black Widow. No one had a problem with Superman being on the same team as Batman.

... Well, okay, a few people have problems with those but I tend to ignore them.

*Steve totally abandoned Bucky!*

There’s two ways to take this. One, your talking about how Steve didn’t retroactively rescue Bucky from Hydra when he went back in time. Read the top of this post again. He COULDN’T retroactively save Bucky. You CANNOT change the past. Remember, all we saw of the parallel timeline Steve decided to stay in was him dancing with Peggy. There’s no reason to believe he didn’t use his foreknowledge of the future to save THAT timeline’s Bucky and prevent who knows how many other atrocities.

The other way to take that is that he ‘abandoned’ his own timeline’s Bucky to enjoy his life in a parallel timeline. Here’s some things to consider.

One: We don’t know how long it took Steve to consider this plan to retire in a parallel timeline.

Two: Bucky was more or less living his own life in the ‘prime’ timeline with or without Steve.

Three: Assuming Steve did go and save the Bucky of his ‘retirement’ timeline, then there would have been two Buckys existing in the same timeline had Steve thought to bring his Bucky along.

Four: What makes you think Bucky would go for it? He’s already lived through the trauma of being the Winter Soldier, he’s in the process of healing from it, and he’s viewed as an ally from Earth’s heroes. Look at Bucky’s face when Old Man Steve returns from his retirement timeline. He’s happy. He’s content. Hell, he’s proud this dumb little twerp he’s been babysitting all his life, who never learned to back down from a fight, finally relax and live his life. He knows why Steve did what he did and he doesn’t blame him one bit. Steve wanted to retire, but we don’t know what Bucky wanted. And considering we’re getting a Falcon/Bucky spin-off show, maybe we’ll get a little insight into that.

Five: Look, at the end of the day, for some people, this is about shipping. And that’s fine, ship who you want. But don’t throw a fit because your fanfics aren’t canon.

*Why even kill off Tony at all? Why not just let him live and retire with his family?*

Short answer, because RDJ’s contract was over and he didn’t want to be Iron Man any more. The simple fact is killing off a character has been the constant, go-to solution for when actors leave the show, so to speak. Does it suck Tony’s dead? Yeah, but what are you gonna do. Sometimes real life writes the plot and you gotta just role with the punches. They COULD have had Tony live and simply retire, but then you would have insatiable fans demanding he be brought back for more and more movies. Don’t even try and tell me that wouldn’t happen. Hell, you would probably create even more plotholes in future movies by introducing ever increasing threats where it would make absolutely zero sense for Tony to NOT come out of retirement if only out of necessity.

*But they let Steve retire without killing him off!*

Yep, because there was an in-story avenue to make Steve’s retirement permanent regardless of circumstances. They couldn’t think of one for Tony, so they killed him off. Maybe you can think of a way to let Tony live in retirement while also taking away any chance that he could ever suit up in the Iron Man suit again, but hindsight’s 20/20.

I know, it sucks. I cried too. But again, whatcha gonna do?

Anyway, that’s all I got for right now. I might have more later. Peace!

[leverage-commentary]

Leverage Season 1, Episode 6, The Miracle Job, Audio Commentary Transcript

Arvin: Thank you. This was wonderful. It was really fun to do.

Chris: I’m Chris Downey, Executive Producer

John: John Rogers, Executive Producer

Christine: Christine Boylan, I wrote this episode

Arvin: And Arvin Brown, the Director

John: This is the Miracle Job! This is episode, I think episode four of the series and - Arvine, why don’t you tell us since it’s kind of unusual career path, why don’t you tell us how you sort of started directing and move into the television?

Arvin: Well, my career was the theatre for many many years. I ran a theatre on an east coast called Long Worth as the artistic director for roughly - exactly 30 years actually, but I always wanted to work more with a camera, and started making the transition a few years before. I gave theatre a year’s notice and discovered that it was exciting and wonderful to tackle a new  medium at my stage of the game and eventually after I officially retired from Long Worth, I came out here and made this the- sort of my full career.    

John: That’s cool. Now that was D. B. Sweeney our friend D. B. Sweeney as the priest.

Christine: D.B. Sweeny.

John: [laughs] Dreamy Sweeney as the

Christine:  He is lovely! Dreamy Sweeney

John: A ridiculous number women on the set, muttering ‘toepick’ and wandering around, giggling in the corner.

Christine: There’s a ridiculous amount of good looking men in this episode.

John: [laughs] Yes, there is.

Christine: To balance out the already glorious female members of the casts.

John: Now, uh -

Arvin: [speaks over John] Yes, exactly! [Christine laughs]

John: - Miss Boyler, why don’t you tell us what the what the purpose of the scene is here? Because-

Christine: The purpose of this scene! Is to talk about Death of a Salesman! [laughs] Isn’t that the purpose of the scene? Um, what’s the purpose of the scene?

John: We’re really trying to establish the family, kind of

Christine: We kicked this around. Well can we…? Yeah we’re trying to establishing the family. The fact that they’ve all gone to Sophie’s play even though Parker’s making that face.

Arvin: I love that shot right there.

Chris: I love that shot!

Christine: Yup, Parker’s dramatic criticism in one shot.

John: Yeah.

Christine: That’s pretty great. They care about each other. They care about each other.

John: This is really the part where - this is, I mean we talk about the arc of the season. This is where we’re trying to establish that they are moving from bunch of people working in the same office, kinda know each other, to actually doing these little interpersonal things.

Chris: That’s one of our classic, kind of, cut away jokes.

John: Yup.

Chris:  I mean, that’s really a perfect one right there.

John: Yeah.

Arvine: Although, one of the things I loved working on this - there’s always a slight edge left, you know, which is again, sort of family dynamics.

John & Chris: Yeah.

Arvin: It never gets sentimental in that sense.

John: No, no - they don’t necessarily like each other even though they like each other

All: Right. Exactly.

Arvin: Which I love.

Christine: It’s nice because you can do a workplace scenario and still have this sort of fun of an action show because they’re con men.

John: Now this is interesting. Arvin, you are one of the few directors who came in that was not involved in the development of the show. You know, Roskin had been here, Dean had been here-

Arvin: Uh-huh.

John: So, I mean, when you come into this sort of character dynamic, what do you look at when you look at the scripts? How do you work with the actors? ‘Cause I know you tend to really sit down with the actors to grind out the scripts even between the scenes.

Arvin: Well, one of the things I do in the course of the scene is substantial homework. I mean I read every script that has been written up to the one I’m about to tackle and if there is anything that's completed on... you know as far as I'm concerned I watch it all so I can then-. I really have a real belief that actors always have to feel some sort of continuity in their work and when shows get careless about that, I always think it’s a big mistake. So I wanna know everything that has already been stated about the history of every character before we start, and then I analyze the episode I’m about to do for where it’s going to fit into a sort of - overall journey. What’s happening, what’s changing, what the arcs are, you know, in that particular episode. A perfect example here, I think, is the relationship of Timothy’s character to D.B.’s character and what that said about his past, what that said about his capacity for friendship, a number of things that I think were wonderful character elements to be introducing into the series.

John: And, boy, that brings us to D.B.’s character - Catholicism and the Catholic church.

Christine: Ah, Catholicism...There were really only two people on the staff who could have written this episode.

[All Laugh]

Christine: One is me, and the other is you.

John: Yeah, pretty much. This actually started from us drinking Guinness - there’s a sponsor. Right after the show was picked up I wrote down a couple sheets of con ideas and one of them was ‘steal a miracle’ and it was always one we knew we were going to come in and do and you wound up taking it over as the only other Catholic on staff.

Chris: Well, hey!

John: Well you were busy writing [The] Wedding [Job].

Christine: That’s true.

John: You were the only other episode with somebody in a priest collar.

Chris: I was. The only other -

Christine: And you’re generally happy. We’re the sort of unhappy former Catholics.

John: And you’re generally happy. If you’re doing, like, tortured Catholic writing, that’s really more -

Chris: Tortured Catholic is really not my thing.

Christine: We handle the tortured area here.

John: Yeah, and that was the end here, was - if you’re going to have a group of thieves at some point you sort of have to address the morality. But now I want to talk about how you wound up structuring the mass and everything and all of the research you did on all of this.

Christine: Um, a good deal of research. It’s funny the stuff you remember when you go to mass. And I went to a couple masses around LA. I also - oddly enough there’s a lot of - if you need a particular part of a mass and you want to compare and contrast - you can find that stuff on YouTube.

John: Really?

Christine: Yes!

John: People videotape masses?

Christine: People videotape their masses. I mean, you can also find masses on television. I mean, you know, everybody’s grandma watches mass on TV sometimes. But you can find this stuff on YouTube. I went to a couple of churches in LA - location scouting just to get the feel of it back now. I really hadn’t been to church since I was in Europe a while ago. [chuckles]. Yeah, it was really interesting to go back in sort of a research capacity.

Arvin: And you know what was kind of fun was the resident priest of the church where we shot became a kind of defacto consultant almost in spite of himself. And as we went he was learning - and I love this - he was learning the dramatic requirements. So it wasn’t - he was understanding that every once in a while the ritual had to be bent a little bit to accomodate the story. And he was getting excited about it instead of challenged.

Christine: It was great. It was Father Luis, right?

Arvin: Yeah.

Chris: It was tricky to find the right church too. I mean that was -

Christine: Oh yeah, that was a big thing.

Chris: We wanted to find one that you could believe was about to be bulldozed and wouldn’t have people out chaining themselves to it and yet at the same time had to fulfill all of the story points.

John: Actually, I want to point out that that’s a green screen behind Eliot.

Christine: Yes it is.

John: We actually extended that tunnel going longer in that direction. That’s actually a very pleasant park on the other side.

Christine: The park has a beautiful pond with ducks and children feeding the ducks; it was gorgeous.

John: Which was not what we wanted. [mumbles] This was one of my favorite fight scenes on the show because it’s not a fight scene. It basically… And it’s one of the first times. Interestingly, you can track Eliot and Hardison’s scenes throughout the arc of the season and see how the relationship changes. And he very much, sort of, schools Hardison in violence.

Christine: Uh-huh. And the restraint of violence.

John: And the restraint of violence, that’s exactly right. The entire point - and that’s something that Chris came up with actually - is… It was in the pilot script that he popped the clip on every gun as he moved through the crowd. He made it into a character bit that he disarms the weapon at the end of every fight.

Christine: That’s great.

John: In order to take the weapon out of the equation. Because most people are dependent on the guns. You know, that’s one of the reasons he rejects them.

Chris: Now Arvin, your approach to this? I mean, I see a lot of hand-held, keeping everything close. Was that how you wanted to…?

Arvin: Yeah because I think the essence of this particular - you guys are already nailing it - this particular fight is what’s going on in kind of psychological terms, not about the physical actions here.

John: It’s more of a chess match.

Arvin: It’s a chess match. And there’s a very kind of - in one short scene - there’s a lot of, kind of, power issues going on. You know, transfer of power and the fact that when Chris and Aldis walk out of that scene, the power has shifted to them and away from the leader. There’s almost an Asian sense of saving face even though these are not Asian guys.

John: But gang culture and power culture is universal. It’s one of the reasons that the Hong Kong movies really popped in the ‘80s, because of the universality of the sort of crime mythos.

Arvin: Yeah. Right. Exactly.

Christine: The fight scene was a nice way to show in miniature, the idea of the shifting moralities too. This is a gang, they’re bad guys, but this one member beat up a priest, so the entire gang turns on him.

John: Now, actually, there’s a scene missing there, which I kinda regret we did.

Christine: [Sighs deeply.] Sad day.

John: Which was explaining why the church was going under. Because ordinarily you can’t just buy a church, but we had, actually, a scene where the bishop - we explained and went to the Bishop Rick and we talked to the bishop and said, you know. And we talked to the bishop and they had basically closed the church and were selling it. So there wasn’t really much that D.B. Sweeney’s character could do, but it just wound up going by the wayside, and only really a couple diehards-

Arvin: But this was before I read the script.

John: Yeah, this was before you read the script. It became a pagecount thing.

Christine: Yeah this was way back.

John: It was a pagecount issue. But it really was an interesting scene because it was that the church is in many ways a multi-billion dollar business and they own a lot of valuable property and they make a decision based on a mixture of the needs of the congregations and also where those resources are best allocated.

Arvin: You know, one of the things we should say at some point in here - and maybe this is as good a time as any - is that one of the things that really moved me about the whole experience of this episode was that the issues that the episode was about were really in the neighborhood where we shot. There was a reality to it, partly because of choice of location that I mean, the loyalty of the congregation of this particular church, and yet the financial struggle of that church. I remember on one location day we were trying to get there to scout the place - you guys may remember this - and there was a funeral going on and we watched that funeral and the dynamic of that community, with everybody walking to the funeral - I mean they weren’t driving - there was no parking.

John: No, it was the local church - it’s the church you walk to.

Christine: It was beautiful. It was really beautiful. [Pause] Oh, I’m so happy about that stunt. Can I just take a second and talk about Arvin’s choreography and how it’s brilliant? If anybody uses the space… I mean, really uses the space. It’s just, I mean, look at this location.

John: Well and it’s als the trick- Where is this location?

Christine: It’s an unfinished floor of a building downtown in the neighborhood of the church where we shot.

John: Now with the elevator gag.

Christine: That elevator’s very scary.

Chris: I love the elevator and that we got to use this.

Christine: Oh, these two. That late night. They were hilarious every take after take.

John: That’s Scott...uh…

Christine and Arvin: Scott Lowell.

Christine: He was from Queer as Folk; the American Queer as Folk. He also does A LOT theatre.

John: It was really interesting because we desperately needed a villain - and we use that word, not the other word - and we needed a villain who was almost likeable in this one. Like, almost - you spend a lot more time with the villain than you do in other episodes and you really need someone that you can kinda go ‘Wow! Good opponent. Good scrappy guy. Resourceful.’ You know?

Chris: Well he, you know, imbued it with a kind of showmanship that you needed this character to have.

Christine: Yeah. I really dig in on the villains, so I was happy to have an actor I admired come in and do this. He’s really great.

Alvin: But also one of the greatest advantages you can have if you’re playing villains is a sense of humor and this guy had a major sense of humor.

John: He was really the funniest version of this and that was crucial, particularly with the stuff he has to do later.

Christine: And it lightens it, sort of. Tim and D.B have so much drama to get through, it’s kind of nice to have this a bit lighter.

Chris: [Mumbles something in the background.]

John: And this is clearly His Girl Friday. Actually, this is not the elevator sequence. The elevator scene that we’re doing from the His Girl Friday ripoff that was Burt Reynolds and Kathleen Turner -

Chris: Wow, referencing the Burt Reynolds, Kathleen Turner’s Changing Channels. [Transcriber Note: it’s actually called Switching Channels.]

[Everyone talking at once]

Christine: Wow, that’s so many layers deep I don’t know where to go.

Chris: We might have to make a Flintstone's reference.

[All Laugh]

Chris: As you see from the man from Bedrock…

[Laughs and mumbles]

John: But no, that’s when you’re trying to- When you’re writing a show that blows through two or three cons or heists per episode and you’re doing 13 of them, you do start going through, ‘Alright, what contained space can we put them in? What flaw can he have? What paranoia can he have?’ We have a list of like, unreasonable fears that we can inflict on the bad guys. This is also the first time that we drug someone.

All: Yeah.

Arvin: You know, one point we should make also about Scott in this scene which fascinates me is that you have a terrific comic actor, but his physical work in that elevator is remarkable; his sensory work.

Christine: Yeah, absolutely.

John: He’s sweating! He’s really working himself into a frenzy here.

Christine: And then between takes, just strolled over, sipping a water. ‘How you doing?’ Funny. Flirty. You know. And then right back in and hysterical again. It was wonderful. So much fun to work with.

John: And this was also where we started. Was this before 5? Where we started to figure out how little you needed to do in an act. I mean if you found a sequence you really liked with a bad guy you really liked, you could kind of live with them a little longer. You didn’t have to quite hammer the audience.

Arvin: It’s a wonderful discovery to make.

John: Because the problem is - we’re all heist heads. We’re all con freaks. And so for the first couple of episodes definitely, it was a lot of: how much con can we cram into one episode to fool us. And then it became ‘No wait, actually, one well done long sequence.’ And then if you notice past this a lot of times, an entire act is one long sequence. Like Homecoming which was done right after this, is structured that way, because really the entire second act is one heist.

Christine: Oh yeah, it is.

John: And that came from figuring this out.

Arvin: And that’s an incredible discovery to make. I can’t tell you the number of shows I’ve done over these last years where the essential difficulty with the show is that it’s overplotted. Audiences, in my experience, turn off of that. They really are hooked on character for the most part.

John: Is this the first time we meet Tomas? This is the first time we meet Tomas.

Christine: No, second time. He was in the construction sequence. Parker knocked him over with a beam. Andres Hudson. Lovely, lovely man.

John: They did a great job. This is the hardest working office in show business again. This is our bad guy office. Every office.

Arvin: Oh, is that true? [Laughs]

John: Yeah. Seriously, this office is in every episode.

Christine: Every bad guy’s office.

John: We turn the desk around. We turn the windows around. Welcome to shooting on the only independent TV studio in the world. Yeah. You only get one office. But! Our production designer, Lauren Crasco, really made it work. Yeah. Architectural designs in the background. Tables out.

Christine: And the helmet hanging out back. The construction helmet

Arvin: She’s so gifted. Lauren is really gifted.

John: She did a great job.

Christine: So great.

John: Andi was great on set dec.

Christine: Unflappable, that woman.

John: And this was interesting.This was trying to figure out the hook for her. And this is, by the way - a lot of people don’t know this - Gina was born in New Zealand, so this is actually-

Chris: This is going home for her.

Christine: Her native accent.

John: This is her native accent that she’s doing here. This is a great hook, and really the challenge of the episode was trying to figure out how the hell to get him to-

Arvin: -to reveal.

John: To reveal what was going on. And what publicist-? We actually pulled this from someone who had gone through a bunch of publicists. And the publicist had just written a tell-all.

Arin: Oh really?

Christine: Yeah.

John: Because your publicist has to cover your sins. They’re like a priest. And the priest metaphor came in and it just kind of clicked.

Christine: It clicked everything together.

Chris: These scenes are challenging too because you have to have everyone in the conference room. Arvin, what was, kind of, your approach here? Did you look at how some of these were done before?

Arvin: Yeah, as a matter of fact Dean had said to me early on - and I loved the idea of this, so I was happy to try to find the places to do it. He had conceived a stylistic approach that talked about the fact that when the plannings were taking shape or the mission was being stated or whatever, that a circular camera move suggesting the world of change, in a sense, was something he really wanted to explore. And I found a couple of places in the episode - that being one of them that we just watched - where it leant itself perfectly to that kind of dynamic. And it adds excitement to what can often be very static scenes.

Chris: They’re brutal.

[All talk over each other]

Arvin: We all shoot conference room scenes to the point where we want to scream. And this is a whole way of doing it that I think makes absolute sense.

Christine: You did a good job of whipping everybody into a frenzy before what could be dry scenes.

Chris: And Arvin, people might be surprised that a lot of directors don’t do this, but before every scene, you would kind of makes ure that the cast knew where they were in the story and what had come before and what was coming after.

John: You read through the previous scene on this one right?

Arvin: Yep. And you know it’s interesting. It’s been my method since the beginning of working in television, coming out of my background in theatre, in that, far from being a time waster, if you take even just four minutes to outline where this fits in the story, what do we want to accomplish in this scene in terms of the overall arc of the episode. And the minute the actors hear that, it somehow - everybody’s on board then, and then all of the complicated issues you have to deal with in terms of staging, camera work, and everything else fall into place from that.

John: Well that’s interesting, because I just talked about features. I was doing some sort of seminar. I was talking about everybody making the same movie in their own head. And a lot of times even when we’re breaking these episodes, we suddenly run into a problem because we’re all breaking into a different room in our heads. We have to diagram the room, we have to diagram the con. And getting everybody on set - and that’s the most important thing when you’re shooting anything (television, but particularly collaborative mediums between the actors) is everybody’s got the same scene in their heads, everybody’s going to the same endpoint, everyone knows that we’re on the same track.

Arvin: And you know, another point to make about working with actors and in the rigors of working in episodic television. I was told in the beginning, ‘You know, you won’t get any rehearsal time. You won’t be able to rehearse.’ Well in comparison to theatre life, of course there isn’t rehearsal time. But I’ve discovered that if you really care about that, you choose your moments. I mean, I go to the makeup trailer, I go to the wardrobe room, I go wherever they are to go over any points that I think need to be discussed away from the work that’s actually going on on set. And it’s amazing if you know how to talk to actors, the amount of detail you can accomplish in doing it that way.

John: This is where we start to flip our Busey [something] on you.

Chris: Busey being our shorthand for the sidekick.

John: The sidekick. The henchman. Taken from Gary Busey playing the role in Lethal Weapon.

Arvin: Oh! Right!

John: Where you always have a main villain and you always have a Busey.

Chris and Christine: The Busey.

[All Laugh]

John: The Busey is in charge of killing or torturing or coverups and stuff. In our case, Tomas is more of a scheduling Busey.

Christine: We have an executive Busey every once in a while. A notary Busey.

[All talking at once]

Chris: We did. We talked about the Busey as a notary.

John: In this case, Tomas is - and this is - we end with the betraying Busey, which we don’t always use.

Christine: We flipped the Busey.

John: Yeah, we flipped the Busey.

Christine: Because right here he is an arch-villain in training.

John: Yes. Up until this point, hr will eventually be the same ruthless bastard that Scott is playing. And luckily a bunch of - my favorite bit of it - and the actual start of the episode. How the episode was born was: the line scrawled in the bottom of that Guinness-stained paper was five thieves helped me save my church.

Christine: Right.

John: That my miracle. And so working backwards you realize slowly that whether they want to or not, the Leverage team winds up redeeming a bunch of people along the way here. Often accidentally.

Christine: Oh yeah. It’s collateral redemption really.

All: Yeah.

Christine: Oh this was so much fun. I could have done this for weeks.

John: And big props to Eric Bates, by the way for creating -

Chris: Our prop guy.

Christine: Oh, fantastic.

John: Our prop master.

Arvin: This was probably the most challenging scene.

All: Yeah.

Christine: But it was fun!

Arvin: Technically challenging scene.

Chris: And there was. Can we shoot it in the conference room? There was a lot of back and forth about where we were going to set this.

John: And this is the great thing about television, too is - on a ridiculous 7-day budget you have to be able to go to someone and say ‘I need three full size statues of the saint.’ And they will then go make them for you. That was also -

Christine: And we need them to bleed, please.

John: Yeah, we need them to bleed. And we need some of them to explode or fizz.

Arvin: And of course there’s nothing wardrobe loves more than blood on set.

All: YES. Exactly. Yeah.

Chris: Come on, that’s great. That’s a great yellow hat.

John: The yellow duck coat.

Christine: I just love that outfit. It’s like he’s the Morton Salt girl.

John: I also love the little - see this is also where we started realizing if you just give Chris and Aldis a little room, they will make a scene for you.

[All talking at once]

John: It’s like, OK, what is this? They’re like 12 year olds now.

Christine: They would run back to video village and say, ‘We’re gonna do it again cuz we got some other stuff. Is is cool if we do that part again?’ And we’d just laugh. They were terrific.

Chris: I lover her just reading. ‘Oh there’s more blood in the conference room again.’

[All Laugh]

John: ‘This is the sort of thing that happens at Leverage.’

Christine: ‘What a wacky office. Don’t melt Santa.’

John: Now the conference room is a bitch to shoot because while you can open up three walls, you cannot open the wall behind them. It’s actually actually where the TVs are.

Arvin: It’s where the monitors are, yeah.

John: So when you shoot roundy-rounds you have to squeeze a camera in a tiny, tiny space there. But that’s the first time we really realized if we just open the conference room fully we have a continuous space all the way through.

Christine: Right.

Arvin: Yeah.

John: This was a late scene. This was a late edition.

Christine: This was the scene that made us all cry.

John: This was… Essentially we always felt we needed to, you know, we needed to address the fact that Nate had been married and had a son at the same time that these two had had a past. So exactly what were the boundaries of that past? And this was one of those nice moments where you have an Oscar winner and a classically-trained British actress that you can give them a scene and they go, ‘We wanna tweak it.’ And instead of you going, ‘ Oh sweet God, the actors are going to tweak it’, you go, ‘OK, let’s scee what you got!’ And it wound up being fairly close to the middle of what everyone was aiming for.

Arvin: And you know what I loved about-? This is something that should be said more often. Everyone assumes that actors are always angling for more lines and basically their contribution in this scene, if you remember, were trims.

John: Tim cut a bunch of the lines, yeah.

Arvin: And that fact that a good actor - and these people are wonderful actors - always knows what he or she can accomplish with a look and a smile.

John: Well a lot of times you overwrite because you need it to read on the page what the intention of the scene is.

Arvin: EXACTLY.

John: And then you have to trust the actors to say, ‘OK. If that’s your intent as the writer, I can get you there in fewer yards down.

Christine: And that has very much always been my process in the room - is overwriting and then cutting it down.

John: Oh really? Is that going to be your excuse for giving me big, bloated first drafts? OK. Sure.

Christine: Yeah, that’s my excuse for the monologues. You like that?

John: That’s very nice.

Arvin: But, you know, on balance it is a better way to go than the opposite - to underwrite.

John: You talked to him about this beforehand, didn’t you?

Arvin: [Laughs]

Christine: I adore Arvin. I adore him.

Chris: They’re on the same page.

John: They’re definitely on the same page. They’re making the same excuses.

Chris: He’s looking at index cards!

Christine: But Chris and I had a similar experience with D.B. about the sermon. We talked to him and basically all three of us together made cuts. And it was so good.

Chris: Yeah. And it really made it so much better.

Christine: Just everything worked. The more we cut the better it was. Because he was giving us what we needed.

John: This shot’s huge by the way.

Christine: Oh yeah.

John: That’s a big shot. How many…? You had one day to do this, right? With the people outside?

Christine: Oh yeah. Exterior church. First day? Second day?

Arvin: Yeah. Second day I think. That’s Lily. Her name is Lily. That’s Lily.

John: I love how the nuns just appeared.

[All Laugh]

John: They have nuns on call.

Arvin: That was almost my foresight moment.

[All Laugh]

John: ‘There’s a miracle! We need four nuns to get down here and pray.’ [Imitating sirens] Wee-oo-wee-oo.

Chris: That’s a great shot, the way it’s framed with the arms.

John: With the arms and the overhead, it’s a beautiful shot. And also this is one of the times where- Usually when we’re on locations we’re in offices, or we’re in… We’re moving through them as plot points. Very rarely is the location we’re in a plot point itself. It’s usually on the way to a con. And it was interesting to see how, you know, you’re a much more actor and sort of style oriented director. You really made the most of this church. There’s a lot of beautiful shots in here which really focus on the fact it’s a church. It has inherently beautiful architecture. It has beautiful angles. It has beautiful lighting.

Arvin: And for examples, the little area now that we’re looking at is an actual ritual area that’s there. The minute I saw it i thought, ‘We have to-. That has to be incorporated. It’s part of- It’s something so neighborhood and touchingly about faith in that little scenario.

Christine: Absolutely. We just had a different feeling even being in there or just right outside the church.

John: Yes. Yeah. It’s definitely an off-speed for the rest of the season. In a good way. But that’s, you know. We were talking about this in an interview yesterday, and we were talking about the fact that they shouldn’t feel like 13 of the same episode. The luxury of doing television as opposed to movies is that you can do one that feels a little different. You know, one that feels more like a baseball lineup than a...you know…

Arvin: Oh my god. That is so true.

John: And there’s D.B. very angry.

Christine: I love that. ‘What did you do?’ We laughed every time. He grabs him almost by the ear and pulls him into the church. These two were just magical together.

John: And they could really create-. It’s interesting - Tim’s originally from Jamaica Plain, South Boston, you know, he keyed in on this approach to the character that we did immediately. And you really get the sense that he and D.B. have been friends for -.

Chris: Oh, you really do. I mean, that’s for sure. In their scenes together, these guys are old friends.

Arvin: They really loved working together.

John: And it’s also Tim does something here that I think is subtle is that Nate uses a slightly different voice and attitude with D.B. than he does with everybody else.

Christine: Yes he does.

John: Because you change when you’re with your childhood friends. You recall that personality at that time.

Christine: Absolutely.

John: He’s nowhere near the same person he is with the team when he’s with D.B.

Chris: And D.B. was very excited to play a priest, right? It was one of the things-

Arvin: Yeah his whole career-.

John: Yeah. He was playing bad guys for a while.

Chris: -bad guys. I mean, Eight Men Out he was - was he Shoeless Joe Jackson?

John: Well on Jericho he just spent like two seasons as evil young deaf girl shooting Blackwater.

Christine: That’s right.

John: So, you know, it was basically like, ‘I get to be a priest? Yeah, I’m all over that.’

Arvin: You know, another thing those two guys created in their relationship in the show - which I thought was amazing - was D.B’s capacity to hurt Tim in really subtle ways in ways that we don’t ordinarily see with that character. So that his disappointment at the fake miracle and what that meant in terms of creating a lie for him with his congregation was painful to Tim.

Christine: I think it cues up the season finale as far as Nate and Sophie’s- the backstory, what’s gonna happen in their past and their future. Kind of just a little goosing here.

John: Well I mean, the fact that Nate is building an awful lot of his current life on his arrogance. His arrogance and his need for revenge. Really the line that we have later in the- [under his breath] ugh, Bibletopia. Um...

Chris: And look at the showmanship here - that’s what I love about it.

Christine: And this was the monologue for the audition. And uh, wow was that fun.

Chris: One of the interesting things about our bad guys is that the ones who really stand out is that they have one moment where they really give their philosophy, their point of view, and I thought this one was [mumbles].

John: And you realize it’s a valid one. Like, in his world view it is a valid point of view.

Christine: It is, but he doesn something - Scott does something so beautiful here in that sort of, just that switch, of when he just leans in and says, ‘Come on, Christy’ and he just kinda lays it in there. The ‘Are you kidding me’ moment, which I really like.

Chris: It’s very Glengarry Glen Ross.

Arvin: Yeah, that’s a perfect comparison.

Chris: You can totally see this actor doing Glengarry Glen Ross.

John: And the model was fantastic. And it was Dean who came up with Bibletopia because we were really struggling

Christine: He burst into the room and said -

Christine and John: ‘Bibletopia’!

Christine: Which was hilarious.

Arvin: That’s great.

John: Well we know we wanted to do the switch, but we didn’t have one way to say it.

Christine: Right.

John: And he came down with the word. I remember we were actually sitting upstairs and talking about it and then he burst into the room and wandered off again.

Chris: As he’s wont to do.

John: As he’s wont to do. He will like burst into the writers room, drop something, and then run out again.

Chris: He’s a hallucination!

Christine: Just something crazy.

John: But that’s part of the fun! [Clears throat] Pardon me. We have the writer’s room and the whole production facility in one building. And that’s part of the fun of it is we have a lot of cross-pollination between departments. You know, as long as you can keep enough control that everyone realizes that the writers are really in charge.

Christine: Yay TV.

Arvin: You know, a little issue here that emerges is that the miracle spins out of control - the fake miracle - is that the comment that’s also being made about our culture, that given what goes on with the media, that everything spins out of control.

John: Well that was actually a TNT note where they asked us, ‘Would it really spin out of control this fast?’ And I sent them the YouTube video where there were a thousand people looking at a stain of Christ on a wall.

Arvin: YES.

John: The water stain. It was plainly Kris Kristofferson, not Christ. It was plainly not even vaguely Christ-like. Which may imply things about the religious nature of Kris Kristofferson, I wanted to explore. The point is: that, yes-. Usually whenever we get a question, it’s like I can give you four things from popular culture which show it’s even far worse. And the apostolic visitation is great. The idea that it’s the Vatican CSI squad.

Chris: Vatican sold by suits. That’s really what you sell ‘em by. Guys in white hair and suits.

John: And the apostolic visitation team is real.

Christine: Yeah, apostolic visitations are real.

John: They send out a confirmation team and in most TV shows they’re portrayed as a hot young Italian woman and then a rugged anthropologist or psychologist who has doubts about his faith and then one older priest, but we went with three priests.

Christine: Don’t step on my feature. Why would you guys do that?

Arvin: This is one of my favorite beats in the whole thing because of course he goes in - Tim goes into the priest’s part of the confessional, forcing D.B. to be in the -

John: -other side. Which pays us off on the-. And this was, by the way, one of those writing moments where we really didn’t know how to flip the Busey. It it was just in the middle - I remember it was like a Thursday morning at like 10:30 in the morning and somebody went, ‘Wait. Tim’s in the confessional. Ah!’ And then we flipped it. The idea that he would have thought he was talking to the priest and he would have led them. And by the way, we have to note - Nate’s a horrible human being for doing that.

Christine: It’s not a, you know - how strong a foundation is one’s arrogance?

John: Well personally it’s my foundation.

Christine: Solid rock.

John: It’s the bedrock.

Arvin: This confessional booth incidentally, when we first saw it on set, was a little smaller than anyone had been banking on.

Christine: There are a bunch of iPhone pictures of me in the booth.

Chris: Did you look at any movies or anything set in church? I mean, were there any you looked at when doing this?

Arvin: Yeah. Uh-huh. There’s actually a Hitchcock film called I Confess.

John: Oh God, yeah.

Arvin: Which I looked at.

John: I forgot that. That’s really obscure.

Arvin: There’s some terrific confessional sequences in that. But I also had shot a major confessional sequence for a series called Ally McBeal which has become kind of like a cult moment in which the confessional has been bugged by a nun who wants to sell secrets to a reality TV show.

Everyone: [Awkward giggles] Wow.

Chris: That sounds like an Ally McBeal plot.

Arvin: Yeah. Totally Ally McBeal. So I used that for some of the imagery.

John: I also like the opposing colors on the backgrounds on either one. The high light to help point out which side you’re on. Yeah, this is really where D.B. Sweeney. - and the moment goes by so quickly, but it’s the foundation of the entire first season, which is - ‘You’re trying to kill yourself and take some guys with you. And it sort of blows by. But then if you look at the entire arc, that’s really one of the things we focus on. Nate’s not a good guy, you know, and he’s really building, he’s really redeeming this group of criminals by destroying himself.

Christine: And we’re talking about the team gelling and becoming closer. They are not close enough to call him on his problems.

John: Not until the end of the season. You can say bullshit by the way.

Christine: Can I? Can I say bullshit?

John: Sure. Yeah. I don’t care.

Chris: John does.

John: I do. I don’t think they’ve bleeped me yet.

Christine: I heard you were just going for it.

John: I am. It’s a non-stop torrent of filth on these commentaries.

Christine: Filth. Those ties. Wow. I love them. I love the way Scott’s dressed all the way through.

Arvine: Yeah, that was wonderful.

John: And co-opting the apostolic visitation for his own purposes.

Christine: Oh yeah. Terrific.

John: That’s it. That’s all I’ve got on this one.

Christine: That’s it? You’re done? That’s it?

John: Well I’m almost out of Guinness.

Christine: We didn’t even get to the [mumbles].

John: There’s a nice moment actually where we flip the Busey moment. And again, it was interesting - the ‘I’m going to confession.’ ‘So am I.’ was a joke take that led us to the plotline.

Chris: Well that’s how you wanna - when you wanna hide it, you wanna hide it in a joke. Not give it away.

Christine: Um-hum. For those of us who aren’t really good at plot, we just try to take the character stuff and make it into a plot.

Arvin: One of the things that you guys have cultivated that I love and I played on that here - is that sometimes these characters just appear. You don’t know where exactly they’ve come from or how they got there in any kind of logical terms.

John: I actually had a director say when I first started, ‘You know what? Unless they’re walking through the front door in a really interesting way, no one really wants to see them walk through the door.

Arvin: Yeah. And boy, this proves the point I think.

John: Yup: Also a lot of people missed - they’re actually hiding in the confessional in there. When she says ‘that closet’, a lot of people didn’t realize the geography. We’ve crammed them state-room like - A Night at the Opera like.

Arvin: Yeah. Which was with the image there for sure.

John: And this is also where Nate’s arrogance - and this is also really what the episode’s about - is Nate keeps trying to fix things by doing worse things.

Arvin: And this is another one of our circular shots.

Christine: Which is really kind of my favorite shot when it’s done well. And this is just beautiful.

John: Also the church helps. The fact that we’re in this beautiful church so we can get those stained glass windows in the 360. We’re shooting at night, so did we blow those out? We had lights behind those blowing in?

Christine: I believe, yeah. Or at least half of them.

Chris: And the use of candles and stuff? How did that play into, Arvin, in terms of the lighting of this? Did you use some of the natural candlelight when possible?

Arvin: We did. We did.

John: I mean, you can’t get a lot of film use out of it. They’re not good for practical, but they’re great for - look at how they pop out.

Chris: But they’re great atmosphere pieces.

Arvin: They’re just amazing. And they play again at the end.

John: And that’s a nice touch, by the way, is the very Catholic thing of knowing what the candles are for.

Arvin: Incidentally for this final mass, you know, this is one of the great uses of CGI in the episode.

John: This church is never more than half-full.

Christine: That’s right. We’re half empty depending.

John: Yeah. Depends on how you look at it. This is a doubled, CG crowd.

Arvin: That’s right.

John: Now how did you set that up? Did Mark Franco come down and help you set that up?

Arvin: Yes. Uh-huh.

Chris: Mark Franco’s our visual effects supervisor.

John: Uh-huh. Did you do all back to front or left to right? Left on one side and right on the other, right? Or did you just shoot them on one side and they just flipped it.

Arvin: It was all on the right.

Christine: And the the left a different order.

John: And then they just duped them. Yeah. And D.B. really digging in on a perfectly good sermon based on this parable, by the way.

Christine: Thank you very much.

John: You’re welcome.

Chris: You have a second career ahead of you.

Christine: Yeah.

John: When I got this script on my desk, I was like, ‘Wow, this is a perfectly good sermon on this parable. I’m actually fairly impressed.’ I feel somewhat redeemed.

Arvin: Now this is an example for me. This scene - this whole scene of how much can be accomplished on an episodic schedule. Which is just amazing. In a film, I mean, you have a complicated dialogue scene; you have the CGI of filling the church; and then the CGI of the miracle itself.

Christine: Plus picking everybody up.

John: Plus picking up coverage on all these actors.

Arvin: And this was a half - this was not our whole day.

[All Laugh]

Christine: Not it was not. There was not fat on Arvin.

John: There was no fat on Arvin’s shooting schedule at all.

Christine: No, not at all.

John: And how many times did D.B. have to do the sermon? How many? Did you run..?

Christine: I think he asked for an extra time.

Arvin: Yeah he was-

John: Uh! Look at that shot! Oh, that’s beautiful. You can’t build that on a set.

Arvin: Oh no. The ability to use this church was just extraordinary.

John: And he really-. And this is the trick to this - the entire thing is to basically indict each of the characters for the parable and also set up the heist. So D.B. is carrying - in a monologue - this entire show for about two and a half minutes. It’s really a great piece of acting. And he’s right by the way when he calls Nate on his bullshit.

Christine: At this point in the season, he’s the only one who can. Before we meet Maggie.

John: Exactly. And then the miracle itself. This was one of those ones where it really was still a miracle up until we were almost ready to shoot. ‘How do we steal the statue?’ ‘Working on it!’

Christine: We’ll figure it out.

John: Yep. And it was the fact that - uh, where did this come from? The fact that we had to make the lightweight versions of the statue anyway in order to do the miracles. That sort of backed us into, oh - you do the switch the night before.

Arvin: I live this way of showing them. Of the fact that we had created the lightweight this with the guys struggling.

John: With the lightweight thing by the way.

Arvin: Of course.

Chris: That’s acting folks.

John: That’s what the Oscar is for, is the heavyweight - is the fact he can act like things are heavy. A lot of people don’t know that.

Christine: This lovely young actress here.

John: Oh, she’s great in this.

Christine: She’s got more credits than a lot of us, let me tell you.

[All Laugh]

John: Yes, and the fact that they faked a miracle here is really reprehensible. I mean, we don’t often have the team do really horrible things, but speaking as a Catholic, this is a really terrible thing to do.

Christine: It’s pretty bad. Yeah. It’s pretty bad.

Chris: It’s pretty bad all around.

Christine: Although my grandma didn’t think it was so bad and I did give her the shoutout when Hardison talks about his Nana. She’s my Nana. She said, ‘It’s not so bad because it was for a good reason.’ And I said,’ Oh, the ends justify the means for you Nana. That’s fantastic. Thank you very much.’

[All Laugh]

Arvin: That’s interesting.

Christine: I felt great about it. Totally vindicated.

John: And I love how the team does not even try to hide itself as they try to frame the dude at this point.

Arvin: Right.

Christine: Chris Kane’s hilarious over there.

John: Yeah. Constant heckling. ‘You disgust me.’

Christine: Every take Aldis gave a different hilarious line. ‘You need Jesus’ was my favorite one. ‘You need Jesus.’ and walks off.

John: But this was interesting because again it’s one of the things when you write a con or a heist show, the geography of the heist and the sightlines which are usually very different, and so we had to rejigger how things were stolen, how he saw Parker, what the sightline was based on the location.

Chris: Look how many reactions shots have to be built in too here. It just literally one after the other.

Arvin: The story points of this whole sequence are just amazing, I mean, really. If you charted them out of every tiny bit that you have to tell.

John: Yeah, there’s an awful lot of - this scene in our show tends to make our break us, because it really is: how much of the show can you explain with flashbacks before you feel like you’re making shit up.

Christine: Right.

John: And this was a lovely reveal, by the way. I actually had no idea how the director was going to do this moment.

Christine: Oh I so happy about how this worked. This just…

John: [Quoting the script] ‘And then you reveal it’s Tim’. I don’t know! I don’t know how you do that! And you have him lean back and pull focus. It’s lovely.

Chris: It’s great.

John: I think we actually stole a police car for that.

[All Laugh]

John: We’d done that before in Chicago, but that’s another story for another commentary.

Chris: That should go on.

John: That’s a little harder. And I love the conspiratorial look there. It’s the only time Parker is ever in white. Her hair looks really 1940s there.

Arvin: It is, isn’t it?

Christine: Yeah, it’s really - she walked out to do that stunt shot and I couldn’t believe it. She came over to hug me, I said, ‘Don’t touch me, your hair is perfect. Don’t move. Don’t stand in front of a breeze. Just stay.’

John: And of course the bad guy’s bested by his own [something].

Chris: And the gloat!

John: And the gloat scene which we don’t do every episode. Kind of really satisfying.

Christine: And Scott adlibbing, ‘Are you even British?’ Which is just such a nice button.

[All Laugh]

Arvin: That was really great.

John: You know what’s weird? A lot of the time our buttons do come from our day players. In Homecoming it was the reporter saying, ‘We’re going with crap.’

Christine: Oh, that was hilarious.

John: And this is.

All [overlapping each other]: Oh, I love this.

Christine: Brotastic right here.

John: And I will say also from a strictly TV director standpoint, not to blow a little smoke up you, but this should be an incredibly boring moment - just visually. And that fact that you’re actually shooting from under them up is not a choice that a lot of people would make. The stained glass. It really opens it up; it’s a really nice choice.

Christine: Honestly, you know what they remind me of, just the way they’re lit? It’s just like two alter boys waiting, to me. And it’s gorgeous.

John: Yeah. Which is what they were.

Christine: Absolutely.

Arvin: And again, it’s - that sort of thing really does start with staging, because you have to realize. I mean we put them there very deliberately, you know.

Chris: And was this something that you had storyboarded or did you come into the day and thought, kind of - felt out?

Arvin: No, I mean, I always knew - I didn’t storyboard, because I don’t storyboard for most sequences, but I had in my head where it was going to take place from the beginning once we saw the location I knew how the last thing would work. And we placed the - when he moves to the In Memoriam area, all that was calculated far in advance as to what was in relation to what, you know.

Christine: Using the space again and just having him walk in like that.

John: And that’s also Gary Camp, our camera operator, who can shoot anything.

Christine: Oh, he’s fantastic. He can shoot anything!

Arvin: He’s amazing. He’s just amazing. And here again, is the candle imagery.

John: Which we don’t do a lot, actually, in the show. We don’t do extreme close-ups on the show. We do a lot of prop work, or foreground or background. It’s interesting - again, the great thing about TV is you get different directors every week and you get a stylistic mix and you get a show that sometimes looks a little different. And you realize, ‘Oh, we should do more of that.’

Arvin: But also this was in line with what you were talking about in the difference of this episode is that the psychological moment for him, for Timothy, at the end, is not a characteristic moment.

John: No.

Arvin: So I mean, to be that tight on him is almost- And then going with what you were saying about the team, what I love about the way this fell out was the privacy they gave him for that moment, you know.

Christine: Um-hm.

John: They’re respecting his pain.

Arvin & Christine: Yeah.

Christine: Because they’ve all got their own pain.

John: And this is the credit sequence where you get to say anything you want.

Chris: Anything you want. Any thing you left out?

Christine: Anything you want over the credit sequence? I don’t know.

John: Go ahead Boylan. Anything you left out. Any shoutouts.

Christine: I want Arvin to direct everything forever.

[All Laugh]

Christine: He makes me look good.

Arvin: [Laughs] It was wonderful working with Christine who’s sort of a first timer on this.

Christine: This is my first produced episode.

John: This is your first produced episode of television.

Chris: Two theatre veterans.

Arvin: The excitement that you brought to bear and the enthusiasm, I mean, I loved every moment.

Christine: It was like a directing class. I followed him around like a baby chick the entire time. I started getting earlier and earlier to set just to catch him during his walkthroughs. It was great.

John: And thank you very much Arvin and Christine for joining us.

Christine: Thank you. It was fantastic.

[50cyg]

id love to see the other 3 original chosen but i mean they only have one movie left... how well do you think they will resolve everything?

Me too! I’d love to get a glimpse of the other 3 members ofDaigo’s team.

Unfortunately, hiring 3 more actors would be rather costly(depending on the actor), so I’m not sure if Toei would be able to afford thecost. 

In addition, like you said, there is only one movie left sointroducing three new fleshed out characters is impossible at this point. Plus,we have so many characters to keep track of already and I don’t really want 3more stealing away screen time. 

Honestly here is my ideal situation:

I’d love to see all three of them introduced very briefly, andcontribute something very small to the plot. Example is you see one of themexplaining the current Digital World situation to some government officials ata board meeting. Another one shows up to help the Chosen Children in some way(like bringing them a device of some kind or helping to keep mobs away fromthem). The last one is seen beating a Bakemon in the face. I dunno, justsomething small, a two second cameo that shows that they exist and care aboutwhat is happening. Alternatively, it would be cool to see them kind of in a MonsterMaker type role, where they are seen helping with the situation from the insidein some way. Realistically all you need to do is take any minor backgroundcharacter that does or says something useful and make it obvious that they areone of the former chosen. That’s all I want.

As for how well I think they will resolve everything, I’mhonestly not sure. The only questions still left unanswered, that I can thinkof, are:

Where are the 02 kids?

Who is dark gennai really?

Where is the real gennai?

I feel like all three of these things could be answered prettyquickly. It only took symbiosis a few minutes to answer how Meicoomon was thesource of the infection and why. Heck you could answer two of these questionsin one go, because I’m still not fully convinced that Dark Gennai isn’t the realGennai. Seriously I am 100% in favour of Gennai being a villain, that guy issuper sketchy in my opinion. I have theories regarding Dark Gennai. I’ll do apost later.

Otherwise all they have to do is have an ending that makes itplausible to see a future where the Digital World and Human World will be ableto work in harmony. In fact, I could see both worlds fully colliding with eachother and becoming one unified world within this universe.

As far as I remember the Tri staff only said they were workingwithin the framework of the epilogue. Which means they don’t have to have Trifit into the 02 epilogue perfectly, only that the general concept needs to bethe same.

As far as I’m concerned, the only parts of the epilogue that arecrucial aspects (and therefore classify as the framework) are as follows:

“Everyone has a Digimon partner.”

First off, this takes place 25 years down the road so Tri doesnot need to end with everyone having a partner, because we have no idea howlong it took for that to happen. Plus, 02’s ending already created theframework for that to be the case with all the Digidestined around the worldand the fact that Oikawa and all the spore children also had partners.Logically, to me, this means everyone has the ability to obtain a partnerand/or already has one even if they don’t know it.

“The Digital World has been recognized by peopleall around the world.”

Tri has established that government officials knowabout the existence of the Digital World, and Kyosei specifically has shown thewhole world recognizing and learning what these creatures are and where theycome from. As far as I’m concerned, it would only take a short scene where thenews explains what this world is, or something, for Tri to have this epilogueline effectively covered.

“However, reaching that was not easy.”

Tri has already illustrated this pretty well.

Then there is also the fact that, although notexplicitly said, it seems like both worlds are working in harmony with oneanother. So, Tri has to have an ending that sees this as a plausible future.

And that’s it, nothing else matters. I do notconsider the careers or spouses of the children to be a part of the framework.When I think of the framework of a story I think of its essence and keyfocusses. Who these kids married or what they are doing doesn’t change theessence of the story or the key message, not really. Whether Takeru and Hikarior Koushiro and Mimi got married doesn’t add anything to their character arcs. Soraand Yamato being married doesn’t matter either, in my opinion.

Even if Tri does decide to keep all the careersthe same, they’ve done a decent job at subtly hinting to that already anyway.Mimi has at least a passing interest in weird food combinations that could hintat her future cooking career. Sora shows an interest in fashion. Takeru has a blog,etc etc. Minus Taichi, Yamato, and Hikari, the future careers have beenaddressed. So, really, they just need to hint at Hikari, Yamato and Taichi’scareers still and that should only take a few minutes if we go by the subtlehinting system they are currently using.

As for the future couples, I will address that inanother post since two other people have asked me my opinions on it.

[egle0702]

[TRANS] Scene PLAYBILL July ‘17 Chansung Interview

LET’S MEET

The Man Next Door

Hwang Chansung is an easy-going actor who totally doesn’t know how to put up an artificial front. He openly discloses his first theatre challenge experience.

Editor Kim Euna Photographer Shin Isu

Hwang Chansung first introduced himself to the audiences through the sitcom “Unstoppable High Kick.” He played a high school kid “Chansung,” who was immature and thoughtless, but you couldn’t help but love him. It is hard to say where the acting ends and his actual personality emerges, but it is clear that this sly and friendly nature, that sometimes looks like part of his character, added up to the overall charm of that role.

Therefore, although Chansung’s character could not stand the protagonist brothers, the viewers eventually could not hate him. And now as Hwang Chansung goes up on a theatre stage for the first time with “My Love My Bride,” it seems that he still emanates that special friendliness. Quite accidentally, in this role he also plays a character of a similar age, too. Youngmin loves his wife, but he’s a sloppy newlywed, who doesn’t know how to express his feelings. He is a childish husband who is very frustrated with himself, and unleashes his anger on innocent people. The character came to life on stage as an ordinary man next door thanks to how natural Hwang Chansung is.

When you meet Hwang Chansung behind the stage, he has the ability to confuse people. That is because he is not only natural; there is nothing artificial about him. As originally he is an idol, I would’ve thought he has always lived on standby, ready to “show something.” Always at the sight of a cue sign ready to give a perfect answer that is, consequently, somewhat devoid of human touch. But the idol Hwang Chansung, with 10 years in business behind his belt, didn’t give a single inertial answer to protect his image. If there was a point he didn’t know well, he just clearly said he didn’t know it or that he hasn’t thought about it. For example, like this:

“What are the strong points of Hwang Chansung as an actor?” “I don’t know. What could it be?”

“Is there a specific charm that only Hwang Chansung’s Youngmin has?” “Oh! I have never thought about it… what should I do?”

“Usually, when actors get asked this, they are busy boasting… you seem to be very humble.” “Excuse me?” (his eyes grow big and his ears turn red) “I have never heard such a compliment, so I don’t even know what to say…”

As we kept on having such conversation, eventually, I couldn’t help but believe when he said he liked or disliked something. You could see that his personality doesn’t let him say something he doesn’t believe in.

This honest man began thinking regularly about standing on a theatre stage some 2-3 years ago. He simply couldn’t make time for it with his schedule full of album releases, Japanese tours, and drama filming. “My Love My Bride” is a piece that Hwang Chansung took up when it corresponded with two aspects: timing and preference. He also had a drama filming at the same time, but it depended on child actors for its first story arc, and so he could dedicate his time for play practice. The play pulled him in because it is a sweet romantic comedy that cheerfully displays real conflicts between couples. Also, for his theatre stage debut, he wanted to do a play one could enjoy comfortably, rather than a piece that deals with extremely heavy subject.

“Eventually, I want to go through all genres, challenging various styles in acting. But I couldn’t ignore the pressure of the first piece. I thought that I would be more confident about showing better acting if it were a comfortable “real-life” piece. And “My Love My Bride” was exactly that kind of play. The moment I read the script, I was like “Oh? This is fun! I want to do this.”

He thinks that one of the play’s charms is that it tells a story anyone can relate to. For example, “Why are you so angry? --> You still don’t know? --> I’m sorry. --> What are you sorry about? --> I don’t mean… --> So you’re not sorry? --> It’s my fault. --> What exactly?” – these realistic lines that sound like something anyone would experience at least once while they’re dating.

“I still remember the script reading day. We were practicing that part, and even just by reading I got really frustrated! I don’t like this scene! I don’t wanna do this! I even said so (laughs). Isn’t that a conversation like from a dating textbook? On stage I can also feel that the audience emphasizes with it a lot.”

That also has something to do with the fact he insisted on doing a play rather than a musical on a small stage rather than a big theatre.

“You can get really close to your audience only at a small theatre. I also thought that I could learn quite a lot from the fact that there is a certain synergy between the audience and the actors. A bigger stage is good, but I think I’ll have a chance to stand on a big stage in the future, if I consistently work on it.”

The charm of a small theatre was a lot bigger than he expected. He says the “taste of small theatre” lies in the way the audience can burst into laughter from his one line or movement. He seems to be rapt by the fun of giving and receiving instant reaction. He also feels it refreshing when he stands in front people who are not his fans.

“We’ve shared our joys and sorrows with the fans for 10 years, so you could say they’re a family. We understand each other well, so even at a concert they will react the way I want. But there are a lot of ordinary people coming to see the play, so it makes me nervous. Luckily, up until now the reaction has been good, so I gained some confidence.”

Stage acting is different from acting in front of the camera, when it catches every movement, angle and your even breath to the tiniest detail. Since you have to convey every single word only with your voice to the audience sitting in the last row, your voice and your actions have to clear and big. Usually, this aspect is the most unfamiliar to TV actors who come to challenge stage plays. Hwang Chansung was obviously worried about that before rehearsals began. He was concerned that he might feel lost, but he enjoyed the practice time without much confusion or trouble. He realized that it was just a difference in method, while the essence of acting his body was familiar with was the same.

“There is no difference between the moment you need to immerse yourself in the character or how you do it. The quality of the piece also rests on the same point: Just how much you believe that the given situation and the stage is solely yours. No matter which medium it might be, eventually everything depends on the actor’s ability to focus.”

“Then does actor Hwang Chansung have a good focus?” I ask, you might think he has forgotten he was just giving me long confident answers, when he grows shy like a newlywed bride and says laughing:

“I don’t know.”

The time spent preparing for this play to Hwang Chansung was also a time used to meticulously examine himself as an actor. It was a time to make a detailed list of the things he needs to prepare if he continues to regularly walk down the acting path. He also found something he should cross out of that list. Stubborness.

“Up until now I used to be stubborn about certain things when I was acting. I’m the type who prepares as many cases as possible even if I have to play just one situation. Then I select the cases that might be the most persuasive to my mind, and then I re-select them again. And eventually the one method that remains is the one I choose, the one I believe the most. However, in this play, as I had conversations with the director, my opinion has changed. I found that even if things change a little bit as I leave my stubbornness behind, that can actually turn into a far better acting. You need to be certain about things at a particular level, but now I’m trying to stop insisting on the absolute belief only in my acting.”

You can clearly feel the evidence of his self-searching, and as I listened to his answers, I decided to skip a few remaining questions. Questions like, what is the objective of your solo activities in the few oncoming years before 2PM comes back in full composition, or what is actor Hwang Chansung’s biggest concern… It’s because I realized that rather than wrapping his mind around vague discussions that haven’t even reached him yet, Hwang Chansung is an actor who treasures the real fruit of his labor he plucked himself. He will probably continue bringing to life natural characters here and there, in the stories that pull him in, without any grandiose planning. Because that is Hwang Chansung’s style.

Scans: naljung0430

Kor-Eng: Egle0702

MAY BE TAKEN OUT WITH PROPER CREDITS!!!

[getmybuzzup]

By Allison Kugel

Actor Brian d’Arcy James delivers a tour de force performance as dashing and tormented Quinn Carney in the Broadway play, The Ferryman, winner of four 2019 Tony Awards including Best Play, Best Author (Jez Butterworth) and Best Director (Sam Mendes).

In the acclaimed three-act play, d’Arcy James leads a magnificent tapestry of ensemble actors through a mid-twentieth century piece taking place in Northern Ireland during a time of conflict between England and Ireland, against a backdrop of a family’s celebration of the season’s annual harvest. Casualties of war and forbidden love come to a head among emotionally charged, generational relationships playing out on a multi-textured stage. For frequent and occasional theatre goers, alike, The Ferryman is a can’t miss Broadway experience.

This year, d’Arcy James can also be seen in films like The Kitchen starring Melissa McCarthy and Tiffany Haddish, a West Side Story reboot directed by Steven Spielberg, and Dark Phoenix starring Jennifer Lawrence and James McAvoy.

I sat down with Brian d’Arcy James to discuss his role in The Ferryman, being directed by the brilliant Sam Mendes, and having one foot on Broadway and the other in some of the coming year’s most anticipated films.

Allison Kugel: Your show, The Ferryman, is such a flawless piece of theatrical art; one of the most incredible theatre experiences I’ve ever had.

  Brian d’Arcy James: That makes me so happy to hear.

Allison Kugel: The play is three hours and fifteen-minutes with intermission, but I didn’t feel the time.

Brian d’Arcy James: I hear that quite a bit. People go in acknowledging the time, but then they say that it was not a factor at all, which is such a testament to the storytelling.

Allison Kugel: In film, you can rest and re-generate between takes, but with theatre, and especially with such an intense play as this one, how do you sustain the life of your character on stage for three hours?

Brian d’Arcy James: I would even take it a step further, by including the actual run of the show. Not only are you doing it nightly, for three hours a night, but you are having to keep that character alive for months at a time. Let me first give credit to the preceding cast who spent a lot more time in the shoes of these characters than we have. My hat’s off to them for that reason, alone. It’s a tall order, and you have to leave the pilot light on at all times, with the burner set on a low burn. That emotional life, the complexity of the situation that my character, and all the characters for that matter, find themselves in, requires a connection to that emotional life continuously throughout the run of the show. You have to open up and let that flame burn higher when you are doing the show. In order to do that, you have to keep it on a low burn in your own life, so that you are not sitting by a fireside with two sticks rubbing them together, hoping you can spark a flame during each performance.

Allison Kugel: The Ferryman is about a family living in Northern Ireland and it takes place during their annual harvest. One thing I found compelling, was that I learned a lot about the Irish people. I learned so much about Irish culture and customs, as well as some of Ireland’s past challenges in their once-ongoing conflict with England.

Brian d’Arcy James: Yes, that’s what’s called The Troubles (also called the Northern Ireland Conflict/c. 1968-1998). It goes back decades, and even centuries. The British Empire was claiming their space in the world and designating Northern Ireland as British territory. It’s the whole essence of the struggle for freedom and the oppression that is taking place in the north of Ireland at that time. That’s the larger context within the play. I’ve been in tune with that by virtue of my own family, and my own heritage (James is of Irish descent). My great-great grandparents were from Ireland and they came over here. My grandparents were Irish American, but they were first generation, so I have always had a strong connection to my Irish heritage. Being an actor is the best sociological education you can get, by virtue of having to explore and understand whatever it is you’re working on. In my case I’ve been able to work on many different Irish plays, some of them in Ireland. So, my awareness of the history and the culture was immediate.

Allison Kugel: Although this is a dramatic play, there are some priceless comedic moments that had me rolling in my chair. Some of the generational humor with the older characters was priceless, and those moments are sprinkled throughout.

Brian d’Arcy James: The play is also filled with immense love, and all the intricate relationships that a big family brings. Often times when you have really funny, witty people going at each other and trying to up each other, basically doing their best to keep things lively; it is hilarious because these people are remarkable characters. There is a great deal of humor and levity in this play just by virtue of the love that these characters have for each other. The show’s writer, Jez Butterworth, has done this incredible balancing act of keeping people entertained and enthralled by the humor of these people, and then having their world collapse by virtue of the circumstances they find themselves in.

Allison Kugel:  Let’s talk about the play’s director, Sam Mendes. Many people know of him from his work, directing Academy Award-winning films like American Beauty and Revolutionary Road, starring his then-wife, Kate Winslet. Does a director who has worked in both film and theatre bring a wider perspective to your show?

Brian d’Arcy James: Sam’s gift is his ability to take big ideas and create moments that serve the play and create a story where all of these themes can be heard and understood clearly. He is an expert at that. I do think that you are right in eluding to his skill as a director on film. I’m in rehearsals for West Side Story (a remake of the classic 1961 film), which Steven Spielberg is directing, and we were talking about The Ferryman. He was telling me that he saw a production of Guys and Dolls at the National Theater and that it looked like it was directed like a film. He was seeing the parallels of what is happening on stage in a cinematic sense. In mentioning the director, he said, “If this guy can direct a play like this, he’d be able to direct a film without even having to get out of bed.” In terms of my experience with Sam Mendes, he’s a brilliant mind. He has such a strong view of each moment of our play. It’s so great for any actor to receive that kind of direction, because it gives the actor confidence, and it gives the actor a lot of room to inflate to the best of their ability.

Allison Kugel:  The Ferryman cast has multiple generations of actors, from a small baby to children, teenagers, young men and women, and much older characters. You guys have a baby on stage! The actors are holding him, changing him, walking up and down a flight of stairs with him in their arms. It shocked me that the baby was compliant and behaving throughout the show.  For me, there was definitely this holding your breath aspect to it all, like “What’s going to happen here?” How do you direct a baby?

Brian d’Arcy James: You don’t. You let them be, which is what makes it so powerful. It’s the best acting you could ever ask for. Obviously, the main concern is logistics; making sure the babies are there, and having a couple of different babies there at all times in case one is cranky or can’t do it. Then they just have to be in someone’s arms or be on the stage, on the floor, you know, on the changing table. I’ve heard Jez [Butterworth] (the show’s writer and creator) talk about this a few times in terms of the baby and the live animals that we have in this play. There is nothing more electric and exciting than knowing that something could go wrong. I believe he even said that was the first image he had, was of a baby on stage with the character of Aunt Maggie. That was the first image he had for the play; basically, the eldest and the youngest of a family. And then he filled in everything in between. It does add that element of, “What’s going to happen?” and, “How is this baby going to respond?” All bets are off with babies and animals.

Allison Kugel:  You got a rave review from the New York Times, where they called The Ferryman “the production of the year.” What do you think makes The Ferryman such a jewel of a show?

Brian d’Arcy James: The way the play is written, specifically [writer] Jez Butterworth’s imagination in creating this cogent, thrilling material, and to have each of these people on stage be so distinct, vibrant and unique; and yet have that sense of familial history. Then of course, there is the structure of the play and the drama of it. The obstacles these characters face and the despair. It’s a powerful combination of an imagination at work. [This play] can make you laugh and make you cry in two different lines that are back to back. It’s an absolute gift.

Allison Kugel:  You’re going be in X-Men: Dark Phoenix which is a real departure for you. What was it like for you to be on the set of X-men?

Brian d’Arcy James: In a strange way I have likened the two different experiences because they’re all a form of art at its highest level. These are experts who know how to create these worlds filled with superheroes. For me, it was an eye-opening experience to be on the inside of how those things take place. You take the action sequences for granted when you see them on the screen but seeing all the nuts and bolts of how it takes place is quite an education. Anytime you are working with people who are at the top of their game, that’s an extraordinarily special thing.

Allison Kugel:  Since you’ve done a lot of great theatre as well as some film, what is your advice for popular film and television actors who might be nervous to try the rigors of doing Broadway? Or for television and film actors who are about to make their debut on Broadway?  

Brian d’Arcy James: For someone who has never done it, it’s baptism by fire. There is no way to know other than to just jump in. It’s important to know that it does require conditioning, and it’s a different tempo, in terms of doing a two and a half hour or three-hour play. It’s not fifteen-second increments that are captured over a period of two months. It’s the awareness of the difference in terms of what the tempo is and what it is going to take to sustain that. It’s just a different animal. To use a sports analogy, it’s like training for a marathon, as opposed to training for short sprints. Both mediums have their merit, and both are important when you need to do them. But they require a different type of conditioning.

  Brian d’Arcy James is appearing in the Tony Award-winning Broadway play, “The Ferryman,” at the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre at 242 W. 45th Street in New York City. For tickets and information, visit TheFerrymanBroadway.com.

  Allison Kugel is a syndicated entertainment columnist, author of the memoir, Journaling Fame: A memoir of a life unhinged and on the record, and owner of communications firm, Full Scale Media. Follow her on Instagram @theallisonkugel and AllisonKugel.com.

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Brian d’Arcy James on The Ferryman and Being Directed by Sam Mendes [Interview] By Allison Kugel Actor Brian d'Arcy James delivers a tour de force performance as dashing and tormented Quinn Carney in the Broadway play, …

[justanothercinemaniac]

Epic Movie (Re)Watch #157 - Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home

Spoilers Below

Have I seen it before: Yes

Did I like it then: Yes.

Do I remember it: Yes.

Did I see it in theaters: No.

Format: Blu-ray

1) Getting any sort of footage or image before a studio logo is exceptionally rare. I appreciate that Paramount and the filmmakers decided to open the film with this dedication:

2) This is an end to a trilogy started by Star Trek II - The Wrath of Khan, as it is a direct sequel to Star Trek III which was a direct sequel to Khan. Leonard Nimoy returns to direct after Star Trek III and decided to give the film a lighter tone as Star Trek was taking itself rather seriously. I think that works for this movie, but I also think the film succeeds because (out of the trilogy) it does the best of examining the crew outside of Kirk/Spock/Bones (as we shall see).

3)

Vulcan Computer [testing Spock’s recovery]: “How do you feel?”

Spock’s emotional arc - though it becomes more subtle as the film progresses - is a nice touch. The dude DIED. He’s not just going to walk away from that scot free. He’s Vulcan, so his intellect has been largely focused on. But it is his emotional recovery - getting in touch with his human side - which carries the Vulcan through this film. And I think it works wonderfully.

4) The noise the alien probe emits has a wonderfully ominous design to it. It is effective and makes you uncomfortable. You know something is up.

The entire idea of a mysterious alien probe with unknown intentions which is creating death and destruction (seemingly involuntarily) is very compelling to me. It is an idea in the same essence of “The Twilight Zone” or even something HG Welles would write. Mysterious, frightening, foreboding, and interesting.

5) This is the last film appearance of Lt. Saavik.

According to IMDb:

A scene written for but cut from the film explained why Saavik stays on Vulcan: she is pregnant with Spock's child, stemming from an event in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984), when she "treated" the young Spock's pon farr. This was the character's final appearance in a Star Trek film.

I’m a little disappointed that Saavik was just kind of dropped. Apparently Nimoy and writer/producer Harve Bennett couldn’t think of anything for her to do in the 20th century, but this was an incredibly interesting and fun character from Wrath of Khan who just lost steam and disappeared. Ah well.

6)

Bones [after Kirk says Spock will recover alright]: “Are you sure? [Beat. Kirk is silent.] That’s what I thought.”

Neither of them are sure if they’re going to get their friend back, but they have to trust him. They have to try. Bones even later tries to strike up a conversation with Spock, checking him both as a doctor and as his friend. These small bits of concern are neatly effective in portraying the conflict Spock (and, in all honesty, the crew) is going through with his emotional recovery.

7) I love this line.

Spock: “There are other forms of intelligence on Earth, doctor. Only human arrogance would assume that [the probe] MUST be meant for man.”

8) So Kirk and the crew end up time traveling to the late 20th century in order to find some humpback wales and save earth from this probe. But here’s the thing: they’re never asked to do that. Quite the contrary, they’re being court martialed. They could spend the rest of their lives in jail. They have the perfect opportunity to escape and live the rest of their lives. But it is at the expense of the human race. It never even crosses their minds to run away. To not help. They take some seriously big risks for people who may jail them forever and without even a second thought. If that doesn’t speak to the character of these characters I don’t know what does.

9) I’ve never watched the original series of “Star Trek” but I know they time travelled before (at least once, maybe more; again I never watched). So I’m glad they include this line.

Kirk [about time travel]: “We’ve done it before.”

10) Man, these time travel effects are trippy. I love it.

11)

Kirk [about 1986 Earthlings]: “This is an extremely primitive and paranoid culture.”

This has always fucking bugged me in the “Star Trek” universe, although it might just be a personal thing. Yes, the human race as a whole can tend to suck. But why define us by the worst of our elements? Isn’t that just a loud minority? Why not remember the good in history. “This is an extremely primitive and paranoid culture.” What about the people on the Challenger who you dedicated to this film? They weren’t primitive or paranoid? What about people who fight for Civil Rights, Gay Rights, and other social justice movements? Why would we let the worst of humanity define us? I mean really? REALLY!?

Okay I’m done.

12) Leonard Nimoy said he wanted this film to have be lighter and boy is it that. This is by far the funniest Star Trek film ever made. Like, I don’t even know hot to properly communicate how funny it is. Here are some early examples of humor in the film:

Kirk [walking away from an invisible space ship he left in Golden Gate Park]: “Everyone remember where we parked.”

Pawn Broker [about Kirk’s glasses, when they need money]: “I’ll give you $100.”

Kirk [after a beat]: “Is that a lot?”

[Kirk and Spock get on a bus only to immediately walk off of it.]

Spock: “What does it mean, exact change?”

The time travel and 80s setting allow for some fish out of water comedy which is the film’s best feature in my opinion. There are so many brilliant and honest jokes derived from these characters. No one ever acts contrary to who they are. They’re them! They’re the best crew Star Fleet has ever had! But in the 80s...

(GIF originally posted by @andurile)

13) Gillian.

Gillian is a very important and very well done character in the film. She is the outsider. Our tether to reality and a key component to saving the whales (because, again, this is the Star Trek movie where they save the whales). She is unique unto herself, not JUST a plot device and I don’t think even someone for Kirk to get together with (I don’t remember if they kiss or not, but I don’t think so). She is passionate, empathetic and has genuine care for the animals under her care. A great character who I think the film is better off for having.

14)

Kirk [after Spock called him Admiral]: “Jim. You used to call me Jim.”

Kirk is obviously getting frustrated with Spock’s lack of emotional development. He went to hell and back, sacrificed his career and his future, all to save his friend. And now his friend isn’t totally back yet. It hardly leads to a big climactic fight but it is an undercurrent of the film which keeps rearing its head in important and compelling ways.

15) I love this line.

Spock [about whaling]: “To hunt a species to extinction is not logical.”

Gillian: “Whoever said the human race was logical?”

16) Honestly, the way Kirk reacts when he sees that Spock has dived into a tank with two whales in full view of everyone is my reaction too.

17) A little thing that bothers me in this film is when Gillian’s coworker calls her kiddo. He seems to be the same age as her and not her superior in anyway, so what is this demeaning bullshit?

18) Remember how I said this film was hysterical?

I think the pairings of Bones/Scotty and Uhura/Chekov are quite interesting. Even if we don’t get a deep examination of those relationships it’s pairings we haven’t really seen on their own before and which do show us just how comfortable everyone is around each other.

19) I love how Kirk just tells Gillian the truth. Yes he was massively bullshitting her for about twenty minutes but he just sort of lays it all out on the table at the end.

(Screencap originally posted by @icheb-of-nine)

And Gillian doesn’t get angry at this seeming insult of her intelligence and storm off like the cliché is. She obviously doesn’t believe Kirk but she roles with it anyway. Figures what the hell, and it pays off later.

20)

Kirk [to Spock, after he learns they might lose the whales and the earth could be doomed]: “You’re half human. Haven’t you got any goddamn feelings about that!?”

This is sort of the peak of Kirk’s frustrations with Spock. Again it plays out more as a subplot throughout the film but one which gives it heart and warmth. It is after this that Spock sort of starts getting it together.

21) Chekov and the navy is fun (although I don’t like their use of the word, “retard,” in the scene). It showcases the film’s humor beautifully AND allows actor Walter Koening to truly shine.

22) And THIS is the culmination of Spock’s emotional arc (or at least the earliest example of it):

Spock: “We must help Chekov.”

Kirk: “Is that the logical thing to do, Spock?”

Spock: “No, but it is the human thing to do.”

23) I LOVE Bones in the hospital!

He regrows a woman’s kidney with a pill! First and foremost Bones is a doctor and he will be a doctor no matter where he is or who the patient is. I think it’s great that they actually take this into consideration with his actions.

24) The entire scene where the former-crew of Enterprise (as they are on a Klingon ship now) rescue the whales is great. It is incredibly tense and conflict filled, packed with surprises (such as the ship saving the whales from the whalers while cloaked). All in all, a great climax.

25) This was James Doohan’s favorite line as Scotty.

(GIFs originally posted by @spaicetrek)

26) I love how Kirk’s “punishment” is to demote him from Admiral to Captain (which is something he wanted all along and which everyone knows).

27)

Kirk [after Gillian says she’s on a different starship]: “Why does it have to be goodbye?”

Because this series rarely brings back female characters introduced in the movies, it seems. (I’m thinking mainly of Carol Marcus.)

28)

Spock [after his father asks if there’s anything he wants his mom to know]: “Yes. Tell her...I feel fine.”

And with that Spock’s emotional journey is complete.

29) And the crew is returned to a recommissioned Enterprise. They are home (see title) and this trilogy is complete.

I wildly enjoy Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home. You wouldn’t think a Star Trek film where they save the whales would work but it does. The lightened tone is well appreciated as is the choice to focus more on the crew of the enterprise. The humor is phenomenal, the message is heartwarming, and it is just a feel good film all around. A wonderful treat for fans old and new.

[spotlightsaga]

Kevin Cage of @spotlightsaga reviews… Orange is the New Black (S05E05) Sing It, White Effie Airdate: June 9, 2017 @oitnb Ratings: @netflix Score: 8.75

**********SPOILERS BELOW**********

OITNB has a habit of having white folks tell black folks’ stories… Normally you can kind of sense it right away, but after watching ‘Sing It, White Effie’ I had to look up the primary writer. I’ve talked about this a few times but never on this grand of a stage. I know that this has been addressed by many in previous years including Essence Magazine (which, yes I do read). It’s true that we as human beings, of blood and guts and organs and bones, are for the most part the exact same, sans a few genetic defects that only affect a certain race… And it’s true that some of us in different parts of the world have very different experiences due to environment. For instance, for over a decade in Miami, my only friends have been ones of color… Literally 98% Latin & Black… Despite how other parts of my family live, I live very differently. Growing up a 'sexually fluid’ ginger with a mother who was a very young teenager in high school gave me a vastly different experience than most. I’ve always celebrated my fucking weirdness. In high school I was literally a walking oxymoron, wearing 90 inch GAT pants I stole from the mall or borrowed from my friend, GlowGirl (yeah in the late 90s we all had Rave Names, didn’t you know?), paired with an oversized button up I found in my step-dads closet and a vest from Structure and Brooks Brothers eyeglasses that my Grandmother bought me on a visit… Not to mention spiked up Backstreet Boy haircut (that may or may not have been blue), tousled in the front, and fucking candy and jelly bracelets from the base of my thumbs up past my elbows. What the fuck, right? You’d think I’d look back and hate it, but all I see is a RAD fn’ Rave Star with 'anti-anti’ 90’s culture embodiment… Serving up Rave-Tastic Soccer Playing Prep Freak “on a Lemonade budget”…. Thank you, Shea Coulee!

Diversity has always been a part of my life in one way or another. I love to trade perspectives. I ask questions and offer up personal experiences instead of telling people their way of thinking is wrong, because I want people to understand me and I want to understand them. I truly believe that if we all at least tried to understand each other instead of this 'This opinion is right. This opinion is wrong,’ divisive mindset so many have seem to have adopted as of late the world would be a much better place. That being said, I just wrote a few articles on the 3rd Season of '60 Days In’ and stated there were certain topics I couldn’t completely speak on, even being a diverse ginger gringo faggot or whatever anyone wants to throw my way. On the internet today I was told I have a PHD in Cock Sucking (and other things that literally just look like letters on a page to me) and on the bus just last Monday, I let Snapchat take a quick, disappearing peak at a woman attacking my partner and I on the bus with an umbrella who called us 'stretched out asshole faggot cock sucking mother fuckers that will fry in hell’, I couldn’t make this shit up even if I tried. She had gotten a glimpse at my partner helping me on the bus because I have some issues moving around on Monday’s due to some disc issues in the upper parts of my back and went in for the kill when my partner asked if she could please turn the music down that she was blasting from her phone like she wasn’t aware that one can totally sonically invade someone’s space. None of these experiences give me the proper perspective needed to make a complete series featuring an episode that looks through the lens of a woman of color’s standpoint on Culture Appropriation on an all white 'DreamGirls’ production at the 'White School of Rich Bitch Privilege’.

Don’t get me wrong, this is probably the best take on racial issues I’ve ever seen on OITNB. I was moved, accomplished NYC playwright and television writer & editor Molly Smith Metzler, whose worked on two of my favorite Streaming Only series (OITNB & Hulu’s 'Casual’) is a raw talent that streaming networks would be lucky to have work on their exclusive series… But it all still felt like it was missing something. Some might tell you that the 'diversity’ plays itself out in front of the camera, but I assure you as a writer that it takes a village. When it comes to television particularly, everything is filtered through a lens after a lens after another lens…. As the showrunner draws out a storyboard with producers and then oversees the writing of a script which is handed to an editor and then off to a director which directs the actors who have their own interpretation of that character who are then filmed and framed by a cinematographer who hands over the multiple takes to an editor, who then slices and dices and puts together the final product that the network may possibly need to approve and by now I’m out of fucking breath. And I didn’t even mention the composers, casting directors, production designers, art directors, set decorators, costumes, makeup, the fn’ art department, sound department who collaborates with special effects people, not to be confused with the visual effects crew and the dozens and dozens of others who’s lens it funnels through to make a finished product. Did I make a point yet?

'Sing It, White Effie’ is by far the best of #OITNB5 but just like the tears that filled my eyes during the final moments when a young Janae has an epiphany when she realizes what her trip to a private school that has a trio of rich white girls playing the main characters of 'DreamGirls’ truly represents…. Just like Taystee’s beautiful, enthralling speech that I’m sure we all applauded and were worked up over emotionally… It just could have been better. No matter what you know, no matter what you’ve seen, no matter how intense your empathy radar is, no matter how many shoes you have traded with other people… We can write out someone else’s story, we can do our research, we can firmly believe the things we say, we can identify pieces of a puzzle of someone else’s story through idiosyncratic experiences, but we’ll never be able to put the entire puzzle together without the missing piece.

I don’t want it to seem like I’m complaining, I’m only imagining that a fantastic show could be even bolder, even more intense, even more 'on the nose’ with it’s ironic comedy style, that’s sometimes dark so that it fades into the drama with more ease. I love OITNB, I do. I would go as far as to say that this is the most bingeable show ever created. The hardest thing I’ve had to do in the past few months (thank god) is to decide to go to sleep instead of watching and writing about another episode of this very show. Slowly but surely, the inmates of Litchfield are shown to notice little things that are waking them to the impending consequences that are sure to devastate these women in a major way.

Right now it’s the little things, like Suzanne (Uzo Aduba), the usual most 'out of touch’ resident of Litchfield, observing the fact that she’s not being fed during regular hours. Gloria (Selenis Leyva) has come to a point where she is completely overwhelmed, she can’t carry on her normal duties anymore. Her genuine concern for Daya (Dascha Polanco) as well as her inner turmoil she’s experiencing for generally losing control paired with the backfiring of attempting to steal the gun from Daya to impede the takeover is a weight she can no longer carry. Her phone call to Diaz (Elizabeth Rodriguez) was another truly successful, relatable, and dramatic moment that puts the audience inside Litchfield for an oh-so important instant. I think we can all relate to a point in time where we are completely at a loss for what to do in a situation, maybe we want to ask for help, but we don’t know how, or even where to start, or even if we could be helped at all… So you just need a familiar voice on the other end of the line. The family dynamic is so strong with this one, and as a person who lives in a Latin Dominated city, there’s a certain way that pride is carried here that I see in these characters. These actresses are truly amazing to bring their distinct perspective into a script that is not their own, essentially that is what makes this show so special in these dramatic points of reference. It is bigger than the writers, who are great, but just not as diverse as we would like.

If it’s one thing that a talented white woman would write with a pristine birds eye view, it’s satire of a what it would be like to be a rich white woman turned into a slave by white supremacists… Oh yeah, and one white nationalist. Judy King (Blair Brown) looks completely insane with her messy hair, ketchup stained face, and belt leash around her neck. I literally can’t stop laughing as I write this. The image will be forever stored in the memory banks of my brain. Taystee is PISSED. The Helicopter Press snapping a photo of Judy King tied to a cross on top of a roof by skinheads wearing hijab’s has interfered with Taystee’s intentions, which means everyone’s intentions, but most importantly… Justice for Poussey. She means to buy Judy off of the skinheads and grab 'The PR Guy’ Josh (John Palladino) to issue a statement, but the skinheads make Taystee & Friends work for it, holding a ridiculous auction, which doesn’t really work… But for the sake of moving the core narrative onward in what is as close to real-time as possible, I suppose it’s fine…. I’m just not sure where everyone else came from considering in one scene they were alone and the next minute the area is full of potential bidders. Just goes to show you even some of the best shows are fat from perfect.

Pensatucky (Taryn Manning) has yet another memorable moment, again the drama is really what is setting this season ablaze. Big Boo (Lea DeLaria) catches Pensatucky & Coates (James McMenamin) making out. Of course, this not only enrages Boo for obvious reasons, but it also has her worried for Pensatucky’s safety. A lot of people seem incredibly uncomfortable with this subplot, but Manning delivers the true Pensatucky 'thought process’ in a 'methamphetamine metaphor’ that’s just divine. 'No matter how much I wanted different, I had to respect the chemicals… Because Lye doesn’t feel anything until it touches ephedrine’, Pensatucky means this… And even if you don’t understand the white trash chemistry behind the metaphor, she delivers it in the most earnest & steady manner. There’s a beauty to it. She continues… 'Have you ever wanted somebody that you shouldn’t?’ Boo doesn’t have it, 'Of course. It’s called masturbating. Now say goodbye and walk the fuck away, son.’ Pensatucky is a character that we’ve already explored so much throughout the past 4 ½ seasons, but there are so many notes to this character and to Manning’s delivery that they could literally go on forever. This is the very opposite of Piper (Taylor Schilling) who literally seems like a new person, someone completely alien to the Piper who kicked off the show in S1. Even her interactions with Alex (Laura Prepon) feel off key. Maybe prison is changing her? Or maybe they have no idea what to do with the character. They certainly know what they want to do with Alex, as she has started a bit of an 'outdoor prison’ revolution… Grass Roots, if you will!

We should mention that Coates escapes by way of Pensatucky stealing the gun from 'The Incompetent Queens of White Trash’, Angie (Julie Lake) and Leanne (Emma Myles), who don’t even realize that their 'secret hiding place’ they stored the gun while on a massive DXM trip is actually the back of the belt that Angie had no idea she was wearing. Coates actually takes the gun with him… All of these events have me worried for Pensatucky and there is really only so much that Boo can do. Right before his grand escape, Taystee and company lead Judy out for a press conference. Taystee begins and Danielle Brooks delivers her words like a Viola Davis or Meryl Streep in the making. She hands it over to Judy but pulls back when she realizes that Judy lying about her ill treatment will only hurt their cause… And to roll back to my original point, which I rolled off on a bit of a passionate tangent… Taystee literally says the words that I positioned that first point around… Judy King cannot speak for Taystee or any of the inmates, for that matter. This isn’t exactly a Pensatucky 'Methamphetamine Metaphor’ but dammit… In the face of previous controversy the show, particularly the writers room, has been accused of, you’d think that they’d hire equally as talented women of color to write this speech, portions of these episode, entire episodes. Once again, I take nothing away from the talented Molly Smith Metzler, she did an excellent job here… I just think that this scene, as well as others, could pack so much more power and benefit from the proper frame of reference.

[diwatang-sirena]

YbriAna, AleBarro, and A Lot More Rants

First of all, let me express my immense disappointment with the writing direction the makers of Encantadia’s requel have decided to go for in Book 2. More specifically, I’m severely disappointed with the execution. Maybe it sounded good on paper when they agreed on the summary, but it sure doesn’t look like they care much about the details. At least, it doesn’t look like it on TV.

And if that’s not bad enough, the newbie actors are not doing the show any favors as well. And I’m pretty sure you all know very well which “new” character I’m most frustrated with.

Yep. It’s Arra San Agustin’s Ariana character, the new Amihan (but not really).

Now let me clarify that while I was initially disappointed knowing that Kylie would be somewhat replaced (but not really?) by a new actress (heck, who wasn’t?), I eventually warmed up to the idea because honestly, it actually sounded pretty interesting. I loved the thrill and excitement of the idea of having her family slowly discover one by one that Ariana is actually Amihan, while she herself is trying to figure out who she really is.

Like come on! Imagine the tension, the huge emotional scenes between her and her three beloved sisters, her daughter Lira, and especially her true love Ybrahim, when they all find out that their former Queen has come back from the dead and is staying for good! The audience would be thrilled, and it would be as if Amihan never left.

Well, that ain’t going to be possible anymore.

Not with how the showrunners are executing Ariana’s story, and worse, Arra’s unhelpful, bland acting.

For more details, just go check out @iris-sistibly’s wonderful rant about the requel, if for some reason you haven’t checked it out before. Her critiques are exactly my thoughts on the show’s mistakes.

With that said, here are the 3 “We could’ve had it aaaaall” subplots that would’ve been good, but didn’t happen the way we expected:

1. Amihan’s strong, unbreakable connection with her sisters:

Akala ko this story’s about 4 sisters?

If there’s anyone who should’ve recognized Amihan first, it should’ve been her sisters, the ones who were with her since the day she was brought to Encantadia. Parang walang kwenta ang blood connection between Amihan and the rest.

Why are there almost no scenes between Ariana and the 3 sanggres?

The only deep, private conversation Ariana had with one of her true sisters was with Alena, talking about how Ariana should make the moves on Ybrahim so that he can be happy again (I’ll deal with this issue later). Shouldn’t Alena have suspected the reason why Ybrahim has suddenly started to fall for this woman, when he’s been so hungover from losing Amihan even after so long, was because Ariana is similar to Amihan?

And what about Danaya, the sister arguably closest and most loyal to Amihan? Couldn’t there have been a scene between the two of them only where they just sit and talk about what’s going on, and then have Danaya suspect something unusal yet familiar about Ariana?

The same with Pirena. This calculating, witty sanggre had the most conversations with Ariana out of the three, albeit angry and emotional ones, and yet she does not suspect at all that her once hated sister is inside Ariana’s body.

Well, I don’t blame them. Even us the audience are just as confused at the extent of Amihan’s personality in Ariana.

One of the worst changes in the requel, or rather Book 2, is the undermining of the 4 sanggres’ sisterly bond. Yes, Alena, Danaya, and Pirena have worked well together in order to honor Amihan’s legacy. And perhaps Danaya and Pirena might have their occasional disagreements and all.

But those are nothing new and exciting. This would’ve been their chance to prove that their sisterhood is unbreakable and stronger than any adversity. This would’ve clearly defined the main theme of Encantadia: the strength of love and family. The story between 4 warrior sisters.

Pero wala e. Iba ang fino-focus nila na “development”, which is failing miserably and of which I will discuss later on.

In short, the writers have forgotten the true essence of Encantadia and what the show really stands for.

2. Amihan’s inner “Motherly” side where Lira’s concerned:

I think we all know (and greatly despise) that certain Popcorn moment Ariana had when instead of helping Lira, the girl who’s supposed to be her real daughter, she instinctly decided to cower and hide in fear, and watch as Asval and co. continuously shot Lira to death.

The worst part of all is that she doesn’t seem one bit apologetic about the fact that she did absolutely NOTHING to save her.

Seriously? Are you sure Amihan’s in there?

Even if Ariana’s persona is obviously more visible, the real Amihan would’ve burst with emotion and make her enemies PAY for hurting her beloved daughter. She would’ve given up logic, anything really, to save her daughter and bring justice to her death.

Shouldn’t the power of love be strong enough to bring out her true self? Bakit kung sa mga normal fighting scenes or training, lumalabas ang pagka-Amihan, but when her daughter needs her the most, naka-off ang Amihan radar niya? That’s just plain inconsistent.

Also, they’re so-called “Mother-Daughter” bonding? I don’t see them as very convincing Not only is Arra’s acting uninspiring, but the way they show/place these moments out of nowhere is just … ugh!

It would’ve made more sense if Lira and Ariana actually bonded outside of their Tagapangalaga roles. What I mean is, it would’ve been nice to see them getting to know each other personally, and maybe after Lira reveals more about herself, Ariana would feel more and more the pull in her heart that’s telling her that this girl’s supposed to be THAT important to her, which will puzzle her and suspect her own identity.

Not only would that establish their Mother-Daughter bond again (and maybe give more time for Arra to get used to being a mother to Mikee), but it would also serve as development for Lira too.

Maybe then I would be okay with watching Lira remember her mother whenever Ariana shows an act of kindness to her.

3. Ybrahim and Amihan’s death-defying love and devotion to each other:

Now this is something that’s obviously being focused the most by the showrunners, no doubt since the YbraMihan fandom is (or perhaps was) the largest and most vocal group in Enca and is one of the reasons why some episodes have high ratings. No surprise that Ybrahim, who’s still pining for Amihan, would be the first to recognize or suspect something familiar about Ariana.

Even though I was heartbroken at the thought that KyRu could not continue YbraMihan’s epic love story in Enca, I was excited to see how their relationship would unfold with this new predicament. And while all along I predicted that the new Amihan actress would never have as much incredible and effortless chemistry with Ruru as Kylie did, I was willing to give it a chance for as long as they had a good, natural-flowing story development.

Except it didn’t happen that way.

Instead, Ybrahim and Ariana’s love story became one of if not the worst portrayed romance ever in Enca history.

Where should I start?

Hmm, let’s see. For one, they don’t have that sizzling chemistry. Even if the writing was bad, the undeniable chemistry would’ve been able to save it and at least make the romance look good.

For YbraMihan, they had both the realistic development and the unexpectedly overwhelming chemistry. That was exactly why most of the fandom including myself have switched to their side, because they made the most sense.

In AzuPiren’s case, even though Marx isn’t that good of an actor and his love story with Pirena wasn’t focused on that much, his burning chemistry with Glaiza saved this pairing and has earned the love of the fandom.

Unfortunately, Arra just doesn’t have that with Ruru.

Worse, the way they make it seem like every time Ariana is onscreen, the only thing she could ever think of is Ybrahim this and Ybrahim that.

Like giiiiiirl, Amihan was NEVER this obssessed with Ybrahim even though she loved him with all her heart.

The thing that YbriAna is having that became the very reason why I loathed AleBarro ver. 2 is the INSTA-LOVE.

How do you define Insta-Love? Well, think of it as Romeo and Juliet. These lovers have just met, and they’ve become so attracted to each other that for some reason they decide right away that they’re the love of their lives (even though they haven’t even gotten to know each other for more than a week) and would do anything, break the rules, defy their parents, or even kill themselves, in order to be with their lover.

That is what’s happening right now. You’re told and shown over and over that these two have a connection. But what would’ve made it more convincing is, like I mentioned with Lira, by having these two re-bond with each other and have them fall for each other not only because of the unavoidable pull they feel but also realizing the aspects that made them fall for the other like YbraMihan’s past.

The way they’re so into each other with absolutely no basis except for the invisible bond they have due to YbraMihan’s love makes this whole love affair a waste of time.

I hate to say this, but this ruined YbraMihan AND Amihan’s character. No wonder people are starting to lean over AleBarro’s side.

The main issue here really, overall, is the treatment the showrunners are giving the story.

They’re trying too hard to make these scenes look exciting and “twisted” for the sake of ratings that they fail to deliver a real, sympathetic and well-thought story that brings out the best in its characters, even the villains.

If they had problems with that, then they really should’ve ended with Book 1 and perhaps relax and take their time coming up with a better risk-proof story while waiting for Kylie to be available again. Better to end with a short, yet beautifully-executed story than an overdue, boring plot.

Now onto the main issue.

Shipping wars have always been a normal thing in fandoms, and Encantadia is no different. The biggest ship war we ever had was between AleBarro and YbraMihan, and for good reason too.

This time though, it’s ironic how these two rival shippers have somewhat united against YbriAna, despite the fact that YbriAna is essentially YbraMihan.

But can you blame them really?

The way I see it, AleBarro fans are frustrated with how unfair it is that GabRu weren’t given their second (or third?) chance now that Kylie’s out of the picture. Not to mention, some fans could still be very particular about following the original canon. I think it became worse when Arra ended up disappointing us even further, so having Ybrahim fall for a weak character like Ariana instead of Alena again, who’s become stronger and never really stopped loving Ybarro, would seem quite unfair especially to the Gabbi/GabRu fandom.

As for YbraMihan fans, like myself, it’s incredibly irritating to see how low they’re making their beautiful love story to be. Like I mentioned above, sobrang pangit ang pagka-execute ng mga scenes nila. And while Ruru’s acting is consistently on-point, Arra just doesn’t seem to keep up.

While I’m sure the writers had good intentions with this Sarkosi arc, THEY ARE. RUINING. THE VERY FOUNDATION AS TO WHY THEY LOVED EACH OTHER AND WHY FANS FELL IN LOVE WITH THEM.

Ariana is a big degrade from the Amihan we all know and love. YbriAna is a cheap 80% discount of the YbraMihan we all fought so hard for. And with YbriAna looking extra cheesier than Book 1 AleBarro, it’s really no wonder why people are taking AleBarro’s side this time than YbriAna/YbraMihan.

While I was initially sure that YbriAna would end up becoming canon, now that the show is again reminding us of Alena’s unwavering feelings for Ybarro (which I honestly don’t know how when they haven’t had a good, strong foundation in the start anyway), I’m now down to 50% certain of the outcome.

So here’s how I see it if they decide to switch back to AleBarro:

The Good:

1. They are the original canon, so having them end up together would not only reward Alena’s endurance, but also stay true to the original love story.

2. Alena has always been the person who sees sense and calms people down whenever tensions are high. That’s no different with how she treats Ybrahim, except her feelings for him run deeper than platonic. And right now, with him losing everything that’s important to him, he needs emotional support more than ever.

3. Alena DOES NOT disrespect her place in Ybrahim’s heart. It’s obvious that Ybrahim’s feelings for her have been long gone, and while there are plenty of opportunities for Alena to take advantage of Amihan’s absence or his problems to bring herself closer to him, she does not do it because she knows her boundaries and has her pride as a strong, independent woman, which I can say is VERY admirable of her.

4. Ybrahim can finally move on and be happy, have his new Queen of Sapiro, and maybe have Armea, the heir to the throne.

The Bad:

1. HINDI PA TONG LOVE STORY TAPOS??? While I loved Alena’s immense development, I’m disappointed with how repetitive this storyline is. Ybrahim’s true love in the requel is clearly Amihan, so having him end up with Alena, whom he already had a relationship before and tried to make it work but failed, would only make her seem like the second fiddle. And Alena does not deserve that.

2. While some people may see Ybarro/Ybrahim as a “womanizer” since he’s had about 3 love interests already, I think that’s a very unfair judgement for him. He never had a strong foundation with Alena, and because he had a better build-up with Amihan, it shouldn’t come off as a surprise to anyone that his feelings for Amihan would be stronger. And with Ariana, the only reason why he’s attracted to her is because he sees Amihan in her. So calling him a womanizer while in reality he’s only pining for his one true love for such a long time is kinda low.

Having him return to Alena is almost like making him some sort of ping pong ball that goes back and forth between women depending on who’s available to him. Like I said, it’s repetitive and overused, and I’m tired of seeing them give these two another chance when really this love story should’ve been long over. I am sick of this “First Love will never die” peg of Filipino teleseryes. Which brings us to number 3…

3. What is the point of Alena taking so long to “move on” when all along she never actually did? What is the point of Ybrahim’s eternal love for Amihan if he’ll end up falling for Alena when all along Amihan’s sarkosi is right there? She may be stronger and independent as a woman, but bringing her back to the man who only brought more pain than happiness is I think an injustice to Alena’s efforts. Ybrahim is not a price to be won just because Alena’s love for him never went away. And having Ybrahim fall for her again mostly due to some needed emotional support like a band-aid is unfair to Alena.

If Ybrahim has not looked at her in a romantic light ever since he chose Amihan, I don’t see how he’ll magically have these feelings for her again especially when he already knows how good a person Alena is. Not especially when he still feels strongly for Amihan through Ariana.

4. What is the freaking point of Memfes and Adamya??? It’s as if they’re only made to be fillers! This was supposed to be Alena’s time to shine, to show how good a leader she is on her own without depending too much on her loved ones, and to show that she’s not only meant to be a love interest. This is supposed to be the time to expand more about Adamya and bring it up there with the other countries. If she really wants to give her all to Adamya’s rebuilding, I don’t think being Queen of Sapiro would give her enough time and energy to do that.

About Memfes, I’m not impressed with him to be honest. Lance Serrano (am I right?) is as bad as Arra in terms of acting. But the “Beauty and the Beast” peg AleMemfes is going for would’ve been interesting if done properly, and I think it would be fitting for Alena to find love within a, well, a “beast” who actually has a good heart and is finding a place to belong, which is something they’d have in common.

Unfortunately, Memfes is being portrayed more like an Ybarro ver. 2. A lot of their meetings are similar to AleBarro’s first meetings. Heck, they don’t even have enough screentime to convince the audience of their chemistry. It would’ve been nice to see more variety and originality to clearly see the difference between AleBarro and AleMemfes.

(Bakit kasi hindi nalang si Muros ang pinatuloyan kay Alena if there had to be anyone?)

But really, the writers have already gone so far into establishing YbriAna, even introducing Memfes for Alena. So what would be the freaking point of Ariana and Memfes kung AleBarro lang pala ang magkatuloyan? Which brings us to number 5…

5. What would be the whole point of Amihan risking her own identity in order to return to her mag-ama, that is Ybrahim and Lira? What would be her purpose if Lira’s already dead and Ybrahim would only end up in someone else’s arms?

Making AleBarro endgame in my eyes is basically destroying any chance of Kylie coming back to the finale with a happy ending for Amihan. Come on, do you really believe that WHEN the true Amihan comes back, Ybrahim would wholeheartedly choose to be with Alena because it would seem to be the right thing to do? Could Ybrahim really take it if he cannot be near Amihan when she’s finally right there? I think we all already know that answer from Book 1. I mean, can you imagine what it would be like for Kylie and Ruru to be in the same scene, but they can no longer be romantic because Ybrahim has moved on with Alena? I can just see it now…

Imagine Amihan, the real one, coming to the wedding ceremony and giving her blessing to Ybrahim and Alena (because we all know how self-sacrificial Amihan really is, unlike Ariana). And as she stops in front of the two of them, her eyes lock with Ybrahim’s for a moment, but that moment would seem like a lifetime for them. Their eyes would express their shared feeling of regret and longing for a love that was not meant to be. Alena could only stand by the sidelines and let them have their last moment, perhaps a bit guilty and insecure at the intense connection the two share even after so long.

And while AleBarro fans are rejoicing, the YbraMihan fandom would reawaken completely and explode with comments flying all over the place.

“Dapat si Amihan ang nasa tabi ni Ybrahim!“

“Bakit parang mas gusto ni Ybrahim na si Amihan ang magiging asawa niya kay sa kay Alena?”

“Iba talaga ang lakas ng chemistry ng KyRu!”

Let’s be honest. The impact of the ending would really be more effective if Kylie was allowed to come back for the sake of sentimentality and to finish Amihan’s story herself. The finale would be more memorable for the fact that we’d have all four sisters reunited, and the family of YbraLiraMihan would have their long-awaited moment once again and FINALLY live happily ever after. Also hoping that Lira will finally become Queen in the end.

Even without Ybrahim, I’m pretty sure Alena could still have her happy ending. She’ll finally be able to close that painful chapter and give second love a chance, most likely in Memfes. And together they can live quietly in Adamya and build their family there, just like what Alena has always dreamed of.

Honestly, Alena does not deserve a man who does not completely see her worth even when she’s been supporting him from behind all her life.

To summarize it all down, while I despise YbriAna and agree that AleBarro looks far better together than the former at this moment, when i think about the long run/finale, there is no doubt in my mind that having YbraMihan (KyRu) end up together in the end will be make the most noisy impact (in a good way) in and out of the fandom.

I can at least pretend right then and there that Amihan never died and Book 2 never happened except for the ending. This’ll be the greatest reward for everyone enduring YbriAna.

[kartiavelino]

Forest Whitaker on Making ‘Godfather of Harlem’

Written by Samantha Hunter Acclaimed actor, director and producer Forest Whitaker returns to tv this fall in Godfather of Harlem, a 10-episode sequence about famed Harlem mob boss Ellsworth Raymond “Bumpy” Johnson. Johnson was a well-read profession felony initially born in South Carolina whose household moved to Harlem throughout his early life. Within the early 1930s he grew to become the principal lieutenant to mob boss Stephani St. Claire, who was outstanding within the numbers racket in Harlem. Johnson, nicknamed “Bumpy” for a big bump on his brow, was beloved in Harlem for his generosity with the individuals. Extra in Celebs: Diallo Riddle And Bashir Salahuddin On The Future Of ‘Sherman’s Showcase’ Whitaker delivers an intense and introspective portrayal of the larger-than-life man, whereas additionally providing a novel perspective on a few of the outstanding gamers in Harlem who interacted with Johnson in his prime and coloured his wealthy life story. BET.com spoke with Whitaker, Nigél Thatch (Selma), Rafi Gavron (A Star Is Born), Lucy Fry (Vibrant, Mr. Church) Vincent D’Onofrio (Marvel’s Daredevil), Ilfenesh Hadera (She’s Gotta Have It) and Antoinette Crowe-Legacy (Inpatent) about going again in time to recreate Harlem within the 1960s, and their reflections on Bumpy Johnson the person. Forest Whitaker as Bumpy Johnson in ‘Godfather of Harlem’ THE STAR: Forest Whitaker on the creation of the sequence: Markuann Smith and James Acheson got here to me with an concept that they needed to do one thing about Bumpy Johnson and so I stated yeah, let’s discover it. After which we went and acquired Chris Brancato and Paul Eckstein to write down a script, they usually grew to become the producers and the present runners. As soon as we did that, myself and Chris went in to speak to Michael Wright [the president] at EPIX. I began to clarify to him how I needed the music to encompass the challenge, utilizing music from the time contained in the scenes and rating to enhance the mythic high quality, however then utilizing up to date music to kind of encompass it to put us within the place that everyone understood that it was related to them proper there, that they might be in an area that they knew was true. I believe I used to be speaking a couple of Chi-Lites music, “Have You Seen Her.” You understand how it begins off with this lengthy discuss: One month in the past in the present day… walks to the films… possibly to the park…I’ve a seat on the standard bench to look at the kids play… tomorrow is their future, however to me it is one other day… I began speaking about that, and relating it to rap, after which me and [Michael] began singing that specific music. It seems that Michael Wright really has his personal band and he is a singer! In order that dialogue led to what he determined to do within the room, which was to purchase this challenge and do 10 episodes.  [embedded content] Whitaker on making ready to play Bumpy Johnson:  I believe the primary a part of it began with simply the analysis, as a result of we had been getting the script prepared. So, I began learning him, studying stuff about him, studying jail reviews about him, what his spouse wrote about him — , Mayme wrote a book — and attempting to get that on. Then I got here into New York and I began to interview a few of the guys who labored with him, who had been like mobsters alongside him, like Chisolm and Junebug and people guys. After which I went into Harlem and began interviewing individuals after which slowly he began to type. He was a chess participant, he was a poet, and there have been numerous various things about his character that had been very difficult. After which I simply tried to let all of it fall into place. Whitaker on handpicking rapper/producer Swizz Beatz to attain the sequence: I believe Swizz is a superb musician and artist and I believe he understands the way to convey parts collectively right into a music, and we would have liked that. He created the entire album for the movie. Each week there can be two new songs popping out from the present, and we would have liked any person of his high quality and caliber to have the ability to do it, and that has additionally a world understanding, a extra wide-scoping understanding, to slim it all the way down to what we would have liked to be. I gotta say, he greater than delivered. He delivered a tremendous album with actual deep sensitivity and he is been there step by step-by-step. He introduced in all of those artists collectively within the writing room to create songs, and it has been a pleasure working with him really. Nigel Thatch and Forest Whitaker in ‘Godfather of Harlem’ THE HISTORY Nigél Thatch on revisiting the function of Malcolm X (Thatch beforehand performed Malcolm in Ava DuVernay’s Selma): The script is principally what made me wish to do it once more. There was an excessive quantity of this depth in not solely Malcolm X, however in all of the characters within the present. The connection between Bumpy and Malcolm was an eye fixed opener for me, and I am positive it is an eye fixed opener for lots of people, as a result of I had not recalled that relationship ever being talked about earlier than. I’ve realized loads, not solely about that relationship, however Harlem within the ’60s — it has been a little bit of a historical past lesson.  Thatch on changing into Malcolm X: I went to outdated video shops that had solely VHS tapes and pictures of Malcolm X and his speeches again within the day. I went on YouTube to seek out every part I might, I requested FBI paperwork, FBI recordsdata from the analysis specialists on the present. I had a lot of conversations with Professor James Small, who was a guide on the present. I listened to Malcolm X speeches at work all proper up till the time we’d shoot and say motion, with the earphones in my head, simply attempting to embody as a lot of his cadence and essence as I [could] proper up till the time we had been able to shoot. What I realized is that Malcolm and I, there are numerous similarities there by way of the way in which we predict. A method particularly was pondering for myself–even previous to taking part in Malcolm in Godfather of Harlem and Selma–it is necessary that you simply do the work, that you’ve got your individual ideas for your self, and never simply be beneath another person’s concepts and ideas. Oftentimes, individuals are too lazy to do the work — even to suppose.  Vincent D’Onofrio/ “Vincent ‘Chin’ Gigante” on going again in time to discover race and energy on this sequence: It was onerous. I am not going to faux that it wasn’t onerous taking part in the half. It is not a simple factor to play a racist. It is not straightforward within the context of our story. It is not straightforward associating your self with that in any means, form or type. It is heartbreaking. So, you break your coronary heart a little bit bit day by day whenever you play it. However you’ll be able to’t soften it up. It’s a must to do it full out and it’s a must to make the purpose. Some days I went house with my abdomen in knots, relying on what I did that day and what number of instances I needed to say the “n” phrase or what number of instances I had to take a look at Forest in character and take care of him by Chin’s eyes. However in the long run, you wish to obtain one thing. You wish to inform the story appropriately and repair the story one of the best you’ll be able to, and so I did my greatest attempting to try this.  Vincent D’Onofrio, Nigel Thatch and Forest Whitaker in ‘Godfather of Harlem’ Lucy Fry/ “Stella” on Bumpy Johnson. I had a really attention-grabbing discuss with Forest once we had been filming one of many scenes and studying about Bumpy Johnson as a poet. One in every of my favourite scenes is when he is speaking to Malcolm X they usually’re saying that they each needed to be attorneys, however then could not due to the systemic oppression of that point, so Bumpy was a gangster. That was such an attention-grabbing a part of it for me, simply seeing how Forest introduced a lot subtlety and gentleness to this character, and that it is a means to an finish… combating towards the system, and that violence is the one means at a sure level. I really feel like the way in which that Forest performed it with such subtlety brings a extremely attention-grabbing dialog in a means that I have not actually seen on tv earlier than from this attitude. Rafi Gavron/ “Ernie Nunzi” on what he realized about Bumpy Johnson, the person: I imply, he is a human. That is who Bumpy Johnson is to me now. And is he a gangster? I do not know. I do know some gangsters on the market who’ve acquired thousands and thousands of {dollars}, they have gentle pores and skin they usually’re carrying fits. And so they’re in [the] company world. So, to me, it is simply humanizing somebody… there is a motive he is a hero in Harlem. It is not as a result of he is a drug supplier, it is as a result of he took care of his individuals, and that was what was actually particular. I’ve all the time rooted for the underdog, and who am I to say why anybody’s promoting dope on a big degree? Perhaps I would try this if I wanted to at the moment, and that was the one alternative that I might discover. S&%t, I would flip it into an empire if I might. And that is what I acquired from it, and that is what Forest did. He is a human to me now, he is not “Bumpy Johnson.” And I hope individuals take that away. Ilfenesh Hadera and Forest Whitaker in ‘Godfather of Harlem’ Ilfenesh Hadera/ “Mayme Johnson” on working the challenge:  Like most individuals concerned on this challenge, I really feel actually hooked up to it for very private causes. Paul Eckstein, who’s our govt producer and one in all our writers, Bumpy Johnson put his aunt by faculty. After which you may have Markuann [Smith], who’s Margaret [Johnson’s] godson. I’m a Harlem resident, lifelong. So, it is actually a private type of delight to be a part of this challenge, however to return into the ’60s and type of study a Harlem that I’ve by no means skilled earlier than, one other aspect of this place that is so acquainted to me, has been actually cool, informative, and a complete studying course of in an exquisite means. It is type of what you hope for as an actor–to be given the chance to essentially delve right into a world.  THE PLACE: HARLEM, USA Gavron on Harlem: Harlem is simply an unimaginable place, and it is given us a lot; tradition, music, that revolution that we discuss, so it was simply particular being up there, and being welcomed into that neighborhood?! As I stated, I got here up on this music, so for me I am like, ‘Yo, I am part of this for a second!’ And that was actually particular to me.” Thatch on Harlem: Harlem within the ’60s I wasn’t actually acquainted with, so I have been studying loads about Harlem within the ’60s by this challenge. There is a Complete Meals now in Harlem. It is much more gentrified now, but it surely’s nonetheless cool and jazzy, simply the way in which that it was again then, however on the similar time you are feeling these roots. Antoinette Crowe-Legacy/ “Elise” Harlem, thanks for the tradition. Thanks for the music, for the politics and the historical past. Thanks for making a part of America what it’s in the present day. It was such a melting pot of people that created a lot and formed who we’re proper now. So, thanks for that.  Godfather of Harlem premieres Sunday September 29 on Epix. Photograph Credit score: David Lee/Epix Get the newest from BET in your inbox! Enroll now for the newest in superstar, sports activities, information and magnificence from BET. By clicking submit, I consent to receiving BET Newsletters and different advertising emails. BET Newsletters are topic to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use. Customers can unsubscribe at anytime. BET Newsletters are despatched by BET Networks, 1540 Broadway, New York, NY 10036. www.bet.com OR JOIN US ON http://feeds.wager.com/~r/AllBetcom/~3/6eDH1GC-28o/godfather-of-harlem-interviews.html The post Forest Whitaker on Making ‘Godfather of Harlem’ appeared first on Kartia Velino. https://kartiavelino.com/forest-whitaker-on-making-godfather-of-harlem/

[realfxntasy]

2019 Aladdin review

The live action remake of the Disney classic Aladdin has hit cinemas. Disney has been on a mission with taking these beloved cartoon films to live action, now that the movie industry has CGI and greater visual effects than ever before you cannot blame the temptation to reimagine these classics into a new modern version. That doesn’t exactly mean they always should however, here is my review for Aladdin.

The story is still the same and it is just as enjoyable and sweet to watch, we meet Aladdin played by Mena Massoud, he comes across as a cheeky and intelligent young rogue, who does what he needs to survive such as stealing but with a heart of gold truly who cares for others. This kind of devilish sly but charming character is one we see all the time in cinema now, it’s nothing new but Aladdin is still likeable enough in the live action film. The first number has Aladdin and a woman he doesn’t know try to escape the authorities, they sing as they dash through the city, it’s a sequence that’s fun but all the scenes of the chase sort of take away from the songs value and it ends up quite forgettable, this happens a lot throughout the film I found with the songs feeling rushed and sort of fast forwarded, they felt more like interludes throughout the film rather than big moments, there are some which do stand out however which I’ll get to later. Aladdin and the woman escape the guards and begin to bond at his home, they reveal to each other that they both feel trapped in where they are, Aladdin feels his identity is attatched to the name ‘street rat’ which is given to him, whereas the woman who is really Jasmine tells him she feels the same just in the role of a handmaid to the princess, I didn’t find the chemistry between the two particularly captivating, both characters were wrote well enough and they connected over their dreams and problems however I still didn’t feel much while watching the scenes between the two throughout the film. Jasmine like Aladdin is likeable enough, she cares for her people and wishes to help and feels she should rule for their sake, but there is a wall between her and the throne being the tradition of having a male ruler, Jasmine and Aladdin both are dealing with walls to overcome to be where they want. On the other side is Jafar, the films antagonist, who is sick of being number two, all his life he has had to be second to another and like Aladdin he began as nothing, the key difference is Jafar is concerned with only himself, all three of the main characters are interesting and well written characters, the film presents the characters motivations and struggles well, it stays faithful to the story as it should, it’s a timeless classic and so it is still certainly enjoyable to watch. The stand out actor throughout the film was unsurprisingly Will Smith, despite the avalanche of memes about how hilarious the CGI Will Smith looked as the Genie it still was a great take on the genie, I think casting somebody who has a large enough personality as Will Smith does was the best kind of choice, there’s always a certain kind of magic and essence Will Smith will bring to a role, just like the late Robin Williams would who played the cartoon genie from the 1992 animated film, if Disney were to cast somebody to be similar to the genie from the animated movie this would probably be overshadowed by people thinking back to how much better Robin Williams’ performance was, I think it was a perfect to choice to bring a big hitter such as Will Smith to take the role of the genie as he has a very distinct style which cannot be compared to anybody else. My favourite songs from the film was Friend like me, A Whole New World and Speechless, these songs made the film actually seem like it took a pause so we could take in and enjoy the numbers, while others felt like they were sort of just hanging in the background as the action progressed.

The next thing to discuss is the CGI, I think CGI is great and works wonders however I simply cannot get fully behind live action Disney remakes, watching Aladdin, although the films look good for sure and it’s cool to see everything brought into a realistic version, why does it actually need to look realistic? Aladdin the 1992 cartoon movie still looks gorgeous, I think the cartoon visually captures a magic the film just cannot, some scenes do look great, it’s nice to see rich deserts, vibrant city colours and the costumes, but I still feel the cartoon did it better, this is coming from someone who wasn’t even born when the cartoon came out, so by all means the CGI film should actually be more accessible for me, it sort of is, but I still find the cartoon to be more artistic and fantastical to look at then the remake.

So, to sum this up, Aladdin is for sure an entertaining watch, it’s a wonderful story still and always will be, with good characters who are entertaining and well written and it’s fun to watch Will Smith bring a new take at the genie which is his own, however I found that some of the best aspects of what made the classic animation so good were set aside like the stunning visuals and the musical numbers which proved a lot more memorable, this film felt like it set those things aside, it’s not exactly a crime, it’s a reimagining for an audience who today prefer much more stimulation and less subtlety but I feel it loses quite a bit of the magic in doing that.