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phantompoguefangirl · 1 year ago

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WRAPPED AROUND YOUR FINGER

CHAPTER FIVE: FINDING OUT

I admit I'm a bit of a fool for playing by the rules. But I've found my sweet escape when I'm alone with you -Disconnected by 5 Seconds Of Summer

A/N: I messed up Mikey's hair color timeline so I picked a random color for this chapter. Also I own none of these songs or the movie mentioned. Just using them for the fanfic. And because it's fanfic we're gonna pretend this song is by Mia and not Taylor Swift and Ed Sheeran. Also TRIGGER WARNING:MORE ABUSE MENTIONED

*Flashback*

MIA P.O.V.

Michael and I seemed to just click from the moment we met and in the span of a few shorts weeks we became the best of friends. When I was with him or even thought about him, I felt a sense of joy and warmth that I had never felt before in my life.

When we started spending time at his house with Ashton, Calum and Luke the joy and warmth intensified. They were simultaneously the goofiest and sweetest boys in the world. Ashton and I clicked almost as much as Michael and I did and sometimes if Michael was busy or Calum and Luke had wrangled him into a fifa tournament I hung out with Ash. I found out Luke secretly loved shopping so sometimes if I was able to go, I'd text Luke and ask him to go with me. This became our thing very quickly. Calum and I mostly played videogames or watched movies together. All in all, it wasn't long before the band house, and the boys themselves, began to feel like home to me.

Of course, I only hung out with them when Jesse was at work or out with his buddies and made sure to always be home before he got home. He didn't really allow me to have friends unless they were also his friends so I had to hide it from him. I hated sneaking around because I did love Jesse and I was terrified of him finding out but I savored those few hours away from everything.

He almost figured it out when my song was released. It kind of sounded like it was about falling for someone but it was really just about Michael pulling me in and making me want to get to know him better as a person. However, I'd accidentally mentioned his green eyes and stuff like that and that was what set Jesse off. We were at home when the song was released and he hadn't heard it till then because he was always too busy. Myself and the studio execs told him it was a really good song and he said to release it as soon as possible. But when he heard it, he lost his shit and started beating the crap out of me, demanding to know who it was about and why I was cheating on him. I ended up having to play it off like the song was about Jesse and how I felt when we first met, which was believable because his eyes were hazel like mine but looked more green a lot of the time. He accepted that after a bit but he stormed out saying he needed a drink and he might be back late or maybe in the morning.

I tried to hold it together but failed as I called Michael as soon as I knew Jesse was gone.

"Hey! I just listened to your song and-" Michael started babbling excitedly, answering on the first ring.

"Michael can I come over? I don't want to be alone right now," I managed to choke out through my sobs.

He turned serious immediately. "Mia, are you okay? What happened?"

I couldn't tell him what really happened so I went with a loose version of the truth.

"No, I'm not okay. Jesse and I got into a f-fight and it was bad," I explained, sniffling as I spoke."He stormed out, probably to go to a bar and get drunk."

I heard him mumble something under his breath that sounded angry but a seconf later he spoke in a soft voice. "Do you want me to come get you or do you want to meet in our usual place?"

"Um, can you actually come get me this time? I just really wanna see you," I said. It wasn't a lie, I did desperately want to see him. But I also was feeling very weak and sore and I didn't think I would be able to walk to our place in this state.

"Text me your address. I'll be right there." He said as I heard his car starting in the background.

"Thank you," I said.

"Of course. Any time," He said before hanging up.

I texted him my address, then slowly got up and made my way to the bathroom. I looked at myself in the mirror. I was in a tank top and my usual skinny jeans and I was covered in bruises. Mostly only in places that clothes covered, like my arms, wrists, legs, stomach, back, etc. He was careful about that. Though sometimes he hit me in the face and he had to get me special makeup to cover it so nobody noticed because of course we can't stain his image or reputation. Today was one of those days, so I got out the special make up and applied it to my face. I'd long since learned how to make it look like a basic foundation, eyeliner and mascara look so nobody suspected. Once I was done with that, I threw on an extra large Rolling Stones pullover sweatshirt. It was Jesse's and he was tall and very broad so it was huge on me and covered everything nicely. I put on my converse, grabbed my phone, keys and bag, and waited for Michael to arrive.

He got there in record time and I winced as I pushed through the pain to hurry out to his car. His hair was now a couple different shades of purple and he wore his usual band tee and black jeans with a denim jacket. He looked perfect as always.

"Hey," He greeted me with a gentle hug. I leaned into his chest and let out a shaky sigh. "Do you want to talk about it?"

I just shook my head against him, holding onto his jacket for dear life.

"That's okay. You don't have to," He said, rubbing my back. "Why don't we just go back to my house and watch a movie?"

I nodded and he let go of me so he could drive. He turned on the radio and A Daydream Away by All Time Low began playing. I quietly sang along as I leaned on his shoulder while he drove home.

MICHAEL P.O.V

I had been antsy all day waiting for Mia's song to drop so I could hear it and once I finally got to, I was speechless with emotions.

"All I knew

This morning when I woke

Is I know something now, know something now I didn't before

And all I've seen

Since eighteen hours ago

Is green eyes and freckles and your smile

In the back of my mind making me feel like

I just wanna know you better, know you better, know you better now

I just wanna know you, know you, know you

'Cause all I know is we said hello

And your eyes look like coming home

All I know is a simple name

And everything has changed

All I know is, you held the door

You'll be mine and I'll be yours

All I know since yesterday, yeah

Is everything has changed"

Mia's beautiful voice rang out from my speakers and I sat there in disbelief as I continued to listen.

"And all my walls

Stood tall painted blue

But I'll take 'em down, take 'em down and open up the door for you

And all I feel

In my stomach, is butterflies

The beautiful kind, making up for lost time

Taking flight, making me feel like

I just wanna know you better, know you better, know you better now

I just wanna know you, know you, know you

'Cause all I know is we said hello

And your eyes look like coming home

All I know is a simple name

And everything has changed

All I know is you held the door

And you'll be mine and I'll be yours

All I know since yesterday, yeah

Is everything has changed

Come back and tell me why

I'm feelin' like I've missed you all this time

(Uh-uh-uh)

And meet me there tonight

And let me know that it's not all in my mind

I just wanna know you better, know you better, know you better now

I just wanna know you, know you, know you

All I know is we said hello

Your eyes look like coming home

All I know is a simple name

And everything has changed

All I know is you held the door

You'll be mine and I'll be yours

All I know since yesterday, yeah

Is everything has changed

All I know is we said hello

So dust off your highest hopes

All I know is pouring rain

And everything has changed

All I know is a new found grace

All my days, I'll know your face

All I know since yesterday, yeah

Is everything has changed"

Mia wrote that about me? She'd told me I inspired this song but I had no idea how much till now. She probably didn't know this, but honestly every word was exactly how I felt from the second I met her too. I was smiling like an idiot and I couldn't stop. I yelled at the guys to come listen and they adored the song as much as I did.

"Look at your face!" Calum suddenly said, pointing at me."I reckon our little Mikey is in LOVE!"

I must have still been grinning, even though the music stopped playing.

"Ooohhh really?" Luke and Ash said together in a teasing tone.

"Very funny Cal," I said rolling my eyes. "She has a boyfriend, remember?"

"That doesn't mean you're not in love with her." He said, smirking.

"Yeah but I'm not, so why don't you do me favor and fuck off." I said the last part sarcastically, flipping him off.

"Yeah you keep telling yourself that, mate," Calum chuckled as he walked out of my room. Ash and Luke laughed as they followed him.

I rolled my eyes again as I turned back to my computer. I saved the song to my computer and my phone. I was about to call Mia but her ringtone, which was Don't Stop Believing by Journey(one of her favorite songs), started blaring from my phone before I could.

Her broken voice on the other end of the phone told me that something really bad had happened and I wanted to kick Jesse's ass for making her cry. I pushed my feelings aside and I was in my car before I even asked if she wanted me to pick her up or meet.

When I got to Mia's house, I was surprised to see that it was a fancy mansion near Sunset Boulevard. She wasn't famous enough to afford that quite yet, though I knew she would be soon. Her boyfriend must be rich or something. She ran out to my car and I could see the pain in her eyes so I just hugged her for a moment. She didn't want to talk about it so I just took her to my house.

She looked tired so I carried her inside to the movie room. She mumbled something about loving my hair which made me chuckle. I'd forgotten I dyed it again last night, but I was glad she liked it. I set her down on the reclining couch and told her I'd be right back. I ran up to my room, discarded my jacket, grabbed pillows and blankets and brought them to the movie room. I set everything up and put on The Lion King 2: Simba's Pride, which is one of her favorite disney movies. I snuggled with her and wrapped my black comforter around us. She rested her head on my chest and I brushed my fingers through her hair while we watched the movie. We both started dozing off around 3/4 of the way through the movie when Kiara and Kovu were having their moment while Love Will Find A Way started playing.

I was abruptly awoken by Mia jumping up from the couch and groaning in pain as her foot got caught in the blankets and she fell to the floor.

"Mia?! Are you okay?" I exclaimed as I went to help her up.

"I'm fine. It's just late and I have to-" But I was not paying attention to her words because standing up shifted her oversized sweatshirt off of her shoulder and revealed a dark purple and blue hand print shaped bruise on her shoulder/upper arm.

"Oh my god, your shoulder," I said as I grabbed her wrist to bring her in for a closer look but she made a pained sound so I quickly loosened my grip. Confused, I pushed her sleeve up and found more bruises on her wrist and arm.

"What the fuck is-" I started to say, but she yanked her hand away and pulled her sleeve down.

"It's nothing," she said, moving the top part of her sweatshirt back into place as well.

"That's not nothing. Did Jesse do this to you?" I asked, worriedly.

"I-um...just...don't worry about it, Michael. It's none of your business," she insisted, backing toward the door.

"None of my-...Mia, you're my best friend and I care about you. Of course it's my business!" I exclaimed as I looked at her with wide eyes.

"Well, I don't want to talk about it. I have to go before he gets home," She said, turning to open the door.

"No wait!" I said, bringing her back to face me. I noticed a very faint darkness around her eye under her makeup that could pass as sleep deprivation but I knew better. Motherfucker had given her a black eye. I was torn between rage and and worry. But I purposely kept my voice calm for her. "Don't go back there. Just stay here and we'll keep you safe. You know we will."

"Michael, stop. You don't understand." She said, pulling away from me and looking down. The broken voice had returned and I could see tears dropping onto her sleeves.

I lifted her face so I could look into her eyes. "So help me to understand."

She gazed up at me for a moment and her eyes flooded over as she spoke.

"It's not just about my safety. Jesse's a big executive in the music world and holds all my contracts. He controls my career. He controls my money. He controls EVERYTHING. He could probably even ruin your career if he finds out about you and I won't let that happen. I have to go back to him or I'll lose everything and you could too."

I stood there in shock for a minute, absorbing this information. That explained the mansion and her eyes darting around and the rushing to leave and everything. Her boyfriend was an absolute piece of shit who used his power to control and abuse her.

I pulled her into my arms and held her close. "Hey, shhh, it's gonna be okay. We'll figure it out."

I doubted this asshole could do anything to my career or the band. We got lucky and had a pretty powerful management and legal team. Actually, maybe they could help with this situation.

"Hold on, I have an idea," I said, explaining it to her and then taking her with me to find the boys. Turned out they were in the downstairs studio messing around with their instruments. Feldy was there too.

I had Mia sit with the guys while I talked to Feldy alone. He agreed to help and got on the phone immediately. It was actually not as late as we thought so he was able to contact the appropriate people fairly easily. When he was done we went back to the others and I let Mia know that the plan would work.

"What plan? What's going on?" Ashton asked.

"It's up to you if you want to tell them or not," I told Mia.

She debated for a moment before standing up and removing her sweatshirt. She wore a basic grey tank top underneath and her arms, chest and back were all discolored by different levels of bruises. There were yellowing ones under the fresh purple ones. she lifted her tank top a little to reveal more layers of violet, blue, green and yellow on her stomach.

"OH MY GOD WHAT HAPPENED? WHO DID THIS TO YOU?!" Ashton shouted, running over to her.

Calum and Luke flipped out too and started badgering her with questions.

Feldy remained calm but I could tell he was trying very hard to hold it together.

I just gaped at her in horror. It was painful to see her like this, like I felt each blow along with her. I worked to control my emotions while she explained everything to them. I helped her put her sweatshirt back on while I told them my idea and the boys were obviously on board.

We sat there planning for a long time, all the while reassuring Mia that everything would be okay...

@jetblackbritt13

#5sos #michael clifford #5 seconds of summer #michael 5sos #calum hood #luke hemmings #ashton irwin #michael clifford x reader #michael clifford fanfic #michael clifford hq #5 seconds of summer fanfiction

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realmauricioalejo · 4 years ago

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you don’t have to say you love me...

☆ — wilmer valderrama, cis male, thirty-nine. hey, did you see MAURICIO ALEJO MARTINEZ’s latest instagram story? he’s been killing it as AN ACTOR over at ALLIANCE STUDIOS though i hear he’s worried about being typecasted into ROM COMS so he’s trying to break into the ACTION GENRE. people on set have praised him for being so PROFESSIONAL + RESOURCEFUL but they’ve also said he can be DISTANT + COMPETITIVE. at least he’s killing it in the industry.

why don’t you tell me you love me, too...

History

Mauricio was never supposed to be a superstar, his family had very humble beginnings. He was born in the poorer area of Medellín, Colombia, the second child to be born to his parents. It was the 80’s and the Colombian telenovela market was booming. One of the biggest studios, Camarón, was exporting novelas to the entirety of Latin America, to great success. Mauricio’s start in the industry was out of chance, his mother worked as a custodian at Camarón and had many friends that let her know all of the gossip and ins and outs of the studio, that way she knew whenever there were open calls. Mauricio was pushed by his mother and partly by his father, to audition, at first he did badly, but eventually the casting directors saw something in him, enough to put him in small roles on some telenovelas, usually playing a son or younger brother who didn’t have many lines.

Out of the three children, he was the only one who managed to get his foot in the industry, his older brother never liked it, and his younger sister was never cast, despite countless attempts. Mauricio’s early to mid teenage years were spent booking small television roles and commercials that aired all over Colombia, and Latin America. All of the money he made went towards the family, and allowed them to have nicer things and move to a better area. Despite the good that it was providing his family, his siblings resented him, because Mauricio was treated like the golden child, the one that was giving honor to their family name.

His first big role was that of Jenny’s younger brother in Jenny la Fea, when he was 19. He had honed his craft enough at that point to be able to pull of the lovable younger brother, and Colombia began to fall in love with him.

Landing that role is what made his career boom, landing him bigger and better parts, and as he was getting older, he was getting actual romantic parts. As he entered his twenties and began to bulk up, he began landing parts that only leading men ever got. He was shaping up to be a full-blown telenovela hunk, with photoshoots lined up so that girls and women could hang up his pictures worldwide.

Mauricio had enough money at this point in his career, to move his family into a mansion in Colombia, and even moved himself to Mexico, having outgrown the Colombian market. He also paid for his brother’s rehab, and tried to get him the best treatment. He had always been troubled, but whenever Mauricio’s career took off, he always had to contend with familial issues. It was a constant pull in different directions.

On top of that there was the fact that he was deeply closeted the entire time. From the start Mauricio had known he liked men, something that he knew was unacceptable for the fanbase he was working for. And especially for his family. They had always been deeply religious and instilled in him that he had to be a man, tough and strong, just like the men he portrayed on screen. And being gay was definitely not a strong quality, despite how challenging it was for him.

Being alone in Mexico, trying to make it big in an even larger market was a task for him, but one that he was prepared to take on. He was cast in novelas alongside many of Mexico’s heavy hitters, during this he got especially close to one of his co-stars, Tiago. He and Tiago were viewed as one of the best friendships in the industry, the two played rivals in a telenovela, Rosa, but were close as thieves in real life.

The truth was that he and Tiago had fallen in love, countless hours on a set, long nights in trailers, and hotel rooms, had brought out the truth that they were both smitten by each other. They were inseparable but kept up the façade to everyone that they were just friends, afraid that their careers would end up in flames.

They kept up their charade long after they had wrapped up filming together, and moved on to other telenovela projects, finding time to spend together in secret. Both dated women for the media but knew where their true hearts were.

Mauricio was wrapping up his last telenovela when the worst moment of his life happened, he and Tiago had been photographed kissing during a moment of passion on a balcony of one of Mexico’s most exclusive hotels, and said photograph was being spread across all the tabloids in Latin America.

He and his team had no idea what to do with everything happening. So many of his fans were put off by the reality that their heartthrob could be gay. It was surely going to affect what roles came his way, and it did. His team advised him to deny, deny, deny, and double down on his relationship with Maria, another actress who needed the spotlight. Tiago had already denied it was him in the photos, and cut him off completely, choosing his career over their relationship that had spanned years at that point. Mauricio refused to play into the game, tired of hiding and came out.

His coming out process wasn’t easy, he decided to film a video that he uploaded to the internet, where he explained how his life had been up to that point, making sure to not include Tiago’s name. He was met with mostly negative feedback from his community, his fanbase, and some positives from people that felt he was representing them.

His family wasn’t accepting of it at all, and his parents cut him off completely. They felt Mauricio, the son that had brought them such pride, now just brought them shame. They couldn’t see past what they were taught, and let Mauricio know that if he wanted to be accepted as their son, he needed to choose a better walk of life.

All of this left him practically alone, with his career in shambles, it was truly the darkest period of his life. He felt that almost overnight his life had been flipped upside down, all of the illusions that he’d had of the world were stripped away and he was left standing alone with the reality of what it all was.

With nothing left to do, he moved himself to the US, taking some time to himself to recharge and find his footing. He knew that he had to come up with a new plan for his career, he wasn’t getting any of the offers he used to. None of his old fans wanted to see him as the heartthrob anymore, they didn’t buy it.

His early thirties were a time of change and planning, he had through the Los Angeles scene, met with filmmakers, some that had heard of his story and they wanted to cast him in a film. It was an indie film about a gay man in love with the ghost haunting his home. Mauricio wasn’t sure how he felt about taking part in it, but he wasn’t getting any other offers, so he took it. The movie went on to be a hit in the indie circuit, debuting to a lot of acclaim, and becoming a cult favorite.

That was enough to then land him a small role television role as a quirky love interest to one of the female protagonists, people were believing him in the role of a straight man again, only this time it was for an entirely different market.

He landed a couple rom-coms, as the latin lover with an accent that wooed the girl, that did well in the box office, making a name for himself in America. His career was starting to gain traction again, after having almost completely died.

After his biggest rom com, he was on the radar of Hollywood execs, enough that he was eyed for the role of Pedro Plume, the Lunar-lord in Champions of the Universe. It was one of Alliance Studios’ biggest projects in their superhero franchise and he knew that if he were to land it, it would solidify him as a star in the American market.

When he was confirmed for the role of Pedro, it was the happiest day of his life. It meant that he had survived everything that he had been through.

Mauricio is still trying to take control of his career, and focus on big action movies, rather than being pigeonholed as the latin lover, but that is proving easier now that he is the Lunar-lord, and has a couple Champions of the Universe movies under his belt.

Es que a tus labios, no los entiendo.

#about mauricio #;the lunarlord #tw: homophobia #tw: outing #this is long ok

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netflixandgrill-blog · 5 years ago

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We’re Just Not That Into He’s Just Not That Into You

9 Netflix and Grill Takeaways

1. Ginnifer Goodwin Acts Her Ass Off

We both had a sudden realization when watching this movie: Ginnifer Goodwin is (or at least should be) America’s sweetheart. She’s cute, likable, intelligent, vulnerable, and funny, and she carried this movie like she was Atlas and this turd of a movie was the world resting on her shoulders.

2. It’s Chock Full of Stars

Even the smaller roles are played by like A-List actors. How they got all these assfaces to sign on for three total minutes of screen time in this dud is the biggest head-scratcher of 2009 (and that was the year everyone was still trying to figure out what caused the financial crisis.) There are roughly 700 major characters in this film, and their lives all loosely intersect like a way-shittier Magnolia or a slightly-shittier Love Actually.

There are so many characters, in fact, that perennial star Drew Barrymore pops in and out so infrequently that you forget that she’s in the movie. It seems Drew Barrymore’s character’s sole function is to plug the barely-still-relevant MySpace in the 3 scenes she’s in. We half-expected Tom to make a cameo.

3. Jennifer Connelly Is Way Too Intense for This Romcom

Someone shoulda told J-Con, “This isn’t Requiem For a Dream, this is just some light viewing for couples on date night or boozed-up quarantiners. Let’s take it down about 5 notches.” But instead, J-Con swings for the fences in this fairly banal role as if she can smell an Oscar within reach. Like when she flips out on her poor home renovator (Luis Guzman), delivering a diatribe aimed at him with the same intensity that Liam Neeson directs toward the kidnappers in Taken. And over what? She suspects he and his fellow workers have been smoking. (Cue members of the audience clutching their pearls.)

In fact, the whole subplot of her paranoia about everyone around her enjoying a cig on the down-low feels like a “truth” anti-smoking ad. She even lets husband Bradley Cooper off the hook for nailing ScarJo behind her back as long as he wasn’t smoking during it!

4. Jennifer Aniston is Somehow a Pathetic Character

We are supposed to buy that the other characters in the movie look down on the still-unmarried Jennifer Aniston like she is a pitiable, kooky old maid with 39 cats when in actuality she is literally the most beautiful woman in the world (see People Magazine in 2004 and 2016).

To both of their credit, Jennifer Aniston and on-screen beau Ben Affleck prove their star quality with a touching proposal scene that could easily have become a romcom cliché. Heidi definitely got a bit misty-eyed. Mike wept openly.

5. And Justin Long Is Somehow the Heartbreaker

Remember Justin Long as Warren Cheswick, the super dorky teen in the TV show Ed? Well, that’s how we will always remember him. How did he make the insane leap from that (very appropriately cast) role to one where he is slaying puss like Leo at Cannes? The world may never know.

6. ScarJo Is Apparently a Rising Music Star and We Never See Her Sing

A struggling musician, ScarJo connects with music exec Bradley Cooper and they exchange numbers, so at their next meeting he obviously he comes to see her at a venue where she’s performing, right? Wrong, it’s at a yoga class that she apparently teaches, as if yoga has anything to do with anything. E from Entourage also has the hots for ScarJo and is chasing her all over town, so we see him catching up with her at an open mic, rehearsal room, or recording studio, right? Wrong, wrong, and wrong. When does she perform/rehearse? ScarJo’s character might be the least disciplined artist since, well, us.

Then, at the end of the movie, we finally see a snapshot of ScarJo performing without sound as if they are hiding the fact that she can’t sing, which is completely bizarre, as ScarJo has released two albums in real life and, oh, by the way, has a song on the film’s fucking soundtrack.

Of all the silly choices the filmmakers made for this movie, and there are many, this bungled subplot is by far the most baffling.

7. The Story Incorporates Pointless Confessional Vignettes

The writers of this movie evidently watched When Harry Met Sally, saw the confessional interviews interspersed throughout the movie, and said, “Let’s just copy those and make them strange non-sequiturs instead of using them to connect the narrative.” It’s almost as if the writers were getting paid by the movie minute, making this already-too-long-movie even longer.

8. E From Entourage’s Character Is the Most Hard-Up Person in History

E from Entourage has it bad for ScarJo, his friend who he used to date. ScarJo exploits his attraction to her in order to gain emotional support, but that’s fine with him because he is obsessed with her and will take what he can get. She’s all, “Could you just tell me I’m beautiful?,” and he’s all, “Could you just touch it, blow on it, look at it for a second, literally anything?” In one scene where she greets him with a hug we expected him to immediately need a change of pants.

9. Heidi’s Favorite Song Is In the Movie

It’s the Talking Heads’ “This Must Be the Place,” which is ironic, cause this 41-per-cent-on-Rotten-Tomatoes chick flick is the last place she wanted to hear this song.

#hesjustnotthatintoyou romcom chickflick badmoviereview cheesymovies quarantine datenight scarjo bcoop netflixandchill

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fandomsallaroundme · 5 years ago

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As someone who really likes Tony as a character in his various incarnations, as well as a being huge Stony shipper, the current state of the Marvel fandom due to this special breed of MCU Tony stans is killing me. It's like their life's mission is to downplay the contributions of every other character (except maybe Peter) to make their fav look the best. They sure love reducing Steve Rogers to the "pretty white guy who did nothing", which frankly couldn't be further from the truth. (1)

Of course when called outon their shit, (and the fact that they all conveniently ignore that Tony never called Steve either when he had the chance to), they fall back on the "WhY caN'T yOu TaKE a JoKE!!1!" excuse. It's honestly exhausting to have your love for a character being slowly drained out of you because the most popular version of that character has a million toxic stans who somehow don't understand that the other Avengers may mean just as much to other people as Tony does to them. (2)

I found your blog because I pretty much had it with being disrespectful towards the other Avengers as some sort of weird ass defense for Tony, which the character doesn’t need. IMO if you can't build your fav up without tearing other characters down and then trying to play it off as a joke, you're doing it wrong. I don't understand why they can't let Tony be an actual flawed (but incredibly interesting) character,as that is what drew me to him in the first place. (3)

I also have to stop myeyes from rolling into another dimension when they try and make "bad childhoods" into a competition, but then conveniently forget that Nat was literally brainwashed into being an assassin from a young age, and Steve grewup in poverty with an alcoholic father, sick mother, a list of illnesses longer than my shopping list while WWII raged on in the background. Like they're trying

to claim Tony had it the hardest?? Compared to these other characters????

What????? (4)

Honestly, that makes me

feel like these “stans” don't know shit about Tony at all, because that's

something the character himself wouldn't even THINK of saying, in both the MCU

and the comics/cartoons. I just want my pre-MCU Civil War Marvel fandom back so

I can go into the tag without seeing all this shitty content. Anyways, sorry

for the rant, had to deal with some of those toxic stans today and came here to

get a breath of fresh air. (5)

Sorry if my reply is a bit later than expected, I had to get home from work and then I had to lay out all your asks chronologically and read them all at once because reading them chunk by chunk was whacking my ADHD brain out lmao

Anyway, first of all: hi! It’s super nice to meet another Marvel fan who actually likes the team instead of just one character in particular! So glad to have you aboard this actual garbage dump that is my blog! Welcome! And don’t worry about ranting, lord knows I do it all the time yet somehow people still think I’m worth following. :D

Second, god do I know where you’re coming from. The Marvel fandom used to be such an open and inviting place, full of some of the best people I could ever hope to meet. I was a huge fan since 2011 when Thor and Captain America TFA came, but I didn’t really join the “fandom” itself until… maybe early 2014?? Around the time Winter Soldier came out. I remember the fandom coming together and just sobbing over this beautiful movie, coming up with hundreds of fics and headcanons for how Tony and the other Avengers could help rehabilitate Bucky and help Steve get his friend back. There were whole discussions and wishes for a very long and very important talk between the entire group as friends, for Tony to learn the truth and choose to forgive Bucky for his parent’s deaths because he never chose to kill them, would never choose to do so of his own free will, and for the team to come together, stronger than ever because they understood each other’s pain.

I haven’t seen hide nor hair of such AUs since 2016.

Civil War was the worst possible decision the Marvel execs made. They should never have tried to adapt the storyline into a movie, or they shouldn’t have done it so haphazardly while also still trying to resolve the issues from TWS. Dividing the fandom on who is Right and who is Wrong was a fucking mistake, because instead of thinking critically about the moral implications of what signing or abstaining from the Accords means, the fandom has devolved into claiming the side that their favorite characters are on is automatically “Right” and then trying to build a defense around their character in particular instead of what they are actually fighting for.

I’m very sorry your enjoyment of Tony’s character has faded because of people who cannot admit their faves’ faults. Tony is actually a rather interesting and complicated character, and although I cannot say whether or not I could ever love him the way I used to way back in the 2012-2013 era of Marvel, I could at least, ya know, tolerate him, or just be neutral to him.

But I have to Hate Him, because the toxic, overwhelming majority of his stans have targeted, degraded, and trashed all the other Avengers so thoroughly I can no longer see what I ever liked about Tony in the first place.

Yes, Tony suffered. Yes, his childhood was hard. Yes, Steve shouldn’t have lied to him.

But he hasn’t suffered the most out of the entire Avengers team (Natasha), he didn’t grow up chronically ill (Steve) or in poverty and orphaned (Wanda). Howard not loving him was awful, but he still did have a wonderful father figure in Edwin Jarvis, and his mother loved and cared for him.

Steve lying to him seems to be, like, the biggest evidence his stans have that he should have hated the Avengers, or, it’s the reason they like to give for hating the others because “everyone turned against him!! He deserved better friends!!!” No??? Steve lying to him was wrong, but him trying to kill Bucky was no less wrong (it was, in fact, about 100x worse because, ya know, murder), and after all of that it was completely within Tony’s power to move forward and try to rebuild his friendships.

The cellphone was Steve’s olive branch; it was Tony’s choice not to take it until the world was literally ending around them. The others were completely within their right to avoid/hate Tony for him locking them up in a remote prison without a trial or even a hope of release before Steve freed them. A lot of Tony’s choices are ultimately the worst things that came back to bite the Avengers in the ass; Ultron, not calling Steve, not turning the donut ship back to Earth after Ebony Maw was dead, the Sokovia Accords, etc.

(Aw geez, I kind of went on my own rant there, lol)

I desperately wish for the days where the fandom didn’t know about Civil War, when the team was the Team and they all lived together and kicked a lot of HYDRA ass together and then went out to do the occasional solo mission that was part of their own trilogies and everything was good and everyone could actually forgive each other for small things instead of instantly turning on each other because someone’s favorite character did something rude to another.

But, seeing as that’s not likely to be happening anytime soon, I invite you to enjoy my blog and engage in more rants with me in the future if you so wish. It’s nice to meet you. :)

#MCU #Marvel #ask #ladymoonveil #anti Tony stans

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weekendwarriorblog · 5 years ago

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WHAT TO WATCH THIS WEEKEND September 20, 2019 - VILLAINS, BLOODLINE, DOWNTON ABBEY, AD ASTRA, RAMBO: LAST BLOOD

It’s hard to believe that September is almost over, and we’re just sailing through the September festival season with the New York Film Festival starting (for real) next week. There are three wide releases, but I will only have seen one of them before writing this, so instead, I’ll talk about a couple genre movies opening Friday, both of which played at Lincoln Center’s “Scary Movies XII” last month.

I remember writing quite extensively about VILLAINS (Alter/Gunpowder and Sky) when I was over at the Tracking Board, mainly about the casting of Bill Skarsgard from It, Maika Monroe from It Follows, as well as Jeffrey Donovan and Kyra Sedgwick. It’s the new movie from Dan Berk and Robert Olsen, who directed the horror sequel The Stakelander and have written a pretty amazing comedy-thriller twist on the home invasion movie. Skarsgard and Monroe play a young couple who hide out in a seemingly abandoned house after robbing a store. They soon learn that not only is it not abandoned, but there is a young girl chained in the basement. The owners of the home, played by Kyra Sedgwick and Jeffrey Donovan, then return and things go sideways for the young couple as they find that maybe their petty crimes make them the good guys in this scenario. Villains is getting a fairly hearty release into roughly 100 theaters across the country, so check your listings to see if/where it will be playing near you. (It mainly seems to be playing in Regal theaters across the country.)

Another interesting genre film opening Friday is Henry Jacobson’s psychological thriller BLOODLINE (Momentum Pictures), starring Seann William Scott as Evan, a high school social worker with a secret – he’s also a serial killer who tries to help his patients by ridding them of their issues. Evan is also experiencing a new baby with his wife, which might keep him from his killing habits, except that his mother (Dale Dickey) has shown up to help them, and she was the one who taught him his ways. This is a really dark and gory film that I quite enjoyed in a similar way as some of my favorite serial killer thrillers, from Hitchcock’s Psychoto Henry, Portrait of a Serial Killer and others. It honestly can’t be a better time for this with all the true crime television we’re getting, and I was pretty blown away by Scott’s performance in this. Bloodlineisplaying at the IFC Center for Friday and Saturday late night screenings and probably will be available On Demand as well.

You can read my interview with Seann William Scott and the directors of VILLAINS over at The Beat, the latter posting Friday.

The one wide release I have seen this weekend is Focus Features’ DOWNTOWN ABBEY, a continuation of the PBS series with an absolutely amazing British cast that includes Dame Maggie Smith, Penelope Wilton and so many more that I won’t name all of them. I feel that I’m not the best person to properly review the movie since I haven’t seen a second of the series, but I generally liked what I saw and might give it a look if I can find a good streaming source on which to binge it. I actually liked the movie enough to recommend it without having any previous knowledge of the series.

Probably my biggest disappointment of this week is that I didn’t have a chance to see James Gray’s AD ASTRA (20thCentury Fox), starring Brad Pitt, before Thursday night, because I wasn’t able to get to the press screening. It’s been one of my more anticipated movies of the year, mainly because I generally love outer space movies, but I also have been interested in seeing what Gray and Pitt do with the material, especially with such a great supporting cast.

Another movie that I only got to see just before this column posts is Sylvester Stallone’s RAMBO: LAST BLOOD (Lionsgate), which I reviewed over at The Beat. I had very few expectations for the movie, as I’ve never been a huge Rambo fan. I’m not sure why, but I guess I just never got into the Rah! Rah! USA! Stuff that permeated the United States in the ‘80s, and I was more into music than movies at the time. Reading my review, it’s obvious that Stallone’s latest attempt to revive a franchise didn’t do much for me.

You can read what I think of the above’s box office prospects over at The Beat, as well.

LIMITED RELEASES

I’m not quite sure why there are so many limited releases this weekend –I count almost 30 (!!!!) over on Rotten Tomatoes– but I’ll see what I can get to this week since I’m already a little behind. If you missed, Rob Zombie’s 3 FROM HELL on Monday and Tuesday night and more importantly, missed my scathing review of it over at The Beat, well, then you’ve missed it since this column is posting after it played its last night before its blu-ray release next month. Sorry!

A fantastic documentary opening at the Metrograph this week is Jacqueline Olive’s directorial debut ALWAYS IN SEASON (Multitude Films), a stirring film about the history of lynching, circling around the death of 17-year-old Lennon Lacy from Bladenboro, North Carolina, which is ruled as a suicide but his mother Claudia is convince that her son was lynched. Olive’s powerful film provides a background for how lynching became so prevalent in the early part of the 20thCentury, including an eerie annual reenactment by the town of Monroe, Georgia that wants to make sure that the county’s atrocities aren’t forgiven or forgotten. Narrated by Danny Glover, Olive’s directorial debut is powerful and moving and a film that must not be missed – maybe it’s no surprise that it won a Special Jury prize at Sundance Film Festival for “Moral Urgency” earlier this year. I was pretty shaken up when I saw it at this year’s Oxford Film Festival.

The Metrograph is also screening two National Geographic shorts, Alexander A. Mora’s The Night Crawlers and Orlando von Einsiedel’sLost and Found, over the next week. The Night Crawlers looks at a group of Filipino journalists known as the “Manila Nightcrawlers” who seek to expose the truth about President Duterte’s war on drugs and the number of people who lost their lives over it. Lost and Foundi s a new doc short from the director of the Netflix doc The White Helmets which looks at the Myanmar’s ethnic violence against the Rohingya people through the eyes of a man in a refugee camp seeking to reunite children with parents.

Japanese animation house Studio TRIGGER’s first feature film PROMARE (GKIDS) will get a limited release on Friday, following Fathom Events showings on Tuesday (already passed) and Thursday (tonight). It will then be opening in New York at the Metrograph and AMC Empire on Friday for a one-week run. It’s an apocalyptic sci-fi thriller set in a world thirty years after a race of flame-wielding mutant beings called the Burnish set half the world on fire an the battle between the anti-Burnish Burning Rescue and Lio Fotia, leader of the aggressive new “Mad Burnish” mutants.

Paolo Sorrentino, director of the Oscar-winning The Great Beauty and its follow-up Youth, returns with LORO (Sundance Selects), about a young hustler named Sergio (Riccardo Scamarcio) managing an escort service who sets his sights on the egotistical billionaire Italian ex-Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi (Tony Servillo) who is trying to bribe his way back into power. It will open at the IFC Center Friday.

A couple other docs opening this weekend, the first two opening at New York’s Film Forum…

Now playing is Hassan Fazili’s Midnight Traveler (Oscilloscope) about how the filmmaker received death threats from the Taliban in 2015 for running Kabul, Afghanistan’s Art Café, a progressive meeting place, so he, his wife and two young daughters must travel 3,500 miles over 3 years across four countries to get to Hungary, a journey documented via mobile phone cameras. It will open in L.A. on October 4.

Then on Friday, there’s Matt Tyrnauer’s new film WHERE’S MY ROY COHN? (Sony Pictures Classics) looks at the lawyer and power broker who was part of Joe McCarthy’s anti-Communist activities and who was pivotal in molding a young Queens developer named Donald Trump. I wanted to like this movie more because Roy Cohn is such an interesting human being in such a despicable way, but this doc really didn’t do much for me.

Opening in New York (Cinema Village) and L.A. (Laemmle Glendale) is DIEGO MARADONA (HBO Sports), the new doc from Asif Kapadia (Amy, Senna), which will show on HBO on October 1. If you don’t know international football (or soccer), the Argentine Maradona is one of the most famous footballers of all time, a bit of a legend since signing to Naples in 1984 for a record-setting fee. I haven’t watched this yet but hope to soon.

Opening at New York’s IFC Center Friday is Max Powers’ Don’t Be Nice (Juno Films), focusing on the Bowery Slam Poetry Team as they head to the national championships, and there will be QnAs almost every night in its week-long run, and then it will open in L.A. on September 27.

Completely unrelated but also at the IFC Center is a full-week run of National Theatre Live: Fleabag, screening a pre-recorded performance of Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s one-woman show that inspired her hit Emmy-nominated show from the Soho Playhousein London’s West End. Heck, I might try to get to one of these since it won’t be on television or any other format for at least a year.

After opening for “one night only” on Tuesday, Louie (The Cove) Psihoyos’ new movie The Game Changers will get a release on New York this Friday and L.A. the 27th. Exec. produced by James Cameron, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jackie Chan, it explores the rise of plant-based eating in professional sports along with Special Forces trainer James Wilks and features segments on Schwarzenegger, Formula One racer Lewis Hamilton, tennis player Novak Djokovic and NBA star Chris Paul.

Demi Moore, Ed Helms, Karan Soni (from the “Deadpool” movies) and Jessica Williams star in the horror-comedy Corporate Animals (Screen Media), the new comedy from Patrick Brice (Creep, The Overnight) about a corporate team-building adventure that turns to cannibalism when an office group find themselves trapped in a cave system. The movie has a great cast but the strange concept and weak screenplay really keeps the movie from delivering.

Other movies out this weekend include James Franco’s Zeroville (MyCinema), co-starring Megan Fox and Seth Rogen; Nicolas Cage’s new movie Running with the Devil (Quiver DIstribution), a drug thriller co-starring Laurence Fishburne, Barry Pepper, Leslie Bibb and more; and the award-winning Chinese drama Send Me to the Clouds (Cheng Cheng Films), opening in L.A., NY, Toronto and Vancouver.

STREAMING AND CABLE

Maybe the movie I’m most excited for this week is Zak Galifianakis’ BETWEEN TWO FERNS: THE MOVIE (Netflix), which I’m sure is going to be silly, maybe even stupid, but I’m still amused by his style of humor. I also haven’t seen the new Netflix doc Inside Bill’s Brain: Decoding Bill Gates, and I also no absolutely nothing about the movie other than what’s in the title.

REPERTORY

METROGRAPH (NYC):

On Tuesday, the Metrograph began a series called “Bleecker Street: The First Five Years” running through Thursday withsingle screenings of Debra Granik’s Leave No Trace, Sebastian Lelio’s Disobediance and Brett Haley’s I’ll See You in My Dreams with talent doing QnAs. On the weekend, the theater has special screenings of the dance film The Red Shoes (1948) on Saturday with an introduction by Jillian McManemin – I honestly have no idea who that is. On Saturday, the Academy is back with its monthly series, this month showing Milos Forman’s 1979 musical Hair with actor Treat Williams and Annie Golden in person. On Sunday, there’s a similarly special screening of Martin Scorsese’s 1990 crime classic Goodfellas with producer Irwin Winkler and screenwriter Nick Pileggi -- $35 tickets, a little pricey for me. You also have just two more days (today and tomorrow) to see Satoshi Kon’s Millennium Actress on the big screen.

This weekend’s Welcome To Metrograph: Redux offering is Jean Vigo’s 1934 film L’Atalante, Late Nites at Metrograph is showing Fantastic Planet(again) and the Japanese horror film Hausu (1977). This weekend’s Playtime: Family Matinees is Alfonso Cuaron’s fantasy A Little Princess (1995)

ALAMO DRAFTHOUSE BROOKLYN (NYC)

The Alamo is also celebrating “Arthouse Theater Day” on Wednesday with Robert Downey Sr.’s Putney Swope. They’re also doing a “Rambo Marathon” on Sunday to tie-in with Stallone’s latest Rambo movie -- $35 for all five Rambo movies. Now THAT is a great deal, and there are a few tickets left. On Saturday afternoon, the Alamo is showing Almodovar’s 2000 classic All About My Mother to celebrate the Spanish filmmaker before the release of his newest film Pain and Glory. Monday’s “Out of Tune” is Lars von Trier’s 2000 film Dancer in the Dark, starring Bjork. Next week’s “Terror Tuesday” is the amazing Vera Farmiga thriller Orphan from 2009, and the Alamo is also playing Almodovar’s Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown from 1988. Next week’s “Weird Wednesday” is 1995’s Tank Girl, starring Lori Petty.

AERO (LA):

Wednesday is (or rather, was) a screening of the 1969 film Putney Swope as part of Art House Theater Day 2019, Thursday is a screening of the 1984 adaptation of Arthur C. Clarke’s 2010: The Year We Made Contact. In honor of Downton Abbey (I guess?), the Aero is beginning a series called “Upstairs, Downstairs,” beginning Friday with a 70mm print of 1993’s The Remains of the Day, starring Anthony Hopkins an Emma Thompson, then Saturday is a double feature of Hitchcock’s Rebecca (1940) and Carol Reed’s The Fallen Idol (1948), and then on Sunday is a double feature of Ruggles of Red Cap (1935) and By Candlelight (1933), as well as a separate free member screening of Downton Abbey with some of the cast in person.

FILM FORUM (NYC):

Robert Altman’s classic 1975 film Nashville will screen as a new 4k restoration for the next week with screenwriter Joan Tewkesbury appearing on Saturday night. This weekend’s “Film Forum Jr.” is Howard Hawk’s 1940 movie His Girl Friday, starring Cary Grant. Joseph Losey’s Holocaust drama Mr. Klein ends on Thursday.

QUAD CINEMA (NYC):

The Quad is back with another great series called “Laws of Desire: The Films of Antonio Banderas” beginning Wednesday, showing so many films starring the Spanish actor who is likely to get nominated for his first Oscar for Almodovar’s Pain and Glory. It will even show Steven Soderbergh’s upcoming The Laundromat, which premieres on Netflix next week. Instead of going through all 13 of the movies, click on the link above and get ready to be Banderasized!

IFC CENTER (NYC)

Weekend Classics: Staff Picks Summer 2019 is Tony Scott’s vampire flick The Hunger (1983), chosen by “Todd,” Waverly Midnights: Staff Picks Summer 2019 is the anime classic Akira, chosen by “Katie,” and Late Night Favorites: Summer 2019 is Satoshi Kon’s Paprika(again?)

MUSEUM OF THE MOVING IMAGE (NYC):

This weekend begins a “See It Big! Ghost Stories” series with the Japanese horror Ugetsu from 1953, then Saturday is The Phantom Carriage (1921) – this is with live piano accompaniment! --The Ghost and Mrs. Muir(1947), and then Sunday they’re screening Olivier Assayas’ more recent Personal Shopper (2006) with Kristen Stewart.

FILM AT LINCOLN CENTER (NYC):

Although Lincoln Center is preparing for next week’s New York Film Festival, this weekend it’s holding special screenings of two Gershwin films, Otto Preminger’s 1959 musical Porgy and Bess on Thursday (with panel) and then Vincente Minelli’s An American in Paris on Friday.

BAM CINEMATEK (NYC):

“The Purpose and Passion: the Cinema of John Singleton” ends on Friday, but there are screenings of his 2000 Shaft movie, starring Samuel L. Jackson, and another screening of Boyz n the Hood before then.

EGYPTIAN THEATRE (LA):

Thursday night is a screening of David Lean’s The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957), but the rest of the weekend is the “Guadalajara Film Festival.”

LANDMARK THEATRES NUART (LA):

Friday night’s midnight offering is John Waters’ 2004 movie A Dirty Shame, starring Tracey Ullman, Johnny Knoxville and Selma Blair.

THE NEW BEVERLY (L.A.):

The New Bev continues its “time out” at the bottom of this section as long as Tarantino uses his repertory theater to show Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood, and currently it’s booked through the end of September. Since this week’s column is late, you already missed the 1952 film The Narrow Marginas the Weds. matinee, the New Bev will also show the Hanna/Barbera animated feature Hey There, It’s Yogi Bear (1964) as this weekend’s “Kiddee Matinee.” Tarantino’s Jackie Brown is the Saturday night midnight movie, and then on Monday, the theater will show David Lynch’s Mulholland Drive (2000) in two matinees (the 2pm is already sold out).

A quieter week with only one wide release, the Universal/DreamWorks animation fantasy-adventure Abominable.

#WhatToWatchThisWeekend Movies Reviews Villains Bloodline Downton Abbey AlwaysInSeason

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trulycertain · 7 years ago

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All right, so I’m reading Iron Man: Legacy, after having three separate people rec it to me ("It’s got him trying to build his way out of depression after his parents died! It’s got that panel with the winged horse! It’s got the roller skates!”), and I’m currently on Issue 7. I’m enjoying it immensely, and still sad it got cancelled before its time. However, it’s also making me a bit worried for the upcoming run on IIM.

...I should probably explain that, huh?

I'm still hopelessly endeared by Tyree helping Tony solve a problem with the solar cells on a new prototype, and "The way Tony describes tech, he makes it easy - like it was already inside your own head the whole time." And that's because Tony knows it was. It's a much smaller thing with the MCU version, but 616's Stark... his faith in people and his refusal to patronise anyone is a defining character trait. It's one of my favourite things about him. He absolutely has his moments and he does tend to take his wealth and power for granted, but in general, he's never intentionally patronising or trying to hurt unless someone has really, really pissed him off and done something awful. You see it most often with supervillains, or with interfering government execs, or when he’s using it as a persona thing to cut down rival companies. It’s not his default mode.

And connecting to that, I love how this issue contextualises the class thing. He runs off with a hundred from Tamara’s hidden stash, saying that "as soon as my company’s re-capitalized, I’ll pay you back at a thousand percent interest!” Tony's not trying to hurt anyone, but he doesn't get what it's like to panic at someone getting your rainy-day fund when it may be the second-to-last money you've got. But at the same time...he then goes and gives them a controlling interest in his company, because they’ve helped him out and he wouldn’t be able to get it back without them. Because when he says a thousand per cent interest, he means it. That's just who he is. It's not pity, it's not charity, it's just "you did me a favour within your bounds, I'm repaying it within mine.” He does it again and again through his character arcs. He doesn’t see the point of hoarding money to show off rather than to do something useful with it - with some exceptions. OK, a lot of exceptions. But he tends to lavish it on other people instead of himself, rather a lot.

In 616, if he is being an eejit, it's often because his brain is working a million miles a minute and someone else hasn't quite got used to the careening-car way of thinking he has.

There was a shift with Civil War, and partly because Millar has a certain, uh, style of writing characters, but during his own solo storylines, and the issue where he’s in the hands of Bendis... well, that quiet compassion and trying not get in anyone’s way while they’re doing their jobs is still there. When he’s in public, he shows off and grandstands and plays the playboy. When he’s in private and being himself, he’s quieter and more considerate. Both of those come from a place of truth. Heck, this arc I’m reading now is from 2010, explicitly refers to Iron Man 2 coming out, and has kept that.

And that’s my point, I think. I’m reading this and thinking it exemplifies everything I love about 616 Tony and gets him right, in a very real way.

And then I wander back to Chrome and get to an interview with Slott about the next run on IIM, where he’s taking over.

They asked, “What would your take be on Iron Man?” I was like, “Cutting edge technology, Robert Downey Jr. in the armor. Except we’re telling stories out of Black Mirror.”

OK, so that on its own is probably a cool idea. But in the context of 616... It’s not really a 616 idea. There’s also a line about making Tony “cool again” rather than “pained and sad”... Yeah, that’s. Hmm. Again, interesting, but not very 616. Heck, I’d argue MCU is still pained and sad, he’s just a little better at hiding it than 616. And kind of hilarious about it, often.

Many of the newer writers have been importing dialogue wholesale from the MCU without thinking about it or seeing the intent behind it. But while that allows for some cool one-liners, and comics are inherently adaptable in the way all longform stories with so many different tellers are, this just... hasn’t worked, and still doesn’t.

The MCU writers kept a lot of 616 Tony’s traits, they just contextualised them differently and put a whole other slant on it. It's also worth noting that MCU and 616 had rather different childhoods and kinds of abuse to deal with, too, and MCU has had far fewer on-screen struggles with addiction. He also got kicked out of his own arrogance (and OK, we can talk about whether or not that’s a fair descriptor of pre-Afghanistan Tony in either ‘verse and how differently he’s been characterised from writer to writer, yes, but run with me for this sentence?) at a far later age than 616, who has been a superhero trying to help people and putting his life on the line since he was 21.

I mean, I love the movie canon. It's what got me into the character. But 616 and MCU Tonys are different Tonys and I love them both equally. It's like picking a favourite child. Trying to merge them... it doesn’t always work. Much like 616 Tony is different again from Ults Tony, though there are a lot of similarities (and yes, in a lot of ways, MCU is a combination of them both).

616 is an alcoholic, and that fundamentally changes his worldview. MCU may drink a little much and resort to it in times of pain, but it’s never been confirmed he has a drinking problem, and it doesn’t seem to be a fundamental trait in the same way. (It’s just kind of... wrong to see 616 with a cocktail, and yet that’s happened in several issues. And no, those weren’t mocktails. *sigh*) 616 plays the playboy, but is actually pretty monogamous and a bit of a romantic; it’s MCU that does the whole “playboy with a different babe on his arm every night” thing. 616 is very quippy and snarky (he used to be less, but he was always one for a bit of jive talk, and I think this is partly due to styles of writing changing through the eras), but is drier about it and sometimes less obvious than MCU, and his sense of humour, when it isn’t nerdy as all hell, runs towards the darker and sadder more often. 616 cares about his business and actually kind of loves the day-to-day responsibility even when he hates all the paperwork; MCU falls asleep in meetings on paperwork (but still probably takes care of things when he’s not handing them over to Obadiah and then to Pepper, he’s just less obvious and would much rather be the one-man R&D department).

A lot of writers seem to be taking a really superficial “arrogant manchild” read of MCU, which is a misread of him too, and then trying to apply this to 616. It’s like all of the superficial cool with none of the conscience. I mean, the most obvious instance of this is Superior Iron Man, who was meant to be “pre-Afghanistan Tony,” and I just... uh. No.

In general, I’m not one for “the canon writers are doing it wrong!” But this is fifty years of canon, it’s really hard to catch up on and make into something consistent and yeah, and sometimes I see writers who don’t seem to have read the source material before they’ve started writing for it. I don’t mean the whole thing, just... not even the fundamental arcs. Sometimes that can lead to new and refreshing takes, and sometimes that can just lead to confusion and flanderisation.

I’m trying to keep an open mind, but... I’m worried. And I keep thinking I’m really missing the kind of Tony we saw in Legacy and bits of Michilinie and Bendis’ runs.

...Anyhow. Open mind, Tru. Open mind. And if things don’t work out, just wander off and find some more back issues to read for a while. Right.

(I just want to mention: Legacy also gives me Tony getting shoved into a shopping trolley and being carried back in that, chestplate silliness, and Tony in a kind of hideous canary yellow football shirt. Thank you, Legacy. I love you, Legacy.)

#this blog isn't usually very #marvel critical #616 tony stark #invincible iron man #iron man legacy #tony stark #marvel #just... i swear this isn't ranting #take it as mild worry that comes from love?#because that's usually what i do on this blog #go on about the bits i love #which include this guy #who is one of my favourite characters in pretty much anything #anyhow #meta #ie me rambling #616 #tru reads comics #sad beardy dudes full of tech

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miss-m-and-her-blog · 7 years ago

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He’s My Girl (Chapter 13)

TITLE OF STORY: He’s My Girl CHAPTER: 13 AUTHOR: miss-m-and-her-blog WHICH TOM/CHARACTER: AU Actor!Tom GENRE: Romance, Action, Drama FIC SUMMARY: He’s a guy, she’s a boy in disguise. He’s an actor, she’s a stuntman or -woman. How can it ever work when the famous Tom Hiddleston stars in an action film, with Charlie or Charlene as his stunt choreographer? RATING: T WARNINGS/TRIGGERS/AUTHORS NOTES: FEEDBACK/COMMENTS: I’ve changed the cover, yay! :D I did that to keep up with the story’s progression, and of course, something to refresh the dear readers’ view ^_^ Hope everyone enjoys this chapter :D

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"We only have 30 days left for shooting," George whispered, staring nonchalantly at the heap of scripts and storyboards cluttered his table.

He was just calculating the days left and the scenes that needed to be filmed or re-shot; for George, he had to be always on work mode. For a moment, his train of thought was held up when someone placed a gentle knock over his trailer door.

"George? It's me... Al." He sounded a little shy, but that made George bolt right up and open the door wide.

Al held two cups of cocoa on both of his hands, it was obvious that it was meant for them. "I brought you something... to help you think." Al's full and luscious lips stretched into a smile that took George's breath away.

"Come in, Al. Thank you so much." George nervously babbled as he let Al in.

When Al gave the other cup to George, they started talking to each other about how their day went. If George only knew, Al would never get tired of hearing how his day went; how he would never tire of just listening to George's soft voice, his gentle nature that had drawn him at first place.

Their moment was abruptly ended when someone knocked on the trailer door; it was Andy Lockley, together with Tom. When Andy saw both George and Al standing so close to each other and evidently sweet to one another, he didn't bother to be discreet and he mockingly sneered at both of them.

Al saw his disgust, and he knew better, Andy would've shouted Fags! at them, only, Tom had come up the trailer door.

"Andy, how are you?" George still kept his composure and shook the producer's hand.

“Fine. Listen, I've heard that you're doing some re-shoots. Well, Tom here, he'd something to bring up. Come on, boy." Andy slurred as he spoke.

Tom, a little shy, spoke, "I'm just wondering if I could ask for permission to meet up with the execs at Warner Bros., that would also mean a day off from filming."

George shrugged, "Sure. That's cool with me. Whatever for, anyway?"

Andy cut off Tom and spoke for him, "They've asked him to play Ashley on their Gone with Wind remake. Baz Luhrman's directing it."

George only nodded and dug his hands on his pockets, "That's good. By the way, Andy, I would like to talk about the re-shoots."

Then he invited each and everyone to take a seat near his table. The scenes that were to be re-shot includes the fight sequence between Ian and Tom on a tarmac in LAX.

"Who choreographed that fight sequence? I saw the initial shots. Was it you, Al?" Andy asked Al that sat beside George.

"No, Charlie did that." Al pointed out.

"Charlie who?" Andy's grayed eyebrow raised.

Tom explained, "He's my trainer--Charlie Go. He's also a good stunt choreographer."

"How come I've never met him before? He's quite good. He might be better than Al." Andy's sardonic tone made it quite difficult to discern if he's just plainly joking or if he's being an asshole.

Al only gave out a quiet chuckle. He had been employed by Lockley studios for five years and with eight projects on his belt; he had learned to numb himself from Andy's stingy attitude.

"Tell the kid that I'd like to meet him." Andy tapped the table in front of him. Their small meeting continued, but at the back of Tom's mind, he was replaying the night he and Charlie watched a movie on a rooftop.

He felt a smile on his lips just remembering that exchange he had with Charlie.

I would catch you... If you fall. Always.

Then, Tom recalled what Charlie's uncle called him when he was about to barge in the room.

Did he call Charlie--Charlene?

He might have misheard Charlie's uncle, and besides, he was in between drunk and drowsy at that time; he couldn't have been sure. But after that night, his admiration for Charlie seemed to have grown. Tom knew what he said that night to Charlie and he meant it. Deep inside Tom, there is a certain desire to know Charlie more; To befriend him, to get close to him, to know his thoughts. It might sound crazy, but he harbors a soft spot in his heart for Charlie. He knows that it had always been there, since the first time he met Charlie.

He only shook his head, to which George noticed. Tom seems to be glowing, in love. At the back of George's mind, he was remembering the conversation he had with Paula a week ago. He asked her how's her relationship with Tom, she only responded with;

Tom gets easily distracted. It's hard keeping his attention.

George observed Tom who had broken off from his subtle daydream. If Tom is cheating on Paula, it would break George's heart to see his niece crying over a break-up once more.

The girl's been through a lot. That's why she's so eager with love; she had received none at all from the start. George pondered to himself.

After the talk with the reshoots, Tom had brought something up, "Are you guys free on the 9th?" Tom asked, a certain joy gleaming from his eyes.

Al shook his head and glanced at George, "I think so, yeah."

Andy leaned in to listen to Tom, "I want to throw out a party on the 9th."

Andy shrugged, "Why?"

"It's my birthday. I want to invite all of you if that's all right."

Everybody responded with agreement and Tom felt more excited. It's his birthday, Paula will be there; his friends would be there. He'll be surrounded by people he loves.

Charlie needs to be there. He thought.

Tom felt excited about the possibilities that his birthday party promises.

“Blue or silver?” Charlie held out two neckties in front of Lily.

Charlie had asked Lily to come with him to the mall to choose a gift for Tom on his upcoming birthday party. As soon as Tom had invited Charlie, he immediately thought of what to give Tom. Charlie didn’t wanted to go to Tom’s birthday party empty-handed.

Lily crossed his arms on his chest, “Blue.”

Charlie compared the two neck ties. It is the only thing he could give Tom as what his salary could permit him to buy.

He didn’t seemed to like the blue tie, he thought the silver one looked better, “But... I think the silver one looks better.” Charlie held out the ties and placed it side by side.

“Well, you should consider what Tom’s favorite color is.” Lily shrugged, then looked back when he saw a handsome salesman passed by.

“I didn’t asked Tom. I thought all men liked blue or silver.” Charlie pouted, still baffled what color he would choose.

Lily scoffed at him, “You’re passing off as one and you don’t even know a thing about men.”

Charlie paused, Lily just say the realest things sometimes. “Maybe I don’t know that much about him.”

“Aren’t you two friends?” Lily started fiddling with the sunglasses at the next shelf.

“Yeah. Friends.” Charlie heavily sighed at the last word.

He finally had chosen to buy the blue one for Tom and he had it gift-wrapped, because in truth Charlie is a klutz in wrapping gifts. As he watched the saleslady wrap the gift up, he thought of what Lily had just said to him, that he and Tom are friends.

That pained him to think about it, because the truth is, he has fallen in love with Tom. Only, he has no inkling of what Charlie feels for him.

Sometimes, he can see signs that Tom do care for him, but it was hard for him to decode whether Tom just cares because they are friends or Tom really feels the same. For Charlie, it is like standing at the edge of a cliff; his feet half planted on the lip of that cliff, while the other half, exposed and ready to give up and make his fall. That is what Tom had made him feel for the past two months, always on the cliff’s edge.

Charlie tried to hide his sighing from Lily after they got the gift-wrapped neck tie. He wanted to keep those thoughts to himself for the meantime. Falling in love with the actor he trains is complication enough for his cover.

Tom stood at the terrace of his apartment, and he can oversee all the people he had invited for tonight.

He was sure he had asked everyone who needs to be invited, but he still kept it within his circle of friends. The most important guest, of course, would be Paula.

Tom did noticed that Paula had been having cold feet towards him these past few weeks, especially after the party where he almost got in a brawl because of Charlie’s cousin.

Since then, he would ask her if she’s all right, only to have a reassuring answer that she is.

He knew something was going on with Paula, yet he hopes that she would share that also with him. If she is in pain or anything, Tom could only hope that Paula would be honest with him; honest enough to let her heart really open for him.

The loud booming of music from the ground floor distracted him for a moment, but then, he heard footsteps coming up from the stairs. When he finally looked back, he was caught breathless at the sight of the person who just came up; it was Paula, only, her long golden tresses are no more, chopped down into a very stylish pixie cut.

“Hon? Paula? What did you do?” There was amusement in Tom’s voice.

Paula twirled around elegantly before Tom, her white silk dress moving with her, “So? Do you hate it?”

Tom chuckled, “No. Not really. I think I love it. But why?”

He had his open arms ready for her and she did took his hands on hers, “Nothing... Just something freshen up my look, or whatever.”

This time, Tom pulled her into a close embrace, “I love it. I really do. But, is that for a role or something? Aren’t you going to need hair for your role in that series, Stepford Wives?”

Paula’s laugh tinkled all over the room, “Hon, seriously, what are wigs for?”

They both laughed together as Tom held Paula in that sweet embrace. Paula had been done with the shoots for The Last Deal, and was free to do other projects.

“Are you expecting more?” Paula pointed out at the ensuing party below.

“Not really. Just George and the gang, they aren’t here yet.” Tom looked away.

Paula studied Tom’s face as he went quiet. Then she noticed, he had his hand on his pocket, as if he was fidgeting with something. For almost a second, she thought that it was a very small square-shaped box that she saw through his pocket.

Paula didn’t wanted to jump into conclusions that it might contain an engagement ring. She didn’t wanted to expect too much, just like the way she had expected too much of the things that had come into her life.

She held Tom tighter as they looked on the terrace. Maybe, Paula just wanted them to be this way for a while. She is not even sure if Tom would fully accept her and her past that she had been dragging on all her life.

After a few moments, an SUV stopped by the gate of Tom’s home. Tom knew that it’s them.

He turned to take a look at his wristwatch, “Just on time. 8 o’clock on the dot.”

Paula took his hand, “Let’s meet them.”

Tom smiled and they both went down to the gate. Meanwhile, Julian got down from the driver’s seat, with Gwen following him. While George and Al got out.

Charlie got out of the car lastly, and he already saw his companions greeting Tom and Paula at the gate. He immediately noticed that Paula had a very short haircut, but he wondered whatever for.

When Tom saw Charlie, he was wearing a black suit, partnered with no tie and just a plain white shirt. Tom thought that Charlie might look like he is from a Korean Boyband, that is all the rave nowadays.

“Happy Birthday, Tom.” George came to give Tom a hug, then he kissed Paula on the cheek.

Julian and Gwen then greeted and hugged Tom, apologizing that they were almost late to the party. However, when it was Charlie’s turn to greet Tom, he stepped forward to meet Charlie, leaving Paula on her spot.

“Hi. Thanks for coming.” Tom shook Charlie’s hand, and Charlie could only wish Tom wouldn’t notice that he is hyperventilating because of Tom’s firm and warm handshake.

“Thanks for inviting me. Oh, happy birthday, Tom.” Charlie then presented a small white box with a thick blue ribbon tied to it.

Tom held it in his hands and stared at it with awe for a moment, Charlie then pointed out, “It’s not much. I just didn’t wanted to come empty-handed to your birthday party.”

“Well, it means much more to me now. Come, let’s get inside.” Tom placed a warm hand on Charlie’s shoulder as he lead him inside the gate.

Paula noticed this exchange between Tom and Charlie. She knows that Tom is quite fond with his trainer, but sometimes she doubts it.

I’m not jealous. Do I get jealous when Tom gets close with Julian? Paula thought to herself.

When Tom and Charlie came up, Paula held out her hand to Tom, “Let’s get inside?”

Tom took her hand and they walked side by side with Charlie, following the others that are on their way inside Tom’s porch.

There were a lot of important guests for Tom’s birthday bash, and most of them are A-Listers including Kevin Feige, Loius D’Esposito, the director Joanna Hogg. Charlie felt shy. Seeing a lot of famous guests in one party feels a little bit overwhelming.

When they were already inside Tom’s home, Charlie marveled at the interior of Tom’s Californian home. The walls were a chic off-white, the mahogany bookshelves lined up at the other end of the room; the staircase were also white and carpeted, with a glass cover at each side. The living room sofas were also white, with a rectangular table in the middle, while a faux fireplace have both paintings hanging from either side. There were a handful of people grouped to two or threes, having conversations or drinking together, or even both.

Charlie felt he just entered a home he only sees on glossy magazine covers and some luxurious commercials of the rich and the famous’ home. He wouldn’t believe himself that he is now there in Tom’s home.

Tom made his guests sit at the sofas, when Charlie tried to sit at one corner, he thought he was going to drown in the marshmallow-like softness of Tom’s sofa.

Gwen noticed him being cramped at the corner, “Charlie, you’re stuck.”

Charlie let out a soft whimper, “Help... Too soft...”

Gwen chuckled and pulled him out of that corner, Charlie also laughed at himself then said, “I’ve never been to a rich person’s home. Didn’t know they have sofas this comfortable.”

She chuckled again, “I’m used to it. Being PAs to famous celebrities would give you some perks from time to time.”

Gwen made Charlie sit with them at the black and nude divan instead. While George sat with Al on a loveseat, bringing them closer than ever.

Paula sat at the head of the living room, facing the guests, as if she is the first lady, placed there to show her off. Tom went back to his kitchen to get some of the prepared refreshments.

George then talked to his niece, sitting across him, “Paulie, darling, I love what you have done with your hair.”

Paula gently brushed the back of her head, “Thanks, Uncle George.”

But Julian pointed it out, “It kinda looks like Charlie’s hair, though. Just a little bit feminine.”

The four of them looked from Charlie to Paula, who are facing each other in the living room. Charlie had his head ducked down, feeling shy that he is compared to Paula.

For a moment, Charlie saw Paula’s smile disappear slowly, and her eyes flash with some kind of an underlying anger; after a few moments, it was gone from Paula eyes and she was smiling again.

“Yeah. I may have copied that from Charlie.” Paula joked.

Charlie only smiled, for he did not dared laugh with Paula when he just saw her reaction to being compared. He pretended being busy with listening to the booming music outside.

Tom finally came back with a try full of long-necked glasses of mimosas. He served each and every one, and then took his seat beside Paula.

Each one of them took a glass and George proposed a toast, “To the most gentleman English guy I’ve ever met; to Tom.”

They all raise their glasses and so did Tom, who thanked George.

Then, a thought passed by Tom, “Oh, by the way, have anyone invited Ian?” He asked, looking around them, but settling his gaze towards Charlie, whom he knew would have an answer to his question.

Charlie finished his sip of the mimosa and spoke, “Uhm... Ian said he’s busy--busy with the final touches on his home in Malibu. But I knew he would’ve wanted to come.”

Tom knew immediately that Charlie’s just trying to make it sound nice, but he knows that Ian wouldn’t really want to come.

A short awkward silence draped around them, but George broke the ice when he suggested they join the dancing outside Tom’s front yard. Everybody agreed to it, with Tom leading them out into the make-shift dance floor.

When the DJ saw Tom, he made sure he would play something Tom would dance into, and the starting beat of U Can’t Touch This by MC Hammer started to play.

"Ooh! Tom's gonna drop it!" Julian shouted out.

When the lyrics came up, Tom started kicking and jumping rhythmically into MC Hammer's rap, even imitating the dance step done in the music video.

He's an actor. He can sing. He can even dance. What does this man cannot do? Charlie thought as he crossed his arms on his chest, feeling his admiration for Tom to grow stronger, with him showcasing his dance skills.

When the line Hammer Time! had come up, everyone else joined Tom in the dance floor and started to dance into the song's remix version.

Julian and Gwen pulled Charlie in, but he tried to decline,

"No! I can't really dance! And I'm not that drunk yet!" Charlie complained.

"We don't care!" Gwen teased.

The three of them started jiving and shaking to the song Omen by Disclosure. At the middle of the party, Tom--then dancing with Paula, bumped into the trio of Charlie, Gwen and Paula.

"Are all of you enjoying yourselves?" Tom asked loudly over the booming music.

They all answered a loud Yeah! and continued dancing. Then, Tom caught Julian's elbow and whispered something to him.

After understanding each other, both of them excused themselves. Paula, observed this exchange between them. She tried to pretend she was still dancing, but she was following Tom and Julian with her eyes as they made their way inside and up the second floor of the house.

She had to excuse herself also, leaving Gwen and Charlie dancing on the dance floor.

"Where did they all go?" Charlie asked.

"Don't know. Wanna get some drinks?" Gwen tilted her head towards the mini bar. Charlie smiled and they both went over the mini bar.

Meanwhile, Paula quietly made her way up the second floor. There were no other guests beyond the first two rooms, but Paula heard both Tom and Julian talking in Tom's bedroom.

"Do you think she will love this?" Paula heard Tom ask Julian.

"What's that?" Julian pointed out.

"An engagement ring." Tom coyly presented the boxed diamond ring to Julian.

"Wait... Is that...? For Paula?"

With that, Paula had her back pressed on the wooden panel, anticipating Tom's answer. For a few seconds, Tom didn't answered.

Is it really for me?

"Jules, man, come on. Weren't you sighing around the other day how you'd want to give Gwen a diamond ring when the time comes?" Tom finally answered. Paula knew it immediately, the ring was never meant for her.

"But... I didn't asked for it. You know, you're the one more likely to propose to your girlfriend."

Paula could almost hear Tom shrug, "Not yet. Maybe not just yet."

For a long moment, they were both quiet. But Paula can hear every aching beat of her heart.

"Then why the ring?" Julian asked.

Tom tapped Julian's shoulder, "Think of it as an engagement present to the both of you."

Julian sighed, "Tom, it's your birthday. You're the one supposed to be given gifts."

"No, no. I'd only be satisfied if you would have me as your best man." Tom said with a laugh.

"Definitely." Julian replied confidently.

Paula didn't wanted to hear another word from their conversation. She went not downstairs but to the other room's bathroom. She quietly closed the door, and saw the wide mirror.

Paula got close to the mirror and saw tears flowing down from her eyes, ruining her perfect make-up.

"Stupid. Just plain stupid." She whispered to her reflection.

After she had wiped all of her tears away, she came out, as if nothing happened.

All the guests gathered around the small stage, all of them looking up to Tom who is going to open all of his gifts.

He already started on one, and it was a replica of his Loki helmet on Thor: Ragnarok.

"Just in case you'd like to roleplay on foreplay!" Taika Waititi--who Tom invited the last minute, shouted out at the back of the crowd, proud of his birthday gift to Tom.

Tom abashedly snickered, even blushing, as his guests laughed at their banter. He then proceeded to open Paula's gift, a Bremont watch, and one of the most expensive too. His eyes softened and he affectionately gazed at Paula,

"Hon, this is... Thank you so much." Tom sweetly beamed at his girlfriend.

He even got off stage to give her a kiss. While Charlie, who sat next to Gwen and Julian, saw that his gift is next to be opened.

Tom was now given the next gift, he read the note, "To the kindest person I know. From, Charlie." Tom smiled at Charlie's way.

He saw Tom's eyes light up as he opened the box. Tom pulled out the blue neck tie and admired it.

"Oh, thank you so much, man!" Tom exclaimed, holding out the blue neck tie. Paula looked back at Charlie who sat at the last row.

"My trainer, ladies and gentlemen, Mr. Charlie Go. Stand up, mate." Tom presented Charlie.

He didn't wanted to but Julian urged him. Charlie stood and smiled at the guests, but in the middle of the crowd, he saw one guest that made the hair at the back of his neck stand; it was Andy Lockley.

The old man was looking at him, inquisitively and interestingly, which terrified Charlie. When Charlie sat back, he was sure he needed to get out of the party before he is to be introduced to Andy.

Charlie had tried to avoid Andy's occasional visits on set. He was too afraid that Andy would recognize him, and he was not going to let his cover be blown and his semi-revenge toppled to the ground.

He was about to get up his seat when Gwen stopped him, "Charlie, where are you going?"

Charlie froze like a dear in the headlights, "Uhm... I think I have to go. I don't feel so good--I had a lot of sushi." He acted out like he is having a tummy ache.

Julian knew that Charlie is just giving these excuses so he won't run into Andy.

"Maybe you just need to use the bathroom, buddy. I'll come with you," Julian winked at Charlie, then he turned to Gwen, "We'll just use the boys' room, baby." Then he kissed Gwen on the forehead who nodded at him.

"Come on." Julian whispered as Charlie followed him.

When they reached the entrance to the kitchen bathroom, Charlie sighed with relief.

"What is that man doing here?" He asked Julian.

"D'uh, he's the executive producer. If Tom didn't invited him, it would mean he's dissing on Andy." Julian had his hands on his waist.

Charlie leaned back anxiously at the marble wall, "He looked at me, Jules! Do you think he recognized me?"

"Don't know." Julian replied.

"Oh, here you are!" Andy's voice filled the hallway, which made Charlie freeze on where he was standing.

Julian tried to act cool, "Oh, Andy. Hey, nice of you to turn up." then he let out a nervous chuckle.

Andy then turned his attention to Charlie, who tried to avoid his gaze. "So you are Charlie Go. I've heard a lot about you." Andy held out his hand to shake Charlie's.

But for a moment, Charlie hesitated. He was the reason why he cross-dressed. Andy was the reason he wanted to exact revenge to the studio; to prove himself, or herself.

Charlie shook Andy's hand, he even smiled at him. He felt like he is playing a game with the enemy.

"Sir. Nice to meet you, finally." Charlie politely said, which surprised Julian.

"I heard a lot about you. And I admire your stunt choreography, by the way.” He tapped Charlie’s shoulder.

For a moment, he felt a certain glee that this man, who rudely embarrassed him in front of everyone, admires him for his skills. Before Charlie could smile at that, he shrugged it off and said,

“Well, thanks. I didn’t really made that all up, actually.” Charlie then looked down, but he can feel Andy’s amusement.

“Really? Someone taught you then?” Andy crossed his arms on his chest.

Now, Charlie met his gaze, a shining defiance on his eyes. “My Dad.”

Andy could only nod and smile at Charlie. Julian watched them all the while.

“So, any of you going to use the bathroom?” Andy asked, Julian and Charlie, shook their head.

“Well, I’ll be going ahead.” Then Andy got inside the bathroom.

Charlie loudly sighed as soon as Andy was gone. Julian urged them to get back outside.

“Guys, thank you for coming.” Tom bid goodbye to all of his guests as the party ended.

They all had giveaways that they took home with them. It was almost 1 o’clock and some were wasted from the party, they were needed to be helped into their cars.

Charlie was still a little bit shaken after that encounter with Andy. He was thankful enough that he didn’t crumbled down in front of Andy. As he sat over an empty table, waiting when they would leave. He texted Uncle Barty that he’s on his way home.

“Can I join you?” Tom asked him as he stood beside Charlie.

“Yeah, sure.” Charlie tried to sound casual.

Tom sat in front of him. “Are you all right?”

Charlie’s eyes leveled with Tom’s. He doesn’t know if he wanted to answer that. Instead, he smiled and nodded at Tom.

Tom then said, “Thanks again for your gift.”

Charlie looked up to him, “It’s not really that much. But I’m glad you liked it.”

But behind Charlie’s smile, Tom could still see that shadow on Charlie’s eyes.

“Are you really all right?” Then he placed a hand on Charlie’s knee.

That warm and caring look that Tom is giving him, was enough to jolt his heart up; making him forget he ever saw Andy Lockley.

He then placed a hand over Tom’s, “I am now. Thanks.”

They both smiled at each other, the warm light of the table centerpiece casting a glow on Tom. But Charlie was sure it was not the light, not the night’s ambiance but the same glow he can always see on Tom.

They didn’t spoke another word, but they didn’t knew who was watching.

Julian saw how close Tom has becoming to Charlie. There was nothing wrong with it, except, Charlie is pretending to be a man. It could spell out trouble, but who is he stop them from becoming friends?

But Paula, saw it also. She wants to ignore it, but could she really? She can see the way Charlie smiles at Tom, and she can also see the effect Tom has on Charlie. Paula couldn’t tell yet what is their understanding with each other, but she can only hope it’s nothing more but friendship.

#my fanfics #fanfic #fanfiction #tom hiddleston #AU Actor Tom #thfrustration #thfrustration submission

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cfensi · 7 years ago

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I cried three times in the process of editing this review. This sweepingly beautiful but simple ode to Tsinghua University is a tear-jerker for all seasons.

Set against one of the most stunning visuals of the year, Forever Young 无问西东 tells its simple tales with an incredibly romantic lens that makes it difficult not to admire. Director Li Fangfang (Heaven Eternal, Love Everlasting) always manages to play my emotions just right to evoke all my emotions for the world she captures.

The film from centers around four loosely connected stories of six characters (played by Wang Leehom, Zhang Ziyi, Chang Chen, Huang Xiaoming, Tie Zheng, and Chen Chusheng) facing their true selves through making difficult choices, from scary ones like life-and-death decisions to the even scarier decision of picking a college major.

First up chronologically is Tsinghua student Wu Yuelan (Chen Chusheng), who clearly has one of the toughest decisions in life – what major to chose. He excels in literature, but feels like he needs to prove himself by sticking to a “hard” STEM major. He runs past the violinists playing in the snow as he seeks his own tune in life. The story, set entirely in the snow-covered halls of Tsinghua, is super short but connects well to the next story.

“I’m afraid that before you can chose what type of life you want to live, your will no longer have a life to chose.” – Forever Young

There, we meet one of Wu’s students, Tsinghua student Shen Guangyao (Wang Leehom), the beacon of perfection who escaped with the school after the fall of Beijing in 1937. Set in the rice paddies of Yunnan, the tale shifts from a rich green to barren redness as air raids begin to become more and more common. Students hide in ditches as they try to learn while bombs are going off around them, while professors scramble to protect artifacts while they’re running for their own lives. The film’s oil painting-like depictions of hope and determination in the face of tragedy are etched in my brain to this day.

The rain drops drown out the sounds of teaching, so the teacher returns to the board and gives the instruction of the day: “Sit and listen to the sound of the rain.” Unsettled by the noise, Shen Guangyao opens the window and see the lush, vibrant world outside. He feels tempted to leave behind his books to fight the air raids in the new American-led air force, but is dissuaded by his stately mother’s hopes for him to live a full and fulfilling life. “I’m afraid that before you can chose what type of life you want to live, your will no longer have a life to chose.”

This segment is beautifully shot, with amazing set design, cinematography, costumes, and a perfect cast. The use of music along with the choreography of the students and locals toiling in the sun makes the film feel like a musical at time. The then 36-year-old Wang Leehom doesn’t look a day older than 20 and is perfectly cast as this ray of sunshine. Michelle Yip also gives a brief but stellar role as Shen’s loving mother. This segment made me cry at seven different points despite being only a quarter of a movie.

“The last time I thought I was dead, I found you. This time, I must find you before death arrives.” – Forever Young

Fastforward to the Cultural Revolution, where we meet three high school best friends who are making difficult decisions of their own. Tsinghua student Chen Peng (Huang Xiaoming) has the opportunity to work on the nuclear project, but wants to stay for love. Pharmacist Wang Minjia (Zhang Ziyi) chose between a white lie that could ruin her life, and one that could save that of another. Doctor Li Xiang (Tie Zheng) must chose whether to tell the truth and risk his career. Zhang Ziyi is the clear star of this tale, with the light bouncing off her smile at times, and other times the sorrow of her eyes. With excellent performances from Zhang Ziyi, Tie Zheng, and Zheng Zheng as their teacher’s abusive wife, the segment was a visually lovely and well-told story.

Seriously look at how gorgeous this is. To top it off, it’s also a choreographed musical number.

Finally, back in modern day, advertising exec Zhang Guoguo (Chang Chen), Tsinghua grad and the son of two people saved by Li Xiang, is faced with the dilemma of whether to seek revenge on a colleague. The story is really bland, his acting is bland, even all the side characters in it are bland.

Setting aside the blue tint that seeped through the entirety of her last film, director Li Fangfang works with cinematographer Cao Yu to use colors to reflect the mood in her new film. From the white hospital sheets that changed to the yellow of the apricot leaves and the brown of the huts, to the red of the Earth, and even the cold metal of modern skyscrapers, the film uses color and lighting to advance the story. Her editing and scriptwriting has also improved significantly, with much smoother transitions and natural dialogues. While most of the score is not memorable, one particular song is used cleverly to connect two stories and bring out a major tear-jerking moment.

The film’s tales range from moving to boring, and is connected through a rather loose theme of one generation building on another, but what really stood out to me was how the filmmaker builds this almost dreamlike world with such romantic and enlightened details throughout. Sometimes a simple story told well can still move the audience, and this one definitely left me with a bit more appreciation for the world and lot of used tissues.

The film is now available on QQ here and iQiyi here.

“This film is dedicated to each and every one of you. May you always remember how precious you are.”

Review: Forever Young is a poignant love letter to the world

I cried three times in the process of editing this review. This sweepingly beautiful but simple ode to Tsinghua University is a tear-jerker for all seasons.

Review: Forever Young is a poignant love letter to the world I cried three times in the process of editing this review. This sweepingly beautiful but simple ode to Tsinghua University is a tear-jerker for all seasons.

#Chang Chen #Chen Chusheng #Huang Xiaoming #Li Fangfang #Michelle Yim #Tie Zheng #Wang Leehom #Zhang Ziyi #Zheng Zheng #Zu Feng

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starringemiliaclarke · 7 years ago

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Press: Emilia Clarke on Game of Thrones fans: 'Airports are a source of fear. It gets kind of freaky'

THE TELEGRAPH – Emilia Clarke walks into a suite at Claridge’s, a gaggle of publicists and agents surrounding her, with the kind of poise that you would expect from a queen.

To the tens of millions of fans of Game of Thrones, the show that catapulted her to fame only a year out of drama school, it’s a not unfamiliar scene.

Although of course, as Daenerys Targaryen, the all-powerful, slave-freeing queen of the show, it would be some kind of windswept castle or ancient pyramid, and her retinue would be in armour.

Even her newly blonde hair is apt (until now she’s worn a wig on the show). Like the character she plays, Emilia’s is a story of success against the odds (of which more later), but there the similarities end.

At 31, the English rose couldn’t be less like the prickly queen she plays (full title: Daenerys Stormborn of House Targaryen, rightful heir to the Iron Throne, rightful Queen of the Andals and the First Men, Protector of the Seven Kingdoms, the Mother of Dragons, the Khaleesi of the Great Grass Sea, the Unburnt, the Breaker of Chains… or just Dany for short).

Emilia is funny, light-hearted and, that entrance aside, a million miles from grand. She’s much more like the carefree, dancing girl she plays in the new campaign for the Dolce & Gabbana fragrance The One. (When the brand asked if she would be its new face, ‘I was like, “Well, yeah. Duh.”’)

In the past, Emilia has had to deal with uncomfortable questions about how she, as a woman, justified the arguably gratuitous female nudity and gruesome violence for which Game of Thrones initially made headlines.

But long before the Harvey Weinstein scandal turned Hollywood upside down, the show’s plot pulled a complete 180 – and now it’s the female characters who are fighting over the titular thrones. And everyone, but everyone, is rooting for the 5ft 2in Khaleesi, who is proving to be just as fierce as her dragons.

Playing the role has sharpened Emilia’s own feminist impulses. ‘It’s given me a real insight into what it feels like to be a woman who stands up to inequality and hate. And as she [Daenerys] has become more empowered as a woman, you can’t hide any more,’ she says. ‘You are adding to the voices that are going to make people realise an equal society is what we’re aiming for.’

Emilia grew up near Oxford with her older brothers, and was surrounded by strong examples of equality. Her mother, who worked as a marketing executive, was the primary breadwinner, while her father worked as a sound engineer in musical theatre – so it was the norm for Emilia to see a woman in a position of power at work.

‘That’s the lens through which I’ve been fortunate enough to view the world,’ she says. ‘It’s only when you go to school that you’re like, “Oh, that’s different, that’s weird.”’

After attending the private boarding school St Edward’s in Oxford (where she discovered her love of acting through school productions), she was still studying at the Drama Centre in London – and earning money with a catering job – when she was cast in her first role, in an episode of BBC One’s Doctors.

It was in 2009 that she auditioned for Game of Thrones. The casting director had been looking for a tall, willowy blonde. ‘I genuinely don’t know what it was that set me aside. I mean, I didn’t look the part at all,’ laughs Emilia.

‘I [readied] myself, listened to a little Tupac and bowled in, obviously still a bag of nerves. But I just tried to play the truth of it.’ It may have been her sense of humour that helped her win the role – the actress read for her part, but also broke into a ‘funky chicken’ dance in front of the HBO execs.

As Game of Thrones gained momentum and Emilia has become a recognisable celebrity, she has struggled with some aspects of fame. She gets stopped on the street increasingly often, and finds crowds of fans incredibly stressful.

‘Airports are a constant source of fear,’ she admits. ‘When you’re in a really public place and someone asks you for a picture, then suddenly you get people who don’t know who you are, or really care, come up and join in. Then it gets kind of freaky. Because you’re like, “It’s just me. I’m by myself, feeling outnumbered.” It’s overwhelming.’

One would think that all the nude scenes she’s filmed for Game of Thrones would also have caused her anxiety, but no. She has branded those who criticised her for going naked ‘anti-feminist’.

Between seasons, Emilia has found time to film some major pop culture, including a role in Solo: A Star Wars Story, a prequel about Hans Solo’s early years to be released next year. The project remains shrouded in secrecy – all Emilia can say is that her character is ‘really cool’.

She was also the lead in last year’s Me Before You, the adaptation of Jojo Moyes’s bestseller, and next summer she’s due to be reunited with its director, Thea Sharrock, in a West End play called Five Times in One Night.

Both she and Kit Harington – who plays Jon Snow in Game of Thrones, and (spoiler alert!) is now her on-screen lover -flew to Naples to film adverts for Dolce & Gabbana (today, naturally, she’s in a black Dolce dress, with statement tiger-head buttons on the collar and sleeves). Set against the heady backdrop of a lively street festival, Emilia became swept up in the atmosphere.

‘I’ve been to Italy before, but not Naples,’ she says. ‘It was all locals in the advert, which was even funnier because it was so authentic. I think there were a lot of out-takes with me like, “What the hell is going on, this is so cool!” I feel Dolce & Gabbana is [for] girls [who] are at ease in their own skin,’ she says. ‘They have a frivolity and a femininity that I can relate to… It fits really well.’

For now she’s now back on set for the final series of Game of Thrones. Last season, her Instagram feed was filled with videos of her and Harington goofing around behind the scenes. But this time around the restrictions are more serious.

‘We have a very strict social-media ban this year because people need to stop spoiling it for everyone,’ she says, pouting slightly. ‘It’s really frustrating.’ Even Emilia doesn’t know what’s planned for her character (the TV series has now gone past the point George RR Martin’s books have reached).

‘They’ve written a number of different endings,’ she says. ‘So none of the cast know what the actual ending is. If there’s ever a leak of any kind, don’t believe it because it’s probably not true.’

No matter how it ends, Emilia seems deeply sad for Game of Thrones to leave her life. When asked how she’s feeling about it, she simply frowns and says, ‘emotional. It’s a big one.’ That said, being on the show is not without its downsides. During the seven months she spends filming each season, she typically wakes around 4am to head into hair and make-up, with 18-hour shoot days that can often involve riding prosthetic dragons in front of green screens for hours on end.

As a result of this intense schedule, her personal life has fallen by the wayside. She dated actor Seth MacFarlane between 2012 and 2013, but isn’t currently romantically linked to anyone. Once Game of Thrones wraps for good in 2018, for the first time in seven years she will have free time.

She often tries to remind herself that in order to create characters, you have to spend time in the real world. ‘The thing with being an actor is, to play the roles you need to have an idea of more than just getting into a car and getting to a set,’ she says.

Her goal, lately, is to take more time to be herself. She and her best friend – the actor and writer Lola Frears (daughter of director Stephen), with whom she’s also writing a script – have been working their way through a list of 60 influential movies given to her by Solo screenwriter Jon Kasdan. The most recent: All About Eve.

She’s reading Zadie Smith’s Swing Time, loves Kendrick Lamar and went to Glastonbury for the first time this summer. Fans filmed her dancing wildly to Stormzy’s set, but she didn’t care – she was having too much fun.

Her family have always supported her dream of acting; although her father, being in the industry, joked early on that she’d only ever need to remember one line: ‘Do you want fries with that?’ Tragically, he died from cancer last summer while the actress was filming upcoming thriller Above Suspicion alongside Jack Huston in Kentucky.

Now Emilia focuses on her mum and her brother, Bennett, who works in the camera department on Game of Thrones. She credits her interest in Star Wars and Comic Con culture to him. ‘My brother was a huge fan, and I wanted to be like my brother in every way,’ she laughs. ‘Sometimes he does the clapper before my takes [on Game of Thrones]. I’m always like, “Don’t f— it up!” It gets very unprofessional very quickly.’

Game of Thrones has also brought her security – it has been estimated that she earns up to $500,000 per episode. She owns a house in the LA neighbourhood of Venice, although she admits that she rarely spends time there.

‘I can provide [financially] for my friends and family,’ she says. ‘Genuinely, that’s the best thing. Knowing that everyone I love is going to be fine. It sounds like a real Oprah Winfrey sob story, but it’s very true. It’s incredibly empowering as a young lady.’

Emilia Clarke is the face of Dolce & Gabbana The One, £50 for 30ml edp.

Press: Emilia Clarke on Game of Thrones fans: ‘Airports are a source of fear. It gets kind of freaky’ was originally published on Enchanting Emilia Clarke

#emilia clarke #game of thrones #game of thrones cast #GOT cast #daenerys targaryen #me before you #terminator

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idolizerp · 5 years ago

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LOADING INFORMATION ON OLYMPUS’ MAIN VOCAL PARK RUWON...

IDOL DETAILS

STAGENAME: N/A CURRENT AGE: 26 DEBUT AGE: 20 TRAINEE SINCE AGE: 17 COMPANY: Midas ETC: he has been establishing himself through a personal youtube channel and streaming presence.

IDOL IMAGE

to be in midas means that some part of yourself has to be given over. like a deal with the devil. a guarantee of fame in exchange of a soul. and that soul is a malleable thing, they can turn it into whatever they want. sometimes ruwon wishes he’d gotten a stage name pushed at him. then it would seem less personal. the whittling down of his personality. rebuilding into something loved ( and he’d wanted it at first. like with all misfortunate deals, it had seemed great at first. until the tolls finally started to appear, show him the real curse that they were ).

and how do you make fans love someone? how do you try to catch their attention? you make him infectiously happy! give that exec another raise, a true visionary. ruwon became a happy pill. and then an over the top one when olympus weren’t an immediate fire-blazing success, and it was at least moderately easy for mcs to play off it at the few variety shows they were invited to. he’d laugh ( too loudly, because he needed to get a reaction ), he’d attempt to copy dances ( poorly, to get a laugh. cement an image of himself as the kid with two left feet ). make a big deal over his ‘special talents’ ( and try to turn it into a comedic bit, because who cared what ruwon was really interested in? ). ruwon was happy, bright, and comedic relief throughout olympus’ advent.

eventually though, olympus got that first win. built their fanbase up. found standing and recognition within the public, and advertisements. that old ruwon can’t just disappear, from olympus’ flagship days. but he doesn’t need to be a tryhard anymore. sometimes he’s still regarded as annoying as he figures out how much to dial down, what to rewire and change. he’s allowed to shift his brand of humor as a result. a little more impish, a little snarkier. he covers it with a laugh, because now he can fall back on that old happy pill familiarity of just wanting everyone to have a good time. so he’s still pushed as humorous. he’s still pushed as bright. but now they try to push his talent, too. it feels excessive, and it feels like a fluke. ruwon settles like a stranger into his own remodeled skin.

IDOL HISTORY

ruwon doesn’t remember his father. he left too early, before memories formed and solidified. he’d been interested in him at first, like some kids in similar shoes. that lingering hope that he wasn’t abandoned. that he was a secret agent. or an astronaut, pioneering through space. the whimsical stories from the mind of a five year old not yet ready to hear the truth. eventually it was put to bed when ruwon got old enough to understand why his mother cried sometimes behind the locked door of the bathroom. curiosity turned into resentment. communities aren’t always nice to families in situations like theirs. and public schools aren’t always nice, either. bullying happens to everyone. someone’s too pretty, another is too ugly. he’s too short and she’s not smart enough. ruwon’s parents were divorced. that was what got him picked on when he was younger. and then in trouble later, with reddened knuckles and a scowl in place. his mother’s sad eyes when a teacher explained that ruwon had lashed out and used physical violence when he could’ve used words. that was his childhood. not all bad. not all good.

when he gets older, he discovers singing. music. it’s high school and he’s in a club. he likes the stage, and picking roles. getting to pretend to be someone he isn’t for the duration of the show. he likes the music, everything sung out and emotionally high or low in a way that feels so much more gripping to him than anything in a movie. he falls in love with the stage. that stage. his mother’s sad eyes come back when ruwon wants to treat this seriously. when he tells her he wants to get it together, study harder. that his music teacher thinks he has real talent, not just the sort they tell kids to make them feel better about themselves. but that maybe he could pull it off, this dream. turn it into a career. that one in a million shot. those one in a million shots are helped along by people with the money needed to push them along though, and his mother knows this. so he lives with heavy lunged sighs and subtle shakes of her head whenever he brings it up, like that will dissuade him. it doesn’t, because he isn’t yet ready to face reality. he wants to keep believing he can squeeze into his pipe dream. he’s seen his mother’s life, and he doesn’t understand why he has to do it too. why he should keep living for the miserable and rote. he wants to make it. he wants to get into a good school. a really great one, where he can network his way onto a bigger stage.

reality isn’t a fairy tale, but every once in a while people get a little lucky. ruwon thought it was luck, at least. with that stupid dream lodged in his head, ruwon decided to go door-to-door entertainment company style and audition. he was looking toward a music program at a school in his future, but that could be swept away entirely if he could picked up, debuted in an idol group. he could sing and perform then. he could find fame, and find love. that’s whaat he thought. another silly sort of delusion, the same sort he had growing up. that everything would work out, like magic. a denial in the face of reality. ruwon’s always been good at that, pretending he can’t see it. not until it smacks him in the face. a bird flying along and hitting a window. dazed and concussed, left lethargic to figure it out on his own. thats ruwon in a nutshell.

the god ruwon prayed to must have been someone nonsensical, with an enjoyment of black humor. ruwon got into the company. he was a strong contender vocally, even if they had to build him from the ground up with dancing. he finished high school in a rather spotty fashion, his mother sighed some more, stared at him sadly over plates of food at dinner before he was eventually moved into trainee dorms. ruwon treated it like school, because that’s what he’d turned it into in his mind. he stayed late in an attempt to learn dances that didn’t come very naturally to him. he sat through lessons on how to look properly into a camera, or answer questions on variety. when he was selected for the final lineup of olympus, it felt surreal. it was his big break. that deal with the devil realized. years later, the other shoe dropped.

the overwork just got worse. ruwon gave more of himself away and tried to accept the persona midas gave him instead. ruwon wants, desperately, to please people. to please his company, his fans, his friends. he tries to change himself like a chameleon to fit those situations. to give people what they want. usually he assumes this to be bright, outgoing, and perpetually happy. the other side of the coin are nights tucked away and motionless, hiding under his blankets and streaming videos for hours on end. trying to forget who he is, because the nothingness feels more like acceptance than anything else he’s experienced in his life.

but ruwon got his wish. he became famous. he got to sing, and he got to perform on a stage. he made money off of it, turned it into a career. his father knocking on his door again, asking for money. his mother and her conflicted feelings on it. she still sighs over dinner. ruwon can’t figure out why. maybe he should have sought out something more traditional. the songs and schedules wear on him. but ruwon, above all else, is a performer. he flicks that switch and turns himself on. it’s hard to figure out who ruwon is, he’s got himself tucked away in a shell. he only wants people to see what he deems as okay. ruwon’s greatest fear is probably exposing who he really is. how he really feels. it’s hard to get a glimpse of him beyond that.

it’s been years spent in olympus. too many variety shows blown over the top. hate and love from fans in equal measure. singing too much, too hard, until his throat aches. he loses himself with each passing year. ruwon is no longer sure of who he really is. what he’s looking to accomplish. he’s set something aside for himself now, a streaming channel on youtube. it was supposed to be small, but olympus isn’t necessarily lost in a sea. the videos are largely pointless, mostly of him playing video games and performing for fanservice. he’s not so sure if it’s an attempt to try to drag bits and pieces of his real persona out into the open, or if he’s still just seeking validation for his empty, hollowed out traits. but he tries. and he still claim that it’s his dream realized. even if he’s no longer sure what to do with himself.

#id.bio #id.midas #id.olympus #id.byun baekhyun

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meganambers · 6 years ago

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It is said that Dallas hip-hop has always played in the shadows of Houston’s more popular hip-hop scene, but for Dallas rapper SHIIK, that couldn’t be further from the truth. Born Dominique Deshun Harris, the 26-year-old rapper recently released his latest project, “Kartoonz & Hood Movies” in April and as he prepares for the birth of his new son, he sat down with me and shared his musical influences, his plans for 2018 and why he feels the current music scene is “like Sheep as long as its ignorant“.

Who do you credit as the influence behind your music?

My influences in music have a very wide range. I was raised under 6 Brothers & Sisters so my music taste is wise beyond my years. Not in any specific order but, my Pops, He used to be a DJ when he got out the military and kept us on everything since birth from the 50’s to the early 2000’s. Because of my old man, I am never out of tune at any function no matter the age. I can vibe with anyone on anything cause of my dad.

My mother is a major influence on me, she’s from Louisiana and has an ear and voice for music. But beyond that, she is the real reason I started rapping. It may have been around my 18th birthday and was having trouble understanding a few things and controlling my frustrations; so she bought me a [writing] pad and told me started writing and from there she planted a seed that helped me grow into the artist I am today. My Brother Damien, who is also a rapper, showed me early on how to be a lyricist and paint pictures in my music. My wife Dionna I write the best music when we have our growing pains, and she keeps me motivated to stick to my music and never change up!

What hip-hop albums would you consider pivotal to your career?

Man, That is tough. I grew up on it all, but ones that really made an imprint on me as a kid had to be; Dr. Dre’s Chronic Album, Geto Boys’ My Mind Playing Tricks On Me, Chamillionaire’s Mix Tape Messiah, LL Cool J’s Bad Album, Lil Wayne’s Carter 1-3,

Kanye West’s Graduation, Wiz Khalifa’s Kush & Orange Juice, Kid Cudi’s Man On The Moon, Big Sean’s Finally Famous 3, and so many more. I could go all day, but this is just a few albums that really had a major impact on me coming up! But I like pretty much everything, I am from the south so like all of SUC ( Srewed Up Click) music I was raised on all the of the 3rd music. I’m going just say [Houston] as an album too, from the 90s to the early 2000s I kept them on repeat every day. When I was coming up I couldn’t you the name of some albums, people use to “bootlegs” of a lot of my fave artist albums and I could never go off what the seller marked it as I just knew one of my favorite artists has some new soul out and I need it!

When did you write your first song and what was it about?

Shoot, I started rapping at 9 years old and back then it was all just a lot of long verses, no context, hook or anything just a paper with “Babylon” type verses. (Laugh) So technically I started rapping in August of 2017 and It was after a real break up with my wife, Dionna. I had just moved back to Dallas from Alpine, Tx ( Shout out Alpine & Sul Ross State, Those my people) and we had a really bad break up. It seemed like there was no coming back from it. Everything around me stopped making sense, my basketball career had become stagnated and to be honest I was looking for love in all the wrong places. On top of that, I was also coming out of a group I was in called “2 Doms R Better Than 1”, but that’s another story. So it just seemed like nothing was working, and the entire time I kept trying to hide my love and ability in music. But as more situations hit me, the better the lyrics in my head were and then one day I couldn’t hide it anymore. I sat down threw on R.Kelly’s “When a Woman’s Fed Up,” rolled a few packs of Blue Optimos and came up with the track, “VICTIM”.

Who do you see yourself working with as an artist and producer?

Out the gate I have to say, Lyfe Jennings, Miguel, J. Cole, Kendrick Lamar, Kevin Gates, Erykah Badu, India Arie, Wiz [Khalifa], Curren$y, Mo3, Yella Beezy, & Post Malone are some of the artists would love to collab with. However, I can’t leave out Chris Brown, K Camp or Drake. As for producers, I would have to say The Dream, Metro Booming, Sledgron, Skee Beats, Zaytoven, T-Pain, No ID, and Kanye West. I would lose my absolute mind in the dojo with these guys. Just to hear some of the knowledge and stories of how this industry can make and break you is a privilege in itself.

Tell me about your latest project, “Kartoonz & Hood Movies”, and what inspired it?

My latest release project “Kartoonz & Hood Movies”, was released on April 20th. This tape is one for everyday things we see and have to deal with. I am a proper 90’s baby, I was raised on good classic movies about us like, “Colors”, “Menace II Society”, “Boyz N Da Hood”, “Juice,” etc., and by looking at this list and reading my title “Hood Movies” you can see a lot of these are blockbusters and far from “Hood or Low Budget” Movies. I was iterating to the subject and content of those movies about being from the “hood”. It also shows how your circumstance isn’t always forever, it can always be better and as “Man Of your Word” stand on what you believe in! The “Kartoonz” part is self-explanatory, unlike nowadays coming up our cartoons back then had a message every episode, showed you how you can be an everyday hero and believe in you. Little things like that, so that had a major impact on what raised me. “Kartoonz & Hood Movies” is just that giving you who I am in eighteen songs. Just taking you back to the good old days without all the “B**ches & H*es”. But real music! The producers for this one varied from B. Young, Kil’Lab Music, Fly Boi_DBone, RealNDaFields, Jia Beats and Mingo Gomez. I wanted to work with a solid foundation of producers that work just as hard in the craft like me.

Well, as of right now, I am currently in the works of releasing three tapes at the end of July. “Summer Of 65‘” produced By Lu.B Music, “91 Made Me” by produced By YB Beats and “Digital Dope” produced by Mingo Gomez. Each tape has its own producer. The three tapes are collaboration tapes between me and my producers with all original beats that they make themselves. I have no set release dates but they all will be available by the end of July 2018 on all digital platforms.

How important is the idea of connecting with other musicians to you? And how do you believe someone should utilize their connects?

Networking is the key to everything, cause, unfortunately, you can be GREAT at something and never get a chance. But to know someone that knows someone who can pull strings and make life for you a walk in the park or take you to the next level is great. Utilizing the connections is crucial and lucrative in becoming someone in the industry. You have to keep that connection alive. Most people will get a number and never use it or wait until they need something. NO NO NO! You hit them on the regular and see if you can help them or even just ask how things are going. Connections can take you around the world twice, without spending a dime. Just gotta know how to maneuver.

How would you describe your writing process?

I am a machine! I never stop writing and my process is unorthodox, spontaneous and just downright SMOKING FIRE! I am into writing as far as poems, plans or notes so writing isn’t the hard part, but what I found difficult was learning how to control my thoughts, how to make them tell a story and stay on beat.. can be absolutely BRUTAL! But I am a workhorse, and once my heart is made up, in my mind I am unstoppable. I BECAME A MONSTER. Now my process consists of creating the hook and making a song. I also use Instagram as an open gym for practice.

youtube

What is your thought about the current state of the Hip-hop game?

It’s absolute bullshit for those that would enjoy my kind of music. If you aren’t talking about guns, jewelry, women, drugs, and ignorant stuff, your music gets pushed away or skipped. I ain’t knocking any of those artists out there that rap about it, that’s them, it’s what they know and I support it. But I can’t cap that to catch a wave or make a fan. I was raised around real gangsters, and I was brought up as a gentleman. In my line of business, those lyrics are for the FEDS and people you don’t need knowing your business, and besides, I want to rap about me, life, love, memories and occasionally weed. But today’s music scene is like “Sheep,” as long as it’s ignorant and they see someone else liking it they will all run to it. But that’s all the way gravy, it’s a process and the longer the drive, the longer the run will be. I’m quiet, patient and supportive. Hating will get you nowhere.

What would you like for the readers to know about you?

I’m human, I can only give it to you how I see it and believe it. I’m old school and really laid back. I was raised a winner and I’ am a man before ANYTHING. My music is me standing in front of a mirror revealing me just as much as its reflecting.

What advice would you give to young musicians in the game?

Enjoy being unknown, because as soon as you become hot, they [record label execs] will be quick to label you with a style, or a sound without fully given you a chance to blossom and be versatile. BE YOURSELF IN YOUR MUSIC because as soon as you lose who you are, your music will become typical. Going unnoticed doesn’t necessarily mean you can’t or won’t make it. Timing is everything, just stay ready, keep working and believe that your days are coming. FUCK THE OPINIONS OF OTHERS. YOU ARE HARDER TO IGNORE WHEN YOU DONT ASK FOR PERMISSION.

What are your plans as a musician for 2018?

Since I am still a new artist I want to make that a strong point of my path to being signed. I plan on building a HUGE catalog of QUALITY MUSIC towards potential radio singles, visuals and eventually put a real album together before the end of 2018. I also plan on making the Freshman XXL list by the summer, having a 1000 youtube subscribers, and at least 2 Hit singles. I want a lot but I’ve learned pace & patience can take you far if you really want it! So I’m deep in the process and enjoying the ups and downs of the learning process to make it in this industry. My son will also be born Sept 12, 2018, so I am really enjoying that next step of my life. I’m excited! He’s gonna be a Jr! Our Little Baby Shiik, well his mom calls him Biscuit, make sure I add that or she liable to punch me. (Laughs) To sum it up really create a wave, and open doors for my family, my team, and I to exceed expectations in life while we can!

Make sure to follow SHIIK on his Instagram and Twitter and Soundcloud for more updates.

Datpiff (The Thooka Tape)

Datpiff: (KartoonzNHoodMovies)

Google Play: bit.ly/GooglePlayB-Rhye

Up-And-Coming Artist: SHIIK It is said that Dallas hip-hop has always played in the shadows of Houston’s more popular hip-hop scene, but for Dallas rapper SHIIK, that couldn't be further from the truth.

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cinephiled-com · 6 years ago

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New Post has been published on Cinephiled

New Post has been published on http://www.cinephiled.com/interview-scotty-bowers-blows-lid-off-secret-history-hollywood/

Interview: Scotty Bowers Blows the Lid Off ‘The Secret History of Hollywood’

Being a huge lover of classic movies and Hollywood history, I was eager to see the new documentary, Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood. The film tells the deliciously scandalous story of Scotty Bowers, a handsome ex-Marine who landed in Hollywood after World War II and became a confidante, lover, and a kind of pimp to many of Hollywood’s greatest male — and female — stars. In the 1940s and ‘50s, Scotty ran a gas station on Hollywood Boulevard where he would connect his friends with actors and actresses who had to hide their true sexual identities for fear of police raids at gay bars, societal shunning, and career suicide. It all started when actor Walter Pidgeon drove into the station and asked Scotty if he wanted to go swimming with him at his pool. One thing led to another, and Scotty, first from his gas station and later as one of Hollywood’s most sought-after private party bartenders, found his passion in catering to the wide-ranging sexual appetites of celebrities — straight and gay — for decades.

Part of Bowers’ appeal to the A-listers he was involved with was his total discretion. Confidential magazine, a real career killer back in the day, offered him boatloads of money to confirm stories about various celebrities that Scotty knew were true, but he would claim total ignorance and say that he didn’t even know the person in question. “But we’ve SEEN you many times with Charles Laughton!” the Confidential execs would say. “No, that’s just a friend who looks like Laughton,” Scotty would reply. Still, in 2012, Bowers decided to finally spill the beans in his New York Times best-selling memoir Full Service: My Adventures in Hollywood and the Secret Sex Lives of the Stars, which revealed a dramatic, pre-Stonewall alternate history of Hollywood. Why did he do it? He insists that the last thing on his mind was to damage the reputations of any of these departed stars. Since Scotty sees absolutely nothing wrong with a wide range of sexual appetites, he can’t view talking about it now as any kind of betrayal of his friends. I know some people will disagree with that assessment, and some people will doubt the veracity of his stories, but when you meet 95-year-old Scotty in person, it’s hard not to be impressed by the way he moves through the world with equal measures of sincerity, innocence, and kindness, even with total lack of self-consciousness as he changes the conversation on a dime from how much he likes your shirt to how director George Cukor could “suck 15 different cocks in one sitting.” Oy.

This absolutely riveting documentary by Matt Tyrnauer (Valentino: The Last Emperor and the upcoming Studio 54) paints a fascinating portrait of Bowers, and includes Scotty’s eye-opening and often jaw-dropping takes on icons from Hollywood’s Golden Age including Cary Grant, Katharine Hepburn, Spencer Tracy, Lana Turner, Ava Gardner, and so many more. I saw down with Bowers and Trynauer at the Chateau Marmont, the site of many of Bowers’ trysts, to chat about his remarkable life.

Danny Miller: Scotty, I have to say I’ve never in my life encountered anyone with such an incredibly sex-positive attitude, completely free of shame, embarrassment, or guilt.

Scotty Bowers: That’s the key, Danny! To be free of all that stuff.

What do you attribute that to? It’s pretty rare in general, much less during the era in which you came of age.

That’s just the way I always was. As I talk about in the film, I was having sex at a very young age, and nothing ever bothered me. I’ve always liked people and people were always very nice to me. Everything worked out really well!

I can see how you provided a great service to all of the people in Hollywood who were very repressed in terms of their true selves. They must have loved finding someone with such an open, non-judgmental attitude.

I think that’s true. I made them more relaxed and they were able to speak freely. A lot of people back then were very uptight about everything, especially their sexuality.

And while today, thanks to the Internet, people with any interest can find other like-minded folks, it was virtually impossible back then, especially if you were well known.

It’s true, it was impossible — and you risked a lot, including arrest and getting beaten up. And losing your career, of course. Times have definitely changed for the better.

I love that we get to meet some of the people that you fixed up with celebrities. They seemed really sweet but didn’t you ever worry that you could accidentally send a bad apple who would treat a star badly or expose them?

No, not really. If a person were a bad apple, I picked up on it pretty quickly. I knew so many really nice people I didn’t have to bother with those other types. Of course, there were some who turned into a different person the minute they’d drink so you had to watch out for that.

Matt, you obviously have an amazing raconteur here as the subject of your film. How agonizing was the editing process? I can imagine a nine-hour cut of this film!

Matt Tyrnauer: It was very difficult. There were hundreds of names that were mentioned by Scotty over the course of filming, some of them world-famous to this day and some obscure. But it’s a 90-minute film and the golden rule of editing is that if it doesn’t propel the story forward, it gets left on the cutting room floor. The movie goes back and forth between the past and the present. I think of it largely as a vérité film with memory passages.

I really like the balance between the past and present. Although I’m obviously curious about which stars didn’t make the cut. Did I hear you talking at the screening I attended about Tyrone Power?

Yeah, we had a whole sequence about him in the film that got cut for a number of reasons. One is that we screened the film to people of various ages and we found that Tyrone Power was unknown to almost anyone under 60.

Arrrgh! My classic movie friends will blanche at that — we love Tyrone Power!

Scotty: I remember one time when I took Ty up to trick Charles Laughton as a favor to me. (Laughs.) Ty was a great guy, really nice.

Matt: Scotty introduced them and then they worked on Witness for the Prosecution together.

Do you understand why some of the family and friends of these stars get uncomfortable with these revelations?

Scotty: Yeah, I know that some of them just don’t want to think about it.

Matt: Scotty had a very positive contact with one of Walter Pidgeon’s relatives and I met one of Randolph Scott’s descendants, it might have been his great-great-granddaughter, and she was delighted to hear about this. She had a very open mind about it.

Scotty: It’s odd to me when people question that Cary Grant was gay. He lived with designer Orry-Kelly for a year and a half in New York and everyone knew that Orry was a mad queen! Then they moved out here and he got rid of Orry-Kelly but moved in with Randolph Scott. They lived as lovers for years, for Christ’s sake! They lived right behind the Chateau Marmont where we are now and also had that wonderful house right on the beach in Santa Monica. I knew them both very well but of course they did have a lot to lose back then. I think it would be different today.

I have to admit that, as a classic film lover, the one revelation that I had a hard time wrapping my brain around is your contention that Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy were not really in a romantic relationship. I mean, I can totally believe that she was with women from time to time, but I still always believed that their love for each other was very real.

Spencer was the type who would never admit he was gay or that he had any attraction that way. I’d spend the whole evening with him drinking at the kitchen table, I’m talking six or seven hours, and then he’d be so drunk that he’d grab me to hold onto in order to get to the bedroom. He was so out of it he’d be up pissing in the closet thinking it was the washroom or pissing on me! After that, he wouldn’t just suck my cock, he’d chew on it! (Laughs.) But then, the next morning, it was like nothing had happened. “You were so nice to stay with me when I was loaded,” he’d say. He’d pretend I was just watching over him to make sure he was okay. But there was never anything between him and Hepburn. Nothing.

I just refuse to accept that! Say it ain’t so!

Matt: One thing that I’d like to point out about Tracy and Hepburn, and this has never happened before now, but Liz Smith goes on the record in the film to talk about Katharine Hepburn’s lesbian relationships and how protective she was of her own image. Liz Smith was very close to Hepburn and very involved in her life over the last 40 years of it. Smith was also a very trustworthy person who was not known for making stuff up at all, quite the opposite. That was very valuable for me because she’d never talked about it before. She herself was a lesbian who was careful in the same way that Hepburn was, but then she did eventually come out and was quite open about it. We were very lucky to get Liz Smith, she died last year at 94 and this was one of her last interviews, so I was happy that she finally spoke about Katharine Hepburn’s truth.

Scotty: I got along very well with Kate. I fixed her up with about 150 different girls over a period of almost 50 years. We were buddies.

The other revelation that completely floored me was your relationship with the Duke and Duchess of Windsor. I mean, these are members of the British Royal Family!

They had an interesting relationship. She told him every move to make, and I mean every move. “Suck his cock, do this, do that!” She was in complete control. I was recommended to them by Cecil Beaton, the royal photographer, director Byron Desmond Hurst, and a few English actors I knew. They told the Duke and Duchess, “If you ever get to California, look up Scotty,” which they did. I got a lot of guys and girls for them.

I’m just surprised people in their position would take the risk. Couldn’t someone make a fortune with a story about having sex with the former King of England?

It was a different time. And I mean, in most cases, they didn’t even know who they were. They definitely didn’t know going in, I just told them they were a wealthy couple from England. I would rent a bungalow at the Beverly Hills Hotel that you could enter from the street, it was very private. I remember one guy who I sent over asking me many years later, “Was that the King of England?” (Laughs.) But at the time I never told anyone who they were.

Matt: I did research that placed the Duke and Duchess of Windsor in L.A. at exactly the time Scotty was talking about. And I didn’t realize until I read Cecil Beaton’s published diaries that there’s a whole chapter devoted to Scotty.

That surprised me, to be honest, I didn’t think he would want to talk about such things in print!

He was very flamboyant and open about his sexuality compared to most well-known people at that time. He was in town art directing My Fair Lady with George Cukor who Scotty was very close to. And Scotty had already had a sexual relationship with Beaton. I think it’s so easy to dismiss and doubt a lot of Scotty’s stories, but the evidence is there when you look for it.

And yet some people will just never be able to accept it.

Yeah, these myths are very persistent. It’s such a testament to the power of the studio system in classic Hollywood.

And speaking of the studios, I know there were the “fixers” back then whose job it was to keep a lid on any scandals involving their stars. Did they ever approach you to lay off their people?

Scotty: No, because I knew bigger people at the studio! People like Edwin B. Willis, the set designer at MGM, he was a big shot there and a very close buddy of mine. He was a real sweetheart of a guy. I knew a lot of the big shots and they liked me and no one at the studio ever bothered me at all.

I like that one scene in the film where you’re signing books and the guy confronts you about why he objects to you talking about these people. You just smile and say, “Well, thanks, anyway!” Does that kind of criticism ever bother you?

No, not really. They say, “How could you write about that person in that way” and I say, “Why not? It’s a compliment to them!” Look, I’ve seen too many young guys get killed during the war, 18- and 19-year-olds, hundreds and hundreds of them right in front of my eyes. That kind of affected my view of things. My goal was always to have fun and make people happy. I think people should live their lives how they want to.

Is that your main hope for the film? That we shouldn’t be so quick to label people one way or the other and just accept them for who they were?

Yes. People should be nicer to people in general. I can’t stand when I hear about a mother disowning her son because she finds out he’s gay. Big fucking deal! There are so many people who go through life regretting this and worrying about that, and then they die. Who the fuck cares?

Well, I think people are going to be completely fascinated by your story, Scotty, even if some of my classic movie friends are going to lose their shit at your tales about their favorite stars.

Matt: I think the prevailing thought is that the classic movie audience may need smelling salts after watching this film, but I hope that they ultimately embrace it.

In the end, the movie is really about acceptance.

Scotty: I think so. It was nice to talk to you, Danny. You have a great smile — a real smile, a lot of people fake that!

Thanks! And by the way, I could so see a feature film being made about your life. What a great part that would be for an actor.

Maybe you could do me, Danny!

Matt: Scotty, that line could be taken a few different ways…

youtube

Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood opens at Arclight Hollywood on July 27 and at the IFC Center in New York on August 3. Matt Tyrnauer and Scotty Bowers will be doing Q&As at Arclight Hollywood this weekend following the 2:30 and 7:30 screenings on 7/27, the 2:30, 7:30, and 9:30 screenings on 7/28, and the 2:30 screening on 7/29.

#Matt Tyrnauer #Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood #Scotty Bowers #Interviews #What's Hot

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char27martin · 7 years ago

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5 Things the Screenwriting Business Taught Me About Writing

A confession: I bristled at being called a “screenwriter” while jacket copy for Magicians Impossible, my debut novel, was being finalized. Everyone else wanted that facet of my biography in; I wanted it out. I didn’t want to be “screenwriter with debut novel,” which to most reading pegs said debut novel as “movie idea he turned into a novel in order to sell as a movie.” No I wanted to be a writer, full stop, and my novel to be just that—a novel. That sounds strange, I know; to be a screenwriter by trade is the dream of so many people, from Ottawa to Omaha and all points in between. It’s The Hollywood Dream, and for writers, landing that Hollywood Dream is the final rung in the ladder. Why wouldn’t I want to celebrate the fact I’ve defied the odds and managed to make a living of it?

Brad Abraham is a screenwriter, former journalist, comic book creator. and author, whose novel Magicians Impossible (Thomas Dunne Books) debuts this month. He spent nearly two decades in the showbiz trenches as a screenwriter-for-hire. But it took writing his first novel to make him realize how much the movie business taught him about writing, relationships, and life.

The hard truth of it is by the time Magicians came around I was tired. Tired of movies and TV, tired of having your words read only by producers and development executives. Tired of having things produced that had been through so many hands I barely recognized it as my own. Yet the writing of Magicians Impossible challenged everything I thought I knew about writing, and in its own way helped me to remember what I loved about writing in the first place. And in the end it was my years in screen trade that taught me five incredibly valuable lessons about writing, relationships, and about finding the joy.

1. How to tell a story. At its most basic level a screenplay is basically a set of instructions to production departments. It’s telling the production designer what the villain’s lair looks like. It’s telling the producers how much things will cost. It’s telling the actors what they’ll say. All these directions are affixed to a story’s structure. What happens to whom and when. Act One is your setup. Act Two, the complication. Act Three is your payoff. Much like a magic trick, the goal is to surprise the audience with the outcome. You may think you know how it all plays out; a good writer will satisfy that need, but find an unusual, unexpected way to reach that ending. A screenplay lives and dies by its structure. A solid one allows you to take flights of fancy, to divert, to experience the world; a weak one will leave you as lost as your audience. A novel has a structure too, and how much structure you want that novel to have depends on you. There are reams upon reams of books written about writing, but for most of us it comes down to this: Who is the hero, and what is their journey? What is the point of this story if not to follow a character or group of them, to see them face obstacles great and small, and emerge on the other side transformed into something else? Magicians Impossible is all about that transformation; about becoming the person you always wanted to be if only you hadn’t been afraid to take that first step. Everything that happens to every character in the novel springs off that theme, it may be Jason Bishop’s (Magicians’ central character) journey, but it’s the collective’s story.

2. How to solve a problem. I’m not talking “Conan contemplating on the Tree of Woe” problems. I’m not even talking “how can I get this character from A to B and then C” problems. No, I’m talking “the producer and development exec are sitting across from the table and staring at you and expecting you to come up with a fix to this story problem right now because if you can’t they’ll find someone who can” problems. It’s a uniquely film-TV experience, being on the spot like that; there’s no luxury of time to sip your mug of tea and stare thoughtfully at your work-in-progress. They want it now. So, you do. It might not be the solution, but it is a solution good enough to reassure them (and you) that you can come up with a fix. They want to see that you’re capable and willing to try different approaches and aren’t married to the words already on the page. In what we knowingly call “the biz,” it’s not so much about your first great idea as it is your tenth or twentieth. In writing this book, I was blessed with something I never had in the film world: the luxury of time—a full year from signing the contract to delivering the draft. Time to figure out where I was going. Time to figure out a course correction when I realized I was getting lost. Time to sip that mug of tea and stare thoughtfully at the work-in-progress. I had the time, but I was also used to writing from the trenches, to the point I was knocking down problems almost as soon as they popped up, finding solutions and implementing them before delivering the draft and saving my editor a pile of work.

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3. How to take criticism. This is the big one. I’m not talking about audience or reader or critic reviews (though you will face those at some point). No, I’m talking about development people ripping your work to shreds in front of you, in front of other writers, in front of their interns. Screenwriters are basically big walking pieces of scar tissue, and how well you absorb this abuse will determine whether or not you have any kind of future in this business. Ever wonder why so many writers talk or joke about being drunk? This is why. This is actually a good thing, as it gives you this tough elephant hide to weather said criticism. Contrasting that with book publishing, it’s the difference between a sandpaper massage and an actual massage. This extends even to when I received my first, then second, then third rounds of edits. Years of screenwriting had conditioned me to taking my editor’s notes (and copy editor’s and line editor’s), reading them, and implementing them. It was actually my agent who pointed out to me that I didn’t need to make those changes—they were just suggestions. But they were good suggestions and if there’s anything writing in the showbiz trenches taught me is that a good idea is a good idea; all that matters is it ends up in the finished work. The biz also taught me that the biggest obstacle to your work is your own ego, and that if you can separate that ego from the work you can look at it more critically, and make those hard decisions, which in the case of Magicians Impossible meant tossing the entire third act of the book (and a good chunk of the second) and going at it again. Did it work? Well, that’s where reviews enter the picture (and that’s where your scar tissue comes in handy).

4. How to keep your friends close. If there’s any common DNA between movie and TV writing and book writing it’s the value of a good agent. Because as terrifying as a producer can be, they are all terrified of your agent. Nothing will chill a producer’s blood more than you saying “I’m not sure; let me check with my agent about that.” Agents are worth more than their weight in gold and the fact I’m still standing on this battlefield of entertainment is because of the agents and managers who, over the years, stood by me when it wasn’t convenient to do so. When I wasn’t commanding top dollar (or any dollar for that matter). When, to use the term, I “couldn’t get arrested in this town.” The ones who see the long game when you’re so focused on the immediate because that’s their job. The ones who never fail to tell you that despite your struggles and hardship you are good at what you do. My late manager was one of those people, and the aunt of the lead in Magicians Impossible is named after her. My current agent is one of those people too. In books, as in film, and in life, you’re only as good as the people who support you, and I’m fortunate to have the best standing by me.

5. How to find the joy. A producer I’ve worked for many times always asks when I’m delivering a script whether or not I “found the joy.” Meaning: “Was this fun? Did you enjoy the process? Despite all the notes and drafts and arguments and, did you hit that sweet spot where you felt some degree of happiness while working?” If the answer is “yes,” he pretty much accepts what I’ve given him before reading it. If not, or I obfuscate, there’s going to be more work ahead. Finding the joy has been my own personal way of gauging how I’m doing on anything I write. This is especially useful in screenwriting or “work-for-hire” jobs, because there inevitably comes a point when you feel you’ve delivered your best work, and they still want more changes, and it feels like every subsequent revision takes you further and further away from the one that (in your mind anyway) worked the best. That’s usually the time you start looking for an exit strategy, because you can only fake it for so long before they catch on. Finding the joy is crucial in writing because without it, what are you writing for? There’s much better ways to earn a living than this. I found the joy on Magicians not when I was at my best, but when I was at my very worst. When I’d finished that first draft and all I saw were problems. Plot problems. Character problems. Pacing and story problems. I had a lot of work ahead of me and had less than six months to fix it. So I did the only thing I could: take a break, walk away, read, relax, clear my head. Then, about a week after, a solution appeared to me, in a dream of all places. I saw the characters, I saw the story, I saw what needed to happen, and when I awoke, I had it—the excitement, the anticipation … the joy. If you’ve truly found the joy in writing, it’ll get you through your worst by showing you how you are at your very best.

When I began the very long journey into the world of Magicians Impossible, I wasn’t sure I would ever return to the film and TV worlds. I wasn’t sure I could go back to the high-pressure deadlines, the conflicts of personality, the on-the-fly problem solving; I wasn’t sure I could go back to studio and network notes. But what becoming a novelist taught me was that no matter the area of creative art, you’re at your best when you’re surrounded by like-minded creative types. Nothing will get your creative spark lit like another person who’s trod the same road as you, and like you just wants to find the joy.

If you’re an agent looking to update your information or an author interested in contributing to the GLA blog or the next edition of the book, contact Writer’s Digest Books Managing Editor Cris Freese at [email protected].

The post 5 Things the Screenwriting Business Taught Me About Writing appeared first on WritersDigest.com.

from Writing Editor Blogs – WritersDigest.com http://www.writersdigest.com/editor-blogs/guide-to-literary-agents/5-things-screenwriting

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theheavymetalmama · 7 years ago

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So... is superman going take the Lois & Clark pre-rebirth rout? Where Superman and Lois from the mainstream universe are hiding in the new 52 Universe, so they built new lifes for themselves as a farmer/superhero and teacher/reporter? It seems like the only logical solution, specially after the "Open casket funeral" in Batman vs Superman

I honestly have no idea, and I certainly don’t envy whoever ends up writing and directing the next solo-Superman movie considering the corner that Batman v Superman wrote him into. Dear god, just imagining the soul-crushing conversation that would occur makes me want to eat my weight in chocolate, and I don’t even like sweets!

New Director: “Okay, so I was thinking we open with Lois and Clark going on a romantic dinner date in order to catch up and reconnect with each other on an emotional level, as well as give Clark a chance to propose to her and-”WB Exec: “He can’t go back to being Clark Kent, he had an open-casket funeral and everyone knows he’s dead.”New Director: “Oh…okay, so he changed his name to…Clark Smith, or something. In any case after the dinner date, Clark is sent to investigate some mysterious goings-on at Starr Labs. So he sets out to investigate with Jimmy Olsen in tow and-”WB Exec: “You can’t use Jimmy Olsen, he was killed at the start of Batman v Superman.”New Director: “……okay, forget Jimmy then. In any case Clark discovers some strange new minerals being examined at Starr and concludes that they’re from space, so after contacting John Henry Irons Superman and Steel go to the Fortress of Solitude where-”WB Exec: “Steel and the Fortress of Solitude don’t exist in this universe.”New Director: *face-palms, groans* “Alright, fine, forget the whole thing. Instead, let’s do Lex Luthor running for president-”WB Exec: “He can’t, he’s a convicted felon and everybody knows he’s the one who created Doomsday. Also nobody likes him.”New Director: “Jesus, enough already! Stop telling me what I CAN’T do and tell me what I CAN do!”WB Exec: “…well, the chart says-”New Director: “OH FOR FUCK’S SAKE!”

So yeah, I honestly have no idea what they’re going to do. Going the Rebirth route seems like the easiest fix, but that would require bringing their son Jon into the mix and, well, there’s just not any room for that to happen in the DCEU.

I’ve heard others say that the next Superman movie should be an adaptation of “What’s Funny About Truth, Justice, and the American Way?” which later became the excellent animated movie “Superman vs the Elite.” I’d be all for that, but there’s one problem. That story only works if it takes place in a world where Superman sticks staunchly to his moral code and where the world sees him as a hero, whereas in the DCEU that’s not the case for either party. More people hate and fear Superman than there are those who see him as a hero and Superman himself is hardly a moral beacon considering he smashes dudes through walls and fucked off to a snowy mountain because “Being Superman is really hard, guys!”

So yeah, I got nothing. I know everybody at Warner right now is swearing up and down that they’re doing everything in their power to get Superman right, but I just don’t see how they can get Superman right when he can’t go back to being Clark Kent, his best pal Jimmy Olsen is dead, more people hate and fear him than see him as a hero. If there’s only one good thing I can say about the situation is that I’m morbidly curious to see just how they pull it off, because from where I’m standing nothing short of a “Days of Future Past”-style soft reboot can get Superman out of the corner that Snyder, Goyer, and so on wrote him into. Guess we’ll just have to wait and see.

#Superman #DC #DCEU #Justice League #I just want to see one more good Superman movie before I die

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yogaadvise · 8 years ago

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Brené Brown on Vulnerability and Rising Strong

On September 3, Brené Brown, Ph.D., a research professor at the College of Houston Graduate Institution of Community service, best understand to many for her remarkable TEDx talk on susceptability, smiled as well as shyly tipped on phase, wearing a black zippered coat over a white buttoned tee shirt and also denim pants. Bordered by the calligraphy of Zen master Thich Nhat Han at the classy ABC Carpet as well as Residence in New York City, Brown says loudly, with a tip of Texas drawl, 'I nearly dropped this entire point to shop.' The target market burst right into giggling. 'I want I could claim I was joking.'

Brown after that explains that she can inform just how great her talks will certainly be by exactly how sick she feels in advance, 'and I'm very upset,' she says, to even more giggling. Taking a look around at the delicate ceramic, paintings, as well as sand art on screen in this occasion space, Brown says she feels like a bull in a China shop, far too clumsy and also forceful for a setting like this.

In these opening moments, Brown catches the hearts of the target market, a lot the exact same means she carried out in her now-famous talk at TEDx Houston. She doesn't just speak about vulnerability, she embodies it. While numerous sound speakers do every little thing they could to cover or reduce their nerves and also instabilities, she does specifically the opposite. She leans into her discomfort, and serves as a touching instance of the lessons she teaches.

While Brown isn't usually a fan of sound attacks, she claims the spirit of her brand-new publication, Rising Strong, which was launched on August 25, might probably most ideal be caught by the list below sentence: 'She or he that has the greatest capacity for discomfort rises fastest.' This is a publication about being in the sector, about living life with heart, as well as agreeing to feel the discomfort that stands between us as well as our greatest desires.

After providing her TEDx talk (below), which has actually garnered even more compared to 21 million sights, Brown says she had the 'worst susceptability hangover' of her life. Remarkably, this was when she assumed the lecture would certainly be seen just by the couple of hundred live participants, prior to she had any idea it would be released online.

Prior to that occasion, when she chose to be susceptible while going over susceptability, she had actually 'syntheticed (her) entire occupation to be listed below the radar.' Her armor, when uneasy, was to utilize academic words nobody recognizes, 'including me.' She didn't place herself totally into her work, getting right into the fallacy that by keeping back she might get less pain. There's just one problem with this strategy: 'It leads to bitterness and also pissed-offedness ... due to the fact that you're not utilizing your presents.'

In the consequences of her TEDx talk going online, several months later, she obtained a phone call from Chris Anderson, the head of TED, stating her talk would certainly be released on the main TED website. In the weeks and also months that adhered to, her talk received even more views and press than she could have ever envisioned. Brown was favorably bewildered, after that did the something a caring pal or spouse would advise one not to do: She read the on-line comments.

In that moment, she saw, scattered out in hateful font, her very worst problems. Individuals slammed every little thing about her-her look, her weight, the material of her talk. They mirrored back all her worst instabilities. She had exposed her spirit. She attempted substantially, just to have her worst worries confirmed.

Distraught, Brown began down an internet wormhole, googling random facts, when she had just what she calls a 'God moment'- stumbling throughout Teddy Roosevelt's 1910 inauguration speech, that included these lines:

' It is not the critic that counts, not the man who mentions just how the strong male stumbles, or where the doer of actions might have done them better. The credit belongs to the male that is in fact in the field, whose face is ruined by dirt as well as sweat and also blood, that strives valiantly, that errs, who comes short time and again, since there is no initiative without mistake as well as drawback, however who does really aim to do the deeds, who knows excellent enthusiasms, the terrific devotions, that spends himself in a worthy reason, that at the very best understands ultimately the accomplishment of high achievement, and that at the most awful, if he fails, a minimum of falls short while daring substantially.'

Reading this, she recognized she remained in the arena. The majority of her movie critics were on the sidelines, their reviews fueled by self-loathing and unfulfilled possibility. As uncomfortable as this experience was, Brown restored her commitment to live a brave life to at worst fail while bold significantly. She would certainly live 'done in.'

As Brown states, when we provide something our all and also fall short, it's incredibly unpleasant. When we fail after holding back, the discomfort is 10 times worse.

She currently lives by this tenet and educates execs as well as leaders that when you're in the field, there's just one guarantee: 'You will obtain your evaluate kicked.' You will fail. It's not if, yet when.

Sometimes, when we put ourselves on the line as well as expose our innermost truths, we get rejected, which can really feel terrible. Yet, everything we want-connection, creative thinking, occupation success, love-is based in our willingness to be seen.

She also identified that susceptability is having the courage to turn up and also be seen, when you have no control over the end result. Because means, she corresponds vulnerability to one of the ideal actions of nerve. She did that with her TEDx talk, which both verified her worst fears as well as surpassed her wildest dreams.

Despite her unpleasant online experience, Brown is now strongly in the sector. Rather than obtaining torn damaged by critics or mosting likely to the other extreme of claiming she doesn't care just what any individual thinks, which Brown states is a proven method to blockade oneself from connection, she has a new solution. She recommends taking a 1-inch by 1-inch paper and documenting the names of individuals whose viewpoints matter. Her criteria making it on this checklist? People need to enjoy her as a result of (not simply even with) her susceptability and also blemishes. Plus, if you're not in the arena, she doesn't wish to hear your responses. This appears like good advice for every one of us.

When unpreventable challenges occur, Brown's brand-new book, Rising Strong, provides a structure for how you can approach these with stamina and also at least a smidgen of poise. She overviews us from the 'reckoning,' when we stroll right into our story, getting interested concerning our emotions to the 'roar,' when we completely own our story to the 'revolution,' where we totally own components of ourselves we previously abandoned.

To highlight this factor, Brown reveals a slide with pictures from different factors in her life, decorated with various hairdos, character characteristics, and wishes. She explains that, in order to end up being the fullest expression of ourselves, we have to possess all that we are. We cannot hide the darkness without also lowering the light. Our best and worst high qualities usually lay on the exact same continuum: A person who is detail-oriented and also detailed might also be micromanaging. In order to end up being entire, to come to be the maximum expression of ourselves, we have to integrate or even embrace the previously orphaned components of ourselves, facets we might have wanted to leave behind from embarassment. As we do this, we stand in our full power-united, solid, as well as ready to face any difficulty that comes our way. Even if that obstacle takes us down, we will be healthy and entire and able to rise solid again. As Brown says, 'The whole soul of Rising Strong is integration."

#yoga

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