#the redford center

[kickmag]

The Redford Center Partners With Black Public Media For BPM's 2023 Climate Open Call

The Redford Center has partnered with Black Public Media for BPM's 2023 open call for climate stories. The center, which was co-founded by actors and activists Robert Redford and James Redford, is one of the only US-based non-profits dedicated to environmental impact filmmaking. Black Public Media will award a total of $230,000 in funding for feature-length documentaries and documentary or scripted shorts. Projects in all stages of production are invited and should be appropriate for public media distribution. The application window is September 1-25.

Stories that examine the impact of climate change on communities of African descent are encouraged. The projects can focus on how the crisis is being managed, environmental racism, health impacts, solutions, climate education, sustainable industries and climate policies. One $30,000 award will be given to a stand-alone or limited-series short film. Five $40,000 awards will be granted for broadcast or feature-length nonfiction film projects. Recipients of those awards might also get to participate in BPM's PitchBLACK Forum, which is the largest national pitch competition for independent filmmakers and creative technologists making content about the global Black experience. PitchBLACK competitors will face off for an additional $150,000 in funding. All Black Public Media funding awards are licensing agreements for public media distribution. 

Robert Redford and James Redford co-founded The Redford Center in 2005 and they will partner with BPM on the open call and offer advice and resources. 

“We are honored to partner with BPM on this open call, and grateful to BPM for creating this opportunity to center frontline filmmakers and projects focused on increasing knowledge and resonance of the importance of safeguarding our environment,” said The Redford Center Executive Director Jill Tidman. “As more and more people experience the effects of climate change, it is vital that we hear from and learn from communities who are often disproportionately impacted by it. I cannot wait to see what stories come through this effort."

The open call submissions link will go live on September 1st at  https://blackpublicmedia.org/for-media-makers/open-call/ and close on Monday, September 25 at 11:59 p.m. ET.

All applicants must be the producer or director of the project, be a US citizen, have a minimum of three years of producing and directing experience, or have a senior producer tied to the project. Key members of the creative team must include at least one person of color. 

Black Public Media will have free information sessions on August 29 and September 21. Applicants are encouraged to attend these sessions. Details on the information sessions and the open call will be available at https://blackpublicmedia.org. For more information, email: funding@blackpublicmedia.org or call 212-234-8200.

BPM's Climate Stories initiative is supported by the New York Community Trust Pare Lorentz Documentary Fund and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

An independent panel of media professionals will review applications and select the winners who will be announced in December. 

BPM has supported climate projects in the past including Black Folk Don’t: Go Green (2012), by Emmy-award-winning director Angela Tucker; Pangaea (2016), by Olivia Peace; Midnight Oil (2023), by Bilal Motley (currently streaming in BPM’s new AfroPoP Digital Shorts) series; and Razing Liberty Square (broadcast premiere in Jan. 2024), by Katja Esson.

For more information on Black Public Media go to  www.blackpublicmedia.org.

[filmnoirfoundation]

New NOIR CITY festival dates have been added for 2024!

CONFIRMED 2024 NOIR CITY DATES

NOIR CITY: Seattle: Feb 16-22 SIFF Cinema Egyptian, Seattle, WA

NOIR CITY: Hollywood: Mar 22-31 Egyptian Theatre, Hollywood, CA

NOIR CITY: Boston: Jun 14-16 The Brattle, Cambridge, MA

NOIR CITY: Portland: Jul 19-21 Hollywood Theatre, Portland, OR

NOIR CITY: Chicago: Sep 6-12 Music Box Theatre, Chicago, IL

NOIR CITY: Detroit: Sep 20-22 Redford Theatre, Detroit, MI

NOIR CITY: D.C.: Oct 11-24 AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center

NOIR CITY: Philadelphia: Nov 15-17 The Colonial Theatre, Phoenixville, PA

*Other U.S. cities will be added as festival dates are confirmed.

[flowercrownsandkisses]

I'm thinking of writing an EAH long fanfic centering around Briar, where after she rejects her destiny she goes on to do a whole bunch of other chaos and discover what she truly likes besides being a party girl, and with a new friend group because her relationship with Apple is well, less than ok.

(I'm thinking of making Briar become a bookball player like Cerise and Darling, and also focus on her being good at chemstry-as seen in Briar's study party)

And there's two people I want to ship her with but I can't choose the eventual love interest for her.

First there's Faybelle. The standard villian & princess romance, and also Briar's most popular ship, and for a good reason. I love Bribelle, and I have like a bunch of ideas I could build on for the AU.

And the next is Chase Redford. Very obscure, but I saw one post on Tumblr the other day and I completely agree with them. It would work. It would really work. It's such a rare pair but I already have ideas. And yes, Chase would be a bookball player too.

[a-strange-inkling]

If anyone would like a little jealous Eddie to go along with their plate of jealous Chrissy, here’s a little more of the jealousy one shot:

He knows with every fiber of his being that loving Christina Elizabeth Munson née Cunningham is the single greatest most difficult thing he will ever do in this life.

But she loved someone else first.

What were his past conquests? Why were they a cause of concern. She loved Carver. She was with him for three years.

Three years.

They haven’t even been freaking married for three years.

She was going to marry him.

Not like just move in with him at college or something no, fucking marry him. White dress, spring wedding at Olde North Chapel the next year. He had a ring for her. Chrissy had seen it herself, snuck a peek after her friends told her about it, where it was hidden in his dresser.

Eddie wondered if she pulled it out of the box. Tried it on. He could never bring himself to ask.

He takes her hand and finds his ring, the one he made her in his shitty garage. The one she’s wearing now. The one she accepted. The one she vowed to wear forever. He spins it around her finger, unable to forget that sweet, personal conversation he shouldn’t have heard her junior year when he was a second year senior.

It was a typical day… He’d been smoking with Jeff and Donnie after school in the back of his van when Jason Carver rode into Hawkins High on a motorcycle of all things. The deep revving of the engine was so rich and condescending that everyone had to look. Even he and the boys were unable to stop themselves from peering over as Carver did a full turn around the parking lot, doing a few wheelies before pulling up to the curb around the gym where the cheerleaders were just coming out after practice.

They all gasped and squealed in delight at the show.

All except Chrissy who stood stock still in the center of her squad, gaping in amazement and disbelief. They were all shaking her arm and pointing. Like, oh my God, look Chrissy! Look at your boyfriend! He’s on a motorcycle! Isn’t he just like the dreamiest ever?

Jason pulled off his helmet, gracing the world with his golden head of tousled hair, gleaming in the afternoon sunlight like Robert Redford. His eyes twinkled at Chrissy, grinning at her while she just stood there, too flabbergasted to move. The engine revved down so he could properly beckon her over.

“Surprise.”

“Oh my God!” she cried, shaking herself out of her stunned state as she bounded up to him, ponytail swishing back forth across her shoulders. Jason swung his leg over the seat, standing with the bravado of a man who knew for a fact he was getting laid that night, wrapping an arm around her. “Oh my God! Oh my God!”

“Oh my God… please don’t tell me that’s a Sturgis. It sounds like a Sturgis.” Donnie whined beside Eddie, covering his eyes, unable to look over and confirm it for himself. He was even more of a motorhead than Eddie.

“Sure is,” Eddie answered numbly. “1980 FXB with an eighty cubic inch square engine. Pristine condition.”

“Original paint job?”

“Looks like it.”

Donnie sobbed quietly, digging his fingers into his eye sockets. “Stupid lucky little fuck.”

There was no getting around it, it was a fucking gorgeous bike. Seemed like he and Carver had the same taste in motorcycles too.

Chrissy stared at the sheek black vehicle, completely mystified. “Jace, how on earth…”

“My dad let me have it for the afternoon to stretch its legs, just have to get it back in the garage by six or he’ll skin me alive… Nice huh?”

She nodded, her big blue eyes wide and round, something like a daze coming over her.

“How about it? You want that ride?” Jason asked again with a chuckle, holding up the second helmet that was hanging on the upper rider seat behind him.

“Really!?” she asked. “I can? It’s okay?”

“Of course it’s okay, c’mon.”

A happy little squeak escaped her as she jumped up and down in his arms, tugging on his shoulders so that he would hurry up and drive away with her into the sunset. Eddie had never seen her more enthusiastic outside of a cheer routine. She was always so poised and put together. Right now she could barely hold still long enough for Jason to get the helmet on her head and wrap her up in his letterman so she wouldn’t get cold.

It reminded him of the little girl he met backstage of the middle school auditorium all those years ago.

“Settle down, Chris.” Carver chuckled. “Gotta make sure this is on tight.”

Everyone watched them as Chrissy mounted the seat behind Jason, her arms slipping around him to hold his narrow waist. They looked… perfect together. Even more so than usual.

“Some guys really do get everything.” Donnie muttered with a shake of his head, having finally looked up.

Eddie smirked miserably at that, taking another deep drag. No fucking kidding.

Chrissy’s squeal of nervous, wild laughter could be heard even when Jason shifted gears and tore away from the school, kicking up loose gravel.

Eddie, because his favorite thing in life was to commit self sabotage, smoked way too much afterward and ended up falling asleep in the back of his van. The boys had been nice enough to clean up the scene, lock up the van… and tuck him in on the small cot. Someone even left him a bag of chips and some water. Probably Jeff.

He just laid there groggy as hell, kinda wanting to die, but kinda not. Sorta in this weird headspace that if he did die… that wouldn’t be too bad.

Images of Carver and Chrissy kept swirling in his mind… and he wasn’t sure why it was bothering him… okay, that was a lie… but he wasn’t sure why it was bothering him this much.

He was nothing if not a cynic. He knew how the world worked. Girls like Chrissy ended up with guys like Jason. And that was that. While guys like him drank or smoked themselves to oblivion because all they were good at was making their already shitty lives even more shitty.

His pathetic self pity party was interrupted by the sound of voices outside. He sobered up, quickly scrambling to the front seat, with the grace of a newborn antelope, half worried it would be Hopper swinging by to make sure he wasn’t loitering after school again… but no… God could never be so merciful.

It was the royal couple, back from their tour. Jason was just coming out of the gym with a duffle bag while Chrissy sat waiting for him on the motorcycle.

“You look really good on that.” Jason told her.

She smiled bashfully as she scooched up along the seat, holding the handle bars, eyes on the road ahead, pretending she was going to peel right out of town. “I think I want one now.”

“Oh yeah?”

She glanced up at him coyly, almost like she was waiting for a reprimand. Her smile grew wider when he only came to settle heavily behind her, his strong arms snaking around her waist.“Yeah… will you teach me to drive it?” Oh so bold. Oh so flirty.

“Sure.” Jason leaned forward, pressing his chest to her back, gripping his hands over hers as he spoke into her ear. “You know I love teaching you things.”

Chrissy flushed, a nervous little giggle escaping her. Jason laughed and kissed her cheek. “You really like it huh?”

She bobbed her head. “I love it… We should… we should get one.”

Jason laughed loudly again. “Yeah sure, maybe someday.”

“I’m serious!” she exclaimed, her eyes shining at this idea. “We can both save up the money and after graduation… we can just go.” She shot her hand off toward the setting sun like a rocket.

“Go?” He was smiling at her placatingly, like someone listening to the aspirations of a little kid. “And just where would we be going?”

“I don’t know,” she breathed, leaning back against him, pulling his arms back around her. “Everywhere, anywhere, Chicago, New York, Seattle, Sedona, wherever we wanted… we can, can’t we?” Eddie remembered hating the way his heart swelled at her plea, at the way she came to life for a moment and looked westward toward the future. A future. One that could be her own.

They wanted the same thing.

Jason pondered her question for a moment with a teasing frown. “Well I mean, there is that whole pesky college thing.”

“We’ll still go to IU,” she assured him quickly, as if it were a mortal sin to suggest otherwise. “There’s the summer and holidays… and college won’t last forever.”

“Yeah, but everyone else is here, our whole lives are here.” Jason reminded her. “Won’t you miss your parents and Mattie?”

She hesitated, only for a second. “We’ll come back and visit… there’s just so much out there, Jason… don’t you want to see it?”

“Well, sure but…” Jason shrugged one shoulder, looking a little taken aback by the question. Why leave your own kingdom where everyone hangs off every word you say? Where everyone loves you? He eventually smiled.“What are we going to do? Live like hippies on the side of the road?”

“No,” she shoved him playfully, but the idea seemed to thrill her nonetheless.“We’ll find a place, our own place, just you and me, then we can go wherever we want, do whatever we want…”

“Well, when you put it like that,” he said a little more quietly, his eyes fixed solely on her, while she stared off into the horizon. Solar fire blazing in the deep oceans of her eyes. Crazy, wild dreams in her head. “Doesn’t sound too bad.”

After a little while, she shifted in her seat to look back up at him. “Can we go, Jason? Please say we can go. Say we can go somewhere someday.” She became a little frantic, like her life depended on this agreement. “It doesn’t have to be on a motorcycle, just say we’ll go.”

His hand rose to her ribcage, just shy of her breast to cradle her against him, kissing her forehead. “Alright, alright, it’s a deal.”

Her enthusiasm faltered, but only for a moment. “You promise?”

He grew serious, looking her right in the eye as he stroked her cheek.“You know I’d do anything for you.”

That seemed to satisfy her enough. A slow, bright smile lit up her whole face at the pact. She sunk her fingers into his golden waves and drew him down to her, kissing him deeply. “I love you.”

“Love you more.” He sighed, kissing her back, folding her up into his arms to lift her up. “Come on, we gotta get this back under the tarp before my Dad actually kills me.”

Chrissy nodded, putting the helmet back and climbing around him to the back seat. She held on to him tightly as he kickstarted the Harley.

Eddie watched them as they pulled out of the lot and disappeared down the road, Chrissy’s rose gold hair flying beneath her helmet.

Yeah. Some guys really did get everything.

[otome-asylum]

Piofiore: Fated Memories Review

From the game box's summary: "Navigate a world of organized crime. Three mafia families fight for control of Burlone City, and Lili discovers she is in the center of their deadly turf wars. Her encounters lead to danger and distraction. Drawn into this shadowy world, she realizes there is no going back..."

Piofiore: Fated Memories is an Otomate game from Idea Factory, localized by Aksys Games for the Nintendo Switch.

Overall Score: 8/10. I really liked the game in general--romanticized mafia is super fun! I loved the mafia premise and the thrill of illicit activities, haha. The love interests and side characters were excellent, too. The voice acting is fabulous! Two of my favorite VAs voice love interests: Showtaro Morikubo as Gilbert Redford (also voices Souji Okita in Hakuoki and Impey Barbicane in Code Realize) and Ryohei Kimura as Nicola Francesca (voices Kageyuki Shiriashi from Collar x Malice). Even fell in love with the voice acting of a new guy--Nobuhiko Okamoto as Yang (also does a side character's voice in Collar x Malice).

What I was not expecting was the somewhat heavy emphasis on Christianity and religion. That makes it sound a little more intense than I mean, but considering I wasn't expecting it at all...well. It wasn't the way one might expect, but it was enough that it was completely out of left field when I was expecting, you know, mafia. Honestly, had I known it wasn't just straight mafia, I might not have bought the game, but it was easy enough for me to ignore most of the time. There were some very--I mean very--minor translation issues, mainly typos, but it was good overall.

Heroine: 6/10. To start with, my opinion of the Heroine varied depending on the route. She was my favorite in Gilbert's route, and I liked her enough in Yang's, but she was kind of pitiful in the other three (not including the Finale/Henri endings; admittedly, I didn't read the Finale). Frankly, I found myself annoyed at her most of the time. It's annoying when a character that's meant to represent the reader (as a general rule) does, says, and thinks things that I never would. She has decent points at least once in most of the routes, but especially in the beginning of each route, she's so naive it makes me want to throw up. There are in-game reasons for why this is, so I understand it, but I still dislike it.

By the end of each route, she comes to terms with the fact that she's fallen in love with an incredibly dangerous man and gets over the fact that she's inadvertently complicit in organized crime, but the road to this acceptance is long and annoying. At the end of it all, she's still a bleeding heart. Not that I really thought that would change, but still. Progress.

I'm just bored to death of many otome MCs' main (and often only) strength being strength of will and/or character. Mental and emotional toughness are good, but could the MC also be useful and have more interesting qualities? Just once, I'd love to play a badass MC, who's a bit hardened, not a bleeding heart, and isn't shocked by the sight of blood... Yeesh...

Narrative: As is typical of these console games, the plot varies slightly from route to route, though there is an overarching plot. Without giving too much away, MC is Special™, and that comes out/is relevant in only 3/6 routes. All of the routes were well written, though I didn't find all of them that interesting. The overarching plot bored me to tears. I just wasn't into it. In a world of what I assumed was just your standard period mafia piece, there was a lot of weird mysticism and Christian mythology. There's not magic or anything like that, but there are sacred relics that can only be retrieved from their super secret locations with specific "ingredients," if you will. MC has one of those ingredients, and in a game where it really advertises the mafia (that's literal the entire pitch of the game, there's no mention of anything else on the game case), it feels very out of place.

I can tell they were trying to do something different with the mafia premise, and I commend the writers for that, but I think it fell a little flat. I found myself enjoying the routes where there was more of those organized crime attributes--smuggling, drug and arms dealing, counterfeiting, etc.--most, while the routes that heavily focused on MC's specialness were a slog to get through. Of course, this is my own personal opinion, so others may feel very differently. Despite that, I truly enjoyed the game and can't wait to play the sequel (fandisc)!

Love Interests: I adore these characters, period. They're all very unique and interesting, even if a few weren't my type. There are technically six love interests: Nicola Francesca, Dante Falzone, Yang, Gilbert Redford, Orlok, and Henri. Gilbert is locked until you completed Nicola, Yang, Dante, and Orlok's routes, and the Finale/Henri is locked until you complete Gil's. You don't get a feel for who Henri is at all until you play the Finale route, so I personally didn't care for him. I had no vested interest in him, so full disclosure, I mostly skipped his route...

The other characters were wonderfully varied, so I think there's a personality type to suit nearly everyone. I can honestly say that, although not all of them are for me, I can pick out a quality I like in all of them. Dante is the kuudere of the guys; Gilbert is gallant and chivalrous; Yang is selfish and craves violence (in the best way, though); Nicola is a flirt; and Orlok is the quiet, shy one. Henri is mysterious, though not in an interesting way for me, personally.

Game Mechanics: The "Status" page is difficult to understand, especially when you first start playing and have no idea what you're looking at. I had to look up how to interpret the status of the character. The more colorful the flower on the status page is, the higher the affection, and the clearer the page (in this case, how much blood spatter is visible) is related to the tolerance level. So, full-color flower and no blood spatters are very good.

I also don't love the Meanwhile side stories. While you're plaything through every story, periodically you'll get a pop-up that is sometimes automatic, sometimes optional, that takes you to a different perspective--something that's going on at the same time as the main story. I like the idea in theory, but it sometimes felt like they came at inopportune times and broke the story flow.

Music & Art Style: The music is jaunty and fun, very 1920s jazz, screams mafia, too. If that makes sense. If you decide to play it, you'll see what I mean. The art style is beautiful! It looks very similar to, if not outright the same as, Hakuoki. Since that's the game that started my love affair with these types of games, I love that it looks so similar. The CGs are gorgeous and worth collecting all of them, so 100-percenting the game is worth it. Some of them get pretty hot, too, like aaahhhhh. So 10/10 on the art!

[ilovewhiteroses]

Hi darlings! As you all know, Justified: City Primeval is based on Elmore Leonard's novel, "City Primeval: High Noon in Detroit" (1980). I thought it would be interesting to pick out a few excerpts from it to get to know a little bit more of Clement Mansell, whom will Boyd portray in the series. Warning: contains sexual references and violence Spoilers, I guess:

- Clement liked views from high places after years in the flatlands of Oklahoma and feeling the sky pressing down on him. It was the same sky when you could see it, when it wasn’t thick with dampness, but it seemed a lot higher in Detroit. He would look up there and wonder if his mom was floating around somewhere in space.

- Clement sat back on the couch, exposing the pair of bluebirds tattooed above his pure-white breasts. When they had first met three and a half years ago at a disco, Clement had said, “You want to see my birds?” and opened his shirt to show her. Then he’d said, “You want to see my chicken?” When Sandy said yes he pulled his shirt out of his pants and showed her his navel in the center of his hard belly. Sandy said, “I don’t see any chicken.” And Clement said, “It’s faded out; all that’s left is its asshole.”

- ONE TIME CLEMENT WAS RUN OVER by a train and lived. It was a thirty-three-car Chesapeake & Ohio freight train with two engines and a caboose. Clement was with a girl. They were waiting at a street crossing in Redford Township about eleven at night, the red lights flashing and the striped barrier across the road, when Clement got out of the car and went out to stand on the tracks, his back to the engine’s spotlight coming toward him at forty miles an hour. Yes, he was a little high, though not too high. He was going to jump out of the way at the last second, turned with his back to the approaching train, looking over at the girl’s face in the car windshield, the girl’s eyes about to come out of her head. Instead of jumping out of the way Clement changed his mind and laid down between the tracks. The train engineer saw Clement and slammed on the emergency brake, but not in time. Twenty-one cars passed over Clement before the train was brought to a stop and he crawled out from beneath the twenty-second one. The train engineer, Harold Howell of Grand Rapids, said, “There was just no excuse for it.” Clement was taken to Garden City Hospital where he was treated for a bruised back and released. When questioned by the Redford Township Police Clement said, “Did I break a law? Show me where it says I can’t lay down in front of a train if I want?”

- Clement tucked Raymond Cruz’s business card into the elastic of his briefs and took hold of Sandy’s arms, sliding his hands up under the satiny sleeves and tugging her gently against him. He said, “What’re you nervous about, huh? You never been nervous before. You need one of Dr. Mansell’s treatments? That it, hon bun, get you relaxed? Well, we can fix you up.

- “That’s right,” Raymond said, “or he could be in that highrise over there, twenty-five-oh-four. If you remember Clement, he’s got very large balls. The papers at the time called him the Oklahoma Wildman, but he’s more like a daredevil, a death defier . . .” “Evel Knievel with a gun,” Herzog said. “That’s right, he likes to live dangerously and he likes to kill people.”

- Clement said, “Sugar, I told you I want a regular car. I ain’t gonna street race, I ain’t gonna hang out at the Big Boy; I just need me some wheels in your name till things get a little better. Now here’s seven one-hundred-dollar bills, all the grocery money till we get some more. You buy a nice car and pick me up over there—if I can make it across Telegraph without getting killed—where you see that sign? Ramada Inn? I’ll be in there having a cocktail.”

- Clement stared at his little partner, waiting for what she said to make sense. Finally he said, “Honey? . . . I want to talk to this man, I don’t want to dance with him.” “Well, what if he doesn’t want to go there?” “Hey, aren’t you with the good hands people?” Clement inched his own hand over as he said it and caught Sandy between her slender legs. “Aren’t you?” “Cut it out.” “Why, what’s this?” Clement closed his eyes as he felt around. “Whiskers? You growing whiskers on me?” “That hurts.” “Yeah, but hurts good, don’t it? Huh? How ’bout right there? Feel pretty good?” Sandy rolled toward him, pushing out her hips, then stopped. “I ain’t gonna do it less you brush your teeth.” “Come on,” Clement said, “we don’t have to kiss. Let’s just do it.”

- Clement grinned at him. “Well, it don’t matter. We’re here to talk about the basics of love anyway, aren’t we, partner?” He paused, cocking his head. “Listen. Hear what they’re playing? ‘Everybody Loves a Winner,’ ” Clement half singing, half saying it. “That’s a old Dalaney and Bonnie number.” “You’re sure full of platter chatter this evening,” Sandy said. “You ought to get a job at CXI and get paid for it.” “Well, I got nothing against work. I come a piece from the oil fields to the world of speculation, Clement said, seeing Sandy rolling her eyes as he tightroped along the edge of truth. “But I’d rather see my investments do the work than me, if you know what I mean and I think you do.

- “Clement, really, if you’ll stop and think for a minute . . .” His hands slipped inside the roughcotton garment, moved up her body and felt her elbows come in tightly, her eyes staring into his. “What you think I’m gonna do to you? . . . Huh? Tell me.” He moved his thumbs across her breasts. “Hey, your nobs’re sticking out . . . That feel pretty good? Juuuust brush ’em a little, huh? . . . They get hard as little rocks.” His right hand moved lightly down her side to her hip, their eyes still holding. “Now what am I gonna do? . . . That your belly button right there? . . . My, we don’t have no panties on, do we?” His voice drowsy. “Tell what you think I’m gonna do to you . . . Huh? Come on . . .” Clement drew his right hand out of the caftan, bringing it down past his own hip, curled the hand into a fist and grunted, going up on his toes, as he drove the fist into Carolyn’s stomach. Once he got her into the shower, the caftan off her shoulders, pinning her arms, Clement gave Carolyn a working over with a few kidney punches and body hooks, a couple of stinging jabs to the face before a right cross drew blood from her nose and mouth and he turned the shower on her. The job was trying to keep her on her feet, glassy-eyed and moaning, Clement doubting she had much air left in her. He gave Carolyn a towel and guided her back to the desk in the window bay, bright with afternoon sunlight. Opening the checkbook, Clement said, “Let’s see now how much you want to give me.

- “Clement’s only been to prison once,” Sandy said. “He’s been to jail plenty of times, but he’s only spent like a year in a regular prison. He says he won’t ever go back again and I believe him. God, he makes up his mind to something . . . but he’s so unpredictable.

[hellcatinnc]

How the Men Of Piofiore Would Be On Being Dating Apps

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Warning This includes: SFW(Read Tags Before Continuing)

Tags: sfw, dating apps, hookups, booty calls, smart phone, dating profiles, fluff

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(I have yet to get into Henri's story but I will update this as soon as I do.)

I marked this SFW since there is no actual sexual acts in it just the booty calls and dating apps

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Dante Falzone

Nicola talks him into doing this in hopes Dante will find a good woman for him or hopefully at least a fling however he knows Dante isn't that kind of guy. He would be the one with a romantic outlook something like CapoNeedsLove, DFalzone or SadMafiaGuy and his profile would be centered around writing as much as he can about what his likes and dislikes are. If he is going to go through this then he is definitely goin to make sure there is a chance for him to find the love of his life. He would stay clear of apps like tinder for hookups and go more for the ones like christan singles. He is very upfront about being the boss of the Falzone's and that his family has watched over Burlone for centuries, he is proud of it in away. Sadly this sad boy as well would get hurt easily if he was cat fished, he would easily give up and delete his account.

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Nicola Francesco

This man is the king of dating apps especially hot or not, tinder, and bumblebee. He knows how to swipe so fast that he can have 7 dates lined up for every day of the week in less than 5 minutes. He is smooth and charming and gets all the girls attention with his suave profile. His profile really be in the end more towards his booty calls with some possible relationships but they will all be short lived.

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Yang

Oh he is straight to the point on his because he really can't be asked to mess with them. He will make it blunt and clear and then he will forget to check his messages because he would rather go to a bar grab any woman he wants and make her his for the night at least. He don't care about the idea of being in our day in time with dating apps just doesn't faze him.

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Gilbert Redford

When it comes to dating apps you would think with the charm and how charismatic he is he would would be perfect at this. However Gil is more about up-close person to person chats. Anyways his wink here and there and kissing your hand well that would go unnoticed if he had to try to prove he can be your prince charming, gentleman. He makes a profile eventually cause Oliver pressures him to but you will find he is more the speed dating type and may check his messages once a week on the app mainly cause Oliver bugs him too.

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Orlok

Oh he is still trying to figure out how to use the phone. He has a smart phone that was given to him and he can't get past the lock screen sometimes because its just too hard to figure out so he ends up getting mad at it one day and breaks the phone. He did eventually get his profile put up but thats only cause in the end someone showed him how to get to his page and set it up. However after forgetting how to run the app, get his phone unlocked and be able to use it he said the heck with it and tossed it.

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[sweetsmellosuccess]

There is a delightful scene near the beginning of Barry Levinson's "The Natural," where Roy Hobbs (played by Robert Redford), a neophyte baseball prospect taking a train on his way to try out for the Majors, gets into an impromptu pitching contest with "The Whammer" (John Don Baker), a Babe Ruthian figure, and already a superstar.

They exit the train and head to an open field, where Hobbs burns fastball after fastball past an unbelieving Whammer, who strikes out ignominiously. It's a great way for the film to introduce this quietly confident character, undaunted by the challenge of facing the most heralded ballplayer of his day. Hobbs, famously, wants to eventually become the "best that ever was," so as far as he's concerned, it's all sort of pre-ordained for him anyway (as anyone who has seen the film can attest, Hobbs' career doesn't go exactly according to plan).

There's a similar moment early in "Chevalier," Stephen Williams' quasi-biopic of the composer and wunderkind musician Joseph Bologne (Kelvin Harrison Jr.). The film opens mid-concert, with an appreciative audience staring rapturously at the spritely young man in the center of the stage, leading his orchestra on a merry swing of melody, as he hops about, playing his violin with extreme flair.

[defensefilms]

Either Gaslit Is A Good Show, Or I’m Just Getting Old

*This Here Blog Post Contains Mad Spoilers*

Gaslit was not made for me.

Demographic-wise, theme-wise, and in as far as the contents of the show, and the period in history that they are talking about, this is not a show that was created to appeal to, or entertain, an early thirties, black, male, South African. 

And yet, for as old as the medium of television is, and for all the historically great entertainment it’s served up through the decades, you just know when a show has nailed it.

Gaslit is a non-fictional re-telling of Richard Nixon’s Attorney General, John Mitchell, and how his strained relationship with his wife served to exasperate Nixon’s problems during the public dissemination of Watergate scandal. 

That’s among the show’s first risky decisions.

The decision to tell one of the major stories at the heart of the Watergate scandal, in as historically accurate of a way as possible, was risky. Consider that these events took place more than 50 years ago, and for the most part, you know how it’s supposed to end, because you know how Nixon’s time as president ended. 

Keep in mind, Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman have already made the film “All The President’s Men” in 1976, and that film’s release had the advantage of the Watergate scandal being fresh in the minds of the American public.

So this show has to sell the detail rather than the narrative itself. It has to sell process over outcome, and it has to sell the journey over the destination. An interesting challenge that I think the producers and artisans involved took to very well.  

The casting of Julia Roberts as Martha Mitchell, does wonders for the part of the show that gets the most narrative and thematic attention. Sean Penn plays her husband, John Mitchell, who gets himself in a bind when he undertakes and fails, an operation to bug and gather intelligence from the Watergate building.

Those are just the casting choices at the top of the marquee.

Craig Bauer is phenomenal in his performance as the incompetent, John McCord. Shea Whigham is awesome in his role as the acerbic Gordon Liddy, Dan Stevens is the show’s understated comic relief in his role as John Dean, and ofcourse Brian Geraghty finds a way to show his face, like he does every other crime drama show in North American television.

Thing of it is that, that’s just the casting, and as important as that is, and as well done as it was, it still doesn’t quite account for all of what we’re seeing. I simply cannot accept that as the sole reason for the show being what it is.

The focus on the relationship dynamics between the show’s power couple is interesting, well written, well layered, and well portrayed by the performers in question, however, if it was the only thing the show offered, it would be less impressive.

That, and the fact that marital dysfunction is not new to television drama.

The show also pulls off something that a lot of great shows will also do, by not being held to genre conventions. Instead opting for a kind of blending of genres that include historical drama, comedy/dark humor and political intrigue, to create a kind of thematic cocktail.

The core conflict at the center of the show is nicely ratcheted up when John Mitchell’s henchmen’s attempts at bugging the Watergate building are foiled by local police detectives, and in a kind of pre-emptive, paranoid and distrustful move, he opts to have his wife temporarily imprisoned, in fear that she might divulge both John and Richard Nixon’s involvement in Watergate to the media.

The best television drama shows have always relied on a strong paring like this.

Tony and Carmela Soprano quickly come to mind, Walter and Skyler White had a similar dynamic in Breaking Bad, and when the traumatic effects of Martha Mitchell’s 24 hour imprisonment at the hands of Peter (played by Brian Geraghty), are completely lost on John Mitchell, Martha realizes John is going to be the “fall guy” for Nixon’s scandal, and she resorts to subtly making herself more available to the media and publicly protesting his innocence on his behalf.

It was crucial that the show nail Martha and John’s marital tension, or risk the entire show falling on it’s head. However, something can be vitally important without being the biggest reason for success, especially in the medium of audio-visual storytelling.

No, what makes this show successful, is a commitment to absurdity.

Absurdity was what made Watergate the spectacle that it was.

The absurd idea that Richard Nixon thought he could get away with KGB-style intelligence tactics against his political opposition, and the idea that it almost worked because he won his re-election campaign.

The absurdity of the idea that they thought they would be able to keep the story quiet even after their henchmen were caught in the act.

The absurdity of a man with as much conviction as John Mitchell, having a cult-like devotion to Richard Nixon. A devotion no different to that which some Kremlin members had for Josef Stalin in the decade before, and all made more absurd by the fact that Mitchell is willing to take the fall for a crime he was instructed to commit.

In episode 4, a hungover Martha walks in to her living room after the Mitchell’s had just hosted a birthday party, and sees her husband seated on the floor like a child, watching Nixon address the American public with eyes entranced by his television screen, and at that point she realizes her husband does not have the will, the capability, nor does he see the need to defend himself from what’s going to happen to him next.

However, the most absurd of all, are the henchmen that were caught in the deed, and their belief that somehow, President Nixon would save, pardon, exonorate or bail them out, in any way, in the event that they were caught.

Moreover, Gaslit is a story about what happens when powerful people manage to surround themselves with only loyalists, and it’s a story about what happens when abuse of power becomes the norm.

In Episode 1, John Dean is walked into John Micthell’s office and offered the task of overseeing the bugging of the Watergate building. 

At first he balks at the obvious bad legal implications of such an idea. He is then challenged by the Attorney General, and has his capabilities, ambition and loyalty questioned, after which Dean begins to put forth ideas on the best way to go about the operation.

While the episode 1 interaction between Dean, A.G John Mitchell and Mitchell’s fixer, Jeb Macgruder is hilarious, it is also the kind of interaction that cannot happen in an atmosphere where abuse of power isn’t the norm.

At the heart of most of Gaslit’s dark humour is how this kind of belief in power and the ambivalence towards the injustices it commits, is it’s own kind of delusional, and even it’s own kind of mental illness.

This is best exemplified by the men that were caught in the act of actually bugging the building itself.

Gordon Liddy is a case study in how religious zealotry and belief in a higher purpose can go wrong, and how religious and cultural backgrounds that teach adherence to authority, are like breeding footsoldiers for corrupt leaders. Liddy proves this to the extent of using violence to maintain the silence of the others when they are tried and convicted for breaking and entering.

John Dean’s belief that he is somehow “close to the President”, shows the kind of benign dishonesty that a cult of personality like Nixon’s breeds because proximity to him is like it’s own social currency, and that can easily be corrupted when careerists like Dean decide to “play the game” and use that to thier advantage.

James McCord, is really the worst victim of this. He was a bad fit for the operation from the start and the realization that John Mitchell, whom he served personally, is not going to save him from a lengthy prison sentence, is the beginning of the end of the collective belief in Nixon.

Whether it’s John Mitchell, way up in the hierachy of Washington, or poor old James McCord down at the bottom, all the men in this show suffer from a belief in the cult and power of a President that, for all intents and purposes, only cared about being in power.

 Among the show’s sub-narratives is allowing you to revel in the shattering of the collective and unquestioning belief in their leader, but the biggest casualty of standing in that truth was Martha Mitchell.

[fandomsandfears]

💖🤮❤️💜🃏?

💖 favourite character?

obligatory Chase Redford answer. Does he deserve this placement? based on canon probably not but I was obsessed and I have a lot of fun with my own fanon of him. Same idea with Alistair tbf.

More legitimate though out answer? Probably Cerise or Maddie? They get the screen time deserving of favoured spot. Cerise has a good arc and had a lot of potential. Maddie screen time just never misses lol.

🤮 least favourite character?

Easy pick on Headmaster Grimm. Both because he's a dickhead but also in canon I just don't think he even lives up to his full potential? Like he's decently intimidating and pretty bad, but then they just let him off? Hate that man should have lost his job. As character his arc would have benefited from some fuckin consequences

of the students I'm saying Crystal. The hate defo rubbed off from gummy lol but also wtf was her character she didn't even go well with her story origins what happened.

❤️ top 3 royals?

Hard because yknow, most of them end up rebel by the end there. ANYWAYS if Briar counts which she doesn't I pick her. She's technically royal but I like her for all the reasons that make her a rebel. her arc with the book, rejecting her future, snapping at Apple. God Briar had so much potential and even besides that she's just a genuinely fun character <33

Faybelle pissed me the hell off sometimes but by god I respect her commitment to being a bad bitch. I love a character who is unapologetically mean, knows they're mean, and revels in it. I think having an evil destined character like Raven but who really was into it was such a good narrative choice.

Tough choice, gonna say maybe... Daring? If they hadn't ruined his character in epic winter he was honestly jus ta very fun character but also the moments of genuine care for the people around him. idk he has high himbo energy and I respect that. Is he self centered? yea but not nearly to the extent epic winter seemed to think. His date with Lizzie? his respect for Cerise? his concern and care for Apple? sibling moments with Daring and Darling? this man had fuckin layers and i think he's neat

💜 top 3 rebels?

Maddie my girliepop you never miss not in canon not in Gummys rewrite which should be canon, literally never a miss with Maddie I think she deserves top spot

Cerise I respect. She had a lot of potentially and what they did end up doing was very good fun. One of the characters who I think had the most interesting relationship with the rebels because she was almost kind of born to rebel. Her parents rebelled, she by product of them had one of the most interesting relationship with the conflict. She's also just a fun character.

Darling the wlw rep we fuckin needed. I'm counting her as a rebel because i think she is? She technically seems inline with her "true" destiny but she acts under the assumption she is going off book and is chill as hell with the other rebels. I'm counting her. Anyways, interesting character, wlw rep, fantastic for the plot whenever she's around. Also feeding my sibling dynamics quota because all fanon with her and her brothers in great (go read Gummy rewrite has some fantastic charming siblings stuff)

🃏 top 3 wonderlandians?

Chase Redford my beloved y'all know this. Does he deserve to be my favourite? probably not but the fixation disagrees lol

hmm everyone else is a bit hard. Lizzie is fuckin great love her to bits, especially love gumjesters interpretation of her in their rewrote (go read it go go go) so I'll let her be the fav #2

3rd place is probably Maddie. I like all the wonderlandians a lot, but ignoring Chase who gets favour hypocrisy, the others i don't really have any much for in canon. Love Alistair, but mostly my own characterization. Kitty is great and i appreciate her arc with her mom, but we get so much screen time with Maddie and she's such a good character you just can't help but love her! Maddie also has a hat-tastic characterization in gumjesters rewrite so yknow <33 doesn't hurt

[filmnoirfoundation]

Dates for NOIR CITY Detroit have been announced!

Sep 22-24 at the Redford Theatre- Detroit, MI.

UPCOMING 2023 NOIR CITY DATES

NOIR CITY: Boston: June 9-11 The Brattle - Cambridge, MA

NOIR CITY: Philadelphia: July 21-23 The Colonial Theatre - Phoenixville, PA

NOIR CITY: Hollywood: Aug 4-13 Aero Theatre - Santa Monica, CA

NOIR CITY: Chicago: Aug 25-31 Music Box Theatre - Chicago, IL

NOIR CITY: Detroit: Sep 22-24 Redford Theatre - Detroit, MI

NOIR CITY: D.C.: Oct 13-26 AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center - Silver Spring, MD

*Other U.S. cities will be added as festival dates are confirmed.

[nikedrive]

Chapter 8:  Strange Marrow

[From Nike Drive, an ongoing crossover fanfiction.]

previous chapter

Would you be a moon for me, if I found the perfect place to stand? Inhale--could it be my blood would answer? Could it abandon me, as I turn?

“Right.” The door to the meeting room closed, sealing Kalypso in with all seven Dominions. The massive screen with Xigbar’s face was the only light source in the room, but it was plenty. She’d tried to tuck herself into shadow, but there wasn’t much to hide in. “Now that a particular laggard has finally seen fit to join the rest of the class, let’s lay out the obvious, shall we?”

Kalypso did not bristle. It wasn’t like she’d laid in bed and atrophied.

“There’s more of you than fit on a court. Nothing strange about that, on a team--but you lot aren’t a team, as far as I can see. You’re an eclectic mess of narcissists that can’t seem to figure out what you’re doing here. It’s sad.”

Oomph. She couldn’t help a quick sidelong glance around the room to see how these men would take that.

They didn’t like taking it, obviously, but none of them had gotten their hackles up. No furious Flares came surging out of anyone, which was a relief to her already pounding head. On the opposite side of the room, the murderous miasma with Yang’s coin eyes at its center didn’t get any more murderous than its apparent default. No ‘tch’ came out of Jaegerjaquez. Still at the same seat at the now-powered-down hologram table, Redford’s chin didn’t move from his hand, nor did his low-grade smolder of a Flare intensify.

In fact, the only one who reacted at all was Duibhne. He nodded, his face a study of stern agreement.

So either Xigbar’s assessment was so true none of them were even mad about it, or Xigbar had choke chains on them all. Kalypso assumed it wasn’t the latter, because surely even outwardly subordinate Dominions would still be having chemical tantrums, no matter how powerful the foot on their throats. Kalypso couldn’t speak to Xigbar’s own capacity for Dominion ball-crushing; she’d never met him in person. A lovely turn of fate, that--chemistry couldn’t wreak havoc on her through a screen.

“Here’s the good news. You don’t have to be a team. Ain’t the point. So, kids, I don’t care if you fuse into a cute little polycule or if we have to carry half of you out in body bags. No skin off my back either way. The point is to see if we can leverage you against each other and get better volleyball out of you for our trouble. So you have choices: you can work out a way to work together, or you can play like selfish assholes, or you can pick a victim and pull their spine out through their mouth--just get better at the goddamn game. That’s the point here.

“What I am going to nip in the bud right now, Ixora--” Kalypso startled, shocked into an instant cold sweat by seven heads swiveling toward her, “--is this avoidance shit. We’re here to see if your proximity matters. The whole project is dead in the water if you ice over on the court and then skitter back into your separate warren immediately. That goes for all of you,” Xigbar added, unexpectedly. “The Lamb in the room isn’t the only one with an exploitable chemical response. Every one of you has a reaction when any of the rest of you step into a room. That’s an edge, whether it’s an edge up or an edge you slice yourself open with. Lea.”

“What.” That flat response was utterly devoid of the practiced smile Axel had kept so immaculate during her first encounter with him. He was leaning against the closed door, looking at Xigbar expressionlessly.

Kalypso, hopefully surreptitiously, pressed the back of her hand to her mouth. She had never seen a Dominion keep such an even expression while Flaring like that. He had gone from neutral to vicious so fast, and if her chemistry hadn’t clued her in, she’d have had no idea just how dangerous he’d gotten from one heartbeat to the next. Her legs started to shake. She pulled them tighter to her chest. At least he wasn’t looking at her anymore. That Flare was directed entirely at the screen in front of them.

“You wanted in here, so show the fuck up. Yang.”

The redhead in the opposite dark corner from Kalypso did not move or speak to acknowledge his name. For once, Kalypso had a hard time picking out his golden eyes through the darkness--Axel was kicking off enough chemistry to fog her vision.

“Doubtless you’re finding just as much satisfaction in your wasted time as Lea is. I’m delighted for you.”

Christ, thought Kalypso hysterically. Was this what team meetings meant? This guy flips Dominion switches from a distant safe room and sees who goes on a rampage first?

For a mercy, Yang did not blossom into new heights of asphyxiating hostility. Either Xigbar had missed the mark, or Yang had his teeth too deep in some other Dominion tantrum to care about fresh taunts.

“Duibhne.”

Kalypso could not help but shoot wide-eyed apprehensive glances toward each of these men as Xigbar called them out. It was a sort of gallows fascination, irresistible for reasons completely beyond chemistry, a will-they-won’t-they sort of anticipatory dread.

“I appreciate that you’re trying, but for pity’s sake, try with your brain.”

“Sir.” Duibhne’s mouth tightened. Kalypso battled back a wince.

“Much as we all appreciate your zingers,” said Redford, his loud drawl an abrupt shock to the room, “this really could have been an email, man.”

Kalypso’s body went slack with relief. Thank god, the tension was--well, not broken, never broken, but at least back to the usual kind of snarling circling fangs-out Dominion tension to which she was accustomed.

“Cute,” said Xigbar drily. “I tried that route, if you’ll recall. All that’s come of it so far is sulking.”

Grimmjow’s signature sound of fury came from his corner, which was nearer to Kalypso than she’d have liked.

“If you’re talking about that little list of weak spots,” said Cu Chulain--he was closer to her than any of the rest of them, having settled onto the stool nearest her, close enough that she could see the red gleam of an eye but far enough into the room that he couldn’t look back at her without being obvious about it, “they didn’t really give us much to go on, in most cases. And anyway, ‘s a name missing, ain’t there?”

“I gave you plenty to go on, dolt. As for who’s missing off it, if any of you are half the players you think you are, you won’t need to be told what it is that’s holding you back. And if you are that clueless, all you have to do is ask.”

Kalypso recalled that list, yes. No, she hadn’t been included on it. That appeared to go for everyone--they’d all gotten a checklist of everyone else’s major flaw, sans their own.

She hadn’t, in idleness, been able to guess what hers might be. That made her clueless, and half the player she thought she was, apparently. Well, she could agree with one of those two points, no problem and no offense taken. For one of them.

“M’kay, then,” Cu Chulainn said, his head tilting slightly, his grin glittering blue-white from the light of the screen. “Hit me, Coach. I’m asking.”

“Nice try, but I’m not telling. Ask somebody else, bub. They all  got your number.”

Xigbar waited. Cu Chulainn’s grin eroded at its edges, ever so slightly. He did not repeat the question, nor did he look around the room.

“See, idiots, this is my point. You aren’t thinking about each other enough. Not enough to be real teammates, real rivals, real enemies, nothing. You need to think about them, Ixora.”

Kalypso flinched, then dug her fingers painfully deep into her thighs, staring hard at Xigbar and refusing to even consider all the other eyes that flashed to her in that moment.

“Ain’t just your job alone, either,” Xigbar told her, “but in theory, you’re the first domino to fall here. Pick a favorite, Ixora. Or a couple favorites. Let the lizard brains do the rest.”

Bile rose in her throat.

“Ick,” murmured Axel from the doorway.

There were several seconds of silence. Xigbar clearly wanted her to fill them, but no power on earth could make Kalypso offer anything to this room for free. Especially after that.

Finally, he sighed, looking irritated but unsurprised.

“Nothing for it but to keep drip feeding you conversation starters, or non-starters, as the case may be.” Xigbar’s face vanished from the screen, replaced by eight photographs--each of their faces, now. They were arranged in two rows across the screen, along with their Subject numbers; Kalypso’s own face was there at the end, on the rightmost side of the bottom row, with a fat block ‘O’ beneath her image. Kalypso recognized them as photos taken during admission to the Nike Drive program. They looked rather like mug shots, if mug shots were taken in the moments before a crime instead of afterward. There was a very definite reckless hunger in every face, including her own. “You were asked a series of questions during the admissions testing. One of those questions asked you to describe the conditions in which you could visualize yourself performing at your personal best. Some of you,” Xigbar added, in a tone of mild disgust, “are terrible communicators. Nonetheless, we made do.

“In the interest of making you lot pay attention to each other, we have crystallized what you each expressed into a single ideal. We have oversimplified you. We have sanded off your nuance and made you nice and digestible for the other seven idiots to swallow.”

A word flickered into being below Redford’s picture at the leftmost place in the top row, just below his “S01” label.

Magnetism.

Below Axel’s picture and the “S06” classification, another word appeared.

Narrative.

“Is this a fucking riddle?” said Jaegerjaquez, blankly.

The rest of the words blinked into place, in no identifiable order of blinking, as if half a dozen people were all plugging in power cables and weren’t quite in sync with each other.

Magnetism. Dominance. Challenge. Function.

Reciprocation. Narrative. Stimulus. Rubicon.

“You’ve got twenty minutes left of meeting time. Yes, Ixora, the doors are locked until then. Twenty measly minutes,” Xigbar repeated, rolling his eye as he did so, “and then you’re free to go off to whatever waste of everyone’s time you like best. Talk about your ideals. Ask about your weakness. Play duck duck goddamn goose. I don’t care. Do something so you’ll think about each other, in the context of each other, and figure out how you can use your accursed chemistry for something beyond bickering and heart attacks.”

The camera on Xigbar blinked out, leaving only silence, eight photos, and those utterly unhelpful ‘ideals’.

next chapter

[wheelscomedyandmore]

"The Sting" (1973) is a classic American caper film directed by George Roy Hill, reuniting the charismatic duo of Paul Newman and Robert Redford after their success in "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" (1969). Set in 1930s Chicago, the movie is a clever, intricate tale of deception, revenge, and friendship, centered around an elaborate con game designed to take down a ruthless mob boss, played by Robert Shaw.

Newman stars as Henry Gondorff, a seasoned con artist, and Redford plays Johnny Hooker, a small-time grifter who seeks revenge after his partner is killed by Shaw's character, Doyle Lonnegan. Together, they devise "the big con," a complex sting operation aimed at tricking Lonnegan out of a massive sum of money. The film's layered plot, filled with twists and double-crosses, keeps the audience guessing until the very end.

"The Sting" was celebrated for its brilliant script, performances, and stylish homage to 1930s Americana, complete with ragtime music by Scott Joplin, adapted by Marvin Hamlisch. The film's most famous piece, "The Entertainer," became iconic in its own right.

The movie was a critical and commercial success, winning seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director (George Roy Hill), and Best Original Screenplay (David S. Ward). Redford received an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor, while Newman's performance was also widely praised.

"The Sting" remains a beloved film, known for its charm, wit, and the perfect on-screen chemistry between Newman and Redford. It is still considered one of the greatest films about con artists and a masterpiece of 1970s cinema.

[themovieblogonline]

Chicago Rolls Out Red Carpet for Sundance X Chicago 2024

o Logan Center for the Arts on the campus of the University of Chicago co-hosted the first event with Sundance to be held in a city other than Park City, Utah. Sundance X Chicago began with the screening of the Sundance documentary “Luther: Never Too Much” at the Logan Center for the Arts. No less a celebrity than the Mayor of Chicago, Brandon Johnson, was present. Also in attendance was Eugene Hernandez, the Director of the Sundance Film Festival since 2022, and the Director of “Luther: Never Too Much,” Dawn Porter. The City of Chicago, the Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE), and Choose Chicago, in partnership with the nonprofit Sundance Institute kicked off the highly anticipated Sundance Institute X Chicago 2024 - the first of its kind event in the United States -  with a welcome reception with City officials, Sundance creatives, and the greater Chicago film community. SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL The landmark three-day event, June 28 - 30, showcases Midwest premiere screenings of four films drawn from the Sundance Film Festival’s lineup in January, along with a robust series of panel discussions, master classes, and community programming. Sundance, originally the brainchild of Robert Redford, began in Salt Lake City, Utah in 1978. In 1981, the festival moved to Park City, Utah, and changed the dates from September to January.  In 2020, the year the pandemic struck,  the estimated value of Sundance to Utah was said to be $167 million. Due to the pandemic in 2021, the 44th festival went virtual. The festival returned to in-person showings in 2023. I reviewed 8 films streamed to me from Sundance in 2024. Currently, Sundance is considering moving to another city in 2027. Cities that have expressed interest in hosting Sundance include Boulder, Atlanta, Minneapolis, San Francisco, Chicago, Buffalo, and Santa Fe, New Mexico. "Luther: Never Too Much" Documentary "Luther: Never Too Much"  is a documentary that chronicles Luther Vandross's impressive career and life, using clips from his performances and collaborations with greats like David Bowie and Bette Midler to interviews done with Luther, himself, along with those who knew and worked with him. Among those who praise the talent of Luther Vandross in the documentary are Jamie Foxx (an executive producer of the film), Dionne Warwick, Oprah, John Tesh, Roberta Flack, Richard Marx, and Mariah Carey. The treatment resembles the documentaries devoted to Little Richard, Billy Ocean, Donna Summer, Gloria Gaynor, and others that have recently become available.   Read the full article

[whitepolaris]

Broadway and Grand

The unluckiest intersection in all of Oklahoma lies in the center of downtown Enid, two hours west of Tulsa. It has nothing to do with faulty traffic lights, traffic congestion, or unsuccessful business venture, mind you, but the fact that, over the span of forty-years, a total of five men, four of them law officers, were killed at this very spot.

The first was in 1895 when Marshal E. C. Williams was shot to death trying to break up a fight. R. W. Patterson, a government official, was scuffling at Broadway and Grand with J. L. Isenberg, publisher of the Enid Daily Wave, over a series of venomous articles that had appeared in the newspaper. Patterson, who was a registrar with the U.S. Land Office, published his legal notices in a competing paper. In retaliation, Isenberg began publishing scurrilous opinions and accusations concerning Patterson. After Isenberg accused him of infidelity, Patterson decided he had enough and punched Isenberg in the face.

About the time Marshal Williams arrived to break up the fight, Patterson pulled out a gun and starting shooting at Isenberg, who quickly ran into a nearby store. Williams pistol-whipped Patterson; Patterson shot the marshal just above his heart. Before the marshal collapsed, however, he took a shot at Patterson, striking him in the temple. Both Williams and Patterson died. Isenberg escaped and later moved to California.

Ten years later, in 1905, another Enid officer was killed at the same intersection. According to a newspaper report at the time, Deputy Sheriff Robert O. Beers received a message one evening alleged to be from the city attorney, which asked for a meeting in the Anheuser-Busch building at the corner of Broadway and Grand. When Beers arrived, he was met instead by two angry men, J. W. Walton and Jacob Erickson. When an argument ensued, Beers pulled his gun but was shot in the head by Erickson before he had a chance to fire. Few details regarding the argument were released, but the confrontation reportedly had something to do with Beers's involvement in an illicit relationship. (Did you get the irony of a man named Beers dying in the Anheuser-Busch building?)

In 1906, less than a year later, yet another lawman was fatally shot in the same building. Marshal Thomas Radford had been in office for only eight months, and just weeks before he had been declared by the chairman of the police committee to be the best marshal Enid ever had. Unfortunately, not everyone agreed, especially John Cannon, who ran a rooming house on East Broadway known for its pleasure of the flash. Redford, determined to close down the rooming house, forced the business's tenants to move, then thwarted Cannon's attempt to set up shop across the street by warning the new building's owner not to rent to Cannon.

Furious, Cannon confronted Redford at the Tony Faust Saloon in the Anheuser-Busch building. Cannon walked up to the marshal, placed his gun to the officer's chest, and fired. As Redford tried to run, Cannon fired back and stuck the lawman a second time, in the torso. Redford continued staggering out the front door, where Cannon shot him again, this time in the head. The marshal fell to the street and died shortly thereafter.

Radford's funeral procession, which consisted of 115 carriages, measured nearly a mile long. John Cannon served twenty-five years in prison.

At the end of a hot July day in 1936, patrons were filling up the German Village Saloon to refresh themselves with a few mugs of beer. Owner Jim O'Neal, however, couldn't relax that evening, as he had been tipped off earlier in the day that someone was going to try to rob him.

O'Neal had been keeping an eye on one particular patron for some time, who seemed oddly familiar. When he realized he may have seen the man in some notorious photographs, he called Enid police officer Cal Palmer to come check the man out. Palmer, along with Officer Ralph Knarr, asked the man to come with them, who replied, "I think I know what you want me for," but kindly asked if he could first finish his beer. The officers agreed.

When the man set down his empty mug, however, he pulled out a revolver and shot Palmer three times. Knarr four times, and another man in the leg once. He then took off out the side door and up an alley, quickly pursued by five other officers. When the killer reached the street, he jumped into the backseat of a car occupied by two men and commanded them to drive.

After the driver hit the gas, he noticed the officers in pursuit, and both he and his passenger jumped out, leaving their hijacker behind. The driver directed the officers to the vehicle, who began firing. The fleeing man jumped out and hid behind the car, but was fatally struck in the head by one of the officers' bullets.

The man was later identified as Lawrence DeVol, a member of the infamous Karpis-Barker gang, which had recently broken up. As for the two officers shot in the saloon, Knarr recovered from his wounds, but Palmer died instantly when one of the bullets struck his heart.

Thankfully, Broadway and Grand, save for a few ghostly encounters reported in the in the surrounding buildings, has been quiet ever since. Probably the worst you'll encounter today is a few red-light runners and the resultant blasts of car horns. But, of course, history is still being written.