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yu-yu-hakusho-rpg · 6 years ago

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Caged Shark

This entry is related to the Seaside Mafia (Organization), but can be easily adapted to to fit the same role (that of a tavern/arena hybrid) in a separate adventure.

The Caged Shark is one of several clubs belonging to the Seaside Mafia. Its owner, Kingston Feesch, is one of the Four Fathers of the family, in particular the one that deals with all miscellaneous operations not related to the trafficking of drugs or firearms, and he utilizes the locale as his personal base of operations. Aside from serving as Feesch's HQ, the club is famous for featuring a medium-sized, steel-caged fighting ring in which the victims of the manager's particular Territory, called Contract, are forced to battle each other in hand-to-hand combat throughout the duration of the Territory's effects on them. The family uses the club as a way to maintain close relations with VIPs and associates who are fond of this type of event by entertaining them, many of which even bring their own participants to the club. And like any good criminal organization, the family also uses the fights as a way to organize betting.

As for the intricacies of the cage fights themselves, the participants are pinned against each other in hand-to-hand combat, although the use of Energy and Techniques are also allowed. The competitors are not allowed to use their ki in any way that would cause severely lethal or permanent damage, nor they may use them as weapons or projectiles (i.e. no forming energy or Techniques into anything cutting or piercing, no Techniques that risk permanent damage to anyone's organs, no Techniques that act in a similar manner to weapons, etc). While the whole hostage-like situation revolving the participants is definitely unsavory, the fighters are treated well considering their situation. In fact, they are treated with respect, it's made sure that their needs are being met, they are paid a just amount per fight including bonuses depending on performance, and they may come and go out of the club or even the city as they please. The only thing they have no control over is the fact that they must always be at the club at the moment of one of their scheduled fights, although they are not forced to fight should they not be in the conditions to do so. There are other peculiarities revolving their situation and the Territory controlling them, which can be read under Olver Manners' Territory description on the NPC section of this file.

Club Layout

The club consists of 2 floors, the first of which contains the Caged Ring, a spectator section around it, plenty of booths and tables to sit at, a VIP section overseen by its own set of guards, the bar, the kitchen right behind it, the first floor's storage room (used mostly to store the supplies related to the operation of the club itself, not any potentially illegal family business items), a lounge area for the club's staff in the back, next to it a lounge area for the Cage Fight's combatants themselves which also connects to their locker room, the nurse's office not too far away from the ring, a security room, club manager Oliver Manner's office, and of course, the stairs that lead to the second floor. The second floor contains several storage rooms, a VIP meeting room, a dinning room, an interrogation room, and finally Feesch's office, whose unusually large size is due to Feesch's tendency to remain in his yokai form while upstairs.

NPCs

Kingston Feesch, Head of Miscellaneous Operations, Caged Shark Owner

Lvl. 16 Saltwater Crocodile Yokai

Kingston Feesch might be just be the most intimidating of the Four Fathers. Moreso than his large and terrifying physical appearance, his demonic energy is absolutely is overwhelmingly; while not being more potent than that of the Grand Father's, it oozes barbarity and bloodlust. It is an aura that puts even high ranking family members (aside from the other Four Fathers) severely uncomfortable, often described as if "being in the presence of a very hungry lion while being a lone and crippled deer".

Kingston is in charge of Miscellaneous Operations; that is, anything the family is involved in that doesn't fall within their standard operations. For example, Kingston personally oversees the Caged Shark, a club in which the family entertains VIPs with scheduled cage fights between hostage participants. The logistics that go into maintaining that type of club and the activities that take place in it (such as the collection and management of the hostage fighters) falls under his umbrella.

As a leader, he is cruel and cold, though not necessarily unreasonable, but while the other heads of the family at least operate on some sense of justice and brotherhood, Kingston's mind is as cold as his outside appearance. Decisions that involve the lives of the elderly, children, or even the lives of his own men do not even register as much different than being asked what he would like for lunch. All of that being said, he does understand and does do what is best for the family.

Age & Appearance: 44. Custom tailored gray suit. Gold watch.

Human Form: 7'2, unusually large for a human. Large scar across his chest, hidden under a dark purple suit. Gray-ish, short hair. The face of a bitter man. Rarely bothers masking his natural voice, which is deep and monstrous sounding. Yokai Form: 9'3. Large size category (Occupies 10ft x 10ft on the grid). Off-black, pronounced scales covering his reptilian body. Retains a somewhat humanoid posture, albeit hunched over, and his body's structure looking more on the reptilian side.

Peculiarities: Collects bow ties. Compliments a good handshake.

Base Attributes

Physique 14, Martial 4, Spirit Level/Demonic Force 5, Capacity 0, Constitution 9, Intellect 1, Sensory 5 __ HP 119, Energy 5, Sense 10/100ft., Potency 14, Initiative 19, Movement 90ft.

Skills

Guard 23/37, Deflection, 18/32, Evasion 19/33, Cunning 6, Deduce 6, Resistance 14, Willpower 10

Combat

Unarmed Standard Attack 19, Energy Imbued 23, Damage Output d12, Full Attack 3

Minor Trait

As is with regular crocodiles, Feesch's natural body has never stopped growing.

Physical Trait

Tough Exterior: When in True Form, your unnaturally tough exterior reduces Slashing, Piercing, and Bludgeoning damage by 4, increasing to 8 in Second Form.

True Form

Enhanced Skills: Guard, Resistance, Willpower

Special Attack: Locking bite, d12 + 19, piercing.

Feats

Feral: Your True Form’s special Attack now utilizes the d10 die for damage instead of d8, and enjoys a +2 bonus on every single damage roll.

Savage: Your True Form’s special Attack now utilizes the d12 die for damage instead of d10, and enjoys a +3 bonus on every single damage roll.

Powerful Grapple: You may apply your Unarmed Damage Output (or a Yokai’s True Form Special Damage Output if available) on a successful grapple attempt. You may also choose to apply this damage as one of the grappling options, having to roll opposed unarmed attacks for it, just like with all other grappling actions.

Tasker’s Lock: As part of your grappling actions, with the success of an opposed unarmed attack (just as any other grappling action requires), you are now able to take an action with your free hand while still keeping maintaining your target grappled.

Sweeper: Your Trip attempts benefit from a +3 bonus.

Sweeping Attack: Unlocks the ability to perform a Sweeping Attack with the use of a Full Round Action. A Sweeping Attack is a melee only Standard Attack that threatens all targets within its reach.

A Sweeping Attack can also be used as a Trip attempt on multiple targets.

Techniques

Name: Terrifying Challenge Base: Taunt Modification: Fear Technique Type: Combat Performance: Standard Action Delivery: Field Size: 20ft. radius Effect Type: Passive Channeling Duration Tier (DT): H Duration: 1 hour Saving Throw:

User's Potency VS Target's Willpower (to Resist Taunt)

User's Willpower VS Target's Willpower (to Resist Fear)

Adventure Behavior

Kingston is the only one of the Four Fathers to have his primary office outside of the Blackfin; the Caged Shark functions as his personal base of operations. He spends most of his time there, and rarely interacts directly with much of anyone outside of the Four Fathers and Oliver Manners, the manager of his club. This means that if he is seen around to the Blackfin, it's safe to assume the Four Fathers are meeting or that there is something serious afoot. Player characters that find themselves in the restricted areas of the Caged Shark might walk close enough to his office to detect Feesch's Demonic Force. As the the GM, you want to intricately describe the dreadful aura, perhaps even prompting Willpower rolls to determine if they're affected by it in any way.

In combat, Feesch is a physical powerhouse, utilizing his incredible strength and large size to his advantage. As the GM, to maximize his toolkit, you can always set up a close quarters battle in a confined space. Either way, his large size (10ft. x 10ft.) allows him to strike a solid amount of targets by utilizing the feat-granted Sweeping Attack, which can be used both to apply damage or as a Trip attempt, the latter of which would also benefit from the +3 Sweeper bonus. He can also grapple onto a target with his powerful jaws, which immediately apply damage thanks to the Powerful Grapple feat, and a solid amount of it thanks to the Savage Feat. Finally, Tasker's Lock allows him to continue taking Standard Actions while maintaining his victim pinned between his jaws. Feesch does also have access to a single Technique, Terrifying Challenge, which he uses to overwhelm his opponents with fear while simultaneously inciting those brave enough to overcome it to engage him instead of any of his men.

Oliver Manners, Club Manager

Lvl. 8 Territory Master

Oliver is one of the few non-yokai members of the Seaside Mafia, and just like the others, he has a power crucial to the family. "Contract"- a Territory that binds those who partake in a deal so that they are unable to break it willingly- is used as a way to ensure all business done with the family will be kept on both ends. It is perhaps the family's number one tool in ensuring healthy business relations and trust between them and business partners/associates, thus making Oliver one of the family's most important members outside of the Four Fathers.

Oliver is also the manager of the Caged Shark and the organizer of the cage fights themselves. It is thanks to him that the fighters, whether they are participating willingly or not, perform so well and in such an entertaining fashion. He takes a benevolent approach at managing the hostage fighters. Oliver ensures they are treated with the utmost respect and have all of their needs met. It is because of this that many even stay after their contract is over, although this perhaps could be attributed more to Stockholm Syndrome. Regardless, Oliver really does care much for his fighters, and looks to develop meaningful relationships with them should their attitudes eventually allow it.

It goes without saying that Oliver Manners is a reasonable and charismatic man, being overall one of the most beloved members of the Seaside Mafia due to a cheerful and positive attitude. His personality highly contrasts that of his boss, who can count on him to act as a welcoming and warm face where he cannot.

Age & Appearance: 43. 5'10. Black hair, 1930's haircut and thin moustache. Uses vintage-looking glasses while reading.

Peculiarities: Extremely friendly and charismatic. Doesn't take anything personally.

Base Attributes: Physique 1, Martial 1, Spirit Level/Demonic Force 3, Capacity 0, Constitution 1, Intellect 7, Sensory 5 __ HP 47, Energy 2, Sense 8/80ft., Potency 4, Initiative 6, Movement 25ft.

Skills: Guard 2/8, Deflection 2/8, Evasion 6/10, Cunning 12, Deduce 12, Resistance 4, Willpower 8

Combat:

Unarmed Standard Attack 2, Energy Imbued 6, Damage Output d6, Full Attack 2

Weapon Name Hangun, Weight Class Light, Type Handgun, 1H, Range 20ft. Standard Attack 6, Energy Imbued 10, Damage Output d6, Full Attack 2

Territory

Name: Contract Radius: 130ft. Theme: Agreements Rule: Those who sign a contract written by the Territory's Owner are incapable of willingly breaking it. The Territory's powers operate on the signers' psyche, locking some of their decision-making and actions into the ones required to stray true to the contract's fulfillment. The Territory exclusively affects actions and decisions relevant to the contract.

As Oliver's description states, Contract is an invaluable tool for the Seaside Mafia, but as for the club, it is used to bind talented, unsuspecting martial artists and miscellaneous warriors to the club's Cage Fights, specifically by having them agree to a certain number of fights, and victories at that, which they have to regularly partake in before the Territory's effects can wear off. While they probably wouldn't have any trouble forcing people into such a task the good old fashion way, being the criminal organization that they are, Contract allows the individuals to be taken hostage in a passive way, making it so that the Family does not have to expend energy and resources into strong-arming, black-mailing, or using other complicated and unsavory methods to recruit participants, while also giving the combatants the freedom to come and go as they please and do the daily things they usually would, keeping their spirits high enough to perform well in combat and thus putting up a good show for the audience, some even remaining as part of the roster even after regaining their freedom.

Feats

Revealing Senses: Your Senses instantly alert you when something is being concealed or masked/disguised within 20ft. of you, but reveal no further detailed information.

Multitasker: As a multitasker, you are able to use an item as a free action in conjunction with a Standard Action, once per turn. You may not do so during any Full Round Actions.

Techniques

Name: Fine Eye Base: True Sight Technique Type: Support Performance: Free Action Delivery: Self Effect Type: Passive Channeling Duration Tier (DT): Mn Duration: 1 minute

___

Name: Thorough Examination Base: Scan Technique Type: Specialty Performance: Deduce Check Delivery: Self Effect Type: Instant

Adventure Behavior

As with is with all the managers of locations belonging to the Seaside Mafia, Oliver Manners is a busy man. The Caged Shark, compared to other family owned clubs, consists of an additional layer of complexity in the form of the caged matches. Because of this, Oliver's time is split up between managing typical club responsibilities and keeping the caged matches running smoothly. The latter consists of several things, but the most important one is perhaps the handling of the fighters themselves, something which he particularly excels at. Oliver attempts to develop genuine relationships with each fighter, but of course, this is not easy at first, because no matter how well treated they are, the fact still remains that the combatants tricked into becoming part of the club's roster through the Contract Territory are still, no matter how you look at it, a form of slaves. That being said, Oliver does try his best to make their experience as comfortable and humane as he can.

Oliver is by no means a fighter himself. Even if he were combat capable, he is not the type to solve things with violence. Being an expert at diplomacy, he will attempt to alleviate or control a serious situation with words.

If forced to, Oliver reveals there is little he can do to remove the effects of his Territory from an individual, explaining that despite the fact that the Territory itself can be retracted, its effects have already, in a sense, hardwired the individuals psyche in such a way that they are unable to break a signed contract's terms willingly, with no further interference from the Territory itself being necessary. That being said, precisely because the effects take place in the subjects' psyche instead of being powered by the Territory, other mind-altering abilities, be them natural psychic abilities, Techniques, or even other Territories, could in theory work to reverse the effects.

Ruve Luura, Nurse

Lvl. 5 Squid Yokai

Ruve is the nurse that tends to the cage fighters wounds right after every match. There's not too much to be said about her other than the fact that she is kind and helpful, specially with the combatants, which she often helps with aquiring breaks from all the fighting by overstating the damage they received, insisting that they need a period of rest to heal some serious types of wounds that cannot simply be cured by the use of healing Techniques.

Age & Appearance: 24, likes to wear a kimono on the job.

Human Form: Asian-looking. Shoulder-length brown hair. Often wears purple lipstick. Yokai Form: Humanoid/squid hybrid, more on the human side. Most notable unique trait is the additional arms: 2 long ones, and 8 smaller ones.

Peculiarities: Likes to flirt with all of the fighters.

Base Attributes

Physique 1, Martial 0, Spirit Level/Demonic Force 1, Capacity 8, Constitution 1, Intellect 3, Sensory 3 __ HP 35, Energy 9, Sense 4/40ft., Potency 2, Initiative 4, Movement 25ft.

Skills

Guard 2/4, Deflection 1/3, Evasion 4/6, Cunning 6, Deduce 6, Resistance 2, Willpower 4

Combat

Unarmed Standard Attack 1, Energy Imbued 3, Damage Output d6, Full Attack 1

Minor Trait

Most salt water aquatic yokai require a decent amount of time in salt water a day or they risk becoming Dizzy until they do. Remaining out of water for longer periods of time begins posing major health risks.

If their lifestyle has them spend a majority of time on land, aquatic yokai get their required time in salt water during their sleep, typically by resting in specialized tubs precisely made to meet the needs of their kind.

Physical Trait

Aquatic: Being an aquatic type of Yokai, you are an expert at swimming, moving up to a base speed equal to your ground speed, doubled when True Form is active, as well as being able to breathe underwater, considering the area is reasonable oxygenated. You also don’t suffer the typical penalties that come with being submerged.

True Form

Enhanced Skills: Evasion, Deduce, Willpower

Special Attack: Power Slap, d8, Bludgeoning

Feats

Positioning: Allows you to disregard Initiative and go first, but you may only perform Movement (and it does not count as a full-round action, meaning it is not doubled).

Approximate Damage: Once a day, before performing a Defensive Action in response to an incoming threat, you may prompt the GM to tell you how many dice and of which type are about to be rolled for damage, as well as how much bonus damage (coming from Potency or otherwise) will be applied with it as well. When it comes to Lingering damage, it also reveals for how long the effects will potentially stay active.

This feat can be taken more than once to grant additional uses per day.

Techniques

Name: Full Recovery Base: Restore HP Modification: Refresh Technique Type: Support Performance: Standard Action Delivery: Contact Effect Type: Instant Restored HP: 2d8 + Potency Saving Throw: User's Potency VS Target's Willpower (If target resists)

Adventure Behavior

During cage fights, Ruve remains ringside, prepared to to treat any serious wounds at a moments notice by using her Full Recovery Technique, which both restores HP and removes the Dizzy, Stunned, Overheating, Freezing, Pained, Exhausted, & Nauseated conditions. When there are no ongoing scheduled fights, Ruve tends to remain in her office. Ruve does not engage in any combat unless in self defense and benefits from several feats that help her get out of trouble.

Caged Shark Guard Template

Lvl. 4~8 Salt-water Aquatic Yokai

The club holds an amount of guards that don't in particular stand out in personality, skills, or abilities. Use this template for them and modify them to your liking.

Age & Appearance: 20~35, varying body size, but usually well-built.

Base Attributes: Physique 4, Martial 2, Spirit Level/Demonic Force 2, Capacity 1, Constitution 3, Intellect 0, Sensory 2 __ HP 34~46, Energy 2~3, Sense 5/20ft., Potency 5, Initiative 6, Movement 40ft.

Skills:

Guard 7/12, Deflection 6/11, Evasion 6/11, Cunning 2, Deduce 2, Resistance 5, Willpower 4

Combat

Unarmed Standard Attack 6, Energy Imbued 11, Damage Output d8, Full Attack 2

Weapon Name Handgun, Weight Class N/A, Type Hangdun, 1H, Range 40ft. Standard Attack 4, Energy Imbued 9, Damage Output d6, Full Attack 2

Minor Trait

Most salt water aquatic yokai require a decent amount of time in salt water a day or they risk becoming Dizzy until they do. It becomes even worse if for longer periods of time.

If their lifestyle has them spend a majority of time on land, these yokai get this required time in salt water during their sleep, typically by resting in specialized tubs precisely made to meet the needs of their kind.

Physical Trait

True Form

Enhanced Skills: Guard, Evasion, Resistance

Feats

Feral: True Form's special attack is d10 instead of d8.

Special Attack: d10

Fighters

Participants for the Cage Fights can be selected from the Miscellaneous Combatants Files.

Adventure

The Caged Shark is an excellent piece to set up some tournament style battles. Whether the player characters are going to fight the Club's own fighters or each other, they must first be forced into that situation in the first place, that is, if they don't decide to partake in the battles willingly (Oliver does pay miscellaneous volunteer combatants, just not as well as the in-house fighters).

Oliver attempts to use whatever incentive he can to ensure that the party (specifically the combat-oriented player characters) sign one of his binding contracts. To give an example, in one of the sessions hosted for the system's playtesting, one of the player characters had already been taken hostage by the family as consequence of a separate matter. Oliver set up a deal for the party: if they win 2 out of 3 cage matches, they would get their companion back and would be free to go without any troubles, but if they were to loose, they would have to remain as part of the Caged Shark's fighters. And indeed so, the contract was written as such and then signed, with some interesting matches with high stakes taking place that day.

Other reasons the party might be going to the Caged Shark for would be to interact with any of the regularly visiting VIPs, or if they have any business with the big man Feesch himself.

#ghostfiles #location #lcriminal #lurban #lbar #lmafia #larena #ltavern #ltournament #lfightingring

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areusittingcomfortably · 8 years ago

Link

Here’s a link to the article about Santi from the Saturday section of El Mercurio on 21 January 2017. Between Google Translate and my school girl Spanish, I’ve had a go at translating, but Chilean Spanish is full of slang, and I can’t translate some of the expressions! I’d ask a Chilean friend to help, but I don’t think she’s come round yet since I sent her the photos! 😉

It’s a beautiful interview, but I’m warning you, you may need some tissues. Particularly when you think back to that scene when Aramis talks about not having children… “in another life, perhaps”. I’m glad they had the miracle in this one.

Here’s the (edited, but still with a few strange expressions) translation:

The path of Santiago Cabrera

Scene 1: Los Angeles, early 2005. In an attempt to get better opportunities as an actor, Santiago Cabrera comes to live in California, United States. His agent had insisted that he should settle there. The first few months were miserable, he remembers today: after going to dozens of castings for movies and series, his phone did not ring. Without contact networks, his savings were gone.

“What am I doing here?” I asked myself. For a moment I faltered and said, “Maybe this is not for me.”

Scene 2: Los Angeles, February 2007. It’s Oscar night and Cabrera is in a limousine with his wife, the German theater director Anna Marcea, on the way to the traditional Vanity Fair party, which summons the biggest stars of the event. As one of the protagonists of the series of television Heroes, that swept in hearing, he lives a moment of greater success.

“I’m getting out of the car and Martin Scorsese is just in another limo. He had just won his first Oscar as director for The Departed. I stood looking at him and there were a lot of people standing behind a fence, waiting to see the arrival of the celebrities. Then I feel that they start to shout all: “Santiaaago!”. There I realized the power of the TV: I was in front of Scorsese, but the fans recognized me.”

Santiago Cabrera (38) never thought about being an actor. Affable, charismatic, and with a neutral accent but sprinkled with Chilean, he remembers that his dream was to be a footballer and get to play in Real Madrid or Barcelona. As a boy, living in Spain, he was offered to join Atletico Madrid cadets. But, as at other times, he had to leave behind the opportunity and follow the path of his father, Pedro Pablo Cabrera, who made a long diplomatic career - he was Chile’s ambassador to London, Moscow, Beijing and the Vatican. And to each of his destinations, he took his wife and three children. The actor was born in Caracas, and then lived in Toronto, Bucharest, London, and Madrid.

When he was 2 years old, in Canada, Cabrera says he spoke half English, half Spanish. He got used to leaving behind friends and schools, but they always told him that his home was in Chile. They returned a couple of times a year. In fact, he completed third and fourth basic, in addition to all his middle school, in the College of St. Benedict, which was near his home in Vitacura.

“I was always scared to arrive in a new country, a new school. I was shy, which meant being alert to how I was going to be received. I always thought about being here, but I came back for two years then I wanted to go. I caught the travel bug.”

When leaving the school he studied psychology at the University Diego Portales, thanks to a sports scholarship, while playing in cadets of Catholic University. Coach Óscar Meneses told him that he had conditions [possibilities?]. But, for him, it was too late for football.

“At semi-professional level I was a scorer, but when I played more professional football, I realized that there were always about 10 guys better than me and that frustrated me. I was always starting, but they did not put me on the front, so I realized I was not going to reach a high level.”

Have you ever regretted not finishing psychology?

“No, it was not my thing.” He was pure pichangueando and rolling [it was all fun and games?]. It was a good party, half a bottle of pisco, the whistle and remain as a shoe [getting drunk and having hangovers?]. But he had to stop. “I tried to be the rebel, the [busted? wild guy?], and over the years I realized that I am not like that, and I am content not to be like that.”

In his third year, Cabrera left his course and, at 20 years old, went to London to study acting. Two years earlier he had discovered that he liked it, he recalls, after doing a play about Mozart, so he followed that impulse. In England he got a job in a bar and entered the Drama Center, from which actors such as Michael Fassbender, Colin Firth or Tom Hardy, have graduated. After three years of study, he quickly got an agent.

“My first part was in a play by Shakespeare and I thought about the acting life. I was super innocent about the industry, but I did the audition, and got the part in Empire, which at the time was the biggest series, and then it was less so. But when they gave it to me, in Hollywood many were waiting to see who they were going to give the role to, so there was a lot of interest in representing me. I was an idealist, I wanted to do cinema, art and theater.” He regarded Hollywood suspiciously.

In Hollywood actors must endure many rejections, how do you deal with it?

“They hurt when you’re interested in the project, but now I reject it.”

What does he say no to?

"The bad guy, the Latin drug dealer and when it is for my looks. I try to break the Latin stereotype, I consider myself a character actor, and although there are always exceptions, I do not want to fall into that. Today, in the United States and England, they are trying to do more diverse projects, but I get the audition and in the description of the character it says: “We seek any ethnicity.” You go to a casting and everyone is black, Latino, Indian, and Asian. Then you ask: why am I in this category and not in a lead role? It’s super strong. They believe that Latin is a race and not a culture. There has to be a day when this changes, that inclusion is not just about meeting the quota.

Of the Chilean actors who live in the United States, Cabrera has been the most constant in the last 15 years. Pedro Pascal (Game of Thrones, Narcos) and Cote de Pablo (NCIS) have achieved success with serial productions, but do have not had the CV that Santiago does: besides Heroes, he participated in the series Merlin; In Alcatraz by JJ Abrams; In Steven Soderbergh’s film about Che Guevara; In the HBO mini-series Hemingway & Gellhorn, alongside Nicole Kidman; In the miniseries Anna Karenina; And for three years he played Aramis in the series The Musketeers, which can be seen on Netflix.

Despite rubbing shoulders with high-profile projects, Cabrera has only relative fame in Chile, and he’s aware of that.

“Here I pass super piola (pass mainly unrecognised?), people only recognise me after looking at me for a while. One time a Chilean asked me what I was doing, I told him that The Musketeers had finished and he asked me what character I played. I answered him and he looked at me in surprise: "Ah, you are one of the Musketeers!” He recognized me but he thought I was extra, and that already seemed good to him. I think my fame could be double that of Bruce Willis and it would be the same in the media here. I think everything is measured by the same rod in Chile. But I understand, we are a smaller country, we are not accustomed to it.”

Do you care about recognition in Chile?

“I think if I cared that much, I would have made the effort to be more recognized. People tell me that I have to promote myself more, but I’m content, because the work dictates everything. Now I have a mini-series on HBO and Transformers, concrete things. I feel more relaxed talking about my work. US Weekly magazine has wanted to do a feature in my home and I have always said no. I do not feel comfortable, I do not sell my life, but the work I do.“ If he were on TV in Chile, he would probably be more recognised. "They offered me several years and I always said no, I think they got tired. But I’m not closing the door, only saying no for now.”

Don’t you care about fame?

“I don’t. I am more withdrawn and quiet, perhaps, but I am willing to be high profile if I am in a project that deserves it. I see people who are very famous and most are looking for it. There is a tremendous confusion with being popular today, they do not care what project you do, they respect how much you earn for the film. If people say, ”He was a good actor, but he could have been promoted more”, I could die content.

Cabrera goes to a casting for a movie that interests him. While reading the script, the casting director - who already knew him - puts on a strange face, which he translates as “this role is not for you, but I like what you’re doing.”

Then she says: “I’ll pass on another project that may interest you: Transformers 5.”

Did it interest you immediately? Didn’t you have reservations?

“I acknowledge that I had reservations. When she told me, and she is a casting director who does really good things, I thought: “Transformers number what?”. I hadn’t seen one.

Transformers 5: The Last Knight, which opens on June 23, is Cabrera’s first blockbuster. The film, he says, will be a huge showcase for him: movies 1-4 grossed over $1 billion worldwide and now similar figures are expected, with a cast featuring Mark Wahlberg, Anthony Hopkins, Josh Duhamel, John Turturro, and John Goodman.

“Transformers is an opportunity for an actor, because there is a possibility that your name is there and that will open other doors or fund projects. But I was also interested in the background of the character and the work we did with the American special forces to prepare me. It was a great experience and is the biggest I’ve done, because they have also put me in the group of protagonists. ” He says in the film he will play a retired military man who is now a mercenary and who leads a squadron called TRF that fights the Threat of the Transformers. If all goes well, he says, his character could be in the sixth part of the franchise.

In order to work on the film, which finished filming on December 10, the actor had to be interviewed by Michael Bay, director of the series and known for films such as Armageddon or Pearl Harbor. Initially, the meeting would be in his office, but at the last moment he decided to do it at home. There they talked for a while in the garden, until Bay said:

“Let’s do a couple of scenes, shall we read some?”

Cabrera was not expecting it.

“I stopped, read the texts, he told me a few things and then said, "Already, we are, now I have to go talk to Anthony Hopkins on Skype,” and he left. From his reaction, I thought he had not been much impressed, but the casting director looked at me and thumbs up.“

The other big project that he will be inthis year is Big Little Lies, an HBO miniseries premiering on February 19th. Based on the novel by the same name, by Liane Moriarty, and adapted by David E. Kelley (Ally McBeal), it’s produced by and starring Reese Witherspoon and Nicole Kidman, and its cast is completed by Laura Dern and Shailene Woodley. Directed by Jean-Marc Vallée (Dallas buyers club), tells the story of three mothers with children who are involved in a mysterious crime, while Cabrera plays the role of a theater teacher who is key in the plot. He can not tell much more about the role, he says, only that almost all his scenes are with Witherspoon.

"In almost every scene I was alone with Reese, and the atmosphere was very creative, because as she was producer, she offered space to play around and improvise. We talked a lot, she is a grounded and intelligent person, very prolific in projects. In fact, she told me that she would love to work with me again. And with Nicole Kidman we only had a couple of scenes, but as we had acted together before, there was a big hug; she is a very nice person.”

The first day of work in the miniseries, he remembers, in particular: he arrived at the set and sat at a desk to familiarize himself with the context of his character. As he read, the lights went down and a voice shouted, “Action!” “I saw the camera above and I froze. I feel a few tacos and it was Reese coming up to me to start the scene. Obviously, we shot it more times, but that adrenaline was incredible. That night I could not sleep, it’s one of the reasons I say: "That’s why I like my partner so much.”

For 15 years, Cabrera has been married to Anna Marcea (40). They met in London, when he studied acting, and at the time decided to have a civil wedding. It took two weeks to decide and do it.

“I phoned my mom, they were in Moscow, because my dad was an ambassador there, and I said, "Not this Wednesday, but the other one, I’m getting married.” There was a long silence. Then I learned that my dad said, “Let him write a letter, this can not be, things are not done that way.” Anna was known to her, but we were impulsive.

It took years for you to be parents, why?

“Since we were young, we did not have money at the beginning, so we did not want to. And when we decided to have a child, it did not come. First it was three years that we did not, then we started with the treatments, and we lost a pair, it was really hard.”

It must have been suffocating for you as a couple.

“A lot. So much so, that we talked one day and she said, "I can’t take more, I need to take control of my life.” Because physically they were affecting her, there were so many hormones that she had to take, and emotionally it was terrible that it did not work. She told me she could not do it any more. I was in Prague recording The Musketeers and it was a very hard week. We came to the conclusion that we were very fortunate to be together and that we would be a couple with no children. And accept it just.“

Among the treatments to get pregnant, did she postpone her career?

“Yes, but in addition to resuming her career, it was also to resume her life, because she had to take care of herself all the time to get pregnant. It was a project of life that took us years and didn’t work out, so there was a sadness in our home, a tremendous emptiness … And that same month we talked, she became pregnant. Imagine: to be eight years trying, with all the hours to achieve it, the in vitro treatment, and all that did not work, but then suddenly it happens in a natural way. It was a miracle. That’s why we called him Kilian, which means "warrior.” In addition, it was a 24-hour delivery, born with a tremendous knot that could have complicated things.“

Santiago, Anna, and Kilian - who was born last April - arrived on vacation in Chile a month ago. They were in the house of the actor’s parents in Cachagua and now they will go to the south.

"I want to settle here, I was seeing some places to buy something on the coast, I’ll see something in Pucón too. In Los Angeles I also want to buy (there he leases a duplex in West Hollywood), to be with one foot here and the other outside. I did not feel so Chilean until I lived here between the ages of 15 and 20, but I had a strong relationship since I was a boy, and I want to give my son that opportunity, so that he knows his country.”

PS: if anyone can help improve this translation, by all means send me a message!

Here you go - I think this might be a better translation! http://santiagocabrera.net/2017/01/santiago-cabrera-sabado-interview-el-mercurio/

#santiago cabrera #article #el mercurio #google translate #aramis #the musketeers

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scoutshonor56 · 8 years ago

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Kakistocracy

In “Trump: Think Like a Billionaire” (2004), Trump wrote that others “are surprised by how quickly I make big decisions, but I’ve learned to trust my instincts and not to over-think things.” He added, “The day I realized it can be smart to be shallow was, for me, a deep experience.”

Well, there you have it folks, Donald Trump in a nutshell. I distinctly remember that surreal morning of this past November 9, when I awoke to the knowledge that yes, it wasn’t all a horrible dream, this ass-clown is actually going to be elevated to the highest office in the land. This orange-haired bag of bluster and braggadocio was going to become my president. A scene from “It’s a Wonderful Life” flashed through my head, when a shocked James Stewart first starts to come to grips with his new reality that includes he now lives in a sleazy, flashy town called Pottersville, and no longer Bedford Falls. Feeling more than a little disorientated, he says to his angel, Clarence, “No, NO… I just got hold of some bad liquor or something…”

Me? I thought I was experiencing a horrible, nightmarish acid flashback. See Bob? Mom always said that all those hedonistic days of recreational drug use will catch up to you…

I apologize, as in a recent past blog I said that I was done writing about politics, and Donald Trump in particular; but as we approach his inauguration this Friday, and after observing his behavior over the last week or so, I simply can’t leave this unsaid. As Popeye used to say, “I’ve had all I can stanz, and I can’t stanz no more!” The Dude “will not abide.” If you’ve never seen “The Big Lebowski”, well shame on you, and I’m not even going to explain that last one…

Yes, after viewing the highlights of his recent press conference – on “The Daily Show” of course, the only context within which I can watch Donald Trump, as he’s best taken with a stiff shot of humor and truth – it’s become obvious that our worst fears are about to unfold. For those who grasped at that last thin straw of hope that just maybe, once if office we would see a tempering of the man’s style… ah, nope; he’s going to conduct his time as president with the same ego-centric, blunt style that he campaigned with. For him, the office of the presidency is just a bigger and better reality TV show.

I thought I could shrug this one off, a four year joke; I’ll just keep my head down, disengage from any discourse or political news, and hopefully, at the least, he won’t set the house on fire and it will provide a hard lesson for America and the GOP party – just ignore him… But I now find that the closer we get to January 20th, the more physically ill I feel. There is a dark and impending malaise hovering over not just my head, but over our nation. Like Captain Kirk and the Enterprise, we are about to boldly go where our country has never gone before, led by a man who literally lives in his own reality. A blustering, pathological liar lacking the least amount of dignity or decorum for the office and position he is about to represent. A man who lives high above the streets of New York in a pimped-out golden palace that makes the term baroque blush. Who loves himself so much, he once funneled $20,000 from his own Trump Foundation to pay for a 6ft. painting of himself. That is, when he wasn’t siphoning off cash from this bogus charity organization – to which he hasn’t contributed a dime since 2008 - to help pay for his legal defense tabs.

A thin-skinned asshole with the temperament, empathy, and depth of thought of a grade school bully, who over the last year has insulted and mocked (just to name a few) a decorated veteran and former POW (John McCain), a disabled reporter from the NY Times (Serge Kovaleski), the grief-stricken Muslim parents of an American veteran killed over in Iraq by a suicide bomber (Khizr and Ghazala Khan), and now, this past weekend, on the eve of Martin Luther King day no less, he disparages the character and civic patriotism of universally revered Georgia congressman John Lewis, responding to Lewis’s statement that he will be boycotting the inauguration and refuses to accept Trump’s legitimacy as a fairly elected president with the tweet “All talk, talk, talk — no action or results…Sad!”

The gall of this man. The imperial-like hubris! Let’s clear this one up with a single sentence: Back in the mid 60’s, while Trump was attending his well-heeled schools and busy getting five deferments from serving in Vietnam, John Lewis was putting himself on the front line here in America for civil rights, including the march in Selma, Alabama (known as “Bloody Sunday”) during which he was struck so violently by a state trooper wielding a billy club that his skull was fractured.

Yeah – “all talk.” Well, OK, in Trump’s defense, I doubt he even knows the story of John Lewis, and the fact that his latest tweet attack came days before MLK Day probably never even entered his tiny brain, which has severely limited time for facts, or reading, or anything else that doesn’t orbit around his own small universe of self-assured greatness.

And like the worst of cowards, he picks his fights from afar, using his favorite mode of communication – due to his child-like attention span and stunted verbal prowess – Twitter, 140 characters at a time. Here’s one for you Don: “YOU SUCK – SO SAD!” He is offensive and abhorrent to all things civil and good, and his behavior as an example only stokes the fires of divisiveness, xenophobia, and hate. Since his election hate crimes have spiked dramatically, and white supremacist groups have made no secret of their glee over Trump’s victory.

Returning to his press conference – his first in six months and now almost a misnomer in terms – that night Trevor Noah (on “The Daily Show”) did a zoom-in on a video still from this combative circus sideshow, focusing on the table next to the podium stacked with piles and piles of bloated, paper-stuffed manila folders, supposedly representing the hundreds of business dealings that Trump will now be divesting from and turning over to his sons. Noah took the liberty to point out the obvious: wait a minute… every sheaf of paper looked brand new, crisp and sharp edged; and even more revealing, out of all those folders NOT ONE of them had any kind of label on them, anywhere. No dates, no titles, nothing; as clean and untouched looking as the ones on the shelves of your local Office Depot. Come on… Oh well, what’s a meeting with the press without props, you know? Any good con man worth his salt knows that!

To add to the ruse, during a pathetic and ego-stroking attempt to further make his point, Donny also bragged that he recently turned down a multi-billion dollar deal with Dubai(!) – even though of course, he assured us, he is more than capable of running both his business and the country. As if he could treat global and national politics and diplomacy as a “second job”… Oh yeah, and those tax returns? According to Don, nobody is interesting in seeing those but the false media and character-smearing reporters, fogettaboutit!

I’ve got nothing – I’m positively gob-smacked.

Then the most foreboding moment of all, his coup de grace: angrily and arrogantly refusing to take a question from Jim Acosta, a CNN reporter because "Your organization is terrible... you are fake news!”, before calling on a reporter from Breitbart, an unabashed, openly anti-women, anti-semetic, anti-progress, anti-immigrant, and anti-nonwhites news (propaganda) organization formerly run by his newly appointed chief strategist, Steve Bannon.

Are you ready folks? First step to a Fascist government? Delegitimize the press; same result as suppression, just a little slicker – gives Donny sort of that famous, “Hey I’m not saying, I’m just repeating what I heard” buffer that he used so effectively during the primary run to discredit his opponents. Hey, this ain’t China now - I ain’t clamping down on the media - just characterizing it as false and unreliable. Yep, in DT’s world, the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth comes only in 140 characters or less.

I remember when Stephen Colbert was on Comedy Central with his own show, during the reign of George W, and he came up with the humorous phrase “truthiness”. In other words, if it “felt” true in your gut, well, then it was true, or as good as true. Trump has swallowed this concept and shit out a twisted, even more effective and simplistic version of this: if you don’t like a fact, simply deny it’s truth. Earth is round? No it’s not. 2+2=4? No it doesn’t. According to factcheck.org, Trump’s winning percentage of electoral votes - 56.9 percent - was well below the historical average, 70.9 percent. Further, Trump’s share of electoral votes ranked 44th out of 54 elections going back to 1804. His take on the election results? “A landslide.” “One of the biggest Electoral College victories in history!”

Donald Trump has literally created a whole new category for the term “liar”. He lies like most people pick their nose or fart; it’s simply become part of his vernacular. He can’t even make the distinction anymore between truth and lies, nor does he care.

I could go on and on, in particular about his obtuse and bizarre cabinet picks so far - “Hey, Dr. Ben, wake up, you’re on!” - or his shady and questionable bro-mance with Putin, but I’m going to close with this salient point: During yet another contentious and embarrassing appearance on CNN the other day, Donny’s idiot former campaign manager and now senior advisor/spokesperson (go-to spin doctor), Kellyanne Conway, tried to assure us with the ridiculous plea to not judge her boss by “what comes out of his mouth”, but “what’s in his heart.” Wow – first, what’s in his heart is memories of Russian hookers treating him to a golden shower, and second, NEWS FLASH YOU STUPID BIMBO: in life, what you say matters, it has meaning; and if you’re the president of the United States, what you say affects the lives of millions.

* Oh yeah, as to my cryptic title: I borrowed it from Paul Krugman’s excellent piece in the NY Times yesterday (which I encourage reading), and yes, kakistocracy is actually a word, I looked it up! According to the old Merriam-Webster, it means rule by the worst.

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dancelegaciesblog-blog · 6 years ago

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ROMANTICISM

The Romantic Ballet period of the 1830’s – 1850’s, was one of exploration between “realism and fantasy” and highlights “the gulf between aspiration and actuality (Anderson 1986,61.).” The romantic period also had a large focus on the creators “passion and emotion” and they utilized pathos to portray sorrow and the idea of emotion to the audience (Debney 1993, Section 2: 2). Themes which were focused during this period were usually concentrated on the “admiration for the wildest aspects of nature, for example, mountains and storms at sea, and the fascination of the supernatural regime and creating a mysterious atmosphere (Debney 1993, Section 2: 3). Through focusing on the ‘preoccupation with the mystical and irrational,’ feminine creatures were centralized and portrayed through “water nymphs, fire spirits, peris, demons (Au 1988, 45) and the “deserted habitats” of these creatures created the atmosphere (Debney 1993, Section 2: 5).”

Costuming represented what was seemingly fashionable during the time, with women wearing the long bell-shaped skirts with cap sleeves and low-cut bodice (Victoria and Albert Museum, 2016).

This period also introduced the interest of “pointe work.” This type of exploration was intriguing as the women began to produce work on the tips of the toes, however during this time were not reassured by the harden protection of “pointe shoes,” rather relied on the additional support of their slippers (Victoria and Albert Museum, 2016). The idea of pointe work emphasised the idea of supernatural as this movement created an impression of “floating” across the surface and created a sense of weightlessness.

Through the inspirational change in theme and setting, it was also a period which allowed for main roles to be played by women, rather than men (Victoria and Albert Museum, 2016). A well-known example of this included the romantic ballet of “Giselle.” The main character of Giselle is played by a female, and she falls in love with a man, who plays a secondary role as he assists with partnering work, rather than being the central role of the ballet. This influential change allowed for the dominance of female ratios within ballet and impacted the femininity of ballet today (Dancehistoryblog, 2012).

Movement qualities of the romantic era included, the women performing with soft rounded arms, and a forward tilt in the upper body creating the sense of floating, like an unearthly creature (Dancehistoryblog, 2012). Proficiency of technique was improved within this era as well, as through the change in weight and length in costumes, women were able to perform elaborate and more difficult movements including, jete’s, arabesque, balance´, shenae’s, pique turns and bourree’s (Dancehistoryblog, 2012).

As shown in the video, I perform a 30 second sequence executing many of these movement qualities. In the video, I portray arm movements, similar to a breath position, relaxed curved crossed arms and soft third arabesque arms contributing to the theme and movement qualities of the romantic era by portraying softness and with a flowing execution. The movements I chose to perform were inspired by Robert le Diable Ghislaine Thesmar (The ballet of the Nuns), which is famously similar to one of the first romantic ballets produced ‘La Sylphide’ (Kabaiivansko2, 2014). In the sequence I begin with walking forward with turned out feet which is the technical placement of the feet across the floor, followed by two pas de bourree pique steps with soft curled arms, the floating of the fifth position on the tips of the toe, two changements, a arabesque with soft third arms, three shenae’s and finalized with two balance´ steps and ending in a kneeled position. These executed steps express the characteristics of a romantic ballet as the movements I choreographed were similar to that of The ballet of the Nuns with contribution of soft and flowing arm movements.

Bibliography

Anderson, J. 1986. Ballet and modern dance: A concise history. Princeton: Princeton Book Company

[Accessed 12 October 2018].

Au, S. 1988. Ballet and modern dance. London: Thames and Hudson

[Accessed 12 October 2018].

BalletHub, 2018. Ballet Terms Dictionary. [Online] Available at: https://ballethub.com/ballet-terms-dictionary/ [Accessed 14 October 2018].

Dancehistoryblog, 2012. Ballet Is Woman – The Emergence of Ballet As We Know It. [Online] Available at: https://dancehistoryblog.wordpress.com/category/romantic-ballet/ [Accessed 12 October 2018].

Kabaiivansko2, 2014. Robert le Diable Ghislaine Thesmar Yosu Zabala. [Online] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BF_vla3q6eU [Accessed 12 October 2018].

Pedro, R., 2018. KDB123: Dance Legacies Lectorial 3. [Online] Available at: https://blackboard.qut.edu.au/bbcswebdav/pid-7548561-dt-content-rid-17330549_1/courses/KDB123_18se2/3%20Lectorial%20Three%20KDB123%202018.pdf [Accessed 12 October 2018].

Victoria and Albert Museum, 2016. Romantic Ballet. [Online] Available at: http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/articles/r/romantic-ballet/ [Accessed 12 October 2018].

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flickdirect · 7 years ago

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Universal Pictures loves to give us interactive movies with which we can all relate and really immersive sequels. A Bad Moms Christmas definitely fits into that category. While a little over the top and much exaggeration in the plot as to how moms react in real life, the underlying frustration of having to do it all and do it perfectly is spot on so that every mom watching this movie will wonder how Directors John Lucas and Scott Moore (both of Bad Moms) can see into their minds. They manage to provide us with a movie that your sides will split open from laughing so hard while validating our real-life struggles. Reveling in their newfound freedom found at the end of the first movie, the three moms are trying to plan the perfect (or not so perfect) Christmas for their families. Mila Kunis plays Amy the divorced but has to have everything perfect mom, Kristen Bell's character, Kiki, wants to please her husband and children in every possible way, and Kathryn Hahn plays Carla the "I'm my kid's friend mom and have no idea how to parent". While the first movie was almost a coming of age movie for the women, this sequel takes the moms right back to their childhood as their respective moms come to visit during the holidays. Played by Christine Baranski (The Good Fight), Susan Sarandon (Snitch), and Cheryl Hines (Nine Lives), these actors bring the mother/daughter relationship to light in so many different ways that it's impossible not to see your relationship with your own mother while watching this film. Just like their daughters became friends in Bad Moms, so do the mothers eventually bond in A Bad Moms Christmas. Baranski plays Amy's mom. Like Amy, Ruth (Baranski) is a perfectionist and Amy is always trying to keep up with her mother's expectations, which is nearly impossible. Baranski portrays a rich, hoity-toity, and demanding woman magnificently. When she finally shows the vulnerable side, one is left to wonder if this controlling woman is just playing everyone. Sarandon's character, Isis, is the exact opposite of Baranski's. Always going to Carla for loans that never seem to get paid back, never keeping a job, and clearly using or drinking at one point or another, she is the epitome of the escapist mom that we have all wished we could be at one moment- however brief that moment has been. Used to seeing Sarandon in more serious characters, it was surprising to see her in such an irresponsible role, but she was as brilliant as ever, showing the audience more so than the other two mother-daughter relationships, that no matter what, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. Cheryl Hines (Sandy) was the perfect actor to play Kiki's mother. Kiki, a mousy and timid mom in the movie, always seems afraid to make a decision for herself- or put herself first and when we first meet Hines' character, it's clear as to why Kiki is like she is. Hines' is the typical overprotective mother that can't cut the umbilical cord from her grown- and apparently - only child. Wanting to be Kiki's best friend (in a very weird and creepy sort of way), we find Sandy trying to give sex advice to Kiki and her husband- while they are in bed trying to have sex. As the ultimate Christmas gift, Sandy buys the house next door to her daughter, so they can always be together! The Blu-ray is presented in 1080p High Definition Widescreen with an aspect ratio of 2.40:1. The snow is white, the decorations gleam, and the Santa outfit on Justin Hartley (This is Us) is definitely red. Details are crisp and clear and color saturation is full. Audio is presented in English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1. Background music is appropriate and does not overpower the dialogue. Inflection is clearly heard, which is very important to ascertain Hines, Sarandon, and Baranski's characters personality, as well as the apparent frustration from Kunis, Bell, and Hahn, in most of the scenes. The Blu-ray set comes with a DVD on which Universal Studios has also provided some bonus material, in addition to the full movie. A Gag Reel, additional scenes not seen before, crew music video, and trailers, are all part of the Blu-ray disc set. In addition, this edition of A Bad Moms Christmas also comes with a Digital HD code that you can watch on iTunes so you can take these moms with you anywhere. While the extras are brief the gag reel and additional scenes are decidedly funny while the crew music video is mildly entertaining. A Bad Moms Christmas really hits home for most moms – those with children still in the home – and those with children married with families of their own. This is really an adult movie because, besides the R rating, the undertones and message are for moms with grown children. The movie will really show how moms just want the best for their daughters, no matter what the cost. Moms and daughters alike will not identify with just one mom, but all three, as every mom wants the best for her daughter in their own weird way. While we all want to break free of how our moms parented us, A Bad Moms Christmas will bring us back to reality - that there is no escaping becoming your mother, no matter how hard you try, and that when you do break free of that mold, you will realize that you inherited the best things from your mom. Grade: B

About Jennifer Broderick A graduate of The George Washington University and Nova Southeastern Law School Jennifer Fischer Broderick’s fascination with the movie world started when she first saw Snow White on the big screen as a young child. When the producers of the movie Annie held auditions in NYC, Jennifer stood on line in the cold to try out for a part and actually made it past the first few try-outs. A vivacious reader, she is fascinated watching books and stories brought to life on the big screen. Jennifer has passed her love of movies onto her children and they are often found planning their weekends around opening premieres.

Read more reviews and content by Jennifer Broderick.

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