#The Simple Path to a Great Screenplay

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Avoid Rookie Mistakes: The Simple Path to a Great Screenplay

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Writer Beware: How a Book Really Becomes a Movie.

Writer Beware is an excellent site of information for those who are or want to become traditionally published. The official blog of Writer Beware® shines a bright light into the dark corners of the shadow-world of literary scams, schemes, and pitfalls. Also providing advice for writers, industry news, and commentary. Writer Beware® is sponsored by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association.

by Victoria Strauss, April 12

Book-to-film scams are extremely common these days. If the publishing industry is opaque and secretive, the movie biz is even more so, and scammers take full advantage.

From disreputable marketers claiming to take your book to pitch events, to fake agents offering to represent you to major production companies, to scammers impersonating those production companies themselves, hordes of fraudsters are soliciting writers by phone and email with tempting-sounding "offers" and "opportunities" that they promise will route your book directly to the silver screen.

In reality, of course, the fraudsters have no Hollywood connections. The sole aim of these solicitations is to trick you into paying large amounts of money for products or services--screenplays, pitch decks, "cinematic trailers", and more--that you don't need and that may not even be delivered.

How to defend yourself? As noted by Jeanne Veillette Bowerman, today's guest post author, the best way to avoid being scammed is to understand the process. The more you know about how things should work, the easier it will be to recognize questionable or dishonest practices when you encounter them.

In the article below, Jeanne offers a comprehensive overview, unpacking the multiple and often complicated paths by which a book really finds its way to the screen...which, as you'll see, bear no resemblance to the shortcuts and guarantees claimed by fraudsters.

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How a Book Really Becomes a Movie

by

Jeanne Veillette Bowerman

Anyone passionate about their work, desperate to get published or have their book adapted to film, is a perfect target for a scam. Like this one.

First, if you’ve fallen for one of these too-good-to-be true solicitations, don’t beat yourself up. It’s easy to do. Writers tend to be solitary creatures, many without a support system. That's what makes us vulnerable to exploitation. But the best way to protect ourselves is to understand how the book-to-film process works.

Get comfortable. There’s nothing simple about Hollywood.

The filmmaking industry baffles many—even those working in it. The reality is, there is no single way to get a film made. There are quite literally as many ways to break in as there are writers who’ve successfully done so, making scams harder to identify.

Sadly, when someone proactively reaches out to you, you have to assume it’s fake until you can prove otherwise. With scams abounding, the burden of proof has shifted. Due diligence has never been more important.

You do NOT need a screenplay to sell your book-to-film rights.

You do NOT need a sizzle reel or "cinematic trailer".

You do NOT need storyboards.

You do NOT need mood boards.

You should NOT have to pay any upfront fees.

You should NOT be required to buy anything.

Let’s go through the traditional paths first, then I’ll share an unusual story to demonstrate how varied this process can be.

Most common paths for book to film

What you need is a great story with cinematic elements that would attract a large audience. If it’s for TV, it should have compelling characters and a broader world that could translate to multiple episodes.

Your agent strives for one of three opportunities:

Sell the book-to-film rights directly to a studio or producer,

Option the book for a set dollar amount for a specific period of time, or

Sign a shopping agreement for a shorter period of time with no money being paid to the author.

1. Selling the Book

When you sell your book outright, that’s it. You’re done. You no longer have any claim to said material, nor the right to participate in the adaptation. You probably won’t be able to write a future sequel if the studio owns your intellectual property … which means they own your characters. There are exceptions though, depending on how the contract was negotiated. You definitely need a talented agent or attorney to assist … not a pitching or consulting “service” that solicits you via email.

The sale price typically will be 2-3% of the film's budget (that's money paid to you, not the other way around), but it depends. It always depends. Your agent should at least try to get you Executive Producer credit, or a consulting gig. But many producers want the author far, far away from the project. Your book is merely a blueprint for the film. A lot will change—subplots and characters will disappear—which can be difficult for the author to accept.

If you’re lucky, and have the proper experience and background, they’ll give you first crack at writing the script. But don’t expect it. Your payday is the sales of the rights plus more copies of your book being sold.

But … here’s the hard part … even if you sell your book, the movie may never get made. Yes, you read that correctly. It takes millions of dollars and hundreds of people to align to make a film. People often say it’s a miracle any film gets made. They’re right.

2. Option Agreement

An option by a showrunner or producer usually runs $1,000 to $30,000 for a set period of time (again, that's money paid to you), the standard being 12 to 18 months. This gives them time to “package” the project by attaching a director, actors, etc. and (hopefully) sell it. Note: It is illegal to not pay a writer for an option, hence why you’ll sometimes see an option happen for a penny or a single dollar—which is more common when optioning a screenplay, as opposed to a book.

The vast majority of options expire long before any movie deal can be struck, but they may be renewed for an additional fee. With each renewal, your agent will likely either ask for more money or less of a time commitment. I do know authors who have optioned the same novel multiple times—not a bad payday. But still, no film and no purchase of book-to-film rights ever happened in those cases. An option doesn’t guarantee you a sale.

3. Shopping Agreement

A shopping agreement is similar to an option, only the producer tries to shop it around town without paying the option fee. Since the author receives no money, the shopping agreement typically lasts only six to nine months. Renewable, just like options.

These are more common than traditional options because the producer gets exclusivity, albeit for a shorter period of time, without coughing up money. Authors might agree to this strategy simply because there’s some sense of hope that a deal will be made.

So, how do your book-to-film rights get sold?

Just like everything else in the industry, you need relationships with the right people. Agencies spend years fostering those relationships with production companies and will go directly to them to pitch the book, sometimes in person, sometimes with a phone call. They’ll set up meetings with producers, not junior execs. Junior execs are the ones who go to pitching events, not decisionmakers.

Usually, an agent only needs a logline or a one-sheet. A logline is a one- to two-sentence elevator pitch. A one-sheet is exactly what it sounds like—a single page that summarizes the book and gives details about the author. That’s it. What your agent will not do is spend money to hire a screenwriter or hire someone to create a sizzle reel, trailer, or story boards.

If a potential sale is on the table, your agent should negotiate development fees, as Hollywood famously tries to get writers to do development work for free. Get your agent to negotiate compensation for that. An agent might also ask for the title card on the film not to be buried and to also be able to use key art of the movie poster for the book cover.

Before any significant negotiations happen, they’ll want to know there is a clear chain of title, meaning must prove you own 100% of the property. This is where having a screenwriter adapt your book in advance muddies the waters. If you didn’t pay them to adapt it, and have it in writing that you own the script, you’ve now entered into a trickier situation where the producer might have to pay both you and the screenwriter.

Moviemaking is a business. As in any business, people want things clean and simple. So, say you fall for one of those scams where you split the cost of hiring a screenwriter, making a sizzle reel, and creating story boards. That scammer could potentially now own half of your work. No exec is going to touch that with a 10,000-foot pole.

The most popular word in Hollywood is “no.” Don’t make it easy for them to say it.

The author may, however, take a stab at writing the script themselves. I’ve had top producers at the New York Rights Fair tell me they actually prefer having an author’s rough draft for several reasons—it saves them development money, and they appreciate having the author slashing the story down themselves. Less room for arguments later.

Author Lee Matthew Goldberg has both adapted his own book as well as optioned another. “I've been told, with my Runaway Train project, with the actress attached, that my script is what gets the project in the door. And then ultimately, it's most likely not going to be my script [that gets produced] when it actually sells. But had I not had a script, and it just was the book, it might have been harder to sell … Hollywood doesn't like to read. It's easier for them to read a script than a book. So, I think it's in the best interest for an author to write the screenplay. Be open to the fact that their screenplay might just be the thing that gets them over the first hump.”

But brace yourself. Hollywood isn’t going to wrap their arms around you, as the screenwriter. You will get fired, and they will bring in a pro screenwriter. However, per WGA rules, if you’ve written that original draft, you’ll get a shot at the first rewrite … before they finally fire you. But you will be fired. Don’t be offended though. Every great A-list screenwriter has been fired. It’s how the business works.

What if you’re self-published and/or don’t have an agent?

Let’s say you’re self-publishing and query producers yourself, and they bite. That producer is not going to take your book to a pitching event (a common scammer claim). They have direct contacts with people in the industry and will set up a meeting.

Again, you could take a stab at writing the screenplay, enter it into contests (see below), pitch to actors' production companies, or query screenwriting managers.

If the script gets sold, they’ll still fire you. See above.

The case study: The Reincarnationist Papers

Buckle up … this is but one example of how long it takes to go from book to film … and how totally unpredictable the process can be.

In 2009, Eric Maikranz wrote and self-published The Reincarnationist Papers. On the first page of the book, he put a “bounty” on it, stating that whomever finds this book and can help get it sold to a major publisher or movie studio will get 10% of his take. Great marketing!

Years later, while on vacation in Katmandu, a producer, Rafi Crohn, finds the book on a shelf of a bathroom in a tea house—no idea how it made it all the way to Katmandu—reads the “bounty,” and that alone intrigues him enough to dive into the book. Loving it, he tracks down Eric and secures an option.

It’s now 2012. Rafi contacts Ian Shorr, a professional screenwriter who feels, “There’s something magical there … an element of Willy Wonka.” Ian then pitches his take on how to adapt the book to Imagine, Ron Howard’s production company. (Note: This is how open writing assignments work. Before paying a screenwriter, execs ask them to read the book and pitch their take.) In this case, they don't go for Ian’s vision. He pitched a Matrix version; they want a Harry Potter version. Imagine never finds a writer’s idea they can align with.

Movie is dead.

Almost two years later, the rights are about to lapse again, so Rafi, who liked Ian’s take, approaches him to see if he’d be game to write the script on spec (which means without pay).

Why would a pro screenwriter write for no money? Ian explains, “For me, it was like the one that got away came back … I was still thinking about that book.”

Ian’s manager re-ups the rights.

Since Ian is writing this on spec, obviously, he is concurrently working on projects that actually pay him. Go figure. And The Reincarnationist Papers is a complicated one to adapt, taking Ian about three years to finalize the script.

The script and the rights to Eric’s book finally get purchased by Paramount.

Time to celebrate, right? Nope.

Immediately after the script gets sold, the president of Paramount leaves, and the new head sees the $200-million price tag and crosses it off their slate. The book was not a best seller, and the risk is too high.

As Ian puts it, “This movie died a million times before it lived.”

What brings it back to life: the director Antoine Fuqua, about to do a film for Paramount, is craving to do a Matrix-type project, but was brought on to direct something else. A producer slips Antoine the script Ian wrote, now called Infinite. Antoine loves it, and tells the studio this is the one he wants to make. Total fluke. The right champion at the right time. Finally.  

Again, relationships.

Ian writes more drafts for Antoine, they cast the movie, lose the star, get another star, shoot it in 2019, and it finally gets released in 2021. Just a short 12 years from book to film.

Ian sums it up, “I think a lot of writers don't understand that their work is going to change. They all want the adaptation for all those other reasons that Eric enjoyed—like book sales, publishing deals, sequels. But some writers definitely do struggle with the fact that there are changes. The second you get into bed with Hollywood, that's the first thing you have to be prepared for. Because the spec that I wrote was very different from the book that he wrote. And then my spec got rewritten by other writers, who changed what I wrote.”

There are thousands of stories similar to this … and also very different.

You can watch Ian discuss the adaptation process on Pipeline Artists here.

Oh, there are still more out-of-the-box options …

Have you heard of “The Book Whisperer”? Meet Lane Shefter Bishop. (You can find an in-depth one-on-one conversation I had with her on Pipeline Artists’ Symposium here.)

In short, Lane has relationships (there’s that word again) with literary agents and will often get a shopping agreement on the book prior to it ever being published. Her goal is to be able to mold the story, pre-publication, to help create a more cinematic experience, structured like a movie.

Frankly, it’s genius. Give the conversation a listen.

Pay-to-play versus true champions

Let’s go back to “What do I do if I don’t have an agent?”

There are more and more writing contests popping up that won’t lead you anywhere except a few dollars less in your pocket, but reputable ones absolutely exist. Full disclosure, I’m a Senior Executive at Pipeline Media Group, a company that discovers novelists, screenwriters, and filmmakers via contests. Trust me when I say I’ve heard all the arguments about contests being pay-to-play scams, but it’s not the case for most, so do your research on the top platforms.

I’m also a writer, and I’ve entered plenty of contests in my day. Some have propelled my career, others, despite being a finalist, did absolutely nothing for me. They didn’t even email me to inform me of my selection!

Just like with any opportunity that feels too good to be true, as mentioned, do your research.

Beyond reading a contests’ success stories, I always recommend doing a search for a contest’s past finalists. Follow them on social media and message them, asking what that contest actually did for them. Getting previous finalists’ feedback on their take will tell you everything you need to know.

Get more than one perspective though. Get as many as you can! Strike the most positive, and strike the most negative. Take the average, and you can be confident in the results. Writers will be honest with each other. And if they got screwed over, they’ll be more than happy to tell you!

Bottom line

Scams are everywhere. The best way to identify them is to know how the process actually works.

Hollywood loves adaptations for many reasons, but mostly because the bulk of the story development work is already done, and a dedicated fan base exists. So, cast out as many nets as possible, even if it means writing the script yourself.

Why not? No one knows your story as well as you do.

If you want outside help, please do your research. Check multiple references, not just one.  The Golden Ticket isn’t going to drop in your inbox. If it sounds too good to be true, it’s a scam.

Above all, trust your spidey senses.

I’ll leave you with Ian Shorr’s final advice: “Because writers are so passionate, and because we're so willing to work for free, and because it's such an aspirational, dream-based industry, it makes us a really easy target for scammers. Plus, the way that Hollywood operates is so opaque to people who don't work there. It's easy for someone to come along and say, oh, yeah, this is how you play the game. The reality is, if you write something that people love, they will come to you. And they will put their energy into it. Just remember, anybody who’s looking for you to pay them is a red flag."

Jeanne Veillette Bowerman is a Senior Executive at Pipeline Media Group and Book Pipeline, Editor-in-Chief of Pipeline Artists, co-host of the Pipeline Artists original podcast, "Reckless Creatives," former Editor-in-Chief of Script magazine and a former Senior Editor at Writer's Digest. Her Script column "Balls of Steel" was selected as recommended reading by Universal Writers Program. A compilation of her articles is now available—Balls of Steel: The Screenwriter's Mindset. She is also a partner at Fringe Press and Co-Founder and moderator of the weekly Twitter screenwriters’ chat, #Scriptchat. She wrote the narrative adaptation of the Pulitzer Prize-winning book, Slavery by Another Name: The Re-Enslavement of Black Americans from the Civil War to World War II, with its author, Douglas A. Blackmon, former senior national correspondent of The Wall Street Journal and has now ventured into writing historical fiction. Follow Jeanne on X: @jeannevb

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Doctor G Film Review

Avoid Male Touch!

Star cast of film Doctor G Plot: This film tells the story of a doctor who aspires to practice orthopaedics; however, his rank does not permit him to gain admission. As a result, he is admitted to gynaecology and must suppress his ambitions to pursue that field. Nevertheless, when he is denied his true passion, it becomes increasingly difficult for him to focus on his new path. However, after seeing what life is like in a hospital, he learns a lot and makes mistakes, and eventually he tries to become a good doctor. Will he succeed in his endeavour? Will concentrating on gynaecology help him become a good doctor? Would he abandon his aspirations to work as an orthopedician? To find out the answers to each of these inquiries, You'll need to see the film. Theme and Tone: The film's theme is “Humanity and Sacrifice,” which is based on medical life, and its tone is “Comedy Drama,” which combines humour and emotion. In addition to providing entertainment, the film aims to convey the social message that doctors face many challenges in their line of work and that life is not as simple as we may believe. “Ayushman Khurana's” performance as “Dr. Uday Gupta” is excellent. His character has a hint of humour, and he did a great job portraying it. His role reflects the kind of bravery required to portray the role of a responsible doctor. Shefali Shah does a fantastic job portraying Dr. Nandini Srivastava. Her outbursts are amusing to watch, and her delivery of dialogue and facial expressions suggest that she is playing a real doctor. Sheeba Chaddha does an astounding job portraying Shobha Gupta. She has done a great job portraying the role of a mother to her son, even after losing her husband when she was pregnant at a young age. Her comedic moments are also exceptional and well worth seeing. She has performed well in whatever role she was given. The way that “Abhay Mishra” plays “Chaddi” is exquisite; his facial expressions and dialogue delivery demonstrate that he can be a long-term contender and that this movie will garner him a lot of praise. Rakul Preet Singh's portrayal of Dr. Fatima is equally outstanding; she did the role as required. Every character in the supporting cast does a good job acting. Direction: “Anubhuti Kashyap” is directing this, her first Hindi film. She demonstrated in her first film that she is a long-term contender with her distinct storytelling style and her ability to get excellent performances from all the characters. Making a film about a delicate subject is difficult, but he did it with ease. The movie moves slowly, but the audience is captivated by it from start to finish, and he maintains control of the whole thing. Story: “Saurabh Bharat” and “Vishal Wagh” have a good story, but it has a lot of layers. If there were fewer layers, the story might have had a little more impact. The screenplays for “Saurabh Bhagya,” “Vishal Wagh,” “Sumit Saxena,” and “Anubhuti Kashyap” are all strong. There are several layers to the screenplay. There was room for some tightening of the screenplay. Both the pace and the character development could have been quicker. The dialogue in “Sumit Saxena” is incredibly strong, remarkable, and humorous. They go well with all the characters in the movie. Some conversations are humorous, while others have more than one meaning. “Eeshit Narain” has good cinematography. Some scenes have good camera work. Additionally, the camera's speed is good. Light and colour have also beenwell utilized. Editing by “Prerna Sehgal” The first half of the movie moves slowly. It moves a little too quickly in the second half. Production Design: “Arvind Ashok Kumar” and “Bindiya Chhabaria” are fine, but there wasn't much room for improvement. The “Rohit Chaturvedi” costume designing is excellent. Music: Some songs on “Amit Trivedi” are good, but overall it's OK. Lyrics: Well-written by lyrics Background: “Ketan Sodha” looks fine. Sound Design: “Alvin Rego” and “Sanjay Maurya” are fine. Choreography: “Bosco Caesar” by Dil Dhak Dhak, step-copy by“Vijay Ganguly” is fine. Climax: It's mediocre; nothing exceptional was created. Viewpoint: You can watch it to see good acting, comedy, humour and dialogues. At the 68th Filmfare Awards, the film received nominations for categories such as Two Best Supporting Actress, Best Debut Director, Best Debut Actor, and Best Dialogues. However, despite these recognitions, it ultimately did not win any awards. Flaws: The film's pacing is hampered and annoyed by the recurrence of Chaddi and Uday's scenes. A schoolgirl who is a distant relative of Uday's friend has been forced into the affair. By depicting a married person's affair with a schoolgirl, what message do you wish to convey to society? Do you want to demonstrate that whatever she is doing is acceptable by depicting a middle-aged mother with a young son, falling in love and having an affair at this age? The scenario presented makes it appear as though everything is fine, but what message do you want to convey to society by displaying this without any justification? CBFC-A Movietime-2h.4 mins Genre-Comedy Drama Backdrop- Bhopal Release Year-14 October 2022 Film Cast-Ayushmann Khurrana, Rakulpreet Singh, Shefali Shah, Sheeba Chadha, Abhay Mishr, Indraneil Sengupta, Ayesha Kaduskar, Shraddha Gautam, Priyam Shah, Karishma Singh, Anju Gaur, Paresh Pahuja and (Special Appearance Puja Sarup) Director: Anubhuti Kashyap, Producer: Vineet Jain, Screenplay: Sumit Saxena, Saurabh Bharat, Vishal Wagh, Anubhuti Kashyap, Story: Saurabh Bharat, Vishal Wagh, Dialogues: Sumit Saxena, Production Design: Eeshit Narain, Editor: Prerna Sehgal, Production Design: Bindiya chhabaria, Arvind Ashok Kumar, Costume Design: Rohit Chaturvedi, Music: Amit Trivedi, lyrics: Puneet Sharma, Kumaar, RajShekhar, Amjad Nadeem, Guest Composer: Sultan Sulemani, Amjad Nadeem Aamir, Casting Director: Gautam Kishanchandani, Background Score: Ketan Sodha, Sound Design: Allwin Rego, Sanjay Maurya, Choreography: Bosco-Caesar, Vijay Ganguly Read the full article

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INDUSTRY FOREFRONT 1: SCREENWRITING IN GAMES

BLOG 8: PHASE 0 (FRAMEWORK & IDEATION)

Storytelling in video games has developed into a vital element that can take a game from being merely entertaining to being a completely immersive experience. Screenwriting for video games involves more than just developing dialogue and laying out a story; it also entails creating a world where players actively participate in the narrative and a narrative that flows naturally with gameplay. In contrast to conventional screenwriting, which follows a linear plot, game narratives frequently call for branching paths, player decisions, and interactive elements that have the power to drastically change the course of the narrative. This article explores the special difficulties and methods involved in writing screenplays for video games, as well as the ways in which narrative design can influence and change a player's experience.

Screenwriting: What Is It?

The craft and art of writing screenplays for motion pictures, television shows, and, more and more, video games is known as screenwriting. A visual story's blueprint is a screenplay, which is the result of screenwriting. It contains descriptions of the locations, activities, and events that take place on screen in addition to the dialogue that the characters say. The narrative of video games is greatly influenced by screenwriting, which directs the player's experience through skillfully constructed storytelling that interacts with gameplay elements.

Different Elements of Screenplays

Dialogue: Character speech, which advances the plot, reveals crucial details about the story and its setting, and expresses emotions. In games, dialogue frequently has branching options that let users make decisions that change how the story ends.

Action: Descriptions of what transpires on screen, describing character movements, key moments, and the story's development. Action elements in video games also contain instructions for interactive scenes that direct the player's interaction with the narrative.

Scene Heading (Slugline): A scene's location and time are indicated by a line like "INT. ABANDONED HOUSE - NIGHT." Scene headings are essential for structuring the story in games across various levels and environments. INT meaning Internal (indoor) and EXT meaning External (outdoor).

Character: The individuals who populate the story. In video games, characters are often more dynamic, with backstories, motivations, and arcs that players uncover as they progress.

Parentheticals: Brief cues like "(V.O)." inserted into a conversation to specify how a line is to be delivered. This can support the tone and atmosphere of games during pivotal narrative points. V.O. stands for voiceover.

Transitions: Indications of how scenes shift, like "CUT TO:" or "FADE IN:". While less common in video games, transitions can still play a role in pacing the narrative and moving between gameplay segments.

StudioBinder as an Excellent Tool

StudioBinder is a great resource for anyone interested in screenwriting, whether it be for a movie, television show, or video game. One feature-rich production management program is StudioBinder, which also has a strong screenwriting platform. It makes it simple for writers to create, revise, and format scripts while guaranteeing that every component is correctly organized. Game writers who have to maintain consistency across multiple story paths and keep track of intricately branched narratives will find the tool especially helpful. It's also perfect for groups working on game narratives because of its collaborative features, which streamline and organize the writing process.

I tried the StudioBinder App for myself to create a small screenplay for my teaser.

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Best Films of 2023

The basis of my annual list is simple, these are the films that were for me, mesmerizing and memorable. These were the cinematic experiences that either provoked a depth of emotion and/or provided a whole lot to talk about. These are the films that I could not forget and I cannot wait to see again.

After you read this year’s list, you can also find last year’s list here, and if you’d like to watch an epic conversation about the best films of the year I encourage you (or dare you) to watch this video. You can also follow me on Letterboxd and read #BehindTheScreens at Loving Is Moving Magazine. 

1. Past Lives

The best film of the year is a quiet, heart-wrenching, uplifting, painful and deeply satisfying story about love and commitment. It’s about romantic longing, and releasing ourselves and others from what could have been. Canadian, Celine Song, has written one of the best screenplays of the year, captured her story on screen with subtle elegance, and selected three lead performers who are all completely captivating. At the center of the film is a six-minute scene in bed, and it is one of the best, and most honestly written scenes of a marriage from the last twenty years. A masterpiece. On Prime Video.

2. Afire

Alternate Title: The A-hole. There is no protagonist I encountered all year long that I cared about more than, Leon. What a wonderfully talented and troubled loser. Leon is so incredibly self-involved, and yet, you can't help but ache for him. You want more for him. You want him to make better choices. You want to shake him and slap him and see him grow as a person and expand his empathy for others. I adored this little journey from narcissism to apocalyptic awakening.  On MUBI.

3. Fallen Leaves 

This is a sweet, tender and frequently funny tale of life and love in a tragic world. This is a small, idiosyncratic story of two lonely people crossing paths in their own unique corner of the world. Director, Aki Kaurismaki, has such a specific tone it’s almost impossible to articulate, as it stands along the border of much broader (and louder) expressions of wry and whimsy. And so, all you can do is sit back and admire the specificity and fall in love with beautifully drawn characters who seem slightly surreal, and yet, never leave the real world. On MUBI.

4. The Beasts

The Beasts is a thrilling and devastating masterpiece. Based on real events, what makes this film so taut and intense is the fact that we can all see ourselves in it. The neighbourly interactions, the arguments and alienation, the hostility and honest work - all of it is known, all of it is familiar. In fact, it’s so authentic and well written, that at one point you can’t help but sympathize with the antagonists. Do not miss this movie! On MUBI.

5. Ferrari

Michael Mann might be going soft in his old age. Ferrari is as much about obsessive professionals as it is interpersonal relationships. Truly, this is the women’s story (even if one is miscast). From an elderly mother, to a wife and a mistress, Ferrari is about reconciling one’s passion with the people who make the path forward possible. An elegant and classical work of cinema with the two best performances of the year: Adam Driver and Penelope Cruz. Available to Rent.

6. Maestro

Maestro is a film earnestly and openly reaching for greatness, and at times it gets there. In fact, there is a stretch of scenes about halfway through that were so emotionally charged they caught me off guard, and had me weeping. In other words, in spite of its flaws the highs here are really high. Maestro is a comforting reminder that flawed, selfish human beings are capable of transcendence. On Netflix.

7. Barbie

Greta Gerwig deserves an Oscar for this screenplay, and Margot Robbie deserves recognition for her incredibly complicated role. Barbie, is the essential social satire we didn't know we needed. I am so grateful that I got to share this ingenious, hilarious and beautiful film with my fifteen-year-old daughter. No movie made me smile more. On Crave-HBO.

8. Blackberry 

A wildly entertaining, triumphantly tragic true story, that is proudly Canadian, Forget, Air (2023), and all those other capitalistic works of cinema, this is the cautionary tale of the year. Matt Johnson is quickly becoming one of my favourite filmmakers, and both Jay Baruchel and Glenn Howerton give the performances of their careers. On CBC Gem and Crave.

9. Beau Is Afraid

A hallucinogenic, anxiety-ridden odyssey. In other words, the most affordable therapy I've ever received, and one of the funniest movies of the year. Ari Aster is Kubrick incarnate. The fact that this movie exists is a miracle onto itself. On Paramount+.

10. The Zone of Interest

Jonathan Glazer is the king of making unforgettable films you may never wish to watch again. The Zone of Interest is a powerful and provocative work of art. Sadly essential as it explores the mundane aspects and complicities of evil. It's a film I couldn't stop thinking about for days after. Available to Rent.

Honourable Mentions (alphabetically):

Anatomy of a Fall (Prime Video)

Are You There God? It's Me Margaret (Starz) 

Bottoms (Prime Video)

John Wick 4 (Starz) 

Killers of the Flower Moon (AppleTV+) 

Oppenheimer (Prime Video)

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (Crave-HBO)

Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie (AppleTV+)  

Talk to Me (Netflix) 

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem (Paramount+)

[denimbex1986]

'...(+) Strangers among us: His unbearable loneliness is

Do you absolutely have to cry for a movie to be deeply moving? Should a film with a gay hero be aimed at gay audiences? These stereotypes are skilfully bypassed by Andrew Hague 's latest film as it touches on the great issue of loneliness in our time. Adam lives in London, in one of its faceless towers, which make his loneliness seem even more deafening. Gay, lonely and guilty by nature, he reminisces about his childhood and his parents as he digs through old items in a box. It is the same night that an equally lonely neighbor, Harry, will attempt to approach him politely but romantically. Both of these events will forcefully move Harry towards another life path, between reality and illusion.

Unbearable loneliness, the need for love and acceptance – the great wounds that seek healing in thousands, millions of human souls – fuel Haig's screenplay based on the book Strangers by Taichi Yamada . And they heal, as there is no other way out, through the internal mechanisms of the sufferer. The narrative magnifies this trauma as stereotypes, racism, exclusion for gay people are, even today, a factor of confinement and isolation; and the thirst for a comforting hug grows. Who, however, has not been in exactly the same position even if there is no question of otherness?

Realism and dream intertwine in a tender, simple, melancholic narrative that finds glimmers of redemption and light in its finale, full of soulful vibrations. Andrew Scott in a very introspective performance and Paul Meskal – star of last year's British masterpiece Aftersun – offers reasons to love him. And one more thing: Parents of gay children or gay parents of children have one more reason not to miss Strangers Among Us . Stella Harami...'

[ingramjinkins]

 HEY! MAKE A GAME!

Here’s my new free 8-fold I was handing out at the SCAD Minicomic Expo! I’ll have more free copies with me at future shows.

I’ve been dabbling in game making lately using open source & free assets so I wanted to collect everything I’ve learned so far in one place. Coding has been really fun as a hobby since it marries skills I already have with an entirely new way of thinking.

This zine was put together with Electric Zine Maker which I highly recommend to everyone.

EDIT: I have been warned that OHRRPGCE is not good for those with photosensitivity, as it contains huge contrast and flashing. Sorry for the oversight, stay safe.

Transcription in read more

P1

Cover with “HEY! MAKE A GAME!” in big text. Ing’s cat Asher turns around and says “hm?” and then follows up at the bottom with “Isn’t that expensive tho?”. The credits at the bottom read “some thots by Ing”.

P2

A drawing of Ing holding up Asher and talking to him. They say “actually, buddy, there’s quite a few OPEN SOURCE SOFTWARE game engines that are kinda easy to learn!” Asher replies with “so... free? I like free.”

P3

This page is about TWINE. It’s for PC, Mac, Linux and is written in HTML, CSS and Java. Some notable games made with it include Us Lovely Corpses and Egg Baby. Text games, choose your own adventure, and interactive fiction! IN A WEBPAGE!! Asher looks towards the Twine interface while saying “easy!” At the bottom is a note that reads “let me add that learning HTML/CSS is a really great skill to build especially with the growing return to web 1.0 in the face of horrifying social media practices just saying”

P4

This page is about OHRRPGCE. It’s for PC, Mac, Linux and is written in C. A notable game made with it is Franken by Splendidland. Free RPGMaker but more stripped down-- which is good! Was built for creators with no programming knowledge so a great starting place if you just wanna MAKE something. Has its own asset maker built in so you can make the whole thing in the thing. There is a little pixel sprite of Asher in a wizard outfit at the bottom.

P5

This page is about Ren’py. It’s for PC, Mac, Linux and is written in Python. Some notable games are Doki Doki Literature Club! and Butterfly Soup. Ever wanted to make a visual novel, dating sim, or get freaky w it and program a whole simulator? Here u go. Syntax is like writing a screenplay! Extremely accessible (mostly gets difficult when you add branching paths). At the bottom of the page is Asher in a visual novel layout with a text box below him. He’s wearing a suit and petals are floating around him while he blushes. The text box says “A whole can of tuna? For ME?”

P6

This page is about Godot. It’s for PC, Mac, Linux and is written in C. 2D & 3D game dev for basically everything including consoles. This is for WHOLE ENTIRE game development. Much more advanced than the other programs mentioned in this zine & assets must be made outside the program. At the bottom, Asher is playing minigolf and about to make a putt. A notable game is that my brother is making a golf game with it :)

P7

This page starts with a list of Asset Resources. A tiny Ing head at the top says “I have one doll hair” as they hold a dollar looking sadly. The list is as follows: Blender, 3D modeling. Inkscape, making vector images. Atom, simple coding software (recc’d for Ren’py). Unsplash, free images. Freesound, free audio. thepatternlibrary.com, free repeating patterns. itch.io, lots of free/PWYW asset packs are published here! 

The next list is for Paid Software I Like. A little Asher says “Meowby next paycheck...” The list is as follows: Aseprite, for spriting! 1-time payment, powerful but easy to use interface. RPGMaker series, Remember OFF?? Let’s goooo. Sometimes it’s for sale on Steam. Clip Studio, dump Adobe into the sea.

P8

This is the back cover and has the website ingramjinkins.com at the top. Asher has his paws on his face and looks joyous as he thinks about a panicked lizard. He says “Thx ING! Now I can make a game! Maybe one about catching pesky lizards!!” At the bottom there is text that reads “made w/ CLIP STUDIO and alienmelon’s ELECTRIC ZINE MAKER”.

[tomhollandnet]

The show that changed Tom Holland’s life: “Now I am able to put myself in a mental pace where I’m really happy.” | El País

The actor stars in his first series, The Crowded Room, a psychological thriller with mental health and trauma at its core

For Tom Holland (London, 27 years old), the series The Crowded Room has changed his life. "Now I am a much happier person, I am in a much better place," he said in an interview with EL PAÍS by video call last week, just the day before his twenty-seventh birthday. The actor, known worldwide for playing Peter Parker, Spider-Man, in the cinema since 2017, is now starring in his first series, the psychological thriller The Crowded Room, which premieres on Apple TV+ on Friday the 9th.

Tom plays Danny Sullivan, a shy and antisocial young man who ends up involved in a shooting in Rockefeller Center in New York in 1979. During the interrogation to which he is subjected by an investigator (played by Amanda Seyfried), Danny reviews his life, his relationships with friends and family, and how it all led him to where he is. The story gradually unfolds like a puzzle in which the pieces make sense and fall into place as the episodes go by. Knowing more than these small details can mean spoiling the viewer's experience and the twists it keeps.

The filming process lasted for 10 months, and the entire process involved a great effort for the actor, as he now explains. “We dealt with sensitive material, a roller-coaster of emotions that ended up taking its toll on me personally,” he recalls. “The whole process of making the series helped me deepen into myself. I have come to better understand what I am capable of, what I can handle, what triggers me and sends me into a spiral. Now I am able to put myself in a mental pace where I’m really happy,” he continues.

Screenwriter Akiva Goldsman, Academy award winner in 2002 for the screenplay of A Beautiful Mind, is the creator of this story with which, in his own words, he intends to “generate empathy towards those who suffer trauma related to an illness mental.” Goldsman knows that area well, both personally (both of his parents are child psychologists) and professionally (A Beautiful Mind was based on the life of mathematician John Forbes Nash, who suffered from schizophrenia). “His knowledge and his experience on the subject are endless,” Holland notes of Goldsman. “To me he was a mentor, a confidant, a friend, someone to lean on whenever I needed, and a great source of information on these matters.” The actor assures that the series has changed his views on trauma and mental health. “I hope it will serve as a learning experience for millions of people around the world because we need to understand what life can be like for these poor people.”

The main character of The Crowded Room is based on a real man, Billy Milligan —again, better not to know more details because a simple search on the internet can destroy the viewing experience—, but in the series they decided to opt for the path of fiction instead of recreating his history. “One of the reasons we did it is because we wanted people to empathize with Danny and understand his actions and why he does them,” explains the actor.

For his first series (he participated in the British Wolf Hall in 2015, but this is his first starring role on television), Holland wanted to live the full experience. He accepted the job before any script was written and decided not only to participate as an actor, but also as an executive producer to follow all phases of the process, from beginning to end. “It's been very interesting for me to understand how television works, to navigate a 10-hour story instead of two and a half hours. It's been a huge learning curve and I think the audience will appreciate it because it's a real psychological thriller that makes you think, keeps you alert and hooked,” he describes.

“Possibly, it would have been easier for me to just be the lead, but I love learning new things. I love this industry and working in it, the creative process and the collaboration between departments, and I wanted to be a part of this in a more hands-on way,” he adds. He was even present in the conversations leading up to the writing of the script. “Akiva [Goldsman] only had one outline for each chapter back then. We talked about the episodes, the turning points, and then once we had the 10 episodes outlined in a more solid way, he and his writing team put it on paper. They did a great job. I hate reading scripts, it's the part of my job that I really don't like. But reading these scripts was fantastic”, recalls the actor.

The level of involvement that Tom Holland assumed in this series is surprising. And his response is also surprising when asked about the best part of the whole process: “To be totally honest, I would say the editing process. I worked with Akiva and the editor every week, we would meet at least twice a week and go through the episodes, and they would listen to my thoughts. It was a great experience to see how these experts did what they do best. Some episodes completely changed order. I loved that they allowed me to be part of that process of building the puzzle.”

Now, Holland takes things more calmly. Personally, he has been in a relationship for a long time with another Hollywood star, Zendaya, his co-star in Spider-Man. Months ago he decided to interact in a more casual way with social networks. He has explained that he has been sober for a year and four months and is involved in associations related to youth mental health. Professionally, the writers' strike paralyzed the project to launch what would be his fourth Spider-Man movie. A short break for someone he has been working non-stop since he made his film debut with J. A. Bayona with The Impossible in 2012. Would he like to get back into a working relationship with Spain? “There may be something small in the making, yes. With the writers' strike, everything has stopped, we are not developing anything in solidarity with our friends on strike. But I've been talking to Bayona and maybe there's something we can do together. He changed my life, I owe him a lot and I love him, he is one of my dearest friends. So maybe you will see me in a movie with him in the next few years,” he advances.

Loosely translated by tomhollandnet

[astrovian]

Richard Armitage interviews Harlan Coben for the Win audiobook (released 18/03/21)

Full transcript under cut

RA: Hi, I’m Richard Armitage. I played Adam Price in the Netflix series The Stranger, which was adapted from Harlan Coben’s novel of the same name. With me is the man himself, Harlan Coben, number one New York Times bestseller, the author of over thirty novels, including the one you’ve just listened to. I’m delighted to be talking to Harlan about his book, Win.

Okay Harlan, thanks for taking the time to chat about your audiobook and thanks for sending me a copy of the book. Um, it was so nice I ended up wrapping it up and giving it to my brother for Christmas.

HC: *laugh* You’re supposed to read it first, but okay, thanks Richard.

RA: No, I got the electronic version so uh, so I’ve had a good read. Congratulations, a great story. Brilliant, brilliant central character. I mean the first question I’m gonna ask is – because people listening to this have just been listening to the audiobook – are you, um, a big audiobook listener yourself?

HC: I – I go through stages, um, because my mind wanders, I sometimes have trouble focusing. But when I’m in a car, um, that’s most of the time that I’m- that I really love to use the audiobooks because it does make the ride just fly by. However, I’ve set up my life that I don’t have to commute to work every day, so I don’t have it steadily – it’s usually when I’m doing a nice long ride, I get a really good audiobook and time just flies by.

RA: And have you- have you got any favourite audiobooks that you’ve listened to recently, or any podcasts or what is it that floats your boat?

HC: You know, it’s funny. I still remember when I was a working man, way back when, when audiobooks were really first starting out and we had them on cassette tapes, I listened to the entire Bonfire of the Vanities by Tom Wolfe, um, it was about thirty hours long, going back and forth to work for almost a month. And I still have memories of that experience, and it’s probably, well god, it’s probably 1990 I did that, 1989, something like that.

RA: Mm-hmm. Yeah, I mean I’ve got a- I’ve got a few journeys up and back from Manchester this year, we’re about to start working on Stay Close, so I’ll happily – I’m happy to take any recommendations of any good books, so maybe I’ll listen to Bonfire of the Vanitites.

HC: Well I tell ya, a lot of people – first of all, it’s a brilliant book, it’s maybe a bit dated, but I doubt that, um. I think Richard, I get more people telling me to listen to any book that you read.

RA: *laugh*

HC: I said, “Hey, I spend a lot of time with this guy, I’m about to do my second television show that stars Richard Armitage. No one I think has starred in two shows that I’ve done ever, so I get a lot of him anyway.” *laugh*

RA: You don’t need my voice in your head when you’re driving, that’s – that’s torture.

HC: That’s right, I’ll be hearing notes on, on scripts in my head if I hear you going. For those who don’t know who are listening, y’know, Richard starred in The Stranger, um, and now is going to be starring in Stay Close, uh, based off two of my novels which I’m sure you can get on audiobook.

RA: And on that note, what um, you’ve had so many adaptations now that have moved from page to screen – what is it like when you go through that process? When you’re – ‘cause you’re very hands on in the way that you kind of collaborate with not just the actors, but with the producers and y’know, the writers. I mean, you’re – you’re writing it yourself. Um, what is it like through, through that whole process, from starting to developing to seeing it kind of realised on screen?

HC: I think the key for me is not to be slavishly devoted to the novel. I think that’s a mistake that a lot of people who are trying to make an adaptation make. So, I go into it, ‘what is the best TV series we can make?’, if it’s true to the book, great. If it’s not true to the book, also great. Um, so I move my stories to various countries, we’ve changed characters around, we’ve changed motivations. Because they’re two very different mediums – a book is a book, and a TV series is a TV series. They should not be the same. One is a visual medium, one is not. Even, even um, audiobooks are slightly different um, than what you read. And they should be. Um, y’know, there’s a performance involved. 

Also, because I’ve spent most of my life alone in a room coming up with writing a book, um, where I am just everything – I’m writer, director, actor, key grip. I don’t even know what a key grip is, but I’m that. Um, it’s really nice to collaborate. So um, you’ve worked with me, I hope you agree – I like to collaborate, I like to hear the opinions of other people and um, I really enjoy that aspect of it. I look at it like I’m – like I get to be captain of a World Cup football team, rather than being a tennis player where I’m standing there on my own, which is what happens with a novel.

RA: Yeah, and actually it’s the same when I get to narrate an audiobook, like you say – you get to be director, you get to be the cinematographer to an extent ‘cause you’re setting the scene, but one thing that I’ve – I really appreciated about working with you was having read your, your books and sometimes you’ll pass by a character that is useful to the, to the narrative that you’re telling, but when that comes to developed for TV or film you’ll take a bit more time to investigate that character, and you’re very open to treading those paths, which makes for a very kind of dense narrative with the screenwriter.

HC: Well that’s what I think we’re trying to do. If you think about The Stranger, um, y’know in the book the Stranger is a sort of nerdy teenage male.

RA: Mm-hmm.

HC: And that just – we even tried out some people, and that just didn’t work. And it was really my idea – and I don’t say it in a bragging way, I say it as a way to show how open we all are – to change the character from being male to being female. And once I saw Hannah John-Kamen do it, then I pictured her in a room with you in that first great scene in the bar, um, or at the club when she tells you the big secret, it just worked. Um, you have to be willing to, to sort of stretch your imagination all over again and re-think your story. Which is also fun.

RA: Yeah, and also I suppose because y’know, as much as we love a faithful adaptation of a novel, um what you don’t wanna do is just deliver the novel in screenplay. You want to, for everyone that has read it it’s a new and exciting surprise, and for everyone that hasn’t it’s, y’know, it’s gonna be the same. So, um, it’s nice to kind of have a, to have your audience ready for people who have read a lot of your work, and there were, y’know, a guaranteed audience of people that had, had looked at The Stranger but what you gave them was something really surprising.

HC: Yeah, it was a lot of fun. A lot of fun. And Stay Close, there’s a change in the ending to that which will hopefully shock everybody but especially the people who have already read the book, who will smugly think they know exactly what’s going on.

RA: *laugh* And me, probably. I haven’t read it yet. Um, so when you’re writing – I’m gonna double up on this question now, so when you’re writing, do you write in silence? Do you have any music playing in the background or are you – do you have like a, a kind of sacred writing space?

HC: Um, my routine is not to have a routine. Uh I, I do whatever works until it stops working and then I change up. It’s like I’m riding a horse really fast, and then the horse dies so I gotta find a new horse. So most writers will tell you ‘yes, I use this space, I do it at this time’. Um in the days before Covid, I would go to different coffee shops all the time, I would try out different… any place. Y’know, my favourite example is the end of – when I was writing The Stranger, um with about three weeks left to finish it, I had to take an Uber for the first time. This was a number of years ago. I had to take an Uber in New York City, and I felt really guilty about spending the money on an Uber and trying to justify it, so I was sitting in the back of the Uber and I was writing down notes, and I start writing really well. So for three weeks, I took Ubers wherever I went just so I could finish the book *laugh*

RA: ‘Cause that was the magic formula.

HC: Yeah, that worked! Then that stops working and then I have to find the new, a new place. So my routine is not to have a routine. If you’re trying to write out there, the key to anything is ‘does it make me write more?’ – if the answer is yes, it’s good. If the answer is no, it’s bad. It really is that simple.

RA: I’m gonna make a note of that for when I start writing myself. Um, do you – do you speak any of your characters out loud, your dialogue or your prose passages, do you say it out loud?

HC: The very last stage um, of editing. Okay first of all, no writer gets it right the first time. I know a million writers, I don’t know any writer who doesn’t re-write and re-write a lot. Well, I know one but he’s the guy none of us wanna hang out with, you know what I mean?

RA: *laugh*

HC: So um, the last stage that I do, and it’s usually after I’ve done all the editing with my editor and everything like that, we’re ready to go. I will sit in a room and I read the entire novel out loud to myself. Um, because what happens is, it’s a little bit like a musical score. Where you can – if you read it out loud, I can detect false notes that I may have missed along the way. Um, I can hear them. So the last step is that. I rarely y’know, I’m not – I’m not crazy, I’m not sitting there maybe talking out loud to myself, I’m maybe testing out lines by doing that, and I do that a lot when I’m helping with the screenplays on our shows. But um, for the most part that’s how I do it.

RA: So, in that case, would you ever narrate one of your own audiobooks?

HC: I did narrate one, uh, many years ago called Promise Me. What had happened is we had -  my Myron Bolitar series we did seven with the same reader and he retired. I hadn’t written um, I didn���t write Myron for about five or six years it was. And so they said, ‘hey, why don’t you do it?’ which was a huge mistake in many ways. One, I’m not a professional. But two, the people who were fans of Myron Bolitar liked the first guy, and it felt to them liked they had tuned into their favourite TV show and every actor had changed.

RA: *laugh*

HC: It’s really difficult to re-do or start a series, uh, when people know the- the old reader. So um, I also figure- it was also, Richard you know this of course, so for people who don’t know, it’s a lot of work. I’m a guy from New Jersey. I speak very quickly, which does not go over well in audio. I don’t do voices. I would have to sit with a pillow on my stomach because uh, my stomach would sometimes grumble and that would be picked up- *laugh*

RA: Oh, yeah!

HC: By the microphone. And it took me um, a week to record it because – and I don’t know if this is still the case – but back then, the abridged version wasn’t just a cut up version of the unabridged, I had to do a whole different reading for it. So um, it was – it was a lot of work. Um, and it’s a skill that I’m not sure I’m best to do.

RA: Yeah, it does take a lot of stamina. I mean what’s interesting is, having gotten to know you, and when I, when I now read your work, I can hear your delivery, I can hear your voice. And there’s humour in the dialogue, and there’s humour in the as well, and I – it’s an instant ‘in’ for me, so I – ‘cause, ‘cause often I read and I speak aloud when I’m reading alone in the dark, I say things out loud but I think people approach it differently. But I definitely hear your voice in, in these characters. And I think particularly in Windsor Horne Lockwood.

HC: That’s so interesting because Win, I think of my heroes that I’ve had, Win is probably the least like me. I mean um, when you think about Adam-

RA: *laughing* You have to say that! You have to say that because he’s such a badly behaved person, isn’t he?

HC: *laughing* Yeah! ‘Cause I usually like to think of myself as more of like Adam in The Stranger, who you played, or some of the other characters that – the ‘I’m a father or four’ or those kind of guys. What I love about getting into Win of course is that Win is something of an anti-hero. Um, he sort of says and does things that are not necessarily prudent or appropriate, and he can get away with that. Um, so I really loved – I loved getting in his head, it was really an interesting experience. But on the surface anyway, he’s probably the least like me of any uh, main character that I’ve ever written.

RA: Yeah, I mean I- I relate to that totally. It’s a little bit like- it’s probably a side of you, you daren’t investigate, but- but when you get the chance to do it in a fiction um, you can tap into those things that we’re not allowed to do or say in your, in your regular day. But um, where did that character spring from? What was the seed that germinated into his story do you think?

HC: Rarely is this the case, but um, Win is actually – y’know, he’s the sidekick in my Myron Bolitar series but um, when I first created him I based him off my best friend in college roommate, who has a name equally obnoxious as Windsor Horne Lockwood the Third-

RA: *laugh*

HC: Very good looking, blonde guy who used to say before he would go out to parties when we were in college, he would look in the mirror and say, “It must suck to be ugly”. And so I took him and I tweaked him and made him more dangerous, uh and that’s how I, I kind of came up with Win.

RA: And does this person know that you’ve based this character on him?

HC: Oh yes! In fact, some people know who he is, he uses it. He’s still a-

RA: Oh, really?

HC: Owner of all these fancy golf clubs, he’s president of one of the most famous golf clubs, um, in the world right now. He looks the part. In fact, he one time came to one of my books signings years ago and um, he’s sitting in the back, and I tell people the story of how I created Win, and I say, “I’m not gonna tell you who, but Win is actually in this room right now”. It took the crowd about four seconds to figure out who he was, and he had a longer line to sign books that I did *laugh*

RA: Amazing. I mean I have to say, it’s- you, you start reading the story and thinking, ‘I don’t know if I’m gonna like this guy’ but he really grows on you, warts and all. I wonder how many people are gonna go into Saks on Fifth Avenue and go looking for the vault.

HC: *laugh* Yeah, no, I made that up. But there is place in Saks-

RA: I know, so brilliant!

HC: -but the rest of it is completely made up, this involves an app that you’ll read about when you- hopefully when you, when you read book. But yeah, it was fun to do an anti-hero where he makes decisions and does things that you don’t like, and yet you still wanna hang around with him. I always think the key to a fascinating character is not um, that he’s likeable necessarily, but that you wanna spend time with him. Not that he’s a nice guy, but if you were at a bar and you could sit with somebody and have a conversation with them and learn about their life, would this be a person you’d wanna do that with? And that’s sort of the test whenever I do a character. And Win, I think, passes that with flying colours. There are people who love Win and wanna be just like him and there are people who loathe him! But everybody, or I hope many people, are fascinated by him and his life.

RA: Well, also you’ve given him such an incredible kind of tool kit, like a skill set. I mean, I think everybody would look at that character and wish they could do the things he does, maybe not in the way that he does them, but I mean he’s- he’s exactly the kind of character that you’d hone in on, certainly from an acting point of view. I look at that and if I was, y’know, like fifteen years younger, I’d be leaping on that character to play. Which is, it means – it means he’s sort of relatable or aspirational in a kind of anti-hero way.

HC: I’ve heard this a lot, and I think it’s one of the most flattering things that I hear from my actor friends – I think everybody would want to play Win. I mean, I think the- it’s an interesting challenge, um, for a lot of actors. More so than even Myron Bolitar who is my lead series character. Um, everybody kind of wants to play win and kind of wonders who would play Win. Uh, and I take that as a – as a compliment.

RA: Are we gonna see more of him? Is he ge- are you writing more stories for him?

HC: My guess is the answer’s yes. I plan each book as it comes, so I never know until I’ve started. Is it gonna be a stand alone? Is it going to be a Myron Bolitar? Is it gonna be a young adult? Mickey Bolitar is now going to be a Win, and I don’t know until I – each book, y’know when I finish a book, I’m like a boxer who’s just gone fifteen rounds and can’t even lift my, my arms anymore, I gave it everything I had, I can’t even imagine fighting again or writing another novel. So I don’t know is the answer. Probably? I do wanna see Win again, separately or at least back with Myron, so I do think we will see Win again. But the book I’m writing right now is a sequel to The Boy From the Woods, which is the book that came out in 2020, so that’s what I’m writing now. Will I return to Win? Maybe. Maybe. We’ll see how- we’ll also see how people react. Not that I would work necessarily off of commercial interest, but it people really love this book, y’know, we don’t live in vacuum, that would probably somewhat influence what I do.

RA: Right. I mean, because so many of your- your books are being developed and being snapped up to be turned into film or television – I mean, Myron Bolitar is, is a recurring series waiting to happen, and then you’ve got your spin off of Win – I, I- I wonder if, y’know when your first ever, uh novel, did you write with kind of cinema television in your head? Is that something that as modern storytellers we can even avoid? Um, did you ever dream that these would ever turn into sort of film and TV?

HC: Well, everybody dreams, but there’s sort of two answers to it. The first answer is when I’m writing a book, I never ever, ever, not for one second do I think ‘Ooh, this would make a really good movie’ or ‘Ooh, this would make a really good TV series’ because that’s the kiss of death for a book. It really is. It’s, it’s- it’s just a disastrous thought, and if you’re out there writing really don’t try it, because it’s, it’s a big mistake. At the same time, to be realistic and honest, I grew up watching TV. Who didn’t? That’s my – I mean this is what we grew up with. To pretend you’re only influences – y’know you ask a writer ‘What’s your influences?’ “Oh, Shakespeare and Proust and Yeats” – come on. You watched TV growing up. And so that’s an influence on how you tell a story. To deny that is silly. So writers today do think in terms of cinema more just because they grew up with it. Where writers of a different generation did not, so they wouldn’t have that influence.

RA: Yeah, I mean I- I think this all the time – it’s impossible to even de-program your brain not to imagine scenarios in terms of cinema. I mean I- I often think about sort of Victorian novelists that didn’t have y’know TV, and their trying to describe something that they’ve never seen or experienced. And we have references for so many things – I mean it’s almost impossible not to, we’re- we are and will always be influenced by one or the other, especially in the written word. But I- I find that it means that you can kind of uh, put aside the investigation and just get on with the storytelling. And maybe go even a little bit further. It’s like instant access. Y’know, I know exactly the world that you’re talking about when you’re y’know at the beginning of Win, but- but y’know at the same time I felt there was something very Agatha Christie like about the um, the backstory of uh, of this book, I really liked the fact that there was a historic event that was really informing what was happening right now.

HC: Well, y’know when I start a book, there’s- I’m always- I have a bunch of ideas and I’m trying to think which ones are going to go in the story, and it ends up being several. So for example, in this book, I wanted – I’ve always wanted to do an art heist. Y’know, like the Gardner Museum Heist, where they still haven’t found the paintings that were stolen, the Vermeers and the Picassos that were stolen in that particular – I can’t remember if it’s Picasso now, I know it was a Vermeer – um, stolen in that- that, heist in Boston years ago, I wanted to write a book about 60’s radicals – the Weather Underground and what would happen to people who were involved in that so many years later. I also wanted to write something about a kind of Patty Hearst-type character who was a famous kidnapping here in the 70s. So those were like three of the things that I wanted to like – to delve into. And I ended up delving into all three *laugh* which sometimes happens. 

Oh, and the last one I wanted to do – I always wanted to do um, a hoarder that was actually someone famous. There was actually um, something of a case of this in New York City where somebody died who was living in a top floor of an Upper West Side building, and it ended up being the missing son – not really missing, but had just kind of gone off the rails – of a very famous American war hero. And so, I took all of these aspects, which would seem to make three or four different novels, and I make it into one novel if I can. It’s not that different from – again, I’m referencing um, um – The Stranger y’know, because you’re here and provably a number of the people listening to us have seen The Stranger on Netflix, but it’s the same thing with The Stranger a little bit, where I had a lot of ideas for secrets that could be revealed by the Stranger, and each one could have been a separate novel. And instead, the challenge is put them all in one story and find a way to hook them together.

RA: Yeah. I mean, it’s rich in a way that when I- I’m reading it and the producer head in me is saying ‘gosh, this is gonna be a great TV show’ ‘cause you know, you’ve got the present day, you’ve got the near-past and the um, the heist story, which uh, is kind of crying out for – you just want more of it, which is brilliant in a book. When you’re – you’re leaving the reader wanting to know more and wanting to, to know more about that family and what happens to them. It’s – it’s the perfect recipe, really.

HC: And so much of it does come from your life in ways that you don’t expect – right now, maybe a lot of people are watching this uh, the Aaron Sorkin movie about the Chicago Trials from the 70s, Abbie Hoffman, who is played by uh, I think Sacha Baron Cohen played him in, in the movie. When I was in college at Amherst, Abbie Hoffman was on the run, um, but he still showed up one day at our college and gave a speech, then disappeared again. And boy, that stuck in my head always. Man, I’d love to write a character that’s kind of like Abbie Hoffman. ‘Cause he had that charisma even then, y’know on stage he was funny as heck, I must have been eighteen or nineteen um, when I – when I heard him speak. And so that – I never consciously back then, I didn’t think that, but every once in a while those experiences come to head and you wanna write about it.

RA: Mm-hmm. You’ve been writing for quite a few years now-

HC: *Laugh*

RA: -you’re – I don’t know if you can even remember what it was like when you first stated your very first book. Um, and some people have said that books are like children in a way, you sort of rear them and then the more you do, the more familiar you are with that process. But would you – I mean, it’s difficult for you to answer this, but would you say you have a favourite book that you’ve written?

HC: I don’t have a favourite book that I’ve written. Um, this – this sounds self-serving, but it’s usually the book, the most recent book, that I like the best. Um, it’s a little bit like – and the way I try to explain this is – maybe you wrote a paper, an essay when you were in college which you thought was brilliant. You remember that moment in school and you wrote a paper and you thought it was brilliant and you find it now and you re-read it and you go, ‘wow, this wasn’t good after all’. It’s not that it’s not very good, it’s just that you have sort of moved on and you’re not that sort of person and so you see all the flaws. So in the older books, which I don’t re-read, I see all of the flaws. I always think, y’know even if you think of yourself, what you thought ten or fifteen years ago – you sort of go ‘ugh, what did I know back then, I’m so much smarter now’. So the same thing a little bit with books, where I think I’m learning more and the current book is better. One of the interesting experiences of working on these adaptation is having to go back and read a book – in some cases we’re doing one, the next one I think uh comes out in France for example, is Gone for Good, which I think was released in 2002! Or 2003. So I wrote it twenty years ago. And to have to go back and read it now, I’m always kind of cringing at some of the stuff-

RA: Mm-hmm.

HC: -some of the stuff I’m kind of thrilled with, like ‘wow, that’s an interesting twist. You don’t have that kind of ending anymore’ and some of it I’m like, ‘wow, why’d you go there?’ so it’s an interesting experience.

RA: Yeah, I feel the same. I very – I, uh, very early on in my career I would watch my work back in quite a lot of detail, thinking ‘I’m gonna learn something’ and then as I got older it was – it was almost unbearable to just do that. And I actually haven’t been able to do that, but it’s because when you’re – when you’re first starting out you throw everything you’ve got into that first breakout role that you do, and then your realise that you’re always in danger of repeating yourself and you think – ‘gosh, people are gonna suss me out that I’m only capable of doing one or two things’, but you live in hope that you can, y’know, find that one thing that you can completely reinvent. Y’know I still hope for that.

HC: I still think that everyone who I’ve ever met who is successful at what they do has imposter syndrome. If you don’t um, you’re prob- you have a false bravado and you’re in trouble. I always say, “only bad writers think they’re good”. The rest of us really suffer with that, and really questioning and always think we’re gonna be sussed out. And I can tell you, um, Stephen King sent me a book not that long ago because he’d nicely put my name in it and wanted my reaction. But even Steve, after all his success and whatever else, he still worries about the reaction, that he’s as good as he used to be, that people will still like it, he’s – I know him. He still worries about it. And when you stop, that’s when you’re in trouble I think as an artist, when you’re starting to doubt what it- when you don’t have the doubts, you start having an overconfidence that you sort of got this. It’s a little bit like my golf game, frankly.

RA: *laugh*

HC: There’s moment’s when I’m about to swing, y’know, I’m gonna be okay and then you get out there and you stink all over again. So-

RA: Yep

HC: -you’re constantly trying to get better and so I imagine it must be difficult to look at your old roles and you – you’re kinda cringing, right? You see all the mistakes you’re making. You see through you so to speak, right?

RA: Yep. Absolutely.

HC: And then someone will come up to you, right, and they’ll say, “Oh, my favourite thing you ever did was-“ and then they’ll list something you did twenty years ago, and you want them to pay attention to what you’re doing now *laugh*

RA: Yep. Yep. Seeing through you is, is one of the things that is quite haunting because I do, I see through me. I can’t shake myself off, if you know what I mean.

HC: Well, you are very cool, you don’t watch any of it until it’s all over. Uh, that’s correct right? You never watched any of our rushes or I remember trying to tell you that you’re doing great and all that-

RA: No, I watched, I watched the first shot-

HC: -and you had not seen any of it and I watch you every day when you’re on set working on our shows and I’ll comment if I see something or whatever, to either you directly or the director, uh, and most of the time I’m – I’m complimenting you, but you don’t – you don’t know either, because you’re not watching, you’re not getting lost in that.

RA: Yeah, I don’t like to watch or be somebody that studies myself to much, I don’t think that’s my job. I think my job is to be inside the character looking out, rather than the other way around. I leave that to the experts like you and the director.

HC: Also, I think it’s- I think if you start worrying about what – you’re right – and also you don’t have the distance. This is always an issue when I – I first start watching the cuts of the first episodes, and I read the book while I’m editing it, while I try to take time between my writing it and then seeing it, I have to sort of put myself in the position of being somebody who knows nothing about this, and doesn’t come in knowing the story already that I’ve already read or seen a thousand time. How do I keep it fresh in my head when I’m trying to be objective and watching it so we can make edits. Uh, both on the screen or on the page.

RA: Mm-hmm. What draws you to crime/thriller? What – I mean is that – I, I can’t often imagine you writing a romantic novel, but what is it that draws you to this particular genre?

HC: Well, y’know to me it’s uh, not really a genre. It’s more like – it’s a form. It’s more like saying it’s a haiku or a sonata.

RA: Mm-hmm.

HC: And within that form I can, and hopefully have, done everything. Um, I think The Stranger for example is more a story about family, uh, and the secrets we try to hide, rather than it is about who killed who – y’know, the mystery angle of it.

RA: Yeah.

HC: One of my most, uh well-known books, my first bestseller, was a book called Tell No One which was made into a French film starring François Cluze, and that’s really a love story, it’s about a man who’s madly in love with his wife and eight years earlier, she was murdered. And then eight years passed, he gets an email, he clicks the hyperlink, he sees a webcam and his dead wife walks by, still alive., And the pursuit, the wanting to get back, the hope for full redemption is really what drives the story more than ‘who killed who’.

RA: Mmm-hmm.

HC: So different stories do different things. But the great thing about the form of crime fiction is that it compels me to tell a story. I’m not getting lost in the beauty of my own genius, my own kind of navel-gazing. I have to continue to tell a story and entertain you. So any of the themes that I wanna tell, any of the things I wanna discuss, has to be slave to that story. And I think that’s probably a rich tradition. If you think about Dumas really, wasn’t that all crime fiction? Even Shakespeare is mostly crime fiction.

RA: Yeah.

HC: Most great stories, if I ask you to name a favourite novel that’s over a hundred years old, Dostoevsky, whoever, you will find that there’s almost always a crime in it. There’s almost always a crime story.

RA: I mean it’s one of the things that I get very excited about, um, I mean obviously I haven’t read your entire canon but I – there’s a signature, or a theme that you love to play on which is this idea that – that um, the people you know aren’t telling you everything about themselves, or that there’s something to hide and that in our modern world, with technology, we have this sort of ability to – to sort of lead multiple lives of truths or lies. And it’s something which I think we immediately recognise. ‘Cause I think we – we’re living that, that reality, and it’s a theme that I really enjoy about your writing.

HC: Well, first of all, thanks. Second, um, there’s a lot of things we’ve heard about the human condition. One of my favourites about the human condition that I used to write, is that we all believe that we are uniquely complex and no one knows the inside of us. And yet we think we read everybody else pretty well. We all think we are uniquely complex and the person across from us, we can kind of figure out. They’re not quite like us. Um, and that’s something I love to play with when I write. Because you’ve gotta remember that everybody is uniquely complex and on a humanity level, and on an empathy level, I raise my kids and I’m always teaching them that every person you see, the richest, the poorest, the happiest, the saddest – everybody has hopes and dreams. Just think that, when you see a stranger on the street, when you’re going to interact with somebody, when you’re getting angry at somebody, whatever it is – just remember, they have hope and dreams. Um, small little thought, but it helps me create a character as well.

RA: There’s also a- a kind of very strong level of self-deception involved, which I think can be quite surprising. Because you always read a character and go, ‘I’m not like that’ or ‘I would never do that’ and then if you really think about it, we – there’s a truth we tell ourselves about ourselves which isn’t always honest.

HC: Well, exactly. It’s really come to fruition in the world the last few years, where I kind of joked that I’ve been working too hard on making my villains sympathetic, the villains in today’s world don’t seem to be very – very complex at all.

RA: *laugh*

HC: But for the most part, people don’t think they’re bad guys. Even the bad guys don’t think they’re bad guys.

RA: Yeah.

HC: They have some way of, of justifying. It’s one of the great things about human beings, or one of the most prevailing thing about a human being, is we all have the ability to self-rationalise, to self-justify. Um, and so I’ve always tried with my villains, and I hope that I did it in everything that we’ve done together, to try to make even the villain – you may not like the villain, but you get them. I don’t really write books – I don’t write books where the serial killer is hacking up people for no reason, that doesn’t really interest me. I prefer the crimes where you can say, ‘Yeah, I wouldn’t have done it maybe, but I can see why that happened. I can see if I was put in that position, um, where I may have done something similar’. That to me is a much more interesting villain than somebody who’s just cruel and evil.

RA: Yeah. Um, final question actually, is – I mean, as a listener/reader yourself – are there any other authors whose books you love and just go back – I mean, you’ve mentioned Stephen King, um I’m with you on that one – but are there any other authors who really kind of inspire you and, and y’know, like a little guilty pleasure reading for yourself and not for work?

HC: Yeah, well the problem always is that I start listing authors, and then someone will say, ‘well, what about so-and-so who’s a friend of mine’, and then I say ‘oh shoot, I forgot – I forgot that one’.

RA: *laugh*

HC: Y’know I saw recently that it’s the eleventh anniversary of the death of Robert B. Parker, who wrote the Spencer novels, if by any chance you haven’t found the Spencer novels, and I don’t know how popular they are overseas – they’re fantastic, wonderful detective series. Um, so that’s one guy I would go back in time and try to find for audio. But I actually like Philip Roth a lot on audio, even though he doesn’t do crime fiction. I’m a big Michael Connelly fan and I like Lee Child, um and Laura Lippman. Y’know, I could sit here just naming um, people all day. I’m always curious also – who is reading – who does it because of the reader and who does it because of the writer. I know there’s a number of people who will listen to anything you read, Richard, because it’s you. Um, which is really quite nice, but it’s interesting the combination of the audio reader. I have Steven Weber, he’s been reading most of my novels, though I’ve had a female lead – a woman named January LaVoy who’s fantastic – and I think Weber captures my voice. He sounds a little bit like me, we both have a similar background, similar sense of humour, so part of it with the audio is also the match you end up making.

RA: Yeah. It’s interesting, isn’t it? Because I certainly find I don’t often get to read something which is purely my choice, I have a stack of things that are work-related, or that I’m about to record. So I don’t think I’ve – I’ve chosen a book recently which is just been- I don’t know how I would pick something, it’s usually a recommendation, so I’ll certainly have a look at the Spencer novels, they sound – they sound brilliant.

HC: Yeah, and they’re fun – there was a TV series in America for a while called ‘Spencer for Hire’ – this is s or going back to the, I guess the 70s or 80s I think. Um, those were not great, but the novels themselves were sort of – Raymond Chandler to Robert B. Parker to the guys who are working now. So he’s a huge – he was a tremendous influence on most of your favourite crime writers. I said in his obituary eleven years ago, I said, “90% of writers admit that Robert B. Parker was an influence and 10% lie about it”. So um, if you can find Robert B. Parker Spencer novels that would be a good clue for everybody out there.

RA: Brilliant. Well, that just about wraps it up. And uh, thanks for talking to me. I really enjoyed the book and no doubt it will be another best-seller and fingers crossed it ends up as a TV series.

HC: Well, thanks Richard, and I look forward to seeing you work on uh, Stay Close. I know that uh, Armitage Army out there *laugh* that – your, your loud uh supporters and fans who just adore you are going to go gaga cause you get to play somebody quite different from Adam in The Stranger. Um, it’s-

RA: Yeah. Looking forward to it.

HC: Yeah, it’ll be a lot of fun. Thanks very much.

[thexfridax]

Adèle Haenel Marie Claire Japan, October 2020

‘Portrait of a Lady on Fire’ will be released in Japan on 4th of December, 2020.

See here for the PDF / full article in Japanese.

[h/t @mlleclaudine]

***

UPDATE [29 Oct 2020]

w/ big thanks to @rosedelosvientos​ for the translation

"Now, the most-watched French actress Adèle Haenel's charm at full throttle"

[October 15 Marie Claire Style] "Portrait of a Lady on Fire", which won Best Screenplay at last year's Cannes Film Festival and garnered the highest praise from actors such as Charlize Theron, Brie Larson, Xavier Dolan and other shining movie stars of today, will finally be screened in Japan this coming December. The heroine is played by the very talented actress Adèle Haenel, who won two César Awards (the French version of the Academy Awards), and is now receiving quite a lot of attention in France. We ask her, she who has a model-like physique of 175 cm and beautiful eyes possessing a strong-will, about the allure of her new film.

In the 18th century where cameras were non-existent, and of course no smartphones, European aristocrats used portraits of their sons or daughters in place of photos as an introduction to their potential marriage partners. "Portrait of a Lady on Fire" depicts the romance between a female painter and an aristocratic family's daughter over a portrait, and is up-and-coming female French director Céline Sciamma's newest opus. The screenplay that the director herself wrote was adapted into film for the role of heroine to be performed by Adèle Haenel. "It had the potential to be a great work, and I felt that the responsibility was serious." Adèle recounts the first time that she read the script. "I've collaborated with Celine for quite a long time, so for me this is a very special piece of work. That's because it's a testament to how much she trusts me. "

Adèle, who debuted when she was 12 years old, appeared in Sciamma's "Water Lillies" (2007), garnered high praise for her performance, and at a young age was nominated at the César awards. Since then, the two have become partners in public and in private, and during the awards ceremony in 2014, came out publicly regarding their relationship (at present they are separated). Currently she is 31 years old, but has already appeared in more than twenty films, and as a leading young actress she is well-loved in France. Furthermore, she accused film directors last year for sexual harassment that she suffered when she was younger; in February of this year, she protested when Roman Polanski won Best Director at the Césars; she is also known as the driving force behind France's '#Me Too' movement.

The stage of her newest film is set in 18th-century northern France, in a solitary island in Brittany. The daughter of an aristocratic family, Héloïse (Adèle Haenel)'s portrait was commissioned to Marianne (Noémie Merlant), a painter, who secretly completes it under the guise of a walking companion; however, Héloïse disapproves of the completed work. Marianne thus requests to redo it within five days. During this time, the two open their hearts to each other, a friendship blossoms, and before they know it, develop feelings far beyond it.

"It's a film about love towards the same sex. It differs from romance between a man and a woman where one dominates, and the aspect where two people are equal in a romance is very important. From there a special romantic feeling and eroticism, imagination expands further. With no rehearsals, I invented a new melody within my lines (in the script). I wanted to pursue, in an artistic way, Héloïse's journey from a passive into an active existence."

After her older sister's death, Héloïse was made to return home from the monastery. She is forced into marrying instead of her sister, however she just could not accept it. "Héloïse knows absolutely nothing about her fiancé. Even though it's her own life, she feels like why is it that she has no right to make decisions? Trying to avoid this marriage is her own way of rebelling against the world that has nothing to do with her."

On the other hand, there is Marianne, who, as a painter, is treading the path of her own life. She is shown as a modernistic woman but, during the 18th century there were actually a lot of women painters who existed. Focusing the spotlight on these women whose existence were erased from history is also another important aspect of the film. "It may seem like the 18th century is being shown in a contemporary light, however, historical facts aren't changed. Céline strove towards looking at historical facts without bending them, through a different perspective and a new form of emotional expression. I think that's why you can feel that this is a contemporary film."

While this piece is a delicate romance film that depicts that inexplainable state of mind when falling in love, one can also say that it is a social film: marriage, career, abortion, eating habits, smoking, literature, music, etc. - everyday life seen through the female gaze - and is thus also a powerful, piercing feminist film. The director herself references Nietzsche - lyrics that she wrote in Latin are sung by a female chorus repeatedly, a breathtaking theme; music by Vivaldi, an old castle, simple but elegant clothing, the picturesque scenery of the coastline of Brittany - everything is at its most beautiful, and wrings one's heart.

Film Information "Portrait of a Lady on Fire" Director & Script: Céline Sciamma Performers: Adèle Haenel, Noémie Merlant Screening Date: December 4, 2020 (Friday) @ TOHO Cinemas Chanter, Bunkamura Le Cinéma, other movie theaters nationwide TBA Distributed by: GAGA https://gaga.ne.jp/portrait/ Original article in Japanese: https://www.afpbb.com/articles/marieclairestylejp/3308645

[aethelflaedladyofmercia]

Alright, I’ve been saying I’m going to do some Masterposts for my 25 AO3 fics, so here we go...

For those who don’t know me, I write Acespec Ineffable Husbands, and my specialities are historical adventures, character studies, and gut-punching angst. My main series, Sawdust of Words (SoW) contains all of these in spades! Check the TW on anything rated T, as that usually indicates non-graphic violence, threats of violence and physical/emotional abuse.

Please select desired angst level:

I just want something warm and fluffy!

Finding the Words: G, 4509. Aziraphale has something he rather desperately wants to tell Crowley. Immediately after the Ritz. (SoW)

Blizzard! Broken Thermostat! Only One Bed!: G, 1438. It’s snowing — I mean BLIZZARDING — and Crowley has no choice but to pull over at a conveniently located luxury hotel. No choice! Will his cunning plan succeed?

Perception: G, 715. Crowley puzzles over one of the great mysteries of the universe: why isn’t EVERYONE in love with Aziraphale?

Reflections: G, 1229. Aziraphale’s simple question, Do you think I should change, hides a world of doubt. Fortunately, Crowley knows just what to say.

Quarantine: G, 554. Aziraphale and Crowley are quarantined in the bookshop! Wait...why? Half PSA, half clueless flirting!

I want some feels and a happy ending.

Early Days: G, 19,459. In the Beginning, an Angel and Demon met on the Wall of Eden. The next day they really started getting on each other’s nerves. See the very beginning of this relationship for the ages! (SoW)

Careful: G, 1664. For nearly 6,000 years, Aziraphale has been careful to control his actions, his feelings and his thoughts. Until Crowley makes a request that could destroy them both. Divergent AU starting with the fight at St James’s Park.

The Dark of Eden: G, 2980. On their last night in Eden, Aziraphale and Crowley walk together trough the Garden, each reflecting on what he’s lost. But perhaps there is something they have gained. Intended to be fluff, came out sort of melancholy. Direct follow-up to Early Days (SoW)

Sealed: G, 5835. London, Three weeks after the Apocalypse: Crowley finds a certain document tucked away in a forgotten book. / Mercia, 1020 CE: An angel and a demon meet to finalize an Arrangement... (SoW)

Reckless: G, 6303. After Aziraphale's reckless confession, he and Crowley must make plans to keep themselves safe. But the worst happens when certain uninvited guests arrive at the bookshop... Sequel to Careful, one more part expected.

Mystery Science Theater 6000: The 1992 Screenplay: G, 8528. An angel and a demon sit down to watch (and mock, and analyze) a movie that probably shouldn’t exist. A little heavier on the feels than originally anticipated. (Only covers the first 30 pages of the Screenplay, so there may be another chapter or 3 in order.)

Of Poetry and Valentines: G, 3435. Crowley can’t stand what Valentine’s Day has become. If he has to look at one more heart-shaped cake, he’s going to be sick. But it wasn’t always that way. Guess which holiday this was written for!

Our Side: G, 1172. After the end, on the bus ride home, Aziraphale despairs. But Crowley shares a new dream... A ButterOmens fic started by @sani-86!

Anniversaries: G, 2422. Just over a year after the apocalypse didn’t happen, Aziraphale and Crowley’s picnic is interrupted by an old enemy. A ButterOmens fic started by @n0nb1narydemon!

A Cunning Plan: G, 11,275. Two angels and two demons decide to get their revenge on the traitors. But holding Aziraphale captive turns out to be harder than expected. Can they break through his defenses before Crowley mounts a successful rescue? ButterOmens fic begun by @kaz3313!

I want LOTS of angsty feels! (Note: endings range from happy to hopeful)

Give Them Hell: G, 1179 words. After the Apocalypse, Aziraphale and Crowley discuss plans for their upcoming trials... (SoW)

Someplace You Belong: G, 5326. London, 1800, Aziraphale finds he must come to terms with the unexpected emotions of his near-promotion. With gentle prodding from Crowley, he reveals a secret. Something of a follow-up to Obedience, but you will likely still feel sad! (SoW)

In Love with My Car: G, 3287. London, 1933, After 70 years of naps, Crowley meets someone who just might change his life. It’s the Bentley! (SoW) Also has a podfic by @exmarks

What it Means to Be A Demon: T, 32,284. Mesopotamia, c. 2400 BC. After an especially harrowing trip to Hell, Crawley arrives in a tiny Mesopotamian village, where he encounters a familiar face. But Aziraphale soon realizes Crawley isn't acting like his old self. Between his foul mood, his mysterious injuries, and his refusal to talk, the demon is certainly hiding something. What has brought Crawley to Gu'Edena? And is there anything Aziraphale can do? So many TWs — please tread carefully! (SoW)

Boundless Love: G, 54,200 (some chapters approach a T rating). 17 stories of Aziraphale and Crowley, 17 chances to fall in love. Written for @drawlight’s Advent Challenge. (Note: these stories are thematically connected, but they are separate stories, not a single plot.)

Aziraphale’s Path: G, 524. Many years later, Heaven and Hell come for them. Aziraphale returns home too late. Is Crowley gone forever? Part of a ButterOmens chain started by @holycatsandrabbits — links are in the fic!

Never Alone Again: G, 9577. They're on their own side now. But they aren't free yet. After the Apocalypse, Aziraphale and Crowley risk everything in one final, desperate gamble to break free of their old sides and truly start their life together. Bus Ride, Body Swap and Trials, overlaps Give Them Hell and ends just before Finding the Words. (SoW)

Kindly rip out my still-beating heart.

Obedience: T, 1797. Before Eden, before the Fall, there was a War in Heaven. Somewhere amongst the eternal fighting on the endless battlefield, one angel learns the consequences of disobeying an order. This one is an absolute gut punch you have been warned. (SoW)

Three Little Words: G, 3361. London, 1849, Crowley has something he rather desperately wants to tell Aziraphale. But there are some things a demon can never say. Sad ending! But only because this is part of a larger series! It’s going to be ok! (SoW)

Claimed: T, 4182. A dinner of crepes. An angel who's ready to talk. But Crowley's evening is interrupted by the arrival of two demons. And they're not here to deliver a rude note. Made for @whiteleyfoster’s contest. Downer ending, though this one may get another chapter or two in the future to mitigate that.

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[interestarticles]

Best Movies Of The Year 1980 - Top 20 Films Of 1980

What Are The Best Movies Of The Year 1980?

From New York to Los Angeles this is a question that will get a different answer from every person you ask. There were some great films in the 1980s, and 1980 started the decade off with a bang as a year full of innovation in every way throughout all of society, and it was the start of some exciting new techniques, technologies, and ideas in the film industry in particular with many movies from the year 1980 introducing revolutionary and pioneering cinematic visions. Many people think that some of the best 80s movies of the decade came out in 1980. In this article post, we will go through our top picks for the 20 best movies of 1980, you might be surprised to find out which movies made it on the list! 1) Kramer vs. Kramer In 1980, "Kramer vs. Kramer" was released and became a huge success at the box office. The movie starred Meryl Streep as Joanna Kramer, Dustin Hoffman as Ted Kramer, Jane Alexander as Marylin Jaffe-Jenson, and Justin Henry as Billy Kramer. This film won five Academy Awards in 1981 including Best Picture of 1979 or 1980. It also received nominations for best director (Robert Benton), best actor (Dustin Hoffman), and best-adapted screenplay based on another work (Erica Mann). It is now considered one of the most significant Hollywood films ever made about divorce because it provides nuance to both sides of an argument. 2) The Shining This iconic horror classic film directed by Stanley Kubrick and starring Jack Nicholson and Shelley Duvall was released in 1980. It is based on Stephen King's 1977 novel of the same name. The film has been ranked a number of times as one of the best horror movies ever made and is now considered to be one of Kubrick's best films. It was nominated for two Academy Awards (Best Actor in Leading Role--Jack Nicholson) and won none at the time. The Shining also received nominations for Best Director - Stanley Kubrick), Best Adapted Screenplay--Steven Spielberg/Stanley Kubrick). Its reputation grew over time, eventually earning an Oscar nomination for Best Picture. 3) Being There Hal Ashby himself had been nominated for an Academy Award in 1971 with directing The Last Detail. It is a film that could be classified as both comedy and drama, but the emphasis on this 1980 release lies more on its comedic aspects. While it was not one of the most acclaimed films when it came out, many now consider Being There to be a classic film about society's relationship with television at the time. It offers commentary on economic inequality and how people are often reduced to simple archetypes who can easily fit into neat narratives for consumption purposes. 4) Time Bandits Time Bandits, a 1980 British fantasy film about adventure, was co-written by Terry Gilliam. It stars Sean Connery and John Cleese as well as Shelley Duvall and Ralph Richardson. Katherine Helmond, Ian Holm. Peter Vaughan and David Warner are also featured. It is a whimsical kids' movie with the fantasy adventure of time travel that has been ranked as one of the best movies ever made by many critics. Gilliam has referred to time bandits as first in his "Trilogy of Imagination", which includes Brazil (1985), and then The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (88). They all revolve around the "craziness and incoherence of our society, and the desire for escape through every means. These films all focus on the struggles and attempts to escape through imagination. Brazil is seen through the eyes of a young man, Time Bandits through a child's eyes, and Munchausen through an old man's eyes. Time Bandits, in particular, was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Visual Effects. 5) Pennies from Heaven Quite a departure from his previous work, this film is much more lighthearted and comedic than the serious dramas of The Miracle Worker or Bonnie and Clyde. The plot revolves around Arthur Parker (Steve Martin), whose life becomes increasingly chaotic as he tries to juggle two jobs, an impending child custody battle for his daughter, and a demanding girlfriend who wants him to give up one job so that they can have some time together. 6) Airplane! This Leslie Nielsen instant comedy classic was one of the highest-grossing movies of 1980. The movie is about an airplane crew that must find a way to land their plane after food poisoning breaks out on board and the pilots become incapacitated, with only two inexperienced passengers who happen to be a doctor (Robert Hays) and a flight attendant (Julie Hagerty) qualified to land the plane. Airplane! was one of the most successful films at theaters in 1980 It had more than $83 million worth of ticket sales by year's end - it became one of Leslie Nielsen's most popular roles ever The film also helped launch Robert Hays' career as a leading man, though he later found greater success playing comedic supporting characters before retiring from acting. 7) The Empire Strikes Back One of the most famous of the 1980s movies, The Empire Strikes Back is remembered for its numerous plot twists and turns as well as introducing fan-favorite Yoda The film features Mark Hamill reprising his role as Luke Skywalker in this second installment of George Lucas' Star Wars series and it was the first star wars to be released on VHS. Featuring a mixture of live-action footage with high-quality animation from Japanese company Toho, it became one of the best critically acclaimed movies ever. In 1997, it won an American Film Institute award for being among the top 100 films since 1941. 8) Raging Bull 1980 was a strong year for movies, and Martin Scorsese's Raging Bull is one of the most acclaimed action films to be released that year. It stars Robert De Niro in an Academy Award-winning performance as new york boxer Jake La Motta, who has a turbulent affair with Kim Basinger's Vickie. The film depicts how new york boxing served as both his escape from domestic abuse but also led him on a self-destruction path. In addition to being nominated for ten Oscars (including best picture), it won two including best actor for Robert de Niro and best director awards respectively. Released by United Artists, the movie has ranked among the top 100 American Films ever made according to AFI rankings. This release is considered one of the best films of the 80s by many critics. 9) Kagemusha One of the most interesting and well-made movies that 1980 has to offer, Kagemusha tells the story of a warlord who is critically injured and after being buried alive. The movie was directed by Akira Kurosawa and stars Tatsuya Nakadai in one of his best performances ever as both warrior leader Katsuyori Shibata and an imposter named Shingen Yashida. Released in Japan on April 20th, 1980, it became the second-highest-grossing film at the Japanese box office just behind The Return of Godzilla (1984). Kagemusha made its international debut at Cannes Film Festival's Directors Fortnight where it won two major awards: Special Jury Prize for Best Direction and Grand Prix du Festival International du Film - Art. 10) The Gods Must Be Crazy Part comedy, part drama, The Gods Must Be Crazy is a timeless classic. Released in 1980, the film follows Xi (N!xau), an out-of-touch bushman who lives happily with his family until he encounters Coca Cola for the first time and it changes their world forever. The premise of this movie makes us laugh because we can relate to how much more comfortable life was before modern society became so intricate that things like Coke began infiltrating every aspect of our lives. We're drawn into Xi's story as he goes from living peacefully with his tribe to being thrust into a completely different reality when they start hunting down any remaining cases of coca-cola at stores all over town! It also touches on some deeper themes such as the cultural modern world where his customs and rituals mean nothing. Xi's journey is our own as we watch the culture clash of modern society, with all its good intentions and never-ending thirst for new things to consume, come into contact with a simpler time that has long since passed by. The humorous film release was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film but lost out to Italy’s Cinema Paradiso (1988). 11) Caddyshack Released in 1980 this classic comedy film by Harold Ramis is widely considered one of the funniest movies ever made by fans and critics alike. It features an amazing comedic all-star ensemble cast, including Chevy Chase as a rich playboy who turns caddie in order to get girls; Ted Knight as Judge Smails, who wants to keep his country club memberships exclusive and prestigious; Rodney Dangerfield as Ty Webb, a millionaire golfer-cum-caddy who has been banned from all other golf courses for being too good. Also featuring Bill Murray as Carl Spackler, the groundskeeper at Bushwood Country Club whose only goal seems to be killing off gophers with any weapon he can devise (including explosives); Michael O'Keefe as Danny Noonan, a young man hired by Judge Smails's daughter (Castle) to caddy for him; and Brian Doyle-Murray as Lou Loomis, the club's ultra-snobby head professional. 12) The Blues Brothers Another instant classic 1980 movie, The Blues Brothers are best known for its 1980 car chases. Starring John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd as Joliet Jake & Elwood Blues respectively, the two brothers who perform a blues show before being arrested by police. They break out of jail with their friends to save an orphanage from foreclosure through satanic cult leader sheik Abdul Khadaffi's "Elvis-Is-King" rally in Chicago Illinois on Mothers Day 1980 at noon. The film has been praised by audiences and critics alike for its music, screenplay, and performances but criticized for its lack of character development (most likely due to budget constraints). This was even acknowledged during production when director John Landis told cast members not to act too much because "no one is going to see this movie." The 1980 car chases are iconic and highly regarded by film critics. One of the most memorable moments in 1980 was when Elwood Blues while driving his 1980 Chevy Malibu, spots a cat on the front fender as he's being chased by police officers from Illinois State Troopers who try to arrest him for not wearing seat belts (the law at that time). The chase ends with Jake & Elwood crashing into an old man sitting atop a 1980 Chevy Monte Carlo. After striking them, the cops then swerve quickly around their fallen comrade before continuing after our heroes. 13) 9 To 5 9 to 5 (listed in the opening credits as Nine to Five) is a 1980 American comedy film directed by Colin Higgins, who wrote the screenplay with Patricia Resnick. It stars Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin, and Dolly Parton as three working women who live out their fantasies of getting even with and overthrowing the company's autocratic, "sexist, egotistical, lying, hypocritical bigot" boss, played by Dabney Coleman. The film grossed over $103.9 million and is the 20th-highest-grossing comedy film. As a star vehicle for Parton—already established as a successful singer, musician, and songwriter—it launched her permanently into mainstream popular culture. A television series of the same name based on the film ran for five seasons, and a musical version of the film (also titled 9 to 5), with new songs written by Parton, opened on Broadway on April 30, 2009. 9 to 5 is number 74 on the American Film Institute's "100 Funniest Movies" and has an 83% approval rating on the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes. 14) Smokey And The Bandit 2 Smokey and the Bandit 2 Is a 1980 American action comedy film directed by Hal Needham, starring Burt Reynolds, Sally Field, Jerry Reed, Jackie Gleason, And Dom DeLuise. This film is a sequel to 1977's film Smokey and the Bandit. The original release of the film was in the United Kingdom, New Zealand, and Australia. Bo "Bandit", Darville (Burt Reynolds), and Cledus "Snowman," Snow (Jerry Reed) transport an elephant to the GOP National Convention. Sheriff Buford T. Justice, Jackie Gleason (Jackie Gleason), is once more in hot pursuit. 15) Superman 2 Superman II, a 1980 superhero movie directed by Richard Lester, is written by Mario Puzo, David, and Leslie Newman and is based on a story by Puzo about the DC Comics character Superman. It features Gene Hackman and Terence Stamp, Terence Stamp, Ned Beatty, and Sarah Douglas. The film was first released in Australia and Europe on December 4, 1980. It was also released in other countries during 1981. Megasound is a high-impact surround sound system that's similar to Sensurround and was used for select premiere Superman II engagements. The Salkinds decided in 1977 that they would simultaneously film Superman and its sequel. Principal photography began in March 1977 and ended in October 1978. There were tensions between Richard Donner, the original director, and the producers. It was decided to stop filming the sequel (of which 75 percent was already completed) and instead finish the first film. After the December 1978 release of Superman, Donner was fired from his post as director and was replaced by Lester. Many cast members and crew members declined to return following Donner's firing. Lester was officially acknowledged as the director. Principal photography resumed in September 1979 and ended in March 1980. Film critics gave the film positive reviews, praising the performances of Reeve, Stamp, and Hackman as well as the visual effects and humor. The film grossed $190million against a $54 million production budget. 16) Friday The 13th Friday the 13th, 1980 American slasher movie, is directed and produced by Sean S. Cunningham. Written by Victor Miller, it stars Betsy Palmer and Adrienne King. The plot centers on a group of teenager camp counselors, who are each murdered by an unknown killer as they attempt to reopen an abandoned summer camp. Cunningham, inspired by John Carpenter's Halloween (1978) success, put out an advertisement in Variety to sell the film. Miller was still writing the screenplay. Filming began in New York City after casting the film. It was shot in New Jersey during summer 1979 on an estimated budget of $550,000. The finished film was the subject of a bidding war. Paramount Pictures won domestic distribution rights while Warner Bros. Pictures took European rights. Friday the 13th, which was released on May 9, 1980, was a huge box office hit, earning $59.8 million globally. The film received mixed reviews, some praised its cinematography, score, and performances while others criticized it for depicting graphic violence. It was the first independent film of its type to be distributed in the U.S. by major studios. The film's box office success led it to many sequels, a crossover film with A Nightmare on Elm Street, and a reboot of the series in 2009. 17) Flash Gordon Flash Gordon is a 1980 space opera film directed and produced by Mike Hodges. It was based on Alex Raymond's King Features comic strip. The film stars Sam J. Jones and Melody Anderson as well as Max von Sydow, Max von Sydow, Max von Sydow, and Topol. Topol is supported by Timothy Dalton and Mariangela Melato. Peter Wyngarde plays the role of Peter Wyngarde. The film features Flash Gordon (Jones), a star quarterback, and his friends Dale Arden and Hans Zarkov (Topol), as they unify the warring factions on the planet Mongo to resist the oppression by Ming the Merciless (von Sydow), a man who wants to destroy Earth. Producer Dino De Laurentiis had been involved in two comic book adaptations: Danger: Diabolik and Barbarella (both 1968). He had also previously worked on Danger. De Laurentiis declined a George Lucas directorial offer, a Star Wars version directed by Federico Fellini was also rejected. De Laurentiis hired Nicolas Roeg as director and Enter the Dragon writer Michael Allin as the lead developer on the film. They were replaced in 1977 by Lorenzo Semple Jr. and Hodges, who had written De Laurentiis’ remake of King Kong, this was due to Roeg's dissatisfaction. Flash Gordon was mostly shot in England, with several soundstages at Elstree Studios and Shepperton Studios. It uses a camp style that is similar to the 1960s TV series Batman, which Semple created. Jones quit the film before principal photography was overdue to a dispute between De Laurentiis and Jones. Much of Jones's dialogue was dubbed by Peter Marinker. The documentary Life After Flash examines the main subjects of Jones' departure and his career after it was released. It is known for its Queen-inspired musical score, which features orchestral sections by Howard Blake. Flash Gordon was a box-office success in Italy and the United Kingdom, but it did poorly in other markets. The film received generally positive reviews upon its initial release and has since developed a large cult following. There have been many attempts at sequels or reboots, but none of them have ever made it to production. 18) Cheech & Chong's Next Movie Cheech and Chong's Next Movie, a 1980 comedy film by Tommy Chong, is the second feature-length Cheech & Chong project, after Up in Smoke. It was released by Universal Pictures. Cheech and Chong go on a mission: siphon gasoline to their neighbor's car. They then continue their day. Cheech works at a movie theater, while Chong looks for something to smoke (a roach). Then Chong revs up his indoor motorcycle and plays loud rock music that disrupts the neighborhood. Cheech is fired and the couple goes to Donna, Cheech's girlfriend, and welfare officer. Cheech seduces Donna over her objections and gets her in trouble with her boss. 19) Coal Miner's Daughter Coal Miner's Daughter, a 1980 American musical biographical film, was directed by Michael Apted and based on a screenplay by Tom Rickman. The film follows Loretta Lynn's rise to stardom as a country singer, starting in her teen years with a poor family. The film is based on Lynn's 1976 biography by George Vecsey. Read the full article

[pwpoetry]

Q&A with Carrie Fountain

M: Can you talk a bit about the epigraph in relation to the poems? Did you know right away that this passage from Rilke would serve your purposes?

C: Epigraphs are mysterious. I’ve never once intended to include an epigraph in a book, yet here they’ve always come, trotting across my path. I love when they do. It’s as if the humming universe of other writers, voices, thoughts across the ages, asserts itself. Hi there! And it’s a comfort to know that, whatever thread I’m following has been followed before, in a totally different way, unique to another, yet utterly recognizable.

When I came upon this passage in reading Rilke, I had that experience, that thwack of recognition. This bit addresses the tension—the “ancient enmity,” as Rilke puts it—"between our daily life and the great work,” that centers the question at the heart of my collection: What is holy?

The epigraph came after a first draft. It helped me navigate through subsequent drafts.

M: I love the idea that an epigraph can do that. What was your writing and revision process like for this book?

C: I wake very early, before my children, and do my poetry reading and writing then. These poems mostly came out of that morning practice: writing in the dark, sipping coffee, letting whatever comes come. Some of these poems, like the poems “The Jungle” and “Self-Help” carry a little of that actual practice inside them, as narrative.

Here is a very simple, perfect practice I learned from the poet Naomi Shihab Nye: write down three things you remember from the last 24 hours that you’d forget in the next 24 hours if you didn’t write them down now. If there is a more elegant spiritual exercise for planting one’s self in the moment while simultaneously accounting for the fleeting, groundless passage of time, I have not found it. I recommend this to all my students first thing. There is no beginner who cannot benefit from this practice. There is no master who cannot benefit from this practice.

During other hours of the day, I can often eke out work on other writing: novels, screenplays, kid’s books. I’m writing a TV show with a friend and I can dip into that world any time of the day, whenever our schedules align and we can huddle for a while in our respective writing rooms, he in New York and me in Austin. I can revise poetry in the afternoon, if pressed. But the focus and attention that is required of writing, for me, wanes as the day goes on. That attention is concentrated in the morning hours, between 5:00 am and 8:00 am. That’s why the morning hours, for me, are for writing and reading poetry.

M: God and the spirit figure prominently, and yet the poems are very much rooted in the daily--a pitch-perfect balance between the concrete and the abstract. How do you see the two relating to each other, the physical and the spiritual, on the page?

C: I’m a disciplined writer when I’m disciplined. Disciplined enough. When I’m not, I am waiting to be. Waiting feels wrong to me, and it makes me uneasy. It doesn’t feel like work, even though it is likely the most important work: the work that happens beneath the mindscape of everyday life.

Now that I’ve been writing this long into my life, I’ve lost the utter fear that used to accompany long stretches of Not Writing. I’ll never write another word. This fear used to grip me hard, especially in the time right after a book came out. And it still comes around a little even now. But not as existentially. I think that’s probably because I’ve come to understand writing and revising in a different way.

It’s hard to articulate, and it feels vulnerable because part of me still finds it ridiculous, but for me, the discipline that returns with my writing practice is a spiritual discipline. When I’m awaiting it, I’m awaiting the spirit. When it’s here, I’m attending to the gifts of the spirit. It’s not really about making books, though of course it is. But, more essentially, it’s about returning to the attentiveness of that discipline. Which is merely taking a breath and feeling it. Looking around and seeing. It’s the easiest and the hardest thing to do.

What is holy is all around. Isn’t that the most difficult thing to come to terms with?

It’s all around and all the time.

The discipline is hard for me to come to. Like sleep, it is about relinquishing. You can do lots of things to make it easier to fall asleep, but you cannot force yourself to do it. Writing, in some ways, contains the same elemental conundrum. It requires a step back. A release. An assessment of the Worst-case Scenario.

When my daughter, who sometimes has trouble falling asleep, starts to get panicky as the hours get later, I ask her: Has anyone ever died of not sleeping? I ask myself the same question about writing: Has anyone ever died of not writing? And somehow knowing that the answer is no gives me the solace—the release, the emptying—I need to stay in the vicinity of my writing practice.

M: Are there any other works of art of texts with which you feel the book is in conversation?

C: Oh yes—don’t you think all our work is in conversation with others? I’m very glad that I really like reading poetry, as much as I also love writing it.

Some of the books I read while working on these poems surely informed their creation. I was really taken with Ada Limon’s The Carrying. I read through both Merwin’s and Clifton’s Collected while working on these poems, reading a bit each morning. I read Rilke, of course—and it’s strange, because I am never particularly drawn to Rilke, and yet here he always comes to shake at my soul. I’m always reading Jane Kenyon, who didn’t live long enough to fully express her gifts, which is a tragedy on top of the tragedy of her death.

A poet I’ve read all my writing life, who is scarcely translated into English, is the Brazilian poet Adelia Prado. During the time between my last book and this one, she had a second collection translated by Ellen Watson. I got to meet her when she visited Austin with Watson. I can’t explain her poetry and what it means to me. But she is a spiritual master, and reading her poems feels like a visit to church. Full. Complicated. Nourishing.  

[captnbarnesrogers]

Fall: The Bridges we Begin to Cross

Pairing/Characters: CollegeAU!Bucky Barnes x Reader, Steve Rogers Warnings: Nothin too major, sexual tension, v v slow burn

Chapter Summary: Bucky takes Y/N to all is favourite places in Brooklyn; his favourite  restaurant, his favourite park where he usually writes his poetry, his  favourite café, the alleyway where he once kicked someone’s for trying to  kick Steve’s… She finds out things that she never knew about him. It was only  the fifth day in Brooklyn and they knew they were crossing a dangerous  bridge.  WC: 2.4k+ A/N: It’s finally here! Better chapters to come, I just wanna leave y’all hanging for a bit heheeh

PREVIOUSLY

FALL MASTERLIST

You don’t really know how you got here, not the fact that you’re laying next to a shirtless Bucky, but the way you feel. Of course, when you first met him you thought he was attractive but never did you think that you’d end up here, getting butterflies over the thought that this could be real. You couldn’t really separate what was real and what was fake dating with Bucky due to him being overly affectionate during the past couple of days. 

You stared at the ceiling and back at Bucky. Your heart did a leap and you knew you were crossing a dangerous path. Bucky began to turn in his sleep indicating that he was about to wake. His arm reaches over and lazily rests his arm across your waist. He pulls you in closer.

“Stop staring at me when I’m sleeping.” He says groggily. You could feel the warmth of his body on yours and the butterflies in your stomach were going crazy.

“I’m, uh, not, just wondering if you were awake, I don’t want to go down by myself.” You lied.

“You know you have a tell, right?”

“A tell?” You questioned, moving onto your side and resting your head in your hand. He nodded, “Can you tell me what it is?” He shook his head, “But why not?”

“Because then I wouldn’t know when you’re lying to me.”

“I’ve never lied to you.” You bit the inside of your cheek.

“Alright, Y/N,” he smirked, “if you say so.” You tapped him on the shoulder and he turned back to face you, “What’s the tell!?” You buggered. He chuckled and hopped out of bed, “Bucky!”. He grabbed a towel and heads out of the room but not before turning once again to you.

“Wanna have a shower?” You blushed and shrugged it off with a laugh, throwing a pillow at him. You planted yourself back into the bed, letting out a shuddering breath. You clutched your chest and caught your breath.

In that moment you thought about every little white lie you’ve told Bucky and what was something you did every time you lied. To be fair, you weren’t a very good liar. You couldn’t lie to save your life. Then your mind wondered. Wondered about Bucky’s little touches and comments. What if they meant something to him but most of all, what if they only meant something to you. You shook yourself out of your imagination and sighed.

“What are you sighing about there?” You pushed yourself up by your elbows, finding a wet, shirtless Bucky standing in the door way.

“Just figuring out what my tell is.” He laughed at you and nodded, his lips pursed as he did so. You pushed your thighs together to relieve some tension. Just seeing water run down his abs made you subtly suck in a breath.

“Well, I’ll never tell you what it is.” You groaned, mostly out of arousal but Bucky thought it was out of frustration.

“So,” you began, sipping your coffee, “what are we doing today?”

“Mmm, I think I wanna show you some of my favourite spots in the neighbourhood.”

“Okay, should I pack some food for us or?” He smiled at your thoughtfulness. He thought it was sweet and at that point, he had the urge to kiss you – looking down at your lips whilst licking his own.

“No, uh, I’ll take you out to lunch, if you don’t mind the walk?” You nodded, hopping off of the kitchen bench and eating the last bite of your toast, “Alright!” He clapped his hands and rubbed them together, “You wanna get dressed, princess?” You bit away a smile.

“Yeah, I’ll go up now.” You went for a warm simple look – white turtleneck, blue jeans, and some boots. As you walked out the door, Bucky had grabbed your hand and brought it up to his lips, waving goodbye to his mother and letting her know that you both would be back before dinner.

“This alleyway right here?” He pointed at the wet and dark alleyway, “This is the first place that I kicked someone’s ass because they were trying to beat up Steve.”

“Must’ve hurt, huh?” You giggled.

“You should’a seen the sight on the other guy.” You both kept walking. Sharing quiet conversations and enjoying each other’s company until you both reached a small corner café. The smell of coffee beans clouded the air. Sounds of chitter chatter surrounded the atmosphere, “You want something?” You nodded.

“Hot chocolate please.” He waited behind two other customers before being faced with a the female cashier.

“Bucky?” She questions. He looks at her for a moment before he lets go of your hand and runs to the corner of the counter, engulfing the brunette into a hug.

“Dottie! How are you!?” You felt something heavy in your chest but you didn’t want to admit it. It’d be too early to say and you didn’t want to say it. At all. You stayed where you stood whilst Bucky conversated with the girl. You weren’t going to lie, you felt extremely awkward in this situation; not knowing what to do with yourself. You could hear them quietly talk, only making your exhales heat in- Well, it’s better not to say.

“We should catch up.” She says with excitement and he nods. You couldn’t help yourself – you rolled your eyes.

“I’ll be in town for a while, just ring up.” She gives him one last embrace before taking his order. He walks back towards you with a smile plastered on his face, “Sorry about that, just someone I knew from high school.”

“You seemed to be more than just ‘knowing’ each other.” You laughed awkwardly. You both sat down near the window at the corner of the café.

“Laced with green poison, are we Y/N?”

“Huh?” Of course, you knew exactly what he was going to say, “No green poison here, just I know you.”

“I know you too, Y/N,” he inched closer to you, “so I know when you talk with an attitude.” He pulled away as Dottie placed his coffee and your hot chocolate in front of you. You smiled up at her but she barely acknowledged your presence. Before Bucky could take a sip out of his cup, you tapped on the side of it. He pulled the cup away from his lips and saw Dottie had written down her number.

“Just someone you knew?”

“Oh c’mon, Y/N/N!” He said with a chuckle.

“I’m not judging you, James! I’m just saying that she cannot be just someone you knew and have a reaction like that when you both meet again.”

“Maybe she’s just excited to see me!” He laughs.

“I don’t give out my number to every guy I get excited about.”

“Well I’d hope not.” He mumbles, taking a sip of his coffee. You give him a playful slap on the arm and chuckle.

“You’re such an idiot.”

“Is it roast Bucky day or what?” He gives out a chuckle.

“Every day is roast Bucky day.”

“Anyway, the reason why we’re here is because this is my favourite café.” He points to the spot you were sitting in, “And in that very spot is where I first got my heart broken.”

“Jesus, why would you still come here?”

“The memory of the pain gives me things to write about.” He explains.

“So, who was the girl?” You giggle, drinking your hot chocolate.

“Dottie.” He points over.

---

After the café, you head was swirling. You couldn’t get the image of Bucky and Dot out of your head. Of course, you’d seen Bucky with girls before but it seemed that Dot was a serious part of Bucky’s life. He grabbed your hand and held it in his.

“Okay we’re here.” You couldn’t even remember how long you’d both had walked because your head was focused on something else.

“Where?” He pulled at your hand and sat you down on a bench, fronting a beautiful pond full of ducks and the sound of the fountain not too fair ringing in your ear.

“This is where the magic comes to life.”

“Ew, James, why did you-?” You scrunched your nose in disgust.

“Not like that, you idiot” He chuckled, “I mean, this is where I come to write, to think… This is where I came up with some of my best work.”

“Why here?”

“I actually don’t know, Steve and I just used to come here as kids and I would look around and suddenly I had all these great ideas that I put down on paper.” He smiles softly at you and pulls out his notebook. It’s folded in half and blue with white creases, probably from just stuffing it in his bag all the time. You flicked through it and gave him a questioning look, “You can take a look if you’d like.” You shook your head.

“I think poems are a bit personal, well, until you publish them of course.” Bucky admired this about you. You were very respectful even when he asked you to invade his thoughts. You liked to let him keep them to himself.

“But wouldn’t you like to know what I was thinking and if I’m thinking about you?”

“Are you thinking about me, James?” You smirked as he blushed.

“N-No?”

“Unsure?”

“I mean, of course I’m thinking of you, you’re here, aren’t you?” You nodded, smirk still plastered upon your face.

He walked you both over to the bench just across from the fountain. Sitting down, you pondered over the water that came out of the top of the fountain, the sculpture of a mermaid brushing its hair.

There was a comfortable silence between the two of you. You didn’t even notice him staring at you.

“Have you ever loved someone, Y/N?” You also didn’t notice before but his arm had made its away around your shoulder. You were confused about his question, “Well, have you?”

“Um, I don’t know.” You might be in love right now. Your inner monologue disrupts. You shook the thought out of your head.

“Aren’t you supposed to be writing screenplay with a romantic theme for your semester project?”

“God, don’t remind me.” You huffed, “How am I supposed to write something genuine on a thing I know nothing about?”

“Well, why don’t you experience it?” You felt him leaning towards you. His hot breath on your lips and his soft hand on your cheek, caressing lightly. You closed your eyes, preparing for the touch of his lips on yours.

“Well, isn’t it my favourite fake couple.” Bucky pulled away quickly and cleared his throat. You blushed and moved away from Bucky as Steve approached the both of you, “If I didn’t know any better, I’d have thought that you guys were about to kiss.” Bucky smiled with annoyance towards his best friend, “Practising?”

“Bucky was just telling me about how you guys would come here all the time.” You nodded awkwardly. Steve hummed in response whilst smirking in your direction.

“What are you doing here, Steve?”

“What? A guy can’t ponder in his childhood park?” Steve says sarcastically. He laughs before explaining, “I’m meeting Peggy here, we’re going to this food festival thing.” Bucky nodded, acknowledging his plans.

“Well, I think I might take Y/N home now, mom’s making dinner.” He stood up and intertwined his hands with yours, making your cold hands warmer than they were before.

“See you guys later.” Steve bids. You and Bucky wave in response.

When you arrived back at Bucky’s house, you were a little bit confused. Was he really going to kiss you? What would’ve the kiss meant to him? Did he like you? You had all these questions running around your head that you didn’t know what to do with yourself. His hands were intertwined with yours the whole ride home, the only warm part of your body and the only part you could feel. He walked you into the house and took your jacket, hanging it up.

“Ma, we’re home.” He called out. It was getting dark outside, Bucky closes the door before anymore cold could get into the warm house.

“Bucky?” He hummed as he lead you through the house, “I’m uh, not feeling so well, I think it’d be better if I laid down for a bit.” His tone immediately changed; nurturing, caring, worry – you could hear it all in one sentence, added with the hand on your cheek.

“Yeah, baby, go for it, need help getting up?” You shook your head and pulled at the sleeves of your jumper. He kisses your forehead, “I’ll tell mom, check up on you in a bit?” You nodded and made your way up.

You laid down on the bed, still in your clothes from before. Reminiscing back to the almost kiss. You cover your face with your hands.

“This cannot be happening, not now, God, please, not now.” You whisper yell at yourself, “This is a fake relationship, he asked you to be here because he needs a fake date, stop it.” You wanted to scream into the pillow. You wanted to kick and punch and just take out all of these feelings out on something, “This is fake, this is fake, this is fake…” You chanted. You gasp when you hear a knock on the door.

“Hey.”

“Hi Bucky.” You gave him a soft smile.

“How are you feeling?” You shrugged because that’s how you really felt, you had no idea, not a clue, “Well, I bought water, hot chocolate, and there’s pain killers in my pocket.” He walked over and sat down beside you. He moved a piece of stranded hair away from your face and tried to feel any heat against your neck, “Hi.” He chuckles, giving you a soft smile.

“Hi.”

“Are you hungry?” He leans forward and kisses your temple, stroking your reddening cheeks. You shook your head.

“Not right now.”

“I told my mom that there was a chance that you wouldn’t be coming down.” You jolted up as he laid beside you.

“Oh fuck, I’m sorry, I completely forgot that your mom made dinner, we have to go down.” He grabs your waist and brings you back down the mattress.

“She’s saving a plate for us, don’t panic.” You suddenly sink into his arms as he coddles you into him, “She’d rather you feel better than not feel 100% at the table.”

“Are you sure this is okay?” He kisses your cheek.

“Give it an hour or two before she gets offended.” He jokes. You slapped his arm playfully and before you knew it, you’d both fallen asleep.

--

TAGLIST:

@captianlibby​

[dreamingabouttaron]

The Assistant Part 10

The next morning was wonderful. You got to explore the city and experience a place you had never been before. You loved travelling and you also really loved experiencing new things. You were excited to get to see more of the country when you got more free time throughout your trip. Exploring the city on your own allowed you to come to your sense about the night before. Sure it had been great but it also shouldn’t have happened. You made a vow to yourself to never let it happen again. As tempting as it was.

You were just putting the finishing touches to your make up as you FaceTimed your parents. You told them about your adventures that morning. They were incredibly proud of you. They always had been. Your parents were the kind of people that allowed you to go down whatever path you wanted and they were always going to be there to help and support you. You missed them dearly. Since moving to London you didn’t get to see them as much as you had wanted. They only lived an hour or so away on the train but you didn’t always get the time to visit for a weekend. Your work schedules always seemed to clash. It seemed like Christmas was the only time that you and your siblings were able to go back home to your parents. You missed times like these, you took them for granted when you were younger. Now you wish you had cherished them more.

“I promise to stay safe and I promise I’ll keep you updated.”

“You better!” You heard your mum call back.

“Right I better get going. How do I look?” You turned the camera around to show your parents what you were wearing in the mirror. You were wearing a tight black halter neck dress that stopped mid way up your thigh. You turned around to look at the back of your dress; it was open at the back which left a large part of your back exposed before it hugged your round bum and hips. You picked up a simple pair of black heels and slipped them on giving you an extra few inches of height. You had curled your hair and brushed it over creating an effortless wave. ‘Effortless wave’, which actually took hours of precisely twisting your hair with your curling tongs trying not to burn yourself whilst you sang your Spotify playlist out far too loud.

“You look beautiful darling.”

‘Thank you. I’ll speak to you guys tomorrow! Love you!”

You said your goodbyes and hung up. You placed your phone back on charge and completed your look off with an elegant muted red lip. You looked at yourself in the mirror and you had to admit you looked good. More than good. You had wanted to make an effort tonight not just for Taron and the party but also for yourself. You deserved to look your best every once in a while. It had been a while since you had made yourself feel special. So why not tonight? You had to admit you were feeling a little nervous about this evening. You were nervous to see Taron, you were nervous to see Emily and you were nervous to meet the people you would be working along side for this project. You wanted to make a good impression.

You checked your phone and saw it was time to get going. You picked up your perfume and sprayed some onto your body. You did a once over of your room to make sure you had everything. Your attention was caught at Taron’s jacket neatly hanging from the chair at the desk. You walked over to it and picked it up. Did you give it back when you went to collect Taron? What if Emily answered the door and questioned why you had it? As far as you were aware she didn’t know you had both left the hotel last night. You stood debating with yourself for a while before you decided to place it back on the chair. Taron’s scent was still potent on the fabric which forced its way into your senses.

You picked up your bag and left the room. You took a few steps to reach Taron and Emily’s door and knocked gently. You didn’t wait long before Taron opened the door. He was dressed in a white shirt and smart dark grey suit trousers kept on his waist with a belt. Everything he was wearing was hugging his body perfectly. Your eyes started at his pecks and then trailed down to his thighs. His eyes were doing the same to you, he hadn’t really seen you wear anything that was this revealing. Most things you worn were comfortable and oversized. You heard a whispered “Wow” leave Taron’s lips as he took you in. You heard a crash from inside the room which caused Taron to jump out of his thoughts.

“We’re just coming.” Taron looked up and stated before turning into the room, “Em, come on! You knew we had to leave now.” You watched as Taron held the door open with his foot but leant into the bathroom and snapped at Emily.

You shuffled from foot to foot as you felt awkward. You heard mutterings coming from inside the room but chose to not listen in. A few moments later Taron popped his head back out, “Sorry. Won’t be long.” You smiled and waited until Taron held the door out for Emily to exit. She was wearing a mint green dress which tightly hung to her body.

“Hi Megan. Sorry to keep you waiting.”

“It’s okay, don’t worry. I wasn’t waiting long.” You start to walk alongside Emily leaving Taron trailing behind. You turned your head to look at him as he rolled his eyes at her comment. You catch his eye and raised your eyebrows questioning him.

“What did you get up to this morning Megan?” Emily asked as she pressed the button for the elevator.

“I went to explore a little. I wanted to get my bearings.” You answered as you all stepped into the lift.  

“Oh, I think there might be a nice park down the road. I can see it from our bedroom window. Did you see it?” You stiffen at the mention of the park, you also clock Taron’s body language which had also tensed in response too. From your side view you could see the way Taron was pleading at you with his eyes.

“Yes” You answered through gritted teeth, “I walked past it today. It looks very pretty.” You tried to be polite. You wondered how much you could actually see from their window. Surely she couldn’t have seen much more than just dots walking around the pavement. Right?

“Perhaps we could go.” You and Taron both look at Emily and then at each other. “We could all have a picnic at some point. It would be nice.” Emily announces and left the elevator once the doors reopen leaving you and Taron standing behind in confusion. You could see the curiosity on Taron’s face, you were sure you had a similar expression on yours too.

You all walked towards the big conference room that had been decorated and made into a social space for the evening ahead. You looked around at the busy room, it was full of people from all walks of life. You gulped a little feeling initially intimidated. Taron instantly started to mingle and greet people he knew whilst you and Emily stood in the entrance.

“We can stick together. I don’t know anyone either.” Emily whispered into your ear and looped her arm around yours and led you into the room. You were glad to have someone with you, it made these situations easier but it still didn’t help that you had kissed her boyfriend the previous evening.

***

The evening went well. Taron had introduced you and Emily to several people in the room. You struck up conversations with people that you would be working very closely with. Emily was deep in conversation with a group of Assistant Directors; talking about different projects they had worked on and who they had all worked with whilst Taron was over talking to the Director and the production team. You grabbed yourself and Taron another drink and walked over to introduce yourself.

Taron noticed you heading over and smiled holding his arm out to welcome you into the group. You handed him his drink and smiled to the others.

“You must be Megan.” Otto the director stated.

“I am, yes. It’s lovely to meet you.” You knew you had to be on your best behaviour.

“Taron’s just been telling us all about you.”

“What? Really?” You snapped your head to look at his questioningly and took a sip of your drink.

He wrapped his arms around your shoulders hugging you from behind and held you into his chest as he rest his head on your shoulder. “Because you’ve the best assistant anyone could ever ask for.”

You rolled your eyes and laughed at his remark. “Oh please! What’s got into you!?”

Taron puckered up his lips and tried to kiss your cheek, you tried to squirm away but was unsuccessful due to his arms holding you tightly into his chest. You knew Taron was showing off but something about it made you feel special. You could tell that Taron was being protective of you, he clearly didn’t want anyone else to touch you and this was his way of making that known. 

“You look wonderful tonight Megan.” You look to your side to see a gentleman about the same age as Taron perhaps a little taller make his presence known.

“Thank you…” You looked at him and scanned his face. You didn’t recognise him. You didn’t think you had met before.

“Ben. I wrote the screenplay.”

You felt Taron’s arms tighten around you as tried to shake Ben’s hand. Oh he’s getting possessive now he is? You thought. You wished you could have seen his face. You knew he wouldn’t be able to hide his feelings from you that well.

“Ben. It’s nice to meet you. It’s a wonderful script. I was actually the one that told Taron about his project, I thought he should do it.”

“That’s true, she did. It’s her fault I’m here.” You raised her hands to rest them on Taron’s arms that were still wrapped tightly around your upper body.

“You should all be thanking me.” You joked and sipped on your drink but struggled with Taron wrapped around you. You tapped on his arms asking to be released. He resistantly unravels his arms and sets you free. You could still feel his presence over your shoulder, you could tell he didn’t want you out of his sight. Not with Ben flirting with you.

You stood around and chatted to the group with Taron. They were all so lovely, you wondered why you had been so nervous.

“I’m going to grab another drink, did you want to come with me?” Ben asked quietly into your ear, not wanting his devices to be known. You debated for a moment and finally nodded and followed him over to the free bar.

You chatted and got to know Ben. You seemed to have a lot in common. It felt really natural talking to him, you didn’t feel like you needed to force anything. As you got to know Ben you could feel Taron’s eyes glaring into you watching your every move. You would catch a glance every now and then, he didn’t take his eyes off you.

You were enjoying your conversation until Emily came stumbling over to the bar. She was about to order herself another drink until she spotted you.

“M..me..Megaannn” She slurred and hung tightly onto the bar.

“Excuse me a moment.” You excused yourself from Ben and hurried over to Emily.

“Emily! Are you okay?” You looked her up and down and held your hands out to steady her swaying.

“I fink…I may ‘ave had a little… weeney bit too much to drink” This was very clear. Emily was paralytic drunk. You scanned the room in search of Taron but you couldn’t see him anywhere. Typical. The one time I need his attention this evening. You thought.

“Okay Em. Let’s get you back to your room.” You slid your arm around Emily so that she could lean on you as you helped her out of the room.

As you reached Taron and Emily’s room you manage to find the key in Emily’s bag and guide her inside. Once inside, you placed Emily’s bag and key card down on the dresser and led her to the bed and helped her get undressed.

You held her close to you as you unzipped her dress, lifting it up over her head. You gently placed her back down on the bed and got her a glass of water. She sipped her water and handed the glass back to you. 

“Sorry… did I ruin your evening?” Emily asks when she was able to form a sentence.

“No, of course you haven’t” You assure her as you unbuckled her shoes.

“Come on, let’s get you into bed.” You pull the covers back and helped Emily inside. You sat on the edge of the bed and stroked her hair gently.

“Taron really likes you, you know.”

You freeze and look at Emily not saying anything. What did she mean?

“Does he?” You try to be vague as you continued to slowly stroke her hair again.

She nods and drifts off into an alcohol fuelled sleep. You were left sat on the bed contemplated what she had just said. You sighed and shook your head. You placed your head in your hands and tried to fight back the tears. You needed to be more careful, this wasn’t fair on this poor girl.

Tag List: @fuseburner @hitmeonmytspot @primaba11erina @autumnslovex

[fearsmagazine]

THE ARBORS - Review

DISTRIBUTOR: Gravitas Ventures

SYNOPSIS: In a dreary small rural American town lives Ethan Daunes, a reclusive locksmith struggling to keep ties with his younger brother, Shane. Ethan's life takes an unsettling turn after finding a strange small creature inside an animal carcass lying in the middle of the road one night. He takes back to his house where he forms a mysterious connection with it before it escapes back into the wild. After a string of unexplained killings, the creature's true nature is soon revealed, and Ethan finds himself at the center of panic and paranoia.

REVIEW: Great classic horror, gothic horror, at its core deals with the question of the characters subconscious connection to these dark things that manifest themselves, or are given life to. Even consider the Shakespearean play “The Tempest” and its relationship to the 1956 classic sci-fi film “The Forbidden Planet,” where there are these physical and natural forces that represent the Id. Clayton Witmer’s film THE ARBORS asks similar questions set against the backdrop of a rural American town, where a loner’s chance encounter with a mysterious creature. He begins to perceive an opportunity to return his life to simpler, happier times. However, much like Willard, both films that are based on “Ratman's Notebooks'' by Stephen Gilbert, or Victor Frankenstein, no good comes from their meddling with these forces that are beyond their full control. The film is a compelling tale that examines these issues in relation to a failed American dream.

THE ARBORS is rich with mood and atmosphere as Witmer introduces the view to his main character, Ethan, and his relationship to this mysterious spider-like creature. The filmmaker does an excellent job of keeping the viewer off balance as he slowly reveals things that we might perceive to be otherwise. Ethan’s character development is this gut-wrenching, slow burn that is harrowing to watch. Given the setting and Ethan’s situation the viewer might believe that some of his choices would be otherwise, but then it wouldn’t be a very good horror film.

As people go missing the townsfolk,  the men, gather to discuss the situation. The filmmaker creates this contrast as shows them to be as equally lost as Ethan. They lack the ability to take action, that is until Ethan leads them down a specific path for his selfish reasons. It's interesting the heightened sense of helplessness that he presents and how modern day middle American seem when considered against the torch and pitchfork wielding crowd that goes after the perceived monster in classic stories. Unlike other cinematic and literary anti-heroes, Ethan never appears to be fully committed to a fully conceived plan of action but we know no good will come of his choices, all for selfish reasons.

I enjoyed the production designs, costumes, location, and the excellent performances. The special and visual effects of the creature design are brilliant. There is always the debate about what you should or should not show when it comes to a monster, as nothing is scarier then what our imaginations can come up with. Witmer shows us brief glimpses of the creature and never a full view. It’s always lurking in the shadows or its lair, and it has stealth, only revealing its presence when it is too late for its victim. What’s compelling is that Witmer gives this creature a presence where we feel that it might be more intelligent than Ethan thinks. It’s cool, creepy, and an excellent execution of design.

THE ARBORS is not simply a great horror movie, but a great movie. The story is a simple plot that is woven together with complex issues of the subconscious and human nature. Witmer is a skillful director who orchestrates all the elements at his disposal to give the view something to react to and also more to think about afterwards. Witmer puts a fresh spin on a classic theme and delivers a contemporary masterpiece, a haunting tale for the ages.

CAST: Drew Matthews, Ryan Davenport, Sarah Cochrane, Daryl Munroe, Lexi Rose, and Brooks Addis. CREW: Director - Clayton Witmer; Screenplay - Clayton Witmer & Chelsey Cummings; Producer - Michael Samilow; Cinematographer - Ayinde Anderson; Editor - Jeremy Darnell; Score - Benjamin Hoff; Production Designer - Jonathan McCarter; Costume Designer - Chelsey Cummings; Special Effects - Clayton Witmer; Visual Effects - Andrew Dole. OFFICIAL: N.A. FACEBOOK: www.facebook.com/TheArborsMovie/ TWITTER: twitter.com/thearborsfilm  /  @TheArborsFilm TRAILER: https://youtu.be/YEXuiifM0HQ RELEASE DATE: Video On Demand on March 26th, 2021

**Until we can all head back into the theaters our “COVID Reel Value” will be similar to how you rate a film on digital platforms - 👍 (Like), 👌 (It’s just okay),  or 👎 (Dislike)

Reviewed by Joseph B Mauceri