#I think I know the reason actually it's because iconic pop culture monsters kind of get de-fanged (heh) in their ubiquity | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

couldnt-think-of-a-funny-name · 4 years

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Ya know, I truly hope Miss Renesmee Carlie Cullen fully dedicates herself to just....being as out there and iconic as possible

first things first- ANYTHING with the loch ness monster on it, she owns. Posters, shirts, jackets, shoes, folders, buttons, iron-ons, there is always at least 5 pieces of Nessie merch on her at all times

once she gets old enough to start high school, the cover story is her and Edward are siblings that Carlisle and Esme took in, and sometimes her classmates will ask her what her biological parents were like and she will flat out be like 'oh, they're vampires' and Edward and Bella are like. 5 feet away trying not to scream

every Halloween she'll show up to school in an elaborate Nosferatu costume

goes out of her way to photobomb people in increasingly ridiculous ways so there will Always be a photographic record of her and in like 100 years she can get a huge kick out of teens on the internet trying to make a conspiracy about her

joins as many school clubs as she can, even if she has no interest in them- she just Really wants a concrete record of herself to exist lmao

ICONIC at school theater though. One of those demon theater kids that come to rehearsal purely to cause chaos and nothing else, but her voice is incredible so she secures every lead. One time she somehow managed to star in a show while also playing in the school band for it- her classmates still have no idea how she pulled it off

Always brings blood out in public in a CLEAR THERMOS and it stresses her family out so much but everyone else thinks she's just like, weirdly into tomato juice so the Cullens can't stop her

to everyone's surprise...her biggest chaos enabler is Jasper lmao. everyone thought he'd be a logical, responsible uncle but they're just. A Problem together. He'll 100% assist her in any prank she wants to pull, he gets her fake id's when she wants to sneak into a club with friends, he bails her out of jail without telling her parents, they figured out if she gets high and he reads her feelings he'll get high too and it's. So fucking funny.

she's always carrying some random instrument around school- like for a while it's a guitar or a harmonica, fine, but then she'll start lugging a cello around, a tuba (she doesn't even play, she stole it off a guy who was annoying her) and it escalates until one day she's wheeling a piano around the building. no one's even sure how she got in in the doors of the school. She keeps running kids over in the hallway with it

You know the Catherine Tate Lauren Cooper skit with David Tennant? Where she's being a terrible student and then perfectly recites Shakespeare? 100% Nessie

when she starts getting dates Jacob keeps trying to wing man and be over supportive and give her a ton of girl advice and it's embarrassing as hell so one day when he was on a spiel about How To Woo A Lady she looks him in the eyes and goes 'oh really? did that work on my mom?' and the Cullens fucking LOSE IT. Jacob had to go live in the woods for a few days because he couldn't cope

Emmet and Jasper: arrive to school in their jeep. Rose and Alice: arrive in a convertible. Edward: arrives in his dumb volvo. Bella and Jake: arrive to school on motorcycles. Nessie: arrives to school on a unicycle while juggling

one year she ended up getting nominated for prom queen and Edward read the minds of the teachers tallying the votes so he knew she won and he and Bella were so excited!! they're like we're gonna take so many pictures of our baby looking like a princess! And then she emerges from her room, actually drenched in pigs blood. Like she just did it to herself and went to the dance and accepted her crown like that

she regularly commits crimes against fashion. If she comes out of her room and sees Alice contemplating turning herself over to the Volturi, she KNOWS she's picked a great look

somehow gets ahold of Aro's cell number and sends him selfies of her blatantly breaking vampire laws captioned 'whatcha gonna do'. he keeps blocking her but she keeps managing to get through to him somehow

she illegally sells soda out of her locker and does people's homework for cash, while also paying other people to do her homework for her. she organizes every single senior prank. she's never gotten a detention in her whole immortal life because every teacher just Adores her for some reason

had 100% used her powers for deserved evil before. Like, if someone's being a dick at school, she'll sneak into their room at night and give them nightmarea threatening them to be a better person lol

sometimes she'll show up at the hospital unannounced and ask Carlisle, in front of his coworkers, 'yo can I raid the blood bank?'

her bedroom looks like a library. every wall, floor to ceiling books.

she's been publishing trashy romance novels under a fake name for almost 40 years now and no one in her family knows

one birthday Jacob takes her on a trip to vegas and they get wasted, at some point they were laughing about how ridiculous their lives are and they're like 'wouldn't it be fucking hilarious if we had a baby'. they then black out, hangover style, and wake up like a week later with a payment on her card to a fertility clinic. Jacob's like 😱 and Ness is just like 'you get to be the one to explain this to my parents'

Their kid is absolutely hilarious, they were correct, and at some point they realized 'wait...drinks blood..doesn't sparkle...can shape shift...we've somehow created a classic pop culture vampire' lmao

Edward had to threaten them to get them to not name the kid Vladimir

Also to be clear: Nessie and Jacob have the EXACT same dynamic as Will and Grace. that's canon.

says its her goal to star in a live action all female production of mamma mia and Carlisle is like 'honey you know you can't do anything on broadway or in hollywood' and she's like, 'no, in real life. I'm gonna go to greece and attract a bunch of women with abba songs' and he's like,,,,,ah

she loves all music but she goes out of her way to Only play stuff she knows Edward hates lmao

one day she remembers she doesn't need to breathe and can see under water and just. books herself a ticket to scotland and Finds The Loch Ness Monster

she actually personally finds a lot of monsters and cryptids like her hybrid aura just attracts all kind of weird shit and she LOVES it. She stops writing trashy romance novels and starts writing autobiographies of her traveling and hanging out with paranormal beings and everyone just assumes its fiction so she becomes a best selling fantasy author lmao

100% she's very into witchy stuff and only like...half in a trendy way. She's like what if on top of everything I've got going on I can cast spells? Think I deserve that power

when she's a couple decades old she catches Edward looking grossed out one day and she asks him what's up and he's like 'I really dont need to hear what creepy teachers think about my daughter' and she's like. oh. Dad we are gonna get SO MANY pedophiles arrested shdndjdn she gets him to expose teachers and she baits them then calls the police. queen.

She finds out she can get tattoos but they fade completely out of her skin within 5 years so she's always getting crazy tats

posts selfies on social media of her just like. hanging out with mountain lions or chilling on top of the space needle. her classmates think they're all photoshopped obvi but it drives her family insane

imagine you're 15 and you're on a nice hike in the woods and you come across your one classmate half naked, sacrificing a bear in some ritual, blood dripping down her face, bigfoot chilling on the rocks behind her filming the ritual on her phone...like on one hand, what would you do, but on the other hand. you've known this girl for a bit and you aren't surprised at all

anyway. stan Nessie Cullen.

#twilight saga #renesmee cullen #nessie cullen #breaking dawn #twilight #molly mumbles

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maxwell-grant · 3 years

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One last one for the moment; top five superheroes who definitely AREN'T Pulp Heroes, but could be with a little tweaking?

Oof, that's a hard one. It's a hard one because, again, there ultimately isn't that much separation between the two to the point there's enough of a hard line in there to work with, but I guess the cat's out of the bag now that I've staked claims on there being differences between them.

Okay so, not counting superheroes who are deliberately modeled after actual pulp heroes, so no Tom Strong or Night Raven here. I'm sticking mainly with comic book superheroes (barring one oddball exception) since the medium separation is important), who I think could become pulp heroes with some tweaking.

5: Captain America

Sort of cheating because I already covered it here, but I definitely have to include Captain America in here, especially in the stories they actively go for a "pulp" vibe as well as the earliest ones.

Fun fact about Marvel: As Timely, they actually began life as pulp publishers. Not just pulp publishers, but specializing in some of the sleaziest, ghastliest magazines of the era, and you can bet this carried over to their superheroes. Where as DC's superheroes took inspiration from the big pulp heroes such as The Shadow and Doc Savage, Timely's superheroes seemed instead much more inspired by Weird Tales stories and Poverty Row horror films, and even in the 60s, Marvel never really abandoned their horror roots, the trick was just using them as a baseline to create superheroes. In DC, the world's first contact with superheroes begins with the world looking in wonder at a friendly strongman. In Marvel, it began with the world looking in panicked horror at a flaming monster rampaging through the streets desperately trying to not burn everything it touches. It should come to little surprise then that the majority of characters I'm including in this list are Marvel characters.

People think Captain America's first comics largely consisted of him fighting Nazis left and right, but they were actually much more often based around him encountering monsters and creatures of horror, like the above panel where it looks like Cap's staring down the beginning of Berserk's Eclipse (RIP Miura).

The early Captain America comics pretty much consisted of Kirby dipping his toe into the monster comics he'd make in the 50s which would later bleed into the 60s Marvel entourage. They even tried repackaging Captain America into a horror anthology in the 50s titled "Captain America's Weird Tales", just imagine how different the character would be today if that somehow stuck.

Imagine a world where Steve Rogers never became leader of The Avengers, never got to become the shining beacon of heroism of an entire universe, and instead, when he was unfrosted, he woke up to find a world running rampant with crawling nightmares and Nazi tyranny, and he has no idea what's become of his former sidekick. That definitely sounds like the start of a promising pulp adventure.

4: Namor

Another Timely creation. In Namor's case, he didn't so much encounter horrors from beyond imagination, as much as HE was the terrifying thing beyond us ready to rampage upon mankind, whose first on-screen act consists of the calculated slaughter of a ship full of innocents. The first true villain protagonist of comic books. Not just an anti-hero, a villain intent on wiping out the human race.

And not just a cardboard supervillain, but the beautiful prince of a race of ugly fish monsters, a momma's boy who's doing what he thinks is right by warring with surface dwellers. While Namor's become largely defined by his gargantuan arrogance, here, he's almost childlike, despite being much more brutal and villainous here, spurred on by the whims of his mother, who even acknowledges that Namor had no real reason to kill the divers but did so anyway, and now encourages him to genocide. His mom even tells him "Go now, to the land of white people!", and the very last panel of the story even states he's on a "crusade against white men".

The massacre of explorers at the hands of something beyond their understanding. A monster born of an interracial coupling. A race of fish monsters with bulging eyes, antagonistic towards humanity but are shown to have positive traits just the same. A dash of racism. There is no mistaking The Sub-Mariner's pulp horror influence.

A non-white superhuman warrior born from a Lovecraftian horror story, who gradually moves away from his villainous crusade into becoming more of an anti-hero, never truly putting aside his hatred for humanity, remaining a temperamental, unpredictable outcast, with a strong, palpable undercurrent of anger in his stories. I could very easily buy Namor as having crawled out of a Weird Tales story and I can't think of other superheroes whose origins are as steeped deeply in pulp horror.

3: Doctor Fate

Technically we already have a pulp hero version of Doctor Fate in Doc Fate, and I'll get to him separately, but even besides him, the earliest Doctor Fate stories in particular feel very much like he's a character steeped in the worlds of pulp and pulp horror who decided to put on a superhero costume and show up in comic.

He's got a similar set-up to The Shadow, from the pulp Shadow in the sense that he's a mysterious, eerie crimefighter who dwells as a presence more often than an active character and who kills criminals without remorse, always watching and waiting for the right time to strike as a a wrathful old-testament force of vengeance, and from the radio Shadow due to him using superpowers to fight crime while being accompanied by a smart, fierce love interest.

Originally, Fate was not a sorcerer, but instead a scientist who discovered a way to manipulate atomic structure, of his and other things, thus making it appear that he can do magic (although we never see his face, and he's implied to be thousands of years old, before they settled on the Nabu origin). And going back to Lovecraft, a lot of it appears in the earliest Fate stories. Fate was given powers not by a sorcerer, but an alien worshipped as a god. He barely encounters traditional monsters, but instead contends with hidden races, zombie slaves, abandoned alien monoliths, and half man and half fish creatures. Fate may have actually been the very first pastiche of Lovecraft in pop culture.

And of course we can't forget the gloriousness of Doc Fate pulling an Indiana Jones on us.

2: Wolverine

I don't even think you'd have to tweak Wolverine at all. You'd just have to get him out of the costume and Avengers/X-Men associations (although the X-Men have a substantial background in pulp sci-fi stories like Slan and Odd John, so they aren't really at odds here), maybe tone down his powers a bit and, that's it. Logan's already the kind of character who has such a varied sandbox history, whose powers can lead to so many different scenarios, that it's not a stretch at all to picture Wolverine in the usual pulp hero scenarios.

You can have half-naked Wolverine running around in the jungle with animals Tarzan-style, take him to Savage Land if you wanna throw dinosaurs in there. He's already Marvel's foremost "wandering samurai/cowboy" character which was one of the stock and trade types of the pulps. Western? Done. Samurai? Done. Wuxia? Just put him in China and add a couple extra fantasy elements. Wanna make a sword and sorcery story with him? He already comes with a bunch of knives and savagery and ability to survive grisly injuries. Horror? The MCU is crawling with them, or alternatively, tell a story from the perspective of someone who's being hunted down by Wolverine. Wanna tell a detective/noir/post-apocalypse story? Logan's right there.

Wanna have him crossover with pulp heroes? He's lived through the 1800s and 1900s and traveled all over the world, you could feasibly have him meet up with just about any of them. Logan may actually be the purest example of your question, because he's very much not a Pulp Hero, and yet, he definitely feels like a character who could have been one, at just about any point in the history of pulp magazines. He's perfect for it.

1: Wario

WAAA-okay, look, bear with me for a second here, I'm not just picking Wario because I love oddball choices and he's one of my favorite characters, I got some logic to this.

Okay so, the first question here: is Mario a superhero? While I'm usually adverse to calling characters prominent outside of comic books superheroes (hence why I'm definitely not interested in debating whether Harry Potter or Goku or Link or Frodo are superheroes), I do think it's a pretty shut case that, yes, Mario is a superhero. Superheroes don't just come in the form of skintight crimefighters, right from the start comic books have had varied types of superheroes appearing in comics and comic strips. For example, the "funny animal" superheroes are a type older than superhero comics, and they were arguably not only the most successful type of superhero of the 40s-50s era, but arguably defined trends dominating nonfunny animal superheroes, traits that predated or influenced Captain Marvel as well as Otto Binder's reshaping of Superman that defined much of superhero convention as we know it. It's part of why the question of "Is Sonic a superhero" has a very clear Yes as an answer.

So upon establishing that, yes, funny cartoon characters can be and are superheroes too, is Mario one? Well, I'd say yes. He's got an iconic uniform, he's got superpowers, he goes on fantastical adventures, he is both a nebulously general do-gooder as well as having a clear mission as protector of the Mushroom Kingdom. His adventures span multiple storytelling formats, he's got catchphrases, he even dresses up in Superman's colors and has a Super prefix iconically associated with him. Not a superhero the way we usually think of, but a superhero nonetheless.

And Wario? Well, putting aside Wario-Man who's more of a running gag than anything, Wario does just about everything Mario does. He's got all the traits that define Mario as a superhero short of a Super prefix and the selfless mission (which isn't exactly a rule). He goes around and gets into crazy adventures, he picks up items, beats bad guys, conquers the odds, and gets some kind of prize for it. He's got Mario's physical traits, and Mario's costume, and just about the same name short of a single letter. The caveat being, of course, that he's Wario, and so everything Mario is or does has to be exaggerated to gross extreme.

Mario is paunchy and strong, Wario's round and built like a powerlifter. Mario's got a friendly face and a fluffy mustache, Wario's got a massive horrible grin and jagged razors for a stache. Mario is a bit of an overeater, Wario can and will eat anything in front of him. Mario gets around with acrobatics and magic power-ups, Wario brute forces his way through everything and just rolls with whatever injuries he picks up along the way.

Mario gets fire powers by consuming magic flowers. Wario sets himself on fire and barrels around destroying everything in his path. Mario harnesses the elements or abilities of beings around him to clear obstacles and solve puzzles, Wario gets turned into a zombie, a vampire or a drunk to get the same things done. Mario befriends and rides dinosaurs who raised him from infancy, Wario piledrives dinosaurs and then uses their bodies to beat up more dinosaurs. Mario pals around with fellow heroes, princesses and friendly fantasy creatures, Wario pals around with aliens, witches, mad scientists, cab drivers, and lanky weirdos. Mario always ends his adventures joyfully leaping to the next one, Wario usually ends up either cackling in a pile of treasure or completely broke.

Mario races through plains to rescue princesses, Wario invades pyramids to hunt for treasure. Mario jumps through planets with baby stars guiding his path, Wario crashes into the Amazon jungle and fistfights the devil. You can see where I'm going with this.

If you were to take one of Nintendo's heroes to make them into pulp heroes, Wario, specifically the Wario Land Wario, may be the only one who really could do it, because in essence, he's the videogame equivalent of Professor Challenger. He's Bluto moonlighting as Indiana Jones, the weird brute adventurer for weird brute adventures where everything's off limits and you can trust our intrepid hero, who really shouldn't be a hero on all accounts, to deliver us a good time, give or take a couple deaths, scams, shams and oh-damns to complete said mad treasure hunts.

#replies tag #not pulp heroes #comic books #dr fate #wolverine #captain america #namor #wario

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holographic-bone-jester · 4 years

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What's wrong with naming dinosaurs after pop culture and such?

Well one obvious reason is that you could end up with, as someone mentioned in the comments of the post, a dracorex situation, where if you name an animal after a piece of media, if that franchise becomes problematic, this animal is forever stuck with that stigma on it.

Furthermore, it’s not really like easter eggs in other media, where it’s like, people who like that franchise will go “haha i get that reference” and others won’t care, in this case, you’re actively pushing away some people who don’t like whatever franchise you’re naming this animal after because, you know “oh well this is a cool animal but ugh it’s name is a reference to a shitty popular netflix series that i hate”, kind of kills the mood, y’know.

Let’s take a franchise i really enjoy, a popular, topical one, that’s not problematic (at least i think)

Let’s say i discover fragmentary remains of a mesozoic sauropsid of some kind, and i call it Mesavenator. atrum (Black Mesa Hunter.. I think, at least i tried) because Half Life is a very important game to me + it’s currently a meme with HLVRAI and so that animal, despite being so poorly understood, might get talked about a lot on the internet.

It’s good for me because at the moment i get big clout.

But, as classic and iconic as Half Life is, in a few years, that name isn’t gonna be cool anymore, and it’s just gonna end up being this weird reptile/archosaur/or such thing we have like 3 vertebra and a toe from that no one cares about and has a weird pop culture name slapped on it (look at the sonic gene for example, or the Pika).

And if more material shows up and it ends up being an incredible creature, then it’s just gonna feel like a shame that it doesn’t have a unique name that says something about the animal or it’s discovery, or just something out there and fun, rather than just “oh because black mesa is half life half life’s cool”.

I don’t mind names based off of iconic monsters as much as like, stuff that is popular or memey rn but will vanish in a few years (like GoT and Engame). For example i don’t think naming an animal, after, say, classic kaijus, is as bad as calling it indominus or something.

However as iconic as a pop culture reference could be, it still plays into yet another issue in my opinion, which is encouraging the idea of dinosaur = pop culture thing that a lot of the paleo community is trying to fight against.

Basically there is a lot of questions and issues and “what is ok or not ?” debate that come up with pop culture influencing the names of prehistoric animals, and imo we should just stick to unique names for them, unless that specific animal is Exceptionally lame and actually needs a push from a pop culture reference to be at least a little bit interesting.

#paleontology #asks

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lilydalexf · 3 years

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Old School X is a project interviewing X-Files fanfic authors who were posting fic during the original run of the show. New interviews are posted every Tuesday.

Interview with Tabula Rasa

Tabula Rasa has 8 stories at Gossamer, but there are even more X-Files fics at AO3 and her website. She writes Mulder and Scully in a very lovely way. I've recced 3 of my favorites of her fics here before: Bird in Snow, Fall: East on M St, and Skuamorph. Big thanks to Tabula Rasa for doing this interview.

Does it surprise you that people are still interested in reading your X-Files fanfics and others that were posted during the original run of the show (1993-2002)?

I'm always extremely pleasantly surprised to get kudos (or, very rarely, a comment) on my old fic, but I'm always happy to see it! I did post them all (I think) to AO3. I'm not surprised people are still reading fic, though. It's an iconic show and now with streaming, it's really easy to watch older shows and natural to want fic about them!

What do you think of when you think about your X-Files fandom experience? What did you take away from it?

XF was my first fandom, definitely my first online fandom, and so it will always have a special place in my heart. Also... I had a great time! I stumbled upon and joined the Scullyfic email list by accident, but it was the best thing I could have done. I learned a lot about how to be a writer and how to be in fandom, and those lessons are still important to me. Foundational. Also, in terms of modern fandom drama, XF was more low-key on the drama (although it didn't seem like it at the time!). But I learned something that's always served me well: find like-minded people, and hang out with them. Don't worry about the rest.

Also... you can't control the show, but you kind of can control the canon.

Because of Scully, I ended up taking a forensic anthropology class in university-- and now I have a Master's in a forensic science! Part of the Scully Effect, and proud of it!

Social media didn't really exist during the show's original run. How were you most involved with the X-Files online (atxc, message board, email mailing list, etc.)?

Definitely mostly email list! I never really got the hang of message boards. Posting fic was exhausting, and tbh I never figured out how to work Ephemeral. I checked it every day, though! I loved, after a new episode, everyone sending in their thoughts and reading everyone's experiences together. Fandom was a lot more work back then, tbh!

What did you take away from your experience with X-Files fic or with the fandom in general?

That fic can be just as good, or better, than traditionally published works. There are works of XF fic that have stuck with me for years now, far more than some books I've read. That fan writers can know the characters better than the show writers. The fandom in general was really smart, and mostly more adult than me (I joined fandom when I went away to college, so I always felt at the younger end of the scale. That was good though!).

Also, my first time reading and writing porn. Not gonna lie, I was shocked the first time I accidentally read smut. But I adjusted fast. lol

What was it that got you hooked on the X-Files as a show?

I was still a kid (now we would say preteen) when the show premiered- I think in middle school. But I was already into ghosts, aliens, monsters, solving mysteries, and I'd already imprinted on the dynamic thanks to Square One (really)! I was also just old enough to start developing celebrity crushes. Hilariously, I did not twig to the fact that I'm bisexual the entire time I was in XF fandom, despite having enormous crushes on BOTH Mulder and Scully. Ahhhh!

Also, my whole family was into the show, but I was definitely the one with the hyperfixation. I used to take notes and record the episodes as I watched. It just had the right stuff and hit at the right time. And I've always been obsessive.

What got you involved with X-Files fanfic?

As a kid I also really liked Star Trek, and someone had given my dad a book about the history of Star Trek, which I read. This included mentions of fandom and fanfic. As soon as I had a private-- and perhaps more importantly fast-- internet connection (in college), I went looking for XF fanfic, and that was that. Hooked immediately. Also I shipped them A LOT so that's what I went looking for.

What is your relationship like now to X-Files fandom?

I tend to not go back to a fandom once I have a new fandom, so I wouldn't say I'm in it. I did hang around the edges for the revival, of course, because I wanted to experience that with the same people, but since the revival was mostly not that great (with a few exceptions), I didn't get pulled back into it. But I still think of the people I knew in the fandom a lot, and always hope they're doing well.

Were you involved with any fandoms after the X-Files? If so, what was it like compared to X-Files?

I've never left fandom, and I've been in a BUNCH: Harry Potter, Doctor Who, Bandom, Supernatural, now CQL/The Untamed and other Chinese-media fandoms, with many smaller ones in between or on the side. I feel like at their core fandoms tend to be similar, although where you host the fandom makes a big difference: Livejournal, tumblr, twitter. I think that because fandoms now tend to be bigger and more diverse (which is good) there tends to be more wank (which is bad). In some of them I was close to a group of people, some of them not. Honestly the best thing is when someone you know from an old fandom is in your new fandom. It's so much fun. I have really good friends thanks to fandom, and I've had them for YEARS. Like. 15 years.

Who are some of your favorite fictional characters? Why?

I tend to focus more on ships than characters, but some of my all-time favs: Scully, Hermione, Sirius Black, Castiel, Lan Wangji, Xie Lian. That's just fandom-oriented ones, otherwise we'd be here all day. :D

Do you ever still watch The X-Files or think about Mulder and Scully?

I don't often rewatch episodes any more, although if I come across an ep on tv I might. I definitely still think about them though! For example, I'm a teacher now, and just a couple weeks ago one of my colleagues mentioned he'd heard the students saying they shipped two of their classmates, and he was like "Ship? I don't get it" and I was like "HOO BOY, do I have a story for you!" And I explained how shipping came from XF fandom, and why. That was fun. I definitely still think about Mulder and Scully too-- I mean, they're cultural touchstones, so they do come up sometimes in greater pop culture. Also, I was in Hannibal fandom for a while, and Gillian Anderson is still The Best.

Do you ever still read X-Files fic? Fic in another fandom?

I haven't read XF fic in years, even the ones I remember as being really significant/important to me. I still have my all-time favs saved on an external HD though! Fic in another fandom- every day lol.

Do you have any favorite X-Files fanfic stories or authors?

Blinded by White Light by DashaK has stuck with me. Mr. and Mrs. Smith and the Ruby-Throated Warbler by I forget I'm so sorry -- that's lasted as my ideal post-canon MSR and as an interesting and different way to tell a story. [Lilydale note: It’s by rah.] I was always thrilled to see fic by Brandon, JET, MaybeAmanda, Syntax6... and, frankly, everyone on the Scullyfic/ Emuse list. So many talented people in that fandom!

What is your favorite of your own fics, X-Files and/or otherwise?

Things Outside, which is the only thing I've ever written based on a dream, and I'm really satisfied with it. It was hard to write but so much fun to revel in the weirdness. I always kind of wanted to write more because I know a lot more about the situation, but otoh, I like the open, ambiguous ending (usually I am very HEA).

In other fandoms, King & Country in bandom (MCR) and in Supernatural I'm very proud of Hope and Clay. I struggle to write casefics even though I love to read them, but that one really worked out.

Do you think you'll ever write another X-Files story? Or dust off and post an oldie that for whatever reason never made it online?

I don't think I'll ever write something new. There is an old fic that may be done but it was smut so I was too shy to post it at the time. In theory if I find it and it's decent, I could post it!

Do you still write fic now? Or other creative work?

I do! I write fic very slowly, but I do write still! I have a million ideas for stories, but I'm so slow at the actual writing part.

Where do you get ideas for stories?

I usually take a jumping-off point from canon, or of course, something I need to fix or expand on. Or sometimes I start telling myself a story as I fall asleep and the idea grabs me long enough I can manage to write it.

What's the story behind your pen name?

I was getting into fandom and realized people didn't use their real names. I flipped through my history book looking for inspiration, and decided tabula rasa was a great name for a writer. I tend to add an X because it's rare to get "tabularasa" as a username, and the X is indeed for X-Files (so I'm something like tabulaxrasa most places). I usually go by Tabula Rasa or Tab, though. And I still use it because 1) it IS a great name for a writer; and 2) it's not fandom-specific so I can keep it in every fandom.

I identify with it so much I have answered to this name in class (oops). I have a "Tab" t-shirt (as in the soda, but I have worn it to Comic-Con for ease of ID-- better than a nametag!). And my mom got me a necklace with a "tab" typewriter key as a charm, which I adore. Yes, I have accidental merch of myself.

Do your friends and family know about your fic and, if so, what have been their reactions?

As you can tell from the above, my family knows (my family being my parents and sister). They are supportive! I think my mom read a couple stories? But obviously she has to know the fandom to get it... I got my sister into fic, and we even wrote a couple fics together (in Gundam Wing). She's a lot more selective about fandoms, but she's joined fandoms on her own, too. She's just not in one constantly, like me. :p

I tend not to tell not-online friends unless I have felt them out and know they're super fannish, or they bring it up first.

Is there a place online (tumblr, twitter, AO3, etc.) where people can find you and/or your stories now?

Most of my old fic is now on AO3 and I hang out on twitter a lot, @tabula_x_rasa

Is there anything else you'd like to share with fans of X-Files fic?

I'm really glad people are still in this fandom! It will always be so important to me. Thank you Lilydale, for this nostalgia trip!

(Posted by Lilydale on March 30, 2021)

#old school x #xfiles fanfic #xf fanfic #xf fanfic author interviews #tabula rosa

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wonderfulworldofmichaelford · 5 years

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Psycho Analysis: Pennywise (2010s duology)

(WARNING! This analysis contains SPOILERS!)

27 years after the miniseries adaptation, a new adaptation of Stephen King’s It came along, and with it, a new Pennywise the Dancing Clown. As hit or miss as the miniseries was, pretty much everyone is in agreement that Tim Curry’s fantastic, hilarious performance is the one bright spot of that version, meaning anyone who would be playing Pennywise in the new version would have some pretty big clown shoes to fill.

Thankfully new Pennywise Bill Skarsgard is 6’4” tall, a size that is most certainly big enough to fill any size clown shoes his predecessor may have left. His performance is a fantastic new take on an iconic character, and while it certainly does have weaker elements to it (as Curry’s did), there’s still more to love than there is to hate.

Actor: Bill Skarsgard portrays Pennywise this time, and while he is quite obviously no Tim Curry, he most definitely is a Bill Skarsgard. I love everything he brings to this role: his intimidating height, his creepy voice, that weird thing he does with his eyes… in the same manner in which Curry brought his Pennywise to life with the voice and mannerisms of a charming kid’s show host, Skarsgard brings his Pennywise to life with the mannerisms of an alien beast that can only just barely put forth a front of normalcy as it hunts its prey, and because of this he manages to make Pennywise utterly terrifying.

Motivation/Goals: Pennywise’s motivation is the same as it always is: he comes around every 27 years to eat children, opting to spice them up with a healthy dose of fear before going in for the kill. Frankly, in this regard he is really no different from the Tim Curry version or the book version, though he does opt to do things in a more overtly sinister manner than the other two incarnations, and when it comes time for him to harass the adult Losers in Chapter Two, while he does opt for some jokes here and there, he mostly remains creepy and disturbing the whole time.

Personality: This take on Pennywise is actually quite interesting, as compared to the Tim Curry one, this one is actually legitimately terrifying… to a fault. He is so utterly monstrous that a lot of the time it’s hard to believe he could ever sucker children in to being his victims, with Georgie’s death being a prime example – Pennywise is so absolutely creepy to the point of salivating over the thought of eating Georgie that the kid nearly runs before he gets within biting range. He’s pretty light on the jokes too, but frankly I don’t see that as a big minus; I like that this Pennywise is creepier and legitimately unnerving.

Final Fate: This is where the Skarsgard version truly has the Curry one beat; instead of turning into a giant, awful stop-motion spider, Skarsgard’s Pennywise turns into a giant clown drider and tries to kill the Losers. While he manages to get Eddie in the final confrontation, the remaining members all band together and… basically just insult him until he shrinks down and they can rip his heart out. When I said this has Curry’s beat, I never said it was perfect, after all. At the very least a green glow post death implies that Matarin was helping the gang, and Pennywise seems definitively dead in this continuity, so at least this goofy finale leads into a happy ending.

Best Scene: Much like Curry, Skarsgard has no shortage of fantastic scenes to pick from, with my personal favorite being when he unfolds from the fridge to attack Eddie in the first movie. However, objectively speaking, I think Skarsgard’s most definitive moment is his insane little jig he does to try and weird out Beverly, which went absolutely memetic after the film released. Of course, what the memes don’t tell you is when Beverly does not respond to his goofy dance, he peels back his face and shows her his deadlights, causing one of the most wonderful mood whiplashes I have ever seen in any film ever.

Honestly, I do find it kind of amusing the funnier Pennywise got a best moment where he was actually scary, while the scarier Pennywise got a best moment where he was actually pretty funny.

Best Quote: Unlike Curry, I don’t feel like Skarsgard was really a goldmine of quotes. Still, he gets some good bits in where they count, such as when he feigns hurt feelings at Bill for not thinking his scares are “real” enough. However, I think his taunting of Richie over his closeted gay desires, complete with a goofy little song, is his best bit for just how many lines it ends up crossing before finally landing on darkly hilarious:

“Did ya miss me, Richie? 'Cos I've missed you! No one wants to play with the clown anymore. Play a game with me, would ya? How about Street Fighter? Oh, yes, you like that one, don't you? Or maybe Truth or Dare? Oh, you wouldn't want anyone to pick Truth though, would you, Richie? You wouldn't want anyone to know what you're hiding. I know your secret! Your dirty little secret! Oh, I know your secret! Your DIRTY little secret! Shall I tell them, Richie?”

Final Thoughts & Score: Skarsgard’s take on Pennywise is a take I just love. I love the weird quirks and mannerisms Skarsgard brought to the table, such as the eye thing his Pennywise does or the weir contortions and gestures and faces. I also love just how menacing and disturbing his Pennywise is, something that I felt was especially lacking in Curry’s performance; while Curry was certainly funny and had superb line delivery, he just couldn’t muster up a single shiver from me the way Skarsgard’s take on Stephen King’s monster clown did.

So, of course, I give him a 10/10. It really helps Skarsgard didn’t have a finale half as bad as Curry’s Pennywise did, and he did manage to be genuinely amusing in Chapter 2, though certainly not to the extent Curry’s Pennywise was. He’s an enjoyable take that, while not as entertaining in persona and comedy, is definitely a fun watch in terms of horror and sheer sadistic glee. It’s sort of a Heath Ledger’s Joker to the Jack Nicholson Joker that Curry’s take was: two excellent, valid performances of the same character that are great for different reasons.

But here’s the thing: they aren’t perfect. Out of all of Stephen King’s villains, Pennywise is one of the ones that could easily be an 11 out of 10. He’s iconic, he’s entertaining, he’s a big figure in pop culture and has inspired numerous monster clowns and eldritch abominations since his inception… and yet, every time the character has been put to screen so far, there is just something missing, that secret essence that King tapped into in his book that managed to make Pennywise equal parts darkly comic and unrelentingly monstrous. As far as adaptations go, these facets of Pennywise have been split into two performances, and if we ever got them in one performance, we’d have the definitive Pennywise that I could safely say is one of the greatest cinematic villains ever.

For now, we’re at least fortunate to be stuck with two great, unique takes on It. Let’s see how they do him justice 27 years from now in the next adaptation.

#Psycho Analysis #Pennywise #Pennywise the Dancing Clown #Bill Skarsgard #It #It Chapter 2 #Stephen King

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popwasabi · 5 years

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“Joker” Review: Send in the (Problematic) Clowns

Directed by Todd Philips

Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Robert De Niro, Zazie Beets, Frances Conroy

“Joker,” on paper at least, has a message most us can all agree on.

Over the last five or six years, mental health has been a subject of increasing importance for a variety of reasons from millennial burnout, substance abuse, increases in suicide and the stigma is slowly dying away. People are more concerned than ever about it and, generally speaking, everyone wants the system to do better at addressing it in society.

(”Office Space” continues to be more and more relatable every year...)

Throughout its two-hour runtime “Joker” makes the case for better mental healthcare and a society that’s more empathetic to the mentally ill. For some viewers this is a much-needed discussion on a complicated topic through the medium of pop culture’s most famous psychopath.

For others (me), the problem is it goes about this in an extremely problematic way that grossly mischaracterizes the problem, the people afflicted by it and namely who the victims really are, making some of the pre-film controversy unfortunately not all too inaccurate.

“Joker” takes place in early 1980s where a man named Arthur Fleck cares for his disabled mother in an increasingly hostile Gotham battling the unfair social structures of society. Arthur struggles with his mental health, seeing a social worker each week, taking multiple psychoactive drugs to keep his mind intact, and failing to keep down a Tourette like laugh that estranges those around him. As the world gets increasingly more difficult to live in around him Arthur begins to see himself in a new way and wonder’s what the point of participating any longer in it, thus beginning a series of events that will change his life and the city forever.

One of the core appeals of Gotham’s most sadistic psychopath, The Joker, has always been that the motives behind his violence have rarely had a clear reason behind them.

Other than to piss off Batman, The Joker just kind of does things because he can and kills for the exact same reasons. There’s no reasoning behind it, he just doesn’t believe in much of anything. It’s just chaos and he loves it. There’s some twisted nihilistic appeal to that in a cruel world that relentlessly reminds us many times of it and it’s what made the Clown Prince of Gotham such an iconic villain across all forms of media.

Because we all kind of want to stop caring, even just a little.

(Iconic.)

But what happens when you try to give a character like this a reason behind his twisted psyche? Does it take away or enhance the character? Many writers have toyed with this concept but never concretely answered it whether it was Alan Moore alluding to him having a “bad day” in “Killing Joke,” or the intentionally vague and confusing backstory Christopher Nolan gave the character in “The Dark Knight.”

The question behind who The Joker is, and why he is, is never truly answered in any case. They still tend to keep it mysterious because well, giving a concrete reason to this character’s particular madness kind of takes away from what makes him interesting. To quote Ledger’s Joker he’s an “Agent of Chaos” and nothing more. The Joker doesn’t care so why should we?

(Let’s really not care about this version though. Like seriously. In fact, throw it in the trash and shoot it into the sun...)

But director Todd Philips decided to give the character his first real motive behind his psychosis in “Joker” and while it can be admirable that he attempted something no other writer or director has done, and in some small way has a positive message to it, the results is at best a boring slog of a movie and at worst a problematic depiction of the mentally ill.

“Joker” certainly get’s A-pluses in plenty of areas of course; Joaquin Phoenix probably deserves an Oscar for his twisted depiction of a pre-clown prince Joker as he fully takes on the character’s twisted, emaciated skin and Philips certainly creates a believable pre-Batman Gotham city with some effective Scorsese-esque shot creation and sets. The movie though is extremely predictable as nothing all that surprising happens from beginning to end. It’s just one shitty moment for Arthur after another, culminating with (SPOILER) Arthur’s encounter with a young Bruce Wayne that leads to the final moments of the film.

(Did we really need to put Bruce through this again onscreen? The MCU gave Uncle Ben a reprieve at least...)

I wish I could get into the more superficial reasons this movie doesn’t work, such as its overly self-serious dialogue, Philips making some perhaps unintentionally humorous moments in the movie but the problem is truly it’s muddled script that appears to not really understand what mental health issues look like and who the real victims are.

“Joker” appears to make the case that society has largely ignored and left behind those with this stigma, that we are responsible for not engaging with the problem actively and not caring about the problem. Throughout the film, Gotham and its inhabitants are relentlessly cruel to Arthur, sometimes to the point where it can be over the top, showing that this is what we do to people like Arthur in the real world. They are beaten both physically and mentally and we refuse to understand or acknowledge their existence and their problems.

In this way the film almost endorses Arthur’s eventual turn to violence as the price paid for ignoring people like this.

(I’m amazed how literal some of these memes ended up being after watching this movie...)

Again, the problem with this film isn’t that this isn’t a tremendous issue in society because it is; suicide rates are climbing, despite progress in mental health awareness many country’s still stigmatize it as a “you problem,” and healthcare in this country, well you know the drill. The problem is the film seems to make the claim that these folks who are left behind by these broken systems are in danger of becoming violent monsters and it’s fucking gross.

I cannot stress this enough when I say this but there is NO CONNECTION between mental health problems and an increase in violence. In fact, they are far more likely, ten times more likely in fact, to be the victims of the kind of monster The Joker is in this movie.

The idea that simply better healthcare will make those with mental health issues less likely to commit violence isn’t a new one. The NRA and other small-brained politicians (left and right) have been scapegoating them since the days of Columbine and our doofus of a “president” isn’t far behind in licking those boots.

In the wake of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas shooting, as protesters did walkouts to decry gun violence, the mental health “advocates” made a counter protest called “walk-up” encouraging students to talk to each other more and engage with the outcasts in their schools.

While I certainly can agree that we should all try to be nicer to each other instead of not at all, it grossly ignores the fact that the shooter, Nicholas Cruz, was reportedly abusive, sexist and racist to his fellow classmates. Tell me, in what world would it be smart or safe, especially for a female student, to engage with a guy like this? Cruz didn’t kill people because he had “mental health problems,” he killed people because he was evil asshole.

(Yup, these people definitely look just some misunderstood social outcasts who were just in need of a few more hugs and some happy pills. Yup....)

Again, I can’t stress this enough lack of mental healthcare doesn’t make super villains; it’s pure fiction like this movie. Throughout the film Arthur is bombarded with slight after slight after slight be it from the institutions that leave him in the dust or the people around him. The movie kind of wants to state that the intuitions need more help but weirdly at the same time shouldn’t be trusted as Arthur is openly hostile with them throughout the movie. It’s almost comical at times as after a while and some viewers might find themselves after a while going “ok, we get it. The world is really mean to this guy, when does he become The Joker?”

The point is though, the motives behind great acts of violence have rarely, if ever, been about not being able to get access to some guy’s prescription drugs. In fact, the truly mentally ill are far more likely to be a danger to themselves than to others (as stated in a few of these articles linked already).

But for argument’s sake let’s pretend that this is not meant to be a literal depiction of how mental healthcare in society has failed people. Let’s say its metaphorical instead, that those with mental health issues become monsters within their own minds, hell the movie kind of alludes to a bent reality that may or may not have happened within Arthur Fleck’s mind.

(It’s actually one of the few narrative choices I liked about this movie, so A for effort, Mr. Philips.)

The problem with that is that again it depicts the mentally ill as monsters instead of the victims of those kinds of people. The movie does make a point of depicting the system as monstrous but again a person like The Joker as a product of that is misleading of what is actually going on.

Depicting the mentally ill as monsters, be it metaphorical or literal, will do more harm than good to those who are afflicted by these issues.

While I do not subscribe to the idea, necessarily, that movies create shooters these films definitely don’t exist in a vacuum either. Afterall there are still d-bags who think Tyler Durden is the real hero of “Fight Club,” and idolize maniacs like Al Pacino’s “Scarface” because they’re “badass’s.” I went into this movie thinking the pre-trailer controversy was likely overblown but I came out of it thinking some incel asshole could absolutely find something to relate to in this particular version of The Joker.

This movie has proven to me that the Joker’s origins are simply best left mysterious. He is just best used as a stand-in for chaos and anarchy with no specific goals or ideologies. Though his psychosis has certainly been the stuff of speculation behind his motives for decades by the fans its never been about him being crazy so much as it is about him being the antithesis to Batman’s ridgid sense of law and order.

youtube

(Probably the best cinematic depiction of that clash of ideologies.)

The Joker is a fascinating character and there’s a reason fans have gravitated to him for so long and inspired plenty of writers, directors and actors to try their hand with him. But any amount of understanding regarding what’s going on with mental health in society will take you out of this movie almost instantly for most people.

I think fans of this movie have perhaps latched on to the right messages of the movie, namely that we do need to do better with mental health and the mentally ill in this country, and I definitely don’t disagree with that, but the conclusions this movie appears to come to just aren’t right and it makes the movie damn near unwatchable for myself at least.

I’ll close with this though, “Joker” is inspiring in one way and one way only for me and that’s that it may cause a change in the way Hollywood see’s this genre of movies. I’ve written extensively myself about how, at times, the MCU has too rigidly adhered to the blockbuster formula and created almost a factory-line style of movies for the general populace to devour but a film like this, that is enjoying quite a bit of success right now, could change the way major studios approach these characters.

(The blockbuster formula can be great though sometimes if done right. Exhibit A ^)

Superheroes are modern Greek myths these days and have tons of source material and nuance to mine for directors and writers. Restricting them just to simple heavily CGI, action blockbusters is a disservice to their extensive catalog of stories and the comic book writers that made them famous.

While “Joker” is definitely not my favorite comic book movie of all-time I can respect that it took the risk of doing something different and going against the grain of most of the rest of the genre. If it inspires Hollywood to greenlight newer and more unique depictions of these characters I’m all for it.

In the end though, “Joker” is a mess of a movie that sends some right messages but ultimately the wrong one. If you enjoyed it great, I won’t stop you but I do ask you to think about how this movie could be twisted in the wrong ways as well.

After all, we live in a society...

VERDICT:

2 out of 5

Can we all agree at least this is still the best version of The Clown Prince of Gotham?

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eggshellsreview · 5 years

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Spirited Away (2001) Review

Spirited Away is a movie that I've seen frames of and hear praises for since as long as I could remember. It's a later Studio Ghibli movie, and easily one of the most iconic of the assortment I plan to get through on this blog.

Despite the fact the movie was so present in pop culture for so long, I never stopped to think about how old it actually is. The reason for that is the first thing you'll notice when you watch the movie; it's animation. Right off the bat you'll see timeless animation that looks on par with some more recent animes, but with the touch and details of anything hand drawn carefully. It's easily the biggest strength of the film and a huge reason people love it (and Ghibli films in general). Although I can't yet speak for other Ghibli movies yet, the animation in Spirited Away specifically works in even more ways than just looking great as, given the plot of the film, it also helps establish it's setting and atmosphere.

Spirited Away, as the title hints towards, explores a spirit realm that co-exists on our world that our child protagonist, Chihiro Ogino, finds herself stumbling into during the moving process into her new home. Unfortunately for Chihiro, this adventure embarks in incredibly distressing context as, due to their negligence, her parents found themselves victims to the spirit realm's bizareness. Having end up turned to pigs, Chihiro's parents now must depend on their daughter to learn the ways of this spirit realm to find a chance to get her parents back to normal, and to get them back home.

This journey to a resolution is where the movie really starts climbing up to its climax. With our protagonist now roaming the spirit realm, we go full on crazy with the beings that exist in it. Anthropomorphic frogs, witches, ghouls, dragons, all that good stuff. And each design has such great love embedded into it that you just wanna stop and stare whenever a funky looking character shows up.

Unfortunately, this is kind of where the craftsmanship of the movie isnt as fun anymore. This movie's plot is set up really well. It's world is set up really well. But, man, its story hits an unfortunate decline in terms of how engaging it is.

Chihiro is explained immediately that she must be contracted to a labor provider in order to stay in this spirit realm, and eventually she gets a job. The journey she undergoes to land the job is sweet and all, but then she gets a position as a hotel worker and its just weird in terms of story. During her employement, Chihiro just does a lot of nothing. We see her interact with the hotel staff and the wild assortment of guests, and all of that is great. It helps build the atmosphere, and it helps provide characters for our protagonist's traits to bounce off of so we get to know who she is. However, it's also pausing the intense conflict of her parents turning to pigs and being in danger of being killed at any moment, to show Chihiro clean floors or banter with her mentor, or help a client. A majority of the movie is just thinking "hey, thats really funny and cute, well animated, and straight up cool, but where's the plot. Why is this happening?".

This happens A LOT through the movie, and all it does is makes me wish Spirited Away was a short animated series about the hotel and its awesome variety of guests because thats easily what youre going to remember most about the movie, even though, again, it didn't actually move the plot at all. This is why this movie's so hard to actually formally talk about for me right now. Because I definitely saw a lot of stuff happen, but not much of it actually contributed to the main character's goals. Instead she just constantly gets saved by plot armor and insane coincidences.

Anyone who has watched this movie knows I haven't mentioned the main male character of the movie who's name I've already forgotten. Thats because despite being constantly talked about and seen, the only thing I can recall he did of value to help Chihiro, was tell her to get a job 15 minutes into the movie. Beyond that he was just filler for the movie to try to add some personality to it's cast of support characters.That pretty much sums up my biggest issue with the movie; it's very very empty. And even though the setting and atmosphere is done INCREDIBLY fantastic, when it comes to movies, i don't want to just sit and look at cool designs. The lack of satisfying plot unfortunately hinders the movie a lot of me. I almost wish it was entirely intended for kids, so I can pass it off as just being meant as pretty stuff to look at, but with smoking, monsters, some violence, a bit of blood, and some generally disturbing (for children) scenes, the movie just isn't even that.

I'm sure people can tell me where theres significance in the movie's writing, but the thing is, I see it, its just not relevant. You can pretend to argue that the movie was about Chihiro's growth and determination because she seemed shy and cowardly in the beginning of the film, but she wasn't being cowardly, she was being rational and her parents (like I said at the beginning) were being negligent of their own safety and the safety of their daughter's life. Thats why I exclusively mentioned her parent's lack of thinking, because why should I want Chihiro to change when her hestiance seemed more like rationality when it was the only reason she didn't get turned to a pig destined to be killed like her parents.

Even if she DID have to change, there blatantly just wasn't any actual development. She was scared of a staircase like 50ft tall at one point, but that's rational too. Whenever she had to do anything absurd like care for monster clients or clean or anything work related she didnt even remotely hesitate so I genuinely did not once feel she even was actually cowardly because she immediately adjusted to the spirit realm.

She's not the only issue with this. We have a sort of antagonist called No-Face who also despite being in a vast majority of the film, wasn't actually relevant to the plot enough to mention until now, who had a symbolism thing going on where you'd only be victim of his gimmick if you were greedy. And yeah cool, I get that, but that's so irrelevant to the Chihiro and her goal that it just didn't matter to me. He ended up being being used to show that Chihiro has positive impact on the world around her by not being greedy and all that, but like, why. I never once ever considered Chihiro to be greedy especially when she was shown to be hesitant and careful in the beginning of the film. So why create an entire side plot dedicated to this notion as if there was any doubt to it.

Ultimately, this movie just didn't land as a movie that'll stick to me at all. It's a gorgeous world with gorgeous art, but with how little goes on it, I can't see myself recommend it to anyone or even revisit it myself. Not to descredit the effort that went into this movie, but there are other movies with unique and beautiful animation and/or great settings with great character designs. I just don't see Spirited Away being a movie that compares as much to other movies that have those things AND a better plot. However, Spirited Away is at least clean and cohesive. Although empty, it's easy to follow even with all it's fun magic rules and so I won't say the writing is bad, but rather it just leaves a lot to be desired. Which is why I said it'd be much more engaging as an episodic animated series. So overall, I'd give this movie a 7/10. For excelling in a lot of areas, but needing improvement in a lot of other others. I might have been a bit disappointed with this movie, but with what it did really well, I'm still very excited to see what the next Ghibli movies I'm going to watch will have in store for me!

#spirited away #ghibli #review #animated #movie #family #eggshellreview #anime #which ghibli movie do i watch next #story #fantasy #art #design #plot

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f4liveblogarchives · 5 years

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Fantastic Four Vol 1 #141

Tues Jul 30 2019 [06:02 PM] Wack'd: So Reed, Johnny, Ben, Wyatt, and Medusa reawaken in Annihilus' chambers, where he reveals he's also kidnapped Sue, Franklin, Agatha and...Ebony [06:02 PM] Umbramatic: hi ebony [06:02 PM] maxwellelvis: Whomst? [06:02 PM] Wack'd: I am very curious to what end Annihilus needed Agatha's cat

[06:02 PM] maxwellelvis: Ohh, the cat [06:03 PM] Umbramatic: kitty [06:03 PM] Wack'd: Ebony has had absolutely no baring on the plot ever [06:03 PM] Wack'd: And now this poor kitty's in the Negative Zone [06:03 PM] Umbramatic: inb4 they're secretly a flerkin spy [06:04 PM] Bocaj: Ebony is a witch's familiar and so has WEIRD MAGICAL POWERS SOMETIMES [06:04 PM] Bocaj: like turning from a cat into a cat that is bigger than that [06:05 PM] Umbramatic: are they ever in a hat [06:05 PM] Bocaj: Its plausible [06:05 PM] Umbramatic: or using a bat [06:05 PM] Bocaj: The official stats for Ebony from Marvel are pretty bananas [06:05 PM] Bocaj: Intelligence, Speed, and Fighting Skills 2; Strength and Energy Projection 4. And Durability maxed out at 7 for some damn reason [06:05 PM] maxwellelvis: Nine lives, baby! [06:05 PM] Bocaj: I should hope nine lives applies. Because in the Vision comic Agatha kills Ebony to eat leaves from her stomach guts [06:05 PM] maxwellelvis: What kind of voice have you been imagining for Annihilus? [06:05 PM] Wack'd: Pitch Richard Horvitz' Zim down two octaves, change “s” sounds to “z”s, and add some digital distortion--that's how Annihilus sounds in my head [06:06 PM] maxwellelvis: Myself, I think either Horde Prime or the Dalek Emperor is my mental Annihilus voice [06:07 PM] Bocaj: I don't have an actual voice in mind but in my opinion Annihilus and Ultron should both sound like piss babies [06:10 PM] Wack'd: So anyway, exposition exposition exposition, fight fight fight. [06:10 PM] Bocaj: As ya do [06:11 PM] Wack'd: Really Annihilus just goes over the details of their last encounter, explains how he kidnapped Agatha, and then puts Reed, Johnny, Ben, and Medusa in some kind of machine using robot tentacles [06:11 PM] Umbramatic: lewd [06:11 PM] Bocaj: :notentacle: [06:11 PM] Wack'd: MEANWHILE [06:11 PM] Bocaj: AT THE HALL OF JUSTICE [06:12 PM] Wack'd: Alicia is flying to Europe! [06:12 PM] Wack'd: By sheer coincidence, Ben has missed the phone every single time she tried to call to tell him [06:12 PM] Wack'd: And by the time he called her, she was already en route [06:13 PM] Wack'd: This has made her a little bit worried about their relationship, but apparently the reason she's going to Europe is to do something that will remove all barriers between them and marriage [06:13 PM] Umbramatic: ominous [06:14 PM] Wack'd: She's going to get her vision back! Obviously there are massive problems with this line of thinking but honestly I'm just glad she's taking initiative and it's not the dudes working on a cure for her behind her back [06:14 PM] Wack'd: He seems trustworthy!

[06:15 PM] Wack'd: We now return to the main story, already in progress [06:16 PM] Wack'd: This was inevitable

[06:17 PM] Wack'd: So the five set up camp and are promptly attacked by monsters [06:18 PM] Wack'd: Which they handle with ease, which means their powers are coming back, which--

[06:18 PM] Wack'd: I'm not really sure how this tracks [06:19 PM] Wack'd: I mean yes obviously he's going to drain Franklin of his powers, but we knew that, because he abducted him

[06:21 PM] Umbramatic: BABY POWER [06:23 PM] Wack'd: So Johnny uses his flame to tunnel back into Annihilus' keep [06:23 PM] Wack'd: Fight fight fight [06:25 PM] Wack'd: They kick Annihilus basically by not giving him a chance to get to his feet and retaliate. Just a very comprehensive pummeling [06:25 PM] Wack'd: Reed removes Franklin from the power drainer which can't have helped [06:26 PM] Wack'd: We've gotten some vague hints of Franklin's power before but I think this is the first indication of how damn game-breaking the kid is

[06:27 PM] Umbramatic: something something infinite cosmic power itty bitty living space [06:27 PM] Wack'd: So! Agatha poofs everyone back home [06:28 PM] Wack'd: And then [06:28 PM] Wack'd: This happens

[06:29 PM] Bocaj: "You said you wanted me to take a more active role in raising Franklin!" -incoherent Sue noises- [06:30 PM] maxwellelvis: Welcome to one of Reed's most infamous moments. [06:30 PM] Bocaj: So I didn't misremember Reed lobotomizing his kid [06:30 PM] Bocaj: Its just a weirdly common occurrence in comics for some reason [06:31 PM] Umbramatic: oh [06:31 PM] Wack'd: I will say, in fairness to Reed [06:32 PM] Wack'd: As far as he knows he had a matter of seconds between a choice to annihilate the solar system or lobotomize his kid [06:32 PM] Wack'd: It's an extremely cruel moral calculus but he's...not wrong? [06:32 PM] maxwellelvis: On the bright side, if it was this or risking Franklin turning into an Anthony, or like Tetsuo, and shooting his kid with that gun, he probably made the right call. [06:33 PM] Wack'd: Especially because the moon and Mars are inhabited in this universe. Titan. [06:33 PM] maxwellelvis: Well, probably not Titan anymore. I think by this time Thanos had destroyed the Titans. [06:33 PM] Aleph Null: a tit from titan [06:35 PM] Bocaj: I don’t like situations contrived so that Reed doing a shitty thing is the Only Way [06:35 PM] Bocaj: It’s a very specific feeling [06:36 PM] Wack'd: It is definitely a bad scenario that Conway built [06:36 PM] Wack'd: Like, as a storytelling choice, I'm not really here for it [06:36 PM] maxwellelvis: He seems to like that trope [06:36 PM] Umbramatic: it's a bit dumb yeah [06:37 PM] maxwellelvis: Earlier that same year he'd offered an even more sadistic choice to Spider-Man [06:37 PM] Wack'd: But you go to war with the Fantastic Four you have, not the Fantastic Four you want--and I'm not really buying this as a huge black mark on Reed's record [06:37 PM] Bocaj: That’s fair enough [06:38 PM] maxwellelvis: and Reed shooting his own son like that carries a similar energy to me. [06:39 PM] Wack'd: Moving on? I guess? [06:40 PM] Wack'd: This is Buscema's last issue for a good long while and he'll never be the "main" artist again [06:40 PM] Wack'd: So I should probably say something about his three-year run [06:41 PM] Wack'd: He doesn't really have the same visual inventiveness as Kirby, but Thomas and Conway never really demand that of him? He does a pretty good job taking the excesses of Kirby's style and recreating them in a manageable way [06:42 PM] Wack'd: His expression work is far better than Kirby's ever was--no more Johnny nightmare faces or dull surprise [06:42 PM] Wack'd: His poses are dynamic and lively--the Buscema punch is a classic for a reason [06:44 PM] Wack'd: He's a strong visual storyteller who can do the things asked of him really well, but doesn't really bring much personal style to the proceedings--which as a hired hand on a 70s comic probably made him a perfect fit [06:45 PM] Wack'd: He'll be popping back in from time to time, but it's here he needs closure [06:45 PM] Wack'd: I hope I've provided some [06:46 PM] maxwellelvis: I think he gets into his groove a while after this. [06:47 PM] maxwellelvis: This run relied on a lot of returning villains so he didn't have much chances to stretch for anything or really make his mark on it, and he's coming in right off of the King, right? [06:47 PM] Wack'd: Romita Sr has four issues between them [06:47 PM] Wack'd: But more or less [06:47 PM] maxwellelvis: Ahh [06:48 PM] maxwellelvis: Because I've seen his work in other comics, and those have quite a different feel to these FF comics. [06:48 PM] maxwellelvis: Stuff like his Silver Surfer run, where he created Mephisto [06:48 PM] maxwellelvis: And I think this run on FF is also before Buscema was able to make his definite stamp on pop culture by creating the iconic look for Conan the Cimmerian, and, for better or worse, Red Sonja [06:48 PM] Wack'd: Now entering: 1974, and the Rich Buckler era

#1973 #Gerry Conway #John Buscema #The Main Book

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dalekofchaos · 5 years

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My Ideas for what they can have Indy search for in Indiana Jones 5

Indiana Jones 5 will eventually come out and since there is no title to indicate what Indy will be searching for, here are some ideas I have that I’d love to see in a Indiana Jones 5!

The Voynich Manuscript. is a 240-page document (though some pages are missing) which is believed to be around 600 years old. Despite years of research and analysis, nobody actually knows what it says. Cryptographers all over the world have been stumped by its mysteries, and its true purpose remains a mystery to this day. Maybe Indiana Jones, genius explorer, could figure out the secret of the Manuscript.We could easily envision Indy's next adventure revolving around deciphering the meaning of the curious text and following its instructions on some kind of ancient treasure hunt, all while being pursued by villains. In this respect, the Manuscript could function like a more esoteric version of Dr. Henry Jones's diary from The Last Crusade, dragging Indy and his allies to a variety of wild places in the search of fortune and glory, while focusing the story and keeping the action moving at a blistering pace.

Holy Lance/the Spear of Destiny/the Spear of Longinus. the Spear of Longinus is said to be the weapon which pierced the dying Jesus of Nazareth as he hung from the cross. According to Christian legend, Longinus is said to have been so moved by the events of the crucifixion that he dedicated the rest of his life to spreading Jesus's teachings, and is today remembered as a Holy Saint. Numerous cities claim to hold the Spear of Longinus today, though such a claim is practically impossible to verify.If there's one (fictional) man who could find a way to prove the legitimacy of any of the so-called Holy Lances, it's Indiana Jones. The man has prior experience with biblical artifacts, having successfully tracked down both the Ark of the Covenant and the Holy Grail. We trust in Indy to recover the spear from... Let's say, satanic occultists, and put it in a museum, where it belongs.

Al Capone‘s Treasure. Al Capone is probably the most famous gangster of all time; during the late 1920s, Capone practically had the whole of Chicago under his thumb. Eventually, he was busted for tax evasion (of all crimes) and sent to Alcatraz prison. He died in 1947. However, years later, secret tunnels belonging to the dead gangster were discovered, including locked vaults, and Geraldo subsequently hosted a two-hour television special dedicated to opening the vault. In the end, however, only a handful of empty moonshine bottles were found.What if Indiana Jones did battle with the mob over Al Capone's treasure, which is the reason why it was empty in 1986? Indy fighting against Mafia hitmen in a big city would be a cool change of pace for the character. Likewise, pursuing a more modern treasure would offer a new take on the classic Indy formula.

Pandora’s Box. Pandora's Box contained all of the evil in the world, as well as hope, which was all humanity was left with to protect themselves after the box was opened. Indiana Jones has surprisingly not explored Greek mythology in the movies, and we think it's time to change that. We'd love to see Indy chase after some secret cabal of evil-doers across scenic Greece in a race to discover Pandora's Box and the power concealed within.Also, Pandora's Box would be a good place for Disney to go if they want to try to evoke the first film in the series, Raiders of the Lost Ark. Both the Ark of the Covenant and Pandora's Box are mysterious chests containing a powerful esoteric force within that can presumably destroy entire armies in an instant. Maybe the movie can even use these similarities to make an attempt to connect the Christian and Greek mythologies.

Excalibur. The mythology of King Arthur and his knights of the round table is universally known in one form or another. From the Disney classic, The Sword in the Stone, to Guy Ritchie's upcoming King Arthur: Legend of the Sword. King Arthur's iconic signature weapon is Excalibur, given to him by the Lady of the Lake; in most versions of the legend, Excalibur is not the same as the Sword in the Stone, contrary to popular belief.We know that Indy is a whip-and-six-shooter kind of guy, but we still would love to see him wield the famous sword of Arthurian legend, perhaps doing battle with evil knights clad in full armor or some other sinister villains who want to seize the blade's power to blind its enemies, and make the wielder immune to damage. Unless they're going up against Daredevil, any army that went up against Excalibur would be useless against its great might. This one definitely "belongs in a museum."

The Fountain Of Youth. Indiana Jones is old. Harrison Ford is 74 years old, and will be 79 when Indy 5 comes out in 2021. What if Indiana Jones discovers the fountain of youth about halfway through Indy 5, and we are treated to a gloriously young and vibrant version of the swashbuckling hero? Maybe the effect will wear off or have some kind of undesirable side-effect, and Indy will have to accept that it's okay to be old, and resolve to make the most of the time he has left. This will satisfy the audience's desire to see a young Indy, as well as tackle the perceived problem of Harrison Ford's advanced age all without having to resort to recasting one of cinema's most adored and respected characters.

The Tower of Babel. Biblical lore suggests that the tower existed during the days of Babylon, but that God mysteriously destroyed the edifice and cursed its erectors. The video game takes this legend one step further; Indy suggests that the Tower may have housed a legendary machine, which the Soviets want to use in order to summon a malevolent deity known as Marduk to Earth. This particular storyline maintains the traditionally biblical nature of the Indy franchise, but cranks the stakes up to eleven by having Indy quite literally prevent an apocalyptic event.

The Knife of Cain. The Knife of Cain is an artifact that appeared in the 1990 novel Young Indiana Jones and the Secret City. Taking inspiration from the legendary story of Cain and Abel from the Old Testament, it’s believed that the knife was used to commit the first recorded act of murder in the history of existence. The Indy story suggests that the knife’s power would reveal itself every time the stars, planets, and moons aligned in the same position as they were when Cain murdered his brother Abel, and that the power endowed by the knife would afford the one in control of it the power to conquer the world. That's a lot of pressure to put on a kid, so an older, more seasoned Indy may have a better chance of winning this time around.

The Labyrinth of the Minotaur. Another entry from Greek mythology, the next installment in the landmark franchise could see our hero lost in a maze, searching for the fabled Minotaur. Having Indy scower the Labyrinth of the Minotaur on the island of Crete could offer the Indiana Jones franchise a refreshing change of pace. Rather than a globetrotting adventure, the entire movie could be restricted to a cat-and-mouse game between our favorite archaeologist and a monster possessing the head of a bull and the body of a man. Using only his wits, the equipment he brings with him, and the thread of Ariadne, Indy would have to navigate the Labyrinth, defeat the Minotaur, and get out alive

Montezuma’s Treasure. Montezuma was an Aztec king that was responsible for major expansion of the Aztec Empire. But then a bunch of Spaniards showed up and started slaughtering the Aztecs, so Montezuma rounded up a bunch of gold and other valuables and sent them north, out the hands of the Spaniards.Fast forward a couple thousand years to 1914, when a prospector named Freddy Crystal would find a stone etching in southern Utah that matched a symbol on a map said to lead to Montezuma’s treasure. This symbol led to the discovery of a vast network of caves, laced with booby traps that claimed the lives of more than a few treasure seekers.Now, the great thing about this treasure is that entire story is verifiably true. And, like the Bermuda Triangle, this treasure fits wonderfully into Indy’s timeline.Last Crusade’s opening scene, as I mentioned before, takes place in 1912, when Indy is just thirteen years old. And where is he living in 1912, and thus likely in 1914 when Freddy Crystal would begin the search for Montezuma’s treasure? That’s right, Moab, Utah, the exact geographical location of Crystal’s search. Surely young Indy would have heard of Crystal’s excavation, and maybe could have even been a part of it. There you go, Disney. There’s half a screenplay for you right there. Indy needs to go on a good, old-fashioned treasure hunt, because, after all, what does he want most in life?Fortune and glory, kid. Fortune and glory.

Atlantis. One of the most well-known and beloved ideas in all of mythology, the lost city of Atlantis is a world that exists at the bottom of the ocean and has informed numerous works across all of pop culture. We’ve seen Indy trek through deserts, jungles, and ruined cities, but we’ve never seen him wholly envelope himself in another world, so this could represent the next major step for the franchise.

#Indiana Jones #Indiana Jones 5 #Harrison Ford

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dachi-chan25 · 7 years

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IT (1986)

What is it about? The Losers Club, a group of 7 kids that in different ways are outsiders among the other children in the little town of Derry must come back 27 years after defeating their worst fears embodied in a evil alien entity that has preyed on this small Maine town and its recidents since the dawn of time. Thoughts: - I have read this book a gazillion times and it’s my favorite Stephen King book of all time (though that may change once I finish this challenge, but only time will tell) everytime I read through its pages is like reuniting with an old dear friend, because most of the characters (read: the Losers Club) are just that for me, I read this book for the first time when I was 15 after growing up with the 90’s miniseries, and I loved it, that feeling hasn’t changed with the years and well I want to elaborate a bit on what I love about this book. - Derry’s history: One of the reasons this book is so damn big is that it delves on the history of this little town called Derry, of course this is to help the reader understand just for how long and how big is IT’s influence on the town, but I just found it so fascinating, I’ve always loved history, and this book just reaaaally fullfiled my needs in that aspect, the town’s history is full of gruesome events but it’s very intresting and through all the same. -Loser’s Club: I love this kids, we are introduced to them little by little through different POV’s and god, I just really like the diversity and complexity in them: a kid with a stutter, an asthmatic that is really a kid heavily manipulated by his overprotective mother, an overweight, a jewish with OCD, a girl victim of physical/emotional parental abuse, the class clown that most likely has ADHD, the only black boy in town… And what I love the most is that they are NOT defined by that, sure,that is how the world sees them but they are so much more than that and together they find their true identities: Stuttering Bill be comes the Leader, Asthmatic Eddie becomes the Compass, Fat Ben becomes the Constructor, Jewish Stan becomes the Logic, Poor Beverly becomes the Shooter, Trashmouth Richie becomes the Weapon (his voces physically hurt IT), Black Mike becomes the Historian. As well as the belonging and friendship they had never had before, their relationship is strong and beautiful, as a reader you will most often find some of yourself in them and even if you don’t you love them all the same for their flaws and virtues. -IT: I read somewhere that a story is only as great as its villian and in IT’s case that I think is only fitting, thus my love for is evil entity, because IT is really a big represantation of violence not necessarily(The Bradley Gang Shooting was afterall motivated by the Derry townsfolk rightgeousness) but mostly evil, IT transforms into awfull gruesome monsters yet his most terrifying act is the influence it helds on the people inhabiting Derry, on taking the violent nature of some people (Derry’s White Decency League, Eddie Corcoran stepfather’s, Alvin Marsh, Butch and Henry Bowers…) and exploit it for its own gain, IT is scary for it’s power, for the fact that one can really comprehend it’s magitude, and when we finally get to get inside it’s head we find something more akin to a beast, hungry and vengeful, he had turned lazy because he already had in Derry a comfortable feeding place and now wants to kill the Loser’s Club because for the first time in its long existance IT feels fear! and how wonderful is that? a group of scared isolated kids find strenght in each other to rid their Town and follow kids of this entity, even if they are afraid themselves, and they succeed in frightening a creature that literally feeds of fear. -The portrayal of the timelines and gruesome subjects: The 1950 are not usted only for aesthetics or praised as the “good old times” King shows a very gritty reality showcasing the racism (very prominent in Mike’s storyline), sexism, homophobia, domestic violence, anti-semitism,and it goes further yet showing that 27 years later these things haven’t changed and IT uses them for it’s benefit. The book doesn’t shy away from any of these things and often it is very hard to read through them but as well I think is important to read them to gain concience,they are not presented as good or romantiziced in any from or way, nor should they ever be (dude the anti-semitism in Patricia Uris’s POV is something that will open your eyes in many ways if you are not jewish, and the Black Spot story will horrify you but also help you understand it was not only the South of USA and the KKK that spread hate and horror for PoC people) this things are meant to horrify you thus I feel it would be a disservice not to read them (though I can understand if anyone simply can’t). -The bittersweet ending: Really heart breaking that after reuniting with the people they could really be themselves with the Loser’s Club are meant to not remember each other ( SPOILERS AHEAD DO NOT READ IF YOU DON’T WANNA SPOIL PART OF THE ENDING OF THE BOOK: as a side note and I do not mean this as hate to the ship or anything but a real doubt I have can anyone explain to me why is everyone saying/asuming Ben and Beverly did end up together?, I mean going by the 90’s miniseries sure, but in the book Mike only says she is going to Nebraska with Ben and then back to Chicago with Kay and that he thinks they are/will be having sex, but also later we find that even if they are in the same Town Mike and Bill have begun to forget each other and it’s heavily implied the same will happen with them all? and that is a very Stephen King thing to do I mean most of the book couples I’ve read from him have similar bittersweet endings so… Pls someone explain) I just always about cry about the End and you know the THING that happens with two of the losers. But also I am a ho for this kind of bittersweet stuff so of course I love it. -Richie and Beverly’s friendship: Listen I LIVE for them, of course I just about adore every Loser’s friendship (Bill/Eddie, Richie/Stan, Richie/Eddie, Richie/Bill, Mike/Ben, Stan/Bev duuuude everyone is amazing) but this two just about make me crazy about them, tbh I kinda lowkey ship them in a platonic kinda way, and I was endlessly frustrated by the lack of scenes between them in the 90’s miniseries after I read the book cuz booooy, the yo-yo scene is so goddamned amazing, Richie being the first POV in which Bev is mentioned and he reminds her through the lyric of a song, his Humphrey Bogart voice he does when speaking with her, how much he respects her, also Miss Sca'lett!!!, not to mention that sweet ass scene they have in the book “22/11/63” where Bev is teaching Richie how to swing for a school talent show, ahhhh Imma stop right there cuz I am fangirling waaaay to much and probably y'all think I am wierd for liking such an unpopular thing. -There is just one thing I always felt was completely unecessary to add and was gross to read (you already know what I am talking about and if not I’m not gonna spoil you/gross you out), I have read of course why SK did it but I still think he should have looked for another way to make the Losers enter adulthood : / Movie/TV Adaptations: There are 2: The ABC’s 1990 miniseries “IT” and the 2017 movie by Andy Muschietti “IT (chapter 1)” of course it has been already confirmed there is going to be another movie for the Second part but I will not to go too much into it now. 1990: The opinions on this one are very polarized, some love it with a passion, some hate it… I actually love it, and by that I do not mean is a perfect adaptation, but it was such an integral part of my childhood and family life that it would be impossible for me to hate it, and I feel most people are terribly unfair with it, because it is not a Bad adaptation like let’s say Kubrick’s Shining (yaa I’m going there) it had a lot of limitations in budget and technology and still managed to capture some of the best parts of the book (the Loser’s friendship mainly, it was beautiful) of course it wasn’t gorey or violent but in it’s time it was scary as hell, which beings me to Tim Curry’s performance as Pennywise that became so iconic people automatically recognize the clown’s design, for fuck’s sake Pennywise became one of the most iconic monsters of that time and terrorized an entire generation of kids and adults alike, of course it has it’s faults (the adult’s part wasn’t great, tho the scene with Bev in Mrs. Kersh house was great, and the ending was bound to be confusing af to people that didn’t read the book) but overall it was a good atempt and it already has a place in pop culture and the hearts of many horror fans. 2017: Oh boy I was really looking forward to this one since they anounced it was going to be a thing (ahhh remember the time Will Poulter and Cary Fukunaga were our only hope?) and just had the chance to see it today, because a lot of awful things happened in my country (I am mexican btw) and yeah, so I left the theater with a very pleasant sensation IT 2017 is a great movie and I LOVED it, the acting was GREAT everyone did amazing, Georgie’s death scene was simply amazing and so sad, the projector scene was wow, lots of winks to book readers like the turtle and Eddie Corcoran’s missing pamphlet, Bev’s bathroom scene, the rock fight!!!,Eddie changing Loser to Lover is iconic, some of Richie’s one-liners were amazing, Pennywise dance pfffftt, Ben was adorable with his crush and love of New Kids on the Block, the Losers,“they’re Gazebos they’re bullshit!” iconic, mainly I feel it captured the general feeling of the book however that does not mean I didn’t had some issues with it as well, first thing that bothered me a LOT is the treatment to Mike Hanlon, excuse the fuck out of me but no, they took his thing (history of Derry) and gave it to Ben (also Ben not constructing things like ??? Could have been a perfect chance to have him build lego stuff but k) where is my beautiful spring loving child?? I just couldn’t find any single trait on his character apart from the wierd sheep thing and his parents, which takes me to another issue why is every adult on Derry so shitty? Like yeah there was a lot of shady awful stuff in the book but there were also ok people namely Mrs. Starret (the librarian, that is so unnecesarily creppy? Wierd? In the movie), Richie’s parents (his dad is hillarious), Mike’s parents they are the best tbh, Mr Keene (ok this one is a sarcastic asshole but he did try to help Eddie instead of letting him keep on believing he was sick to keep selling stuff, and also was never a wierd pervert), Mr. Nell (dude I would have killed to hear Richie doing the Irish Cop voice), the Tracker Brothers (boy Eddie looking longingly at the baseball diamond would have been 10/10, my boy loved sports)… thing is the Losers did love Derry and some parts of their childhood in it and that’s were the nostalgia hits on part two, Stan well I loved they delved more onto his jewishness (a thing not much touched in the book because Stan’s family is not very strictly religious) but was very side lined as well ( in my opinion that part about Richie being scared shitless and Bill punches him would have fit Stan better, also almost all of the Losers got closure (Bev rebelled against her father, Ben kissed Beverly and she got to find out he was the one who wrote the haiku, Bill got to talk with Georgie kind of?, Mike stepped up against Henry, Eddie confronted his mother,Richie let go of his fear to kill the fucking clown…) yet Stan doesn’t I just think it would have been nice to have him iniciate the pact as he did on the book and also his bird book????, the slut shaming and over sexualization of Beverly (I won’t even go into how much it broke my heart to see/hear Richie saying all that stuff about her like no, he respected her a lot thx) just why change the white trash problem to a slut shaming thing???(also while his dad did not beat her in this movie he was so much more GROSS than in the 90’s) I am however not bothered by the ‘Kiss of Life’ trope nor do I think she was reduced to a damsel in distress if anything she was the bravest of them all, also some things not really bothered me but made me wonder what will happen in Chapter 2 namely wft is gonna happen with Henry is he alive?? Same for Bev’s dad what happened there? Is he alive? Is he dead? Though of course we will get answers in chapter 2 I was just like wow how is this gonna pan out. Basically an amazing movie I was not disappointed at all and I would love to watch it again but as an adaptation I think I would still love to see a longish miniseries covering more of Derry’s history and the kid’s personalities/misadventures (of course I do not want THAT scene to be in any adaptation ever) but generally covering more book stuff. but hey all this is just my humble opinion and I admit I adore the book, though I am not closed off to changes just those things kinda made me go hmmmmmm…. Quotes: Stan: “Every- thing’s a lot tougher when it’s for real. That’s when you choke. When it’s for real.” “He wanted to tell them that those dead boys who had lurched and shambled their way down the spiral staircase had done something worse than frighten him: they had offended him.” Bill: “If fiction and politics ever really do become interchangeable, I’m going to kill myself, because I won’t know what else to do. You see, politics always change. Stories never do” “Silver flew and Stuttering Bill Denbrough flew with him; their gantry-like shadow fled behind them. They raced down Up-Mile Hill together; the playing cards roared. Bill’s feet found the pedals again and he began to pump, wanting to go even faster, wanting to reach some hypothetical speed — not of sound but of memory — and crash through the pain barrier.” Richie:“Now he had to go back to being himself, and that was hard — it got harder to do that every year. It was easier to be brave when you were someone else.” “He knew a great deal of the Bible already, and he knew the Bible believed in all sorts of weird stuff. According to the Bible, God Himself was at least one-third Ghost, and that was just the beginning. You could tell the Bible believed in demons, because Jesus threw a bunch of them out of this guy. Real chuckalicious ones, too. When Jesus asked the guy who had them what his name was, the demons answered and told Him to go join the Foreign Legion. Or something like that” (#make chuckalicious happen 2k17) Ben: “Maybe that’s why God made us kids first and built us close to the ground, because He knows you got to fall down a lot and bleed a lot before you learn that one simple lesson. You pay for what you get, you own what you pay for … and sooner or later whatever you own comes back home to you.” “A child blind from birth doesn’t even know he’s blind until someone tells him. Even then he has only the most academic idea of what blindness is; only the formerly sighted have a real grip on the thing. Ben Hanscom had no sense of being lonely because he had never been anything but. If the condition had been new, or more localized, he might have understood, but loneliness both encompassed his life and overreached it. It simply was.” Eddie: “Sometimes home is where the heart is, Eddie thought randomly, I believe that. Old Bobby Frost said home’s the place where, when you go there they have to take you in. Unfortunately, it’s also the place where, once you’re in there, they don’t ever want to let you out.” “Maybe, he thought, there aren’t any such things as good friends or bad friends - maybe there are just friends, people who stand by you when you’re hurt and who help you feel not so lonely. Maybe they’re always worth being scared for, and hoping for, and living for. Maybe worth dying for too, if that’s what has to be. No good friends. No bad friends. Only people you want, need to be with; people who build their houses in your heart.” Mike: “Haunted, haunting, haunt.Often visited by ghosts or spirits, as in the pipes under the sink; to appear or recur often, as every twenty-five, twenty-six, or twenty-seven years; a feeding place for animals, as in the cases of George Denbrough, Adrian Mellon, Betty Ripsom, the Albrecht girl, the Johnson boy.A feeding place for animals. Yes, that’s the one that haunts me.” “But Mike enjoyed most of the places in Derry his father sent or took him to, and by the time Mike was ten Will had succeeded in conveying his own interest in the layers of Derry’s history to his son. Sometimes, as when he had been trailing his fingers over the slightly pebbled surface of the stand in which the Memorial Park birdbath was set, or when he had squatted down to look more closely at the trolley tracks which grooved Mont Street in the Old Cape, he would be struck by a profound sense of time … time as something real, as something that had unseen weight” Bev: “oh shapes of men, sometimes seen as day closed down, sometimes seen across Watertower Square in the noonlight of a clear windy autumn day, shapes of men, rules of men, desires of men: or Tom, so like her father when he took off his shirt and stood slightly slumped in front of the bathroom mirror to shave. Shapes of men.” ‘Is it because I’m a girl?’[…] she exploded.‘Well, fuck you!’ She whirled around to look at the others, and they flinched from her gaze,so hot it was nearly radioactive. 'Fuck all of you if you think the same thing!’ She turned back to Bill and began to talk fast, rapping him with words. 'This is something more than some diddlyshit kid’s game like tag or guns or hide-and-go-seek, and you know it, Bill. We’re supposed to do this. That’s part of it. And you’re not going to cut me out just because I’m a girl.“ Adding this one cuz I love how stupidly cute it is and cuz that Richie is such a charmer XD (wot-wot?) ”[…]'Oh dear, am I being asked out on a date?’ For a moment Richie was uncharacteristically flustered. He actually felt a blush rising in his cheeks. He had made the offer in a perfectly natural way, just as he had made it to Ben … except hadn’t he said something to Ben about owesies? Yes. But he hadn’t said anything about owesies to Beverly. Richie suddenly felt a bit weird. He had dropped his eyes, retreating from her amused glance, and realized now that her skirt had ridden up a bit when she shifted forward to drop the ice-cream cone in the litter barrel, and he could see her knees. He raised his eyes but that was no help; now he was looking at the beginning swells of her bosoms. Richie, as he usually did in such moments of confusion, took refuge in absurdity. 'Yes! A date!’ he screamed, throwing himself on his knees before her and holding his clasped hands up. 'Please come! Please come! I shall ruddy kill meself if you say no, ay-wot? Wot-wot?’ 'Oh, Richie, you’re such a fuzzbrain,’ she said, giggling again … but weren’t her cheeks also a trifle flushed? If so, it made her look prettier than ever. 'Get up before you get arrested.’“

Next Book: “The Eyes of the Dragon”

#IT #Stephen King's IT #IT 2017 #Stephen King #Stephen King's challenge #booklr #dachi reads stuff #dachi rambles

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dannyphantomrpg · 7 years

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Visual Aid: 107 Danny Phantom Facts

So I did this again.

(It’s what keeps me occupied when my husband’s asleep and the tablet pen is charging~)

((This one was barely longer than the 10 Years Later, Part 2, but it took all day for some reason...))

Let’s get this thing started~

Hey everybody, Butch Hartman here. I am so excited today because I'm teaming up with Channel Frederator today to talk about my show, Danny Phantom. Can give you the inside scoop.

You guys remember the fandom? Are you kind of curious about the show? Well, relax, we've got something for everybody here as we talk about the 107 facts about Danny Phantom.

For example, did you know that the 2005 Michael Jackson trial was actually features on Vlad's TV on one episode? It's there.

107 Facts: Danny Phantom.

001 Danny Phantom was created by me, Butch Hartman, after I had previously worked on the Fairly Odd Parents with Nickelodeon.

002 When making the show, I drew a lot of inspiration from Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Ghostbusters.

003 The title Danny Phantom was inspired by the titles of 1960's cartoons like Jonny Quest. More specifically, I wanted to create a title with a real first name, followed by a last name that was also kind of an action word. Some of these alternative action words were "Danny Thunder" "Danny Lightning" and "Danny Power". "Danny Phantom" was the name I went with cause I thought it sounded the coolest.

004 Some of the alternative first names I had for our hero included "Billy Phantom", "Kenny Phantom", "Jackie Phantom", and "Davey Phantom". I think you'll agree they don't quite have the same ring as "Danny Phantom" does.

005 I came up with the concept for the show Danny Phantom while driving a moving van from Las Vegas to Los Angeles with my mother. Unfortunately, she was more fascinated by the sight of a desert tortoise, than the birth of a new, awesome Nicktoon.

006 Before settling on a superhero show, one of my first concepts for Danny Phantom was a bit more in the main Ghostbusters. It was called Danny Phantom and the Specter Detectors, and it would have focused on a powerless Danny and his friends hunting down ghosts, using an array of ghostbusters-like gadgets.

007 Danny Phantom was pitched to Nickelodeon executives over dinner. Execs treated me after they ordered more episodes of Fairly Odd Parents, and they happened to ask me if I had any more ideas for TV shows. And, yes, being treated to nice dinners is definitely an appreciated perk.

008 There's some early concept art of Danny showing a surprising design. I originally drew him with the Superman-type body, which was basically a lot of unrealistic buff muscles. I reverted to the slimmer design when I decided it's be more interesting to portray Danny as a fourteen-year-old kid.

009 I decided Danny should be fourteen years old because that age is kind of a bridge between childhood and adulthood. It's more of a period of self-discovery which certainly fits the theme of Danny learning to live and control his ghostly abilities.

010 Danny's skinnier, final design, was the collaborative effort of character designers Steven Silver, Shannon Tyndall, and - surprise - me.

011 Unlike many other cartoon characters, Danny has five fingers. Take that Timmy Turner.

012 You may notice that when Danny goes ghost, only his hair turns white and his eyebrows stay black. They're actually meant to be white as well, but we all thought the white brows made Danny look like an old man so we, uh, kept 'em.

013 Sam and Danny were originally meant to share a psychic connection, so one would know where the other one was at all times. But I scrapped this to keep things simple. Only Danny was finally to have the superpowers.

014 Danny was originally gonna have a pet owl named Spooky that would be able to track ghosts. I scrapped the concept as Harry Potter rapidly gained popularity. I didn't want his series to be constantly compared to the boy wizard.

015 I wanted to give Danny a really cool ghost motorcycle to use as his primary means of transportation, but then I realized that giving a motorcycle was pointless because, you know, he can fly really fast.

016 The father-son duo of Jack and Danny Fenton are a reference to Jack and Danny Torrance from The Shining, which explains why Jack Fenton constantly accuses his children of being ghosts.

017 I gave Danny an older sibling because, unlike Timmy Turner, I felt that Jazz Fenton would make Danny feel less in control at home and give him somebody to contend with. I thought this lack of control would make Danny's experience with his superpowers all the more satisfying for him.

018 Jazz Fenton was named after a character in John Byrne's 1990's comic book Next Men. I always thought the name Jazz was cool.

019 Tucker Foley's name is a combination of actor and comedian Chris Tucker and Eddie Murphy's character from Beverly Hills Cop, Axel Foley.

020 Danny's teacher, Mr. Lancer, is named after a family restaurant in Burbank called, you guessed it, Lancer's.

021 Vlad Masters was originally going to be a vampire, but Nickelodeon execs thought making him a Vampire could lead to some pretty violent territory and I thought that too. So he was changed into a ghost.

022 A remnant of this scrapped concept can be found in his villain name "Vlad Plasmius". Plasma is found in blood which, you know, vampires kind of have a thirst for.

023 I refer to Vlad Masters as Danny Phantom's Lex Luthor. Like Luthor, Vlad uses his wealth to exert his power, or at least some of it. He also has a personal connection to Danny that gives him the upper hand in most scenarios.

024 Danny's love interest, Paulina Sanchez, is a parallel to Superman's love interest, Lois Lane. Both characters have no romantic interest in the protagonist because they have a crush on the protagonist's superhero alter ego. Lois loves Superman, but not Clark Kent, and Paulina loves Danny Phantom, but not Danny Fenton. Paulina: But you still have no shot with me Oh, the cruel irony.

025 Danny's ghost sense is identical to Spiderman's spider sense. Both senses alert their respective heroes whenever danger is nearby.

026 The parallels of Spiderman don't end there. Dash Baxter is a parallel to Peter Parker's football playing bully, Flash Thompson. Not only do Flash and Dash bully the protagonists of their universes, but they idolize the protagonist's superhero alter ego without realizing the hero is actually the person they bully. Their names both words that describe their quick movement and rhyme with each other.

027 The ghosts of Danny Phantom's world aren't the spirits of the deceased as ghosts tend to be in pop culture. Instead, they're monsters from another dimension. We call them ghosts because it's easier to say and it's more appealing than saying monsters from another dimension.

028 Danny's hometown, Amity Park, is a tribute to the settings of a few famous horror stories. Amityville, Long Island is the location of the famous haunted house known as the Amityville Horror. But Amity Park is also named after Amity Island, the location of the book and Steven Spielberg film Jaws.

029 Danny's high school, Casper High, is named after Casper the Friendly Ghost. Hey, if we hadn't added all these paranormal references, you may have forgotten the show is about ghosts.

030 Quite a few key members from the Fairly Odd Parents had a hand in making Danny Phantom, including writer Steve Marmel and art director Bob Boyle.

031 One of the major differences working on the Fairly Odd Parents and Danny Phantom was the latter series' more serial format containing everything from character arcs to recurring story lines. Danny Phantom embraces storytelling angle by making the episodes 22 minutes long as opposed to Fairly Odd Parents whose 22 minute run time consisted of 2 eleven minute episodes.

032 One of the most challenging aspects of creating a superhero show like Danny Phantom, was giving all the superhero tropes a unique and interesting twist. We wanted to keep the series fresh an unique.

033 I originally wanted to cast a fourteen year old boy for the role of Danny, but I couldn't find anybody that sounded heroic enough. That heroic voice I searched for was ultimately provided by David Kaufman. Before playing Danny, Kaufman broke into the realm of voice acting when he played Marty McFly in Back tot he Future: The Animated Series.

034 David Kaufman kept his audition for Danny as a CD in his car that he would listen to towards the beginning of the show whenever he drove to the studio to record. He did this to remember what Danny sounded like in order to immerse himself into the character efficiently.

035 I wasn't the only one Kaufman's performance left a deep impression on. His daughter, Grace, calls him Daddy Phantom.

036 Sam Manson is played by actress Grey Griffin. I basically made an effort to include her in every show I created back then. Thus far, she's played Vicky in the Fairly Odd Parents and Kitty Katswell from T.U.F.F. Puppy.

037 Tucker isn't the first loyal friend Ricky D'Shon Collins has played. Before hunting ghosts with Danny, he helped TJ Detweiler keep balance and order on the playground as Vince LaSalle in Disney's Recess.

038 Maddie Fenton's voice actress, Kath Soucie, has essentially crafted a career out of voicing cartoon mothers. She played Dexter's mom in Dexter's Laboratory, Betty DeVille in Rugrats and Miriam Pataki in Hey Arnold.

039 Danny's father, Jack, is played by legendary voice actor Rob Paulson, who's played iconic roles like Yakko Warner, Pinky, Carl Weiser, Experiment 625, Donatello in the new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and Raphael in the old one, and way too many more to mention here.

040 Although Mr. Lancer is far from hardcore, his voice actor, Ron Perlman, has played quite a few characters throughout his career that redefined the word, He played Hellboy in the Guillermo del Toro films of the same name and he voices Slade Wilson, also known as Deathstroke, on Teen Titans, as well as the Lich in Adventure Time.

041 Valerie Grey was originally played by Grey DeLisle for the episode My Brother's Keeper before renowned voice actress Cree Summer was chosen to take over the role. If her name doesn't sound familiar, you've probably heard her voice as Penny on Inspector Gadget or maybe even as Susie Carmicheal on Rugrats.

042 Valerie isn't the only one that's had a change in her voice. Dani, that's Dani with an I, was voiced with two different actresses through the series. She was played by AnnaSophia Robb in her debut episode Kindred Spirits. The role was then taken over by Krista Swan in the episode D-Stabilized, which was Dani's second and final speaking appearance.

043 Tara Strong plays two of the show's recurring villains: Ember McLain and Penelope Spectra. This is definitely not the first time I've worked with her. You probably know her best as Timmy Turner in the Fairly Odd Parents, which proves she can effectively play both the hero and the villain.

044 Every celebrity guest in the show was cast as a ghost, similar to how celebrity guests would play villains on the 1960's Batman series starring Adam West and Burt Ward. Some of these celebrities include Particia Heaton from Everybody Loves Raymond as the Lunch Lady, and Matthew St. Patrick from Six Feet Under as Skulker, and Will Arnett from Arrested Development as the Ghost Writer, and Martin Mull as Vlad Plasmius.

045 These celebrity voice actors typically played their ghosts for a limited time before different voice actors took their roles. Sometimes as soon as the ghost's second appearance. Series Kath Soucie took over the role of the Lunch Lady and Kevin Michael Richardson became Skulker.

046 Tucker's dad, Maurice Foley, is voiced by Phil Lamarr who voices Hermes Conrad on Futurama and Samruai Jack on Samurai Jack.

047 Mark Hamill plays Undergrowth. He's, of course, best known for playing Luke Skywalker in Star Wars, but also as countless voice acting credits, including the Joker and Fire Lord Ozai.

048 The ghost child Youngblood was played by actor Taylor Lautner when he was just nine years old. Lautner would later be featured in everybody's favorite love story Twilight. Wait, who wrote that? Do I have to say that?

049 Danny's ultimate enemy, Dark Danny, is played by Oscar-nominated acting legend Eric Roberts. His impressive resume includes everything from the Dark Knight to the Cable Guy.

050 The first recording session for Danny Phantom took place on November 21, 2002, about a year and a half before the show premiered. The first episode to be recorded was also the first episode to air: Mystery Meat.

051 In fact, Danny Phantom premiered on April 3, 2004, right after Nickelodeon's annual Kid's Choice Awards.

052 Unlike many other animated shows, the cast of Danny Phantom recorded their dialogue in the same room together. David Kaufman described the experience as something akin to a stage play.

053 It takes the actors around 3 hours to record dialogue for a single episode. David Kaufman knows that shouting "I'm goin' ghost!" so many times made his voice hoarse by the end of the day.

054 In the episode What You Want, I voiced a football announcer that also looks a lot like me except he's, you know, a cartoon. I mean, he looks a lot more like me than Dr. Bender does. I hope.

055 The theme song we hear today wasn't the only one recorded for the show. An alternate version got so far into production that an alternate opening sequence was storyboarded all the way around it. The alternate song sounds very similar to the final product with different lyrics that focus more on explaining Danny's abilities.

056 The theme song was changed because Nickelodeon wanted it to tell Danny's origin story. This way, new views wouldn't feel alienated when watching the show for the first time no matter what episode they started out with.

057 Luckily, changing the lyrics wasn't an overly complicated, make-10-calls, logistical nightmare since I wrote the lyrics of the theme song. Both of them actually.

058 I based the show's theme song after the song The Invisible Man by Queen, one of my favorite bands.

059 One thing I learned from working on the Danny Phantom theme song is that your first idea isn't always your best idea, and to never stop pushing yourself until you've made something truly awesome. You're welcome for that halfway through burst of inspiration.

060 I also co wrote another fan favorite song Remember, performed by Ember in the episode Fanning the Flames, which also happens to be my third favorite episode. Yes, my third favorite. I am very, very specific.

061 Danny Phantom was the first show to be produced by my very own company, Billionfold Inc. which was co-founded with my wife. Billionfold comes from a biblical term, hundredfold.

062 A single episode of Danny Phantom took approximately 10 months to produce, stretching all the way from pre-production to post.

063 While the pre-production phase took place in Burbank, California, Danny Phantom's animation was done by a Korean animation studio called Rough Draft. Rough Draft's resume includes work done on other animated classics like Futurama, The Simpsons, and SpongeBob SquarePants.

064 The individual villains found within Danny Phantom's rogues gallery was based on ideas that I had. Ember McLane stemmed from a pitch regarding an episode about music fads, and the effects they have on teenagers. The Lunch Lady was generated from my very astute knowledge that students tend to hate school prepared lunched.

065 Vlad is a Green Bay Packers fanatic because Danny Phantom's story write, Steve Marmel is a cheesehead himself. We nearly got sued for this, but luckily Marmel was smart enough to make the team colors of the Danny Phantom Packers gold and green instead of green and gold.

066 One scrapped running gag Marmel wanted to incorporate was that Vlad's home would be blown up after every encounter he had with Danny, but this recurring joke was mainly lost in editing.

067 Had the series gone on, Danielle would have been taken in by the Fentons, effectively becoming the younger sister of Danny and Jazz.

068 Technus was intended to have another upgrade, Technus 3.0, in the episode Identity Crisis. The design was scrapped after we decided the upgrade didn't really fit anywhere in the episode's story.

069 The addition of Danny Phantom's logo later in the series was the suggestion of Nickelodeon executives, who thought he needed a symbol akin to heroes like Batman, Superman, and Spiderman. But perhaps more honest reason was because the execs wanted to make the hero more marketable.

070 Danny officially became 99.99% marketable in the season 2 episode, Memory Blank, in which Sam gives him his D logo.

071 The series score was composed by Guy Moon, who is also responsible for the music heard in the Fairly Odd Parents.

072 When Guy Moon and I met to discuss a soundtrack of an episode, I would usually sing over the episode in progress to give Moon an idea of how I wanted the music to sound. Moon would bring a camera to these sessions and record my, admittedly, unskilled singing to remember my instructions.

073 Not everyone can become a half ghost, half human. If Sam or Tucker had gotten caught int the middle of the Fenton's malfunctioning Ghost Portal, it would have likely killed them.

074 Wulf is fluent in Esperanto, a language created in 1887 by Dr. Ludwik Lejzer Zamenhof, perhaps better known by his pseudonym of Doktoro Esperanto. Esperanto was created in the hope of replacing every language in the world as the one universal language. Judging by the fact that this video is in English, you can probably guess how that plan worked out.

075 The episode titled Shades of Grey is obviously a play on Valerie's last name, but the title could have a much deeper meaning. The term "shades of grey" refers to an unclear position on the scale of good to evil, usually somewhere in between. This certainly applies to Valerie, as she doesn't necessarily fight ghosts for good or evil. but for her own personal reasons.

076 During Shades of Grey, Danny names the ghost dog Cujo. Cujo's also the name of a horror novel by Stephen King about a dog bitten by a rabid bat, which turns the dog into a cold-blooded killer.

077 The green glowing, double bladed melee weapon Maddie uses to slay the legion of Vlad's monsters in Maternal Instincts is practically identical to Darth Maul's double bladed lightsaber in Star Wars Episode One, save for the red color.

078 Because I know everyone loves multiple Episode One references, the the title of the second season's 9th episode The Fenton Menace is obviously a play on the title of everybody's favorite Star Wars film, the Phantom Menace. Yes. Everybody's favorite Star Wars film.

079 To continue the Star Wars nods, the Danny Phantom universe has its own line of popular toys called Space Wars featuring characters that resemble Chewbacca and R2D2.

080 Some of the computers in the Danny Phantom world have pears in the back of them which you probably guess was a nod to Apple computers. Timmy's dad in Fairly Odd Parents has the same symbol on his laptop.

081 Save for the creepy pictures of Maddie, the programs and icons on both Danny and Vlad's computers are exactly the same, in the exact same order.

082 Skulker's hunt for Valerie and Danny in Life Lessons closely resembles the plot of Richard Connell's famous short story "The Most Dangerous Game". Much like the story, Skulker kidnaps two very skilled humans on his property for the sole purpose of hunting what he considers to be the most challenging prey out there, or, the most dangerous game.

083 Mr. Lancer spouts the titles of books in place of shouting swear words. Some of these exclamations include The Great Gatsby, Chicken Soup for the Soul, and Moby Dick, which is about as close as we'll be getting to colorful language on a Nicktoon, except for maybe Ren and Stimpy, or Rocko, or SpongeBob. We're slick here at Nickelodeon.

084 In the episode What You Want, Paulina transforms into a popular anime cat names Sayonara Pussycat, who resembles the character Hello Kitty. But Sayonara is actually a rather dramatic and final sounding word for "goodbye" in Japanese.

085 In Teacher of the Year, all 13 levels that Tucker shows Technus are based on the eight worlds from the 1990 NES classic Super Marion Bros. 3. The level 0 glitch is a reference to the infamous Minus world from the original Super Mario Bros.

086 Before sending Danny into the Ghost Zone in the episode Prisoners of Love, Tucker can be seen playing Space Invaders on his PDA.

087 Valerie Grey lives on 461 Elm Street, an obvious reference to the classic horror film A Nightmare on Elm Street. She'd probably stand more of a chance against Freddy Krueger than the other kids in the Street as well.

088 Johnny 13 and Kitty's voice actors, William Baldwin and China Phillips, are a married couple in real life. The knot has been securely tied since 1995. Way before they were cast.

089 In Fanning the Flames, Danny quips "Do you take requests? How about Beat It." in addition to telling Ember to hit the road, Danny's referencing Michael Jackson's classic song Beat It. Good one, Danny. And good one, me.

090 Michael Jackson makes a more obvious cameo in the episode Infinite Realms where he's seen in at his 2005 trial while Vlad is flipping through channels.

091 When we see Tucker's report card in What You Want, we learn that Tucker is not only highly proficient in computers, but sewing as well. If Danny ever needs a suit redesign, he who he can call. Not the Ghostbusters, they'll likely kill him. He should call Tucker.

092 The Groovy Gang and Scaredy Cat from The Million Dollar Ghost are an unsubtle jab at Mystery Inc and Scooby-Doo. An additional fact fact for you guys, I actually worked for Hanna-Barbera, the animation studio that created Scooby-Doo.

093 The secret government organization dedicated to eliminating paranormal entities known as the Guys in White are obviously a parallel to the Men in Black who essentially do the same thing but with evil extraterrestrials.

094 I've gone on record saying the reason Danny is not shirtless when he's at the water park is because he gets sunburned very easily.

095 We can all infer that Sam has good taste in films. For instance, a poster for Stanley Kubrick's A Clockwork Orange can be seen in her room.

096 In Memory Blank, Sam wants to see Trinity of Doom, a movie starring Femalien, the female version of Alien that’s a Predator, not a Xenomorph, you uncultured swine!, Terminatra, the female Terminator, and Nightmerica, the female version of Freddy Krueger. I'd still go see that.

097 Danny has a birthmark that's shaped like the state of Florida.

098 Timmy Turner's favorite comic book hero, The Crimson Chin, appears at the Ember concert as one of her many adoring fans in the episode Fanning the Flames. I officially sanction your conspiratorial speculations.

099 In the episode What You Want, Danny and Tucker can be seen playing an arcade machine titles Crash Nebula. Crash Nebula is one of Timmy Turner's favorite heroes of the Fairly Odd Parents. The plot thickens!

100 The cross referencing continued over into the Fairly Odd Parents, too. In Poulter Geeks, a wanted poster for Danny Phantom can be seen in the ghost hunting basement of Timmy's parents.

101 Or you guys could be thinking about this all wrong, and Danny could just be a fictional hero. In the Fairly Odd Parents Crash Nebula special, Danny can be seen on the back cover of a comic book. The truth is out there.

102 If Vlad were real, Steve Marmel would have made him the happiest half man/half ghost on the planet. The writer purchased a brick at Lambeau Field, the home of the Packers, and engraved it with "Someday I will rule - Vlad Plasmius".

103 David Kaufman's favorite episodes tend to be the ones in which Danny spends time with one particular member of his family and the plot strengthens their bond and understanding of each other. He cites the episodes Maternal Instinct and My Brother's Keeper as prime examples.

104 Like every great superhero, Danny Phantom has transcended into the realm of video games. His first outing was a Game Boy Advance adaptation of The Ultimate Enemy, a 2D side-scrolling beat-em-up ordeal.

105 The second was called Danny Phantom: Urban Jungle, which was released for both Game Boy Advance and Nintendo DS and it was a side-scrolling shooter.

106 There was once a Danny Phantom themed ride at the indoor Nickelodeon Universe theme park at the Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota. Danny Phantom: Ghost Zone's design was that of an Ali Baba. In other words, it consisted of a stationary horizontal gondola with a 360 degree swinging pendulum. Unfortunately, the rise was taken down in 2015.

107 Danny Phantom ran for three season, from 2004 to 2007. A total of 53 episodes were created for the series. The news of Danny Phantom's cancellation was not well received by the fans at all. The Danny fandom took to the streets of New York City and protested outside of Nickelodeon's building to bring the ghost boy back into production. Unfortunately, to no avail. But thank you. Seriously, thank you.

Ok, guys, thanks so much for watching. Hope you guys enjoyed it, 107 facts about Danny Phantom. Don't forget to like and subscribe to the Frederator Channel.

#yt closed captions kept putting dash's name as - and i thought it was hilarious #and fact 27 is where it all goes downhill #fact 27: it's not a show about ghosts #fact 29: it's a show about ghosts!#if I misspelled any of the names i'm so sorry #there are just so many of them #huh only 106 facts #i wonder what happened to fact 94 #it is a mystery #i was gonna do images too #but they weren't anything special #enjoy your wall of reading voice actor's wiki pages #butch hartman #channel frederator #107 facts #danny phantom #reference

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la-leto · 8 years

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via Billboard Magazine //

The moment it was announced Jared was cast as The Joker, and that it would be the follow-up to his award winning tour-de-force performance as Rayon in Dallas Buyers Club, I had two immediate thoughts:  1) wb gave bb a very very very very very convincing sales pitch.  2) pleasedeargodohlord do not let this be his Catwoman (Halle Berry’s immediate follow-up to her tour-de-force performance in Monster’s Ball).

Unfortunately for bb, Suicide Squad did become his Catwoman, in more than a few ways. One major way being he, like Halle, has now been nominated for a Razzie for a performance following an academy award winning performance. Sandra Bullock also holds this honor.

The Razzies do not discriminate against Oscar Winners (in fact, most times they taunt them) so while this may outrage some people who truly loved Jared’s Joker, Jared is still in good company. This year alone he is joining fellow Academy Award alumni (Nic Cage, Robert DeNiro, Julia Roberts, Ben Affleck, etc.) - so at the end of the day, what does a nomination like this even mean? It’s actually an opportunity.

We can all agree, the Razzie Awards (like basically all awards) are nothing more than PR opportunities. It’s not about the title - it’s about how you accept it.

Both Halle Berry and Sandra Bullock showed up to accept their Razzie Awards for Worst Actress, the year after they won Best Actress Oscars. Their speeches at the Razzies became iconic - and people adored them for being big enough to take it all in stride and laugh it the fuck off. Because they were last seen on stage accepting Academy Awards, seeing them march up and graciously accept a Razzie made everything that much more lovable and enjoyable.

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Jared’s been a Hollywood whipping boy from the get-go of his career, and most of the criticism tends to cut deep and go really personal. “He’s pretentious, he’s too sensitive, he takes himself too seriously.” blah blah blah. He draws a lot of hate for a plethora of insanely unfair reasons and while I feel he has every goddamn right to carry himself however he pleases - and if it’s a problem of interpretation or lost in translation within pop culture, then it’s their problem, not his - it doesn’t quiet the haters. And because he wants to be the black sheep, but he also wants to be one of the popular kids, an issue with his image lingers in the public perception. And it’s exhausting.

My main concern with this nom, honesty truly, is if he does win and doesn’t appear to affably accept it, it’s just going to add fuel to the haters’ flames. His avoidance of it would just support everything they already assume of him.

With this Razzie nomination, if Jared wins, he should really consider accepting it. In person. It would give the shove-off to a lot of his haters. It would prove to everyone that thinks he takes himself too seriously that he really can laugh at himself; that he’s not as pretentious as they believe him to be; and above it all, it would remind everyone that he’s actually an Oscar Winner (along with 40-something other award wins) and that fact can never be taken from him. No matter what kind of performances he gives in the future - and you me & everyone we know *knows* he has a lot of phenomenal performances in his future.

#jared leto #razzies #the joker #suicide squad #halle berry #sandra bullock #acting #oscars

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greer-chester · 6 years

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You Better B-lieve it

To say that B-movies are wonderful might seem counter-intuitive. Surely all the talent, ideas and money flow uphill to Hollywood, right? The cream rises to the top and the resulting films are the best we should hope for, right? RIGHT? Unfortunately, as with many things in life, this is not the way the film industry works. For many reasons, Hollywood can't or just doesn't make films about certain things.

Government regulations, societal constraints and the established process of film making all contribute to the kind of films Hollywood make. Especially in the 1950s, 60s and 70s, issues like the Hays Code (which limited the depiction of violence and scenes of an adult and sexual nature) constrained much of what mainstream cinema could show. Because of the conservative mindset that ruled (and still arguably rules) Hollywood, and the sources of financial backing for films, the rapidly advancing social frontier of the post-war Western world just couldn't be dealt with in big budget studio productions.

Instead, out of the murky depths of shaky props and slightly stilted acting rose the B-movie. So named because it's stars were less than A-grade, this genre of films often featured sexy ladies, outrageous plots and thinly veiled social critiques disguised as science fiction. The result however, is better than you might think. These movies are above all fun. They delight in their silliness, aren't constrained by issues like having to make sets and situations look real, and a lot of them dealt with controversial social themes in ways mainstream cinema at the time just wasn’t allowed to do.

In these days of interwebs and camera phones, low budget movies are enjoying something of a resurgence, so we here at YH! World have decided to compile a list of the best B-movies from their heyday. Warning: overexposure may lead to lifelong devotion…

Faster Pussycat! Kill! Kill! (1965)

From the first scene of this Russ Meyer cult classic, you know you're going to be in for a hell of a ride. What's not to like about two minutes of uninterrupted, unexplained go go dancing torsos? Made three years before the Hays Code was eventually abandoned, the film pushes some serious boundaries. The plot revolves around three go go dancers; ditzy blonde Billie, seductive Rosie and their viscous leader Varla. The girls are joy riding around the Nevada Desert in between dancing gigs when they encounter a young man and his girlfriend. In the drag race that ensues, the boyfriend ends up dead and the girlfriend their hostage. She then becomes key to their plot to trick a lecherous wheelchair-bound man and his two sons out of their fortune.

Why We Love it

Whilst the scantily clad girls might have been mere eye candy in the hands of a lesser filmmaker, Meyer turns the trio into a deadly swaggering troupe of girls who are smart and independent - to the point of being ruthless. The male characters in the piece are all pretty horrible, save for one of the old lecher's sons, and so even though the girls are murderous money grabbers, they aren't truly condemned for their actions. Which, in the early 60s, was pretty controversial. Also the girls are well fit.

The Thing From Another World (1951)

An Air Force crew and team of scientists at a remote Arctic research location discover, and then have to fight an evil alien plant-monster. Yes! This idea was so popular that it spawned two remakes: one in 1982 and another due for release later this year. And why not? It has all the classic thriller themes. The ominous presence of the as-yet undiscovered monster in a block of thawing ice found in a spaceship wreckage, the eventual revelation as 'The Thing' reveals its strength, the misguided scientist who ends up doing more harm through good in his professional curiosity. Although 'The Thing' and its offspring are eventually vanquished, the movie also has the classic chilling it-could-happen-to-you factor, as reporter Ned 'Scotty' Scott files his amazing report and warns radio listeners to Tell the world. Tell this to everyone, wherever they are. Watch the skies everywhere. Keep looking. Keep watching the skies."

Why We Love It

When the film was released in 1951 it went on to be incredibly popular. The classic monster story combined with science fiction tapped into elements that were so popular during the Cold War and the space race, and the iconic final line of the film later inspired the movie Close Encounters of the Third Kind. In 2001, the US Library of Congress decided that the film was 'culturally significant enough to warrant it be preserved on the National Film Registry. It seems everyone loves a bit of Alien Plant Monster action.

Attack of the 50ft Woman (1958)

As a woman of more than average height, I may be slightly prejudiced towards this film. No matter. It is still a hilariously brilliant example of the shonky effects that B-movie producers refuse to let stand in the way of a fantastical plot. Nancy Archer (Allison Hays) is a wealthy heiress who, after a terrifying encounter with a giant being, finds that she too has grown giant. Already blighted by a fondness for drink, mental instability and a husband with a wandering eye, she escapes her oversized prison and goes on a rampage through the city to find her unfaithful spouse.

Why We Love It

This B-movie makes the list because its concept is original and brilliant. Although it may not seem it now, after endless take-offs in popular culture from The Simpsons Treehouse of Horror to 80s pop song Call Me by Go West and iCarly, the idea of a giant woman scorned, trashing the streets in search of her husband's mistress, was completely unseen in 1958. Yes, the film does have a pretty outmoded attitude to women, but considering the roles available to women at the time, charging about the town in a super sized pair of lingerie (which mysteriously grow with Nancy while her outer garments do not) is pretty darn badass in anyone's book.

Horror of Dracula (1958)

This experiment in lurid technicolour was one of the first films British horror production company Hammer Horror ever made. A sometimes overlooked portrayal of the classic vampire character, Christopher Lee's turn in this film was popular enough to warrant over six more films with him as the lead. The best part of this film franchise is arguably the relationship between Lee's Dracula and Van Helsing as played by the unflappable Peter Cushing, whose earnest goodness contrasts brilliantly with Lee's arch villainy.

Why We Love It

Not only is this film British rather than American, it spawned a whole genre of its own - the sexy, gory Dracula tale rebooted in bright colours and full of maidens with heaving bosoms. Something for the whole family right there. The B-movie horror film has rarely been done with more joi de vivre throughout, and the acting is actually pretty good for what is essentially a bit of light hearted schlock. If you like this, you'll love the endless sequels both those with and without Cushing and Lee in the lead roles.

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porchenclose10019 · 7 years

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The Many Times The 'Batman & Robin' Cast Have Trashed (Or Defended) The Movie

Google “worst movie of all time.” The first search result is “Batman & Robin.”

No list of history’s most inferior cinema would be complete without this infamous parade of excess, which opened June 20, 1997. Celebrating 20 years of kitsch imperfection, “Batman & Robin” is so widely mocked that even the people responsible for the film ― well, some of them ― have joined the chorus of disdain.

Joel Shumacher, who led the charge on “Batman Forever” and “Batman & Robin” after Warner Bros. asked Tim Burton to step aside, apologized for the movie as recently as last week. George Clooney has been issuing mea culpas for years. Arnold Schwarzenegger, on the other hand, has no regrets.

I admit I’m something of a “Batman & Robin” apologist, having worshipped Poison Ivy’s slithery eccentricities as an 8-year-old. Today, I see it as an admirably atrocious time capsule, from Mr. Freeze’s puns (”The Ice Man cometh!”) to the Dynamic Duo’s skates. Now that comic books rule Hollywood, a superhero train collision this singular must be treasured, rubber nipples and all.

In 2014, when I interviewed Uma Thurman with childlike glee, she linked the reception of “Batman & Robin” to audiences’ unwillingness to accept superhero stories that don’t revel in hyper-masculine aesthetics. Whether or not Thurman’s analysis holds weight, she waxed poetic about the evolution of queer sensibilities in a way that I’ll never forget. Thurman resisted applying the word “camp” to “Batman & Robin,” and she’s right. True camp has a certain self-awareness that this film distinctly lacks. It’s just a bloated, silly circus designed to produce toys and flashy marketing tie-ins and a best-selling soundtrack featuring Jewel, The Smashing Pumpkins and R. Kelly. That doesn’t mean it’s not also a fun relic of Hollywood’s evolving blockbuster culture.

Until Christopher Nolan put his own gritty spin on Bruce Wayne, “Batman & Robin” ended the big-screen Batman franchise. The reviews were so biting, and the audience interest so lukewarm compared to its predecessors, that Warner Bros. scrapped the next installment. Such a 180 only furthered its notoriety.

In honor of the 20th anniversary, here’s what Schumacher, Clooney, Thurman and others involved have said about the movie over the years.

Joel Schumacher, director

“There was enormous pressure on us to create more inventions in the film that could be turned into toys. I learned a new phrase in my life called ‘toyetic,’ [which means] whether a movie is ‘toyetic’ or not and how many toys people can get out of it. Hence, a lot of toys in this movie.” (2005)

“I broke a rule of mine, which is never to do a sequel of anything. ... But I was shooting ‘A Time To Kill’ and the studio had been very generous to me, and much was expected of me by the toy manufacturers and the Warner Bros. stores. I’m responsible for everything. I said, ‘yes’ and I took it on. It’s not my favorite movie I’ve ever made, but I’m proud of my cast and I’m proud of all the artists who worked on it. I take full responsibility for ‘Batman & Robin.’” (2011)

“I was the problem with ‘Batman & Robin.’ I never did a sequel to any of my movies, and sequels are only made for one reason: to make more money and sell more toys. I did my job. But I never got my ass in the seat right.” (2014)

“I want to apologize to every fan that was disappointed because I think I owe them that.” (2017)

“They obviously had very high expectations after ‘Batman Forever.’ But perhaps it was the more innocent world in comparison, I don’t know. I just know that I’ll always go down over the nipples on Batman starting with ‘Batman Forever.’ ... Such a sophisticated world we live in where two pieces of rubber the size of erasers on old pencils, those little nubs, can be an issue. It’s going to be on my tombstone, I know it.” (2017)

George Clooney, Batman

“I’ve been in those ‘Pluto Nash’ kind of movies ― ‘Batman and Robin’ cost $160 million ― and you know they’re a waste of money.” (2002)

“I just thought the last one had been successful, so I thought I was just going to be in a big, successful franchise movie. [And] in a weird way I was. Batman is still the biggest break I ever had and it completely changed my career, even if it was weak and I was weak in it. It was a difficult film to be good in. I don’t know what I could have done differently. But if I am going to be Batman in the film ‘Batman & Robin,’ I can’t say it didn’t work and then not take some of the blame for that.” (2011)

“They put nipples on the Batsuit. I didn’t know they would do that. If Batman had to wear the suit that you have to wear, everyone would die. ... Joel is very funny because he’d be like OK, George, remember, your parents are dead, you have nothing to live for, and action!” (2012)

“I think since my Batman I was disinvited from Comic-Con for 20 years. I see the comment sections on all you guys. I just met Adam West [backstage] and I was like, ‘Hey, I’m really sorry.’ He goes, ‘Give me a fist-bump,’ and I was like, ‘Just hit me.’” (2014)

“I always apologize for ‘Batman & Robin.’ I actually thought I destroyed the franchise until somebody else brought it back years later and changed it. I thought at the time this was going to be a very good career move. It wasn’t. The suit’s brutal. At the time, particularly, it weighed like 60 pounds.” (2015)

Chris O’Donnell, Robin

“I thought [‘Batman Forever’] was terrific. I really thought it was well made. With ‘Batman & Robin,’ I think Warner Bros. got piggy. It was too soon. If I remember correctly, it wasn’t too far after ‘The Fugitive’ came out. And if I remember correctly, ‘The Fugitive’ was kind of a mess when they were making it but they figured it out and it was a huge hit. And I think for a while, Warner Bros. was like, “It doesn’t matter. We can throw enough money at it and it’ll be a huge hit.” There needs to be a certain amount of time before people had the appetite, “I need another ‘Batman.’” We had just finished and all of a sudden it was, like, boom, here’s another one. There was a lot of waste. I felt it wasn’t tight and it wasn’t thought out. People just got greedy. That being said, I had a great time doing it.” (2015)

Uma Thurman, Poison Ivy

“It came out in a different time when people were still being bitchy about campy. Humor being campy and campy being a code word for gay has changed. ... I think at the time the idea of taking a male superhero and having fun with it and someone using the C-word [campy] on it caused people to be very nasty. And that kind of nastiness was acceptable on those terms. And I think that’s the reason some people were particularly annoyed. They didn’t like seeing that tone applied to their heterosexual male icon.” (2014)

Arnold Schwarzenegger, Mr. Freeze

“It’s always easy to be smug in hindsight, right? I don’t regret it at all. I felt that the character was interesting and two movies before that one Joel Schumacher was at his height. So the decision-making process was not off.” (2012)

Alicia Silverstone, Batgirl

“I feel like I could do a much better Batgirl now than I did then. It would be fun to tackle it again. Because I’m older and my acting is better. I know I would bring so much more to it. ... That costume was so uncomfortable. Maybe something more comfortable would be nice. Something you can sit in. Something you can get out of to pee.”” (2017)

Vivica A. Fox, Ms. B. Haven

“Woo! Got to work with Arnold Schwarzenegger. That was so cool. You know, my fondest memory of Ms. B. Haven is how Joel Schumacher came up with my name. [Laughs.] I said, ‘Where’d you get Ms. B. Haven?’ And he said, ‘Well, I was hanging out with my friends and we went to a state fair. And we’re walking, and one of the things they were doing was a display on monster trucks, and one of the trucks was Ms. B. Haven.’ And I said ‘That’s going to be one of the characters in my movie.’ And he met me and he knew it was going to be Vivica Fox. So I got the role. I was so excited, but I must tell you, my skin consumed so much glitter from that costume that my skin was extracting glitter for weeks. Glitter would just pop up, because your skin will absorb it.” (2010)

Akiva Goldsman, screenwriter

“What got lost in ‘Batman & Robin’ is the emotions aren’t real. The worst thing to do with a serious comic book is to make it a cartoon. I’m still answering for that movie with some people.” (2009)

Kevin Feige, current Marvel Studios president

“That may be the most important comic-book movie ever made. It was so bad that it demanded a new way of doing things. It created the opportunity to do ‘X-Men’ and ‘Spider-Man,’ adaptations that respected the source material and adaptations that were not campy.” (2009)

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