#Murder She Wrote: South by Southwest | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

rapeculturerealities · 5 years

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In the new “Black Christmas,” a remake of the 1974 horror film, Cary Elwes plays Professor Gelson, a priggish classics instructor who spends a lot of time with frat boys, laments the good ol’ days when men ran everything, and goes into a rage when he thinks women are trying to usurp his power.

“The Brett Kavanaugh hearings had just happened, and I think I was really struck by how emotional he was, how aggrieved he was,” said Sophia Takal, who directed the movie and co-wrote the script with April Wolfe. In the original, a foul-mouthed weirdo terrorizes and murders a group of sorority sisters during the Christmas holidays. So: the guy who may be the villain of Takal’s slasher remake is patterned after … Justice Kavanaugh? “Yeah, pretty much,” she said.

And thus, a slasher movie for the #MeToo movement is born, one where women take center stage in front of and behind the camera.

Opening on Dec. 13, “Black Christmas” is the latest release from Blumhouse Productions, the Los Angeles-based company behind Jordan Peele’s 2017 Oscar-winning hit “Get Out,” and the franchises “Insidious” and “Paranormal Activity.” After 10 years making scary movies, Blumhouse had never hired a woman to direct a theatrically released horror film — until now. “My gender was definitely part of the conversation, where they thought a woman would tell this story well,” Takal said. “But yeah, no one said, you’re the only woman we’ve ever hired.”

On a recent afternoon, Takal was having a late breakfast at Foxy’s, an old-school diner that reminds the actor/director of her native New Jersey. “I love that they have toasters on every table,” she said. Takal was discussing all things horror, from “The Exorcist,” which she considers the scariest movie ever (“I’m too scared to even say the name of the movie, or even refer to the thing that the movie is about”), to the first-look deal she recently signed with Blumhouse, to why she may not make the best horror-movie companion (“I’m the person in the theater you hear screaming like crazy”).

Takal’s tenure with Blumhouse began last year, when the producers Marci Wiseman and Jeremy Gold enlisted her to direct “New Year, New You,” a feature-length episode for the Hulu horror anthology series “Into the Dark.” Her first two features, “Green” and “Always Shine,” which had successful debuts at South by Southwest and the Tribeca Film Festival, hadn’t skimped on the tension and creepy moments. But Takal had never directed a straight horror film before. For “New Year,” she assembled an all-female cast to create a psychological thriller that explored the toxic nature of social media and the self-care movement, among other things.

In November 2018, when Takal was wrapping production on “New Year,” the Blumhouse founder and chief executive Jason Blum was asked in an interview with Polygon why his company hadn’t hired a woman to direct one of its horror films. “There are not a lot of female directors period,” he replied, “and even less who are inclined to do horror.”

When Takal found out about it, “my reaction at the time was, this was such a weird thing he said, because I’m making something for them right now! And he was developing another horror movie with Shana Feste, ‘Run Sweetheart Run.’ It just seemed like a not particularly thought-out way of articulating something that actually really resonates with me.”

Blum apologized soon after, and again, repeatedly, during a recent phone interview. “It was a stupid thing to say,” he told me. “I am guilty of saying dumb things, and this is one of the dumb things that I’ve said.”

Four months later, Blum approached Takal to direct “Black Christmas.” The 1974 original had inspired countless slasher flicks to come, from John Carpenter’s “Halloween” (the Christmastime setting; seeing the action from the perspective of the killer) to 1979’s “When a Stranger Calls” (the killer’s calls are coming from inside the house). Blumhouse had just scored big with its recent remake of “Halloween,” pulling in over $255 million on a reported $10 million budget. Why not reboot the film that inspired it?

The offer was tempting, but it came with a pretty big caveat. “They said, you can do whatever you want as long as it’s called ‘Black Christmas,’ but it has to come out this December,” she recalled. “This was in March, and there was no script.”

To prepare, Takal watched the original film (“I liked that it wasn’t just about a bunch of sorority women who were bimbos”), and ignored the 2006 reboot. She screened a clip reel of scary movies sent over by Blumhouse, and became a student of the jump scare (in a 2017 Times interview, Blum listed a number of foolproof ones, including “door swings closed, someone is now standing behind you in the room”), and the more difficult and labor-intensive “dread-building scare.”

At the end of the original film, Olivia Hussey stabs her sexist boyfriend to death with a poker, believing he’s the killer, but — surprise! — the real murderer is still very much alive, and eager to kill again. Takal was struck by how much the ending of that film mirrored what was still happening in 2019. “All of these men were being exposed for all the terrible things they had done, like Louis C.K. or Mark Halperin, but then they were coming back into the public sphere,” she said. “I was like, what’s happening? We felt like we had had a victory where women had finally found their voices, and then these men kept popping back up.”

Inspired, Takal tweaked several slasher-film traditions in this latest version, including the trope of the “final girl” (think: Jamie Lee Curtis in “Halloween”). “I really wasn’t interested in making a movie where men just kill a bunch of women,” she said. “It didn’t feel like the movie I wanted to make in 2019.”

Outsider takes like Takal’s are becoming more and more common at Blumhouse, whose horror films have tackled a range of social issues over the years, from racism (“Ma”) to income inequality (“The Purge”). “Jordan Peele is an excellent example of somebody who has really brought the conversation about race and racial privilege into the horror genre,” said Aviva Briefel, a professor of English and cinema studies at Bowdoin College. “‘The sunken place’ has become a phrase that people use and think about, even if they haven’t seen the movie.”

Even so, Blumhouse isn’t shying away from creating horror for horror’s sake, with sequels of franchises like “Halloween” and “The Purge” in the works. “I love movies that have bigger ideas behind them, but I also love straight scary movies,” said Blum. “With ‘Black Christmas,’ I think we’re lucky to have both.”

In the end, Takal found working on the film cathartic, particularly working alongside guys who, she said, didn’t look all that different from some of the film’s villains. “These were, superficially, the same types of men who might be characters in the movie, but they were all so supportive and engaged and encouraging,” she said. “I think it allowed me to explore this anxiety I have about misogyny, and to work through my fear that, underneath it all, men just really want us all dead.”

#MeToo #movies #entertainment #Takal #Black Christmas #toxic masculinity #misogyny #horror

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backlogbooks · 5 years

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backlogbooks reviews! The Guilty

Quick Info: The Guilty by Jason Pinter is a fast-paced thriller about New York (junior) reporter Henry Parker, who's chasing the story of a lifetime—there's a murderer in New York City, one who believes in his cause, one with a mysterious connection to American history, and Parker is searching for the truth. But, the closer he gets to it, the closer he gets to colliding with the murderer himself.

Shelf Life (aka how long has this book chilled on my tbr shelf): 2 or 3 years

Overall Vibe: Not a big fan--the way he treated female characters and his propensity towards pretention soured the experience for me, despite my interest in the plot (which kept me going)

What I liked:

One of my favorite things with these kinds of thrillers/mysteries is that even if you start midway through the series, you'll never be behind--they come with built in previously ons throughout the first few chapters

The main plot! I'm into thrillers that give me a look at the villain throughout, and thrillers that throw a connection to the past in (Mary Higgins Clark's On the Street Where You Live comes to mind)

Especially *spoiler alert* a connection to the wild west!

He knows how to write a thriller, pacing and language-wise

THE PROFESSOR Listen, I'm pretty sure he wrote this woman as a joke, or to make fun of her, I'm not totally sure, but I'm lowkey in love with this one character who probably has 30 pages tops. She's wonderful. She's eccentric. She has pictures of George Clooney in her office. She's a national hero.

What I didn't like:

The narrator was unlikable from the start--he grew on me, but he started out pretentious as hell and used the word "nubile" which… is a red flag for me

It seems the pretention may've come from the author because it came through in other aspects of the book--specifically pretention about music, which seemed in poor taste or at least misplaced, since it was almost exclusively brought up in the context of the pop star who was murdered

Seriously, her blood hadn't dried and they were talking about how bad her music was.

There was one paragraph where a character throws out every slur they can think of. It comes out of nowhere, it's not justified by the plot, and even though it wasn't painted in a positive light, it ticked me off.

we were on page 295 before one female character was nice to another. Of 368. and the conversation didn't even end well. I also didn’t understand most of the female characters’ motivations, even when they were incredibly plot important

it switched between first person PoV (w/Parker) and third person PoV (w/everyone else)-- I always lilke thrillers better with multiple PoVs, but not switching between PoV types

Small thing, but: New Mexico isn't the South, it's the West. I will accept Southwest. I won't accept this dude's interpretation of it.

Anyway, I honestly enjoyed it through my bitterness, but I can also look past stuff like this easier when I'm reading. I won't be reading any more of Henry Parker's adventures, though

Trigger Warning for: homophobic and racist slurs, casual misogyny, attempted sexual assault, and other violence

Especially recommended for: people who can overlook a book's flaws and prefer their murders come with some history

#booklr #book reviews #backlogbooks reviews #my reviews #the guilty #jason pinter #book review #revive booklr #thrillers #mysteries #ish #mary emma’s posts

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swampflix · 2 years

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Lagniappe Podcast: How to Get Ahead in Advertising (1989)

For this lagniappe episode of the podcast, Brandon and Boomer discuss the farcical, anti-capitalist body horror How to Get Ahead in Advertising (1989), starring Richard E. Grant. https://soundcloud.com/swampflix/lagniappe-how-to-get-ahead-in-advertising-1989 00:00 Welcome 01:00 Miller’s Crossing (1990) & Barton Fink (1991)12:00 Murder, She Wrote: South by Southwest (1997)15:45 The Conjuring 2…

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#body horror #brandon ledet #horror comedy #how to get ahead in advertising #Lists & Articles #mark boomer redmond #Podcast #richard e grant

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freakyfoottours · 2 years

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cathygeha · 4 years

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REVIEW

Tell No Lies by Allison Brennan

Quinn & Costa #2

Detective Kara Quinn is on leave from her job with LAPD working with FBI Agent Matt Costa and his mobile unit. She is a “cop” through and through but is unsafe in Los Angeles. Matt & Kara worked together in book one of the series, had a romantic interlude, and now are working to find the murderer of a college student who was killed while searching with her boyfriend for a toxic waste dump impacting the dessert environment. With team in place the story begins just after Billy rushes Emma finds Emma and tries to save her. Will the team be able to find the murderer? Is toxic dumping taking place and if so, by whom? Will the romance between Matt and Kara continue? And, what else will be unearthed as the story unfolds?

What I liked:

* Kara: intelligent, quick thinking, loves her job, a chameleon, does what it takes, uses her childhood con artist skills in her current undercover jobs, interesting, fierce, capable…someone I am becoming more and more invested in.

* Matt: intelligent, a bit of a workaholic, work has impacted his relationships in the past, cares about his team, an enigmaMichael, interested in learning more about him.

* The relationship development between Kara and Matt – not much at first in this book but see a great deal of potential as the series progresses.

* The complexity of the case: started simply and became more involved as the story progressed.

* The FBI team members: Michael, Ryder, Zack – the bits and pieces about each one that were shared in this story made me wonder about them and want to know more. It will be fun to see how these characters (and others) grow as the series continues.

* The many threads, that at times seemed too many, all being pulled together by the end of the story. Better than a simple plot executed quickly.

* Billy: I felt for him and hoped that in the future he would heal and be able to move on. I also wondered if he might end up joining the FBI when he finishes school.

* Frank: Emma’s boss, a good man, haunted, focused, provided a safe haven to more than one in the end.

* The dark, gritty, harsh, realness that immersed in the story.

* The twists and turns.

* That there was a resolution to the case even if some were not 100% satisfied with the results

What I didn’t like:

* Knowing that such things happen all too often

* Having to wait for book three ;)

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin-Mira for the ARC – This is my honest review.

5 Stars

BLURB:

New York Times bestselling author Allison Brennan's newest thriller again features an edgy young female LAPD detective and an ambitious special agent, both part of a mobile FBI unit that is brought in to investigate the unsolved murder of a college activist and its alleged ties to high stakes crime in the desert Southwest.

Something mysterious is killing the wildlife in the desert hills just south of Tucson, Arizona. When Emma Perez, a college-intern-turned activist, sets out to collect her own evidence, she too ends up dead. Local law enforcement seems slow to get involved. That’s when the mobile FBI unit goes undercover to infiltrate the town and the copper refinery located there in search of possible leads. Costa and Quinn find themselves scouring the desolate landscape that keeps on giving up clues to something much darker—greed, child trafficking, other killings. As the body count continues to add up, it's clear they have stumbled on more than they bargained for. Now they must figure out who is at the heart of this mayhem and stop them before more innocent lives are lost.

Brennan's latest novel brims with complex characters and an ever-twisting plotline, a compelling thriller that delivers.

EXCERPT

Prologue

Two months ago

Tucson, Arizona

Billy Nixon had been waiting his whole life to have sex with Emma Perez. Okay, not all his life. Two and a half years. It just felt that way since he’d fallen in love with her the day they met in Microeconomics, on his first day of classes at the University of Arizona. Love at first sight is a cliché, and until that moment in time Billy didn’t believe in any of that bullshit. His parents were divorced, his older sister had been in and out of bad relationships since she was fifteen, and his friends slept around as if the apocalypse was upon them.

But in the back of his mind, he remembered the story about how his grandparents met the day before his grandfather shipped off to the Korean War, how they wrote letters every week, and how three years later his grandfather came home and they married. They were married for fifty-six years before his grandfather died; his grandmother died three months later.

That’s what Billy wanted. Without having to go to war.

It took Emma two years before the same feeling clicked inside her. They’d been friends. They both dated other people (well, Billy pretended to date because he couldn’t in good conscience lead another girl on when he knew that he didn’t care about her like he cared about Emma). But it was three months ago, when Emma lost her ride home to Denver for the Christmas holidays and he found her crying in her dorm room, that he said, “I’ll drive you there,” even though he was a Tucson native and lived with his dad to save money.

From then on, she looked at him differently. Like her eyes had been opened and she saw in him what he saw in her. From that point on, they were inseparable.

The morning after they first made love, Billy knew there was no other girl, no other woman, with whom he wanted to spend the rest of his life. Call him a romantic, but Emma was it. He had started saving money for a ring. They were finishing up their third year of college, so had a year left, but that was okay. He did well in school and had a part-time job. He already had a job lined up for the summer in Phoenix that paid well, and he could live there cheaply with his sister—though the thought of spending two months with his emotional, self-absorbed sibling was a big negative. And the idea of leaving Emma for two months made him miserable. But if he did this, he’d have enough money, not only for a ring, but to get an apartment when they graduated. And—maybe—his job this summer would be a permanent thing when he was done with college next spring, which meant he’d have stability. Something he desperately wanted to provide for Emma.

Emma rolled over in bed and sighed. He loved when his dad was out of town and he had the house to himself, since they had no privacy in Emma’s dorm. Billy kissed the top of her head. He thought she was still sleeping, or in that dreamy state right before you wake up. It wasn’t even dawn, but how could he go back to sleep with Emma Perez naked in his bed?

“Billy?” she said.

“Hmm?”

“Can I ask you a favor?”

“Anything.” “I need to go to Mount Wrightson today. The Patagonia side of the mountain.”

“Okay.”

An odd request, but Emma spent a lot of time these days in the Santa Rita Mountains and surrounding areas. She was a business and environmental sciences double major who worked part-time at the Arizona Resources and Environmental Agency—AREA, as they called it—the state environmental protection agency.

“For work, school or fun?” he said.

“Last week my Geology class went out to Mount Wrightson and we hiked partway down the Arizona Trail. I noticed several dead birds off the trail. My professor didn’t think it was anything, but it bothered me. So I talked to my boss, Frank, at work, and he said if my professor didn’t think it was unusual, then it wasn’t. But I couldn’t stop thinking about it, so went back a couple days ago on my own. One of the closed trails has been used recently. And I found more dead birds, more than a dozen.”

“Which means what?”

“I don’t know yet, but birds are especially vulnerable to contaminated water because of their small size and metabolism. Remember when I told you my boss got an anonymous letter two years ago? Signed A Concerned Citizen and postmarked from Patagonia? The letter writer claimed that several local people were being made sick and that the water supply was tainted. Frank tested the water supply himself after that, but he didn’t find anything abnormal. So he dismissed it. But no one has been able to explain why those people were sick.”

“And remember—there was no evidence that anyone was sick,” Billy said. “The letter was anonymous. It could have just been a disgruntled prankster. Didn’t Frank talk to the health center about the complaint? Didn’t he investigate the local copper refinery?”

“Yes,” she said and sighed in a way that made him feel like he was missing something. “Maybe two years ago it wasn’t real,” she said in a way that made Billy think she really didn’t believe that. “But now my gut tells me something’s going on, and I want to know what.”

“You told your boss about the dead birds. You said he was a good guy, right?”

“Yeah, but I think he still thinks I’m a tree hugger.”

“You certainly gave that impression when you first started there and questioned their entire record-keeping process and the way Frank had conducted that original investigation.”

“I’ve apologized a hundred times. I realize now how much goes into keeping accurate records, and that AREA uses one of the best systems in the country. I’ve learned so much from Frank. I really believe I can make a difference now, and be smart about it too. All I want is to give him facts, Billy. And the only way I can do that is if I go back up there.”

Billy didn’t have the same passion for the environment that Emma had, but he loved her commitment to nature and how she continued to learn and adapt to new and changing technologies and ideas.

“Whatever you want to do, I’m with you,” he said. He’d follow her through the Amazon jungle if she asked him to.

“It’s going to be a beautiful day,” she said, as if he needed encouragement to do anything for her. “I just want to check out the trails near where I found the second flock of birds. We can have a picnic, make a day out of it.”

“Good call, bribing me with food.”

She smiled. “I can bribe you with something else too.” Then she kissed him.

* * *

An hour later the sun was up and they stopped for breakfast in the tiny town of Sonoita, southeast of Tucson where Highways 82 and 83 intersected. Emma had been quiet the entire drive, taking notes while analyzing a topo map.

As they ate, Emma showed him the map and her notes. “The dead birds I found last week with the class were Mexican jays. The ones I found after that on my own were trogons. I’ve been studying both of their migration patterns. The jays have a wider range. The trogons are much more localized. It seems unlikely that they just dropped dead out of the sky for no reason. I’m thinking, logically, they might have been poisoned. I don’t see any large body of water near where I found them, but there’s a pond here that forms during the rainy season.” She pointed.

While Billy couldn’t read a topo map to save his life, he trusted her thinking.

“That pond, or this stream—” she pointed again “—are right under one of their migration routes. I’ve also highlighted some other seasonal streams, here and here.”

“That seems like a huge area. North and south of Eighty-Two? How can we cover all of that in one day? Where are the roads?”

“We can hike.”

He frowned. Hike, sure. But this looked like a three-day deal.

“Emma, maybe you should talk to your boss again, show him the map and tell him what you suspect.”

“But I haven’t found anything yet—just on the map!”

Tears sprouted to her eyes, and Billy panicked. Don’t cry, don’t cry, don’t cry. “Okay, what are we doing, then?”

“If you don’t want to help me, Billy, just say so.”

“I do, Emma. I just need to know the full plan, and I don’t understand your notes. I don’t even know where exactly I’m going.”

“This is the town of Patagonia, see?” She trailed her finger along one of the paths that went from Patagonia up the mountain. “And this is Mount Wrightson, to the north.”

Billy had hiked to the peak of Mount Wrightson once. He wasn’t into nature and hiking like Emma, but he liked being outdoors, so he took a conservation class that doubled as a science requirement. His idea of being outdoors was playing baseball or volleyball or riding his bike.

“Okay.”

“We need to hike halfway up Wrightson. I found a service road that I think we can use to get most of the way to the trailhead. Okay?”

“If you’re sure about this,” he said.

She frowned and looked back down at her map. He hated that he’d made her sad.

“I’m sorry,” he said. “It’s fine.”

“You don’t want to go.”

“I do. I just don’t want us to get lost.”

She smiled sweetly at him. “Stick with me and you won’t.”

That was the smile he needed. He took her hand, interlocked their fingers. “I trust you.”

“Good.” She gave him a quick kiss, and they left the café and got back on the road.

Several hours later, Billy wasn’t as accommodating. They’d parked at the end of a dirt road near the trailhead halfway up the southeastern side of the mountain and been hiking through rough terrain ever since. The landscape was dotted with some trees and pines, but not as dense or pretty or green as on the top of the mountain. The land wasn’t dry—the wet winter and snow runoff had ensured that—so the area was hard to navigate, and the paths they were on weren’t maintained. Billy doubted they were trails at all.

The hiking had been fine up until lunch. At noon, they ate their picnic, which was a nice break, because then they had sex and relaxed in the middle of nature. It wasn’t quiet—they heard birds and a light breeze and the rustling of critters. A family of jackrabbits crossed only feet from them as they lay on the blanket Billy had brought. Afterward, Billy suggested they head back to the truck. He was tired, and they had already walked miles, which meant as many miles back to the truck.

But Emma didn’t want to leave. He was pretty sure she didn’t know exactly what she was looking for, but that she had this idea that if she walked long and far enough, she’d find evidence to support her theory that something nefarious had been happening out here to kill all those birds.

So Billy kept his mouth shut and followed her.

By four that afternoon, Billy was pretty sure Emma had gotten them lost. They had seemed to zigzag across the southern face of Mount Wrightson. He was tired, and even the birds had gone quiet, as if they were getting ready to settle in and nest for the night, even though sunset was still a few hours away.

He stopped next to a tree that was taller than most and that provided much-needed shade. It was only seventy-six degrees, but the sky was clear and the sun had been beating down on them all afternoon. He was glad he’d thought to bring sunscreen, otherwise they’d both be fried by now.

He dropped the large backpack he’d been carrying that contained their picnic stuff, blanket, water, first aid kit and emergency supplies. He knew enough about the desert not to go hiking without food and water to last at least twenty-four hours. Like if his truck didn’t start when they got back, they needed to be okay. So he had extra water—but he didn’t tell Emma that. It was for emergencies only.

“We’re down to our last water bottles,” he said. He’d paced himself so he had two left, whereas Emma had gone through all six of hers.

He handed her one of the two. “Drink.”

She sipped, handed it back to him. “Thirty more minutes, honey. See this?” She pointed to the damn map that he wanted to tear into pieces now, except without it he was positive they would be lost here forever. “That’s the large seasonal pond I was talking about. It’ll dry up before summer, according to the topo charts.”

How she could stay so cheerful when he was hot and tired and, frankly, bored, he didn’t know.

“How far?”

“Down this path, not more than two hundred yards. Three hundred, maybe.”

He looked at her. Implored her to let them start heading back.

“Why don’t you stay here and wait,” she said.

“You don’t mind?”

She smiled, walked over and kissed him. “Promise.”

Twenty minutes later she was back where Billy waited. She looked so sad and defeated. “I’m ready to go,” she said.

“We’ll come back next weekend, okay? We’ll bring a tent and food and camp overnight.”

She looked surprised at his suggestion, a smile on her face. “You mean that?”

“Absolutely.”

She threw her arms around him. “I love you, Billy Nixon.”

His heart nearly stopped. “I love you, too,” he said and held her. He wanted to freeze this moment, relive it every day of his life.

“We’re actually closer to your truck than you think—we made a circle. First we went north, then west, then south, now we’re going east again. When we get back to the main trail at the fork back there, we go left rather than right, and the truck is about half a mile up.”

He was impressed; he had underestimated her. Maybe they weren’t as lost as he thought; maybe he was the only one with a shitty sense of direction. But that was okay, because Emma loved him, and they were going to be together forever. He knew it in his heart and his head, and she’d always be there to navigate.

They drove down the mountain, the road rough at first, then it smoothed out as they got near town. They headed west on 82, deciding to drive the scenic route back to Tucson. Emma marked her map to highlight where they’d already walked, when suddenly she looked up. “Hey, can you get off here?”

“Have to pee again?”

“Ha ha. No. There’s several old roads that go south. Sonoita Creek, when it floods, cuts fast-flowing streams into the valley. We had a couple late storms this winter. I just want to check the area quickly—we’ll come back next weekend. But if I see anything that tells me the streams were running a few weeks ago, I want to come back here first. Okay? Please?”

Billy was tired, but Emma loved him, so he happily turned off the highway and followed her directions. They drove about a mile along a very rough unpaved road until they reached a narrow path. His truck couldn’t go down there—there were small cacti sprouting up all over the place, and the chances of him getting a flat increased exponentially.

Emma got out, and Billy reluctantly followed. She was excited. “See that grove of trees down there?”

He did. It looked more like overgrown brush, but it was greener than anything else around them.

“I’ll bet there’s still water. This is on the outer circle of where the birds could have flown from. I just want to check.”

“The path looks kinda steep and rocky. You sure about this?”

She kissed him. “I’m sure. Stay here, okay? I won’t be long.”

“Ten minutes.” “Fifteen.” She kissed him again, put her backpack on and headed down the path.

He sat in the back of his truck and watched Emma navigate the downward slope. He doubted this “path” had been used anytime in the last few years. From his vantage point, he saw several darker areas, plants dense and green, and suspected that Emma was right—this valley would get water after big storms.

Emma was beautiful and smart. What wasn’t to love?

He watched until she disappeared from view into the brush.

He frowned. He should have gone with her. Was he just sulking because he was tired and hungry?

Predators were out here—coyotes, bobcats, javelinas. Javelinas could be downright mean even if you did nothing to provoke them. Not to mention that these mountains bordered the corridor for trafficking illegal immigrants. Billy had taken a criminal justice class his freshman year and they touched upon that topic. He didn’t want to encounter a two-legged predator any more than one on four legs.

What kind of man was he if he couldn’t suck it up and help the woman he loved?

So he grabbed his backpack and headed down the path Emma had taken. He was in pretty good shape, but this hike had wasted him. Emma must have been fitter than he was, because she’d barely slowed down all day. After this, they’d go to his place, shower—maybe he could convince Emma to take a shower with him—and then he’d take her out to dinner. After all, they had something to celebrate: the first time they said “I love you.” They’d go to El Charro, maybe. It was Billy’s favorite Mexican food in Tucson, not too expensive, great food. Take an Uber so they could have a couple of drinks.

He wished he were there right now. His stomach growled as he stumbled and then caught himself before he fell on his ass.

He was halfway down the hill when a scream pierced the mountainside. Billy ran the rest of the way down the narrow, rocky trail. “Emma!”

No answer.

He yelled louder for her. “Emma! Emma!”

He slipped when the trail made a sudden drop as it went steeply down to a small pond—the seasonal one that Emma must have been looking for. The beauty of the spot with its trees and boulders all around was striking in the desert, and for a split second he thought it was a mirage. Then all he could think about was that Emma had been bitten by a rattlesnake, or had fallen into the water, or had slipped and broken her leg.

But she didn’t respond to his repeated calls.

“Emma!”

He stood on the edge of the pond, frantically searching for her. Looking for wild animals, a bobcat that she may have surprised. A herd of javelinas that might have attacked her. Anything.

Movement to his right startled him, and he turned around quickly.

In the shade, he saw someone. He shouted, wondering if Emma was disorientated or had gone the wrong way. But whatever he thought he saw was now gone.

Then he saw her.

Emma’s body was half in, half out of the pond, a good hundred feet beyond him, obscured in part by an outcrop of large rocks on the water’s edge. He ran to her and dropped to his knees. His first thought was that she had slipped and hit her head. Some blood glistened on her scalp.

“Emma, where are you hurt? Emma?”

She didn’t respond. Then he saw the blood on a hand-sized rock on the edge of the pond. And he felt more blood on the back of her skull.

“No, no, no!”

He saw her chest rise and fall. She was alive, but unconscious. He pulled out his phone, but there was no signal. He had to get help, but he couldn’t leave her here.

Billy picked Emma up and, as quickly as he could, carried her up the steep hillside to his truck.

As he drove back to the main road, he called 911. An ambulance met him in the closest town, Patagonia.

But by then Emma was already dead.

BOOK INFORMATION

Tell No Lies : A Novel

Allison Brennan

On Sale Date: March 30, 2021

9780778331469

Hardcover

$27.99 USD

432 pages

Buy Links:

Bookshop.org: https://bookshop.org/books/tell-no-lies-9780778331469/9780778331469

Indie Bound: https://www.indiebound.org/book/9780778331469

Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/tell-no-lies-allison-brennan/1136909250;jsessionid=BE5869D36ACCCEF44F21FF4A05BC5D62.prodny_store01-atgap04?ean=9780778331469

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0778331466/httpwwwalli0f-20

Books A Million: https://www.booksamillion.com/product/9780778331469

Kindle: https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B087JTYYSY/httpwwwalli0f-20

Nook: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/tell-no-lies-allison-brennan/1136909250?ean=9781488077142

Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/tell-no-lies-16

Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Allison_Brennan_Tell_No_Lies?id=RHDeDwAAQBAJ

Ibooks: https://books.apple.com/us/book/tell-no-lies/id1509698872

About the author:

ALLISON BRENNAN is the New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author of over thirty novels. She has been nominated for Best Paperback Original Thriller by International Thriller Writers and the Daphne du Maurier Award. A former consultant in the California State Legislature, Allison lives in Arizona with her husband, five kids and assorted pets.

Social Links:

Author website: https://www.allisonbrennan.com/

Facebook: @AllisonBrennan

Twitter: @Allison_Brennan

Instagram: @abwrites

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/52527.Allison_Brennan

Q&A with Allison Brennan

Q: How much research do you do before beginning to write a book? Do you go to locations, ride with police, go to see an autopsy, etc.

A: Research is one of my favorite parts of writing. Because I’ve been writing for more than a decade, I’ve been doing research for just as long. I’ve been to most locations I’ve written about, though sometimes long ago (and I rely on Google Earth, books, and friends to keep me up to date about changes.) I’ve gone on ride-alongs with law enforcement, I’ve been to the morgue twice and observed not only an autopsy, but have talked to technicians and toured the crypt.

I also went through the FBI Citizens Academy in 2008, when I was in the middle of writing my 8th book. After that, I had multiple agents to call upon for help with details; I toured Quantico twice, the national FBI Headquarters, interviewed both senior and brand new agents about their different experiences in the academy and on the job, and participated in numerous SWAT training drills as a “role player.” What does that mean? I’ve played the part of the bad guy, a hostage, and a victim based on the scenario they were training for. I’ve observed dozens of different scenarios as they drill them, including high-risk traffic stops. I once observed a live ammunition drill from the catwalk, which was both scary and exhilarating.

I recognize that I can’t put everything I learn into my books, and that because I write fiction sometimes reality is too slow and I need to speed things up (trust me, you don’t want to watch my characters doing paperwork!) But I try to write my books to be as realistic as possible.

Q: What’s your favorite part of writing suspense?

A: Everything! I love suspense. I read it as a child (Trixie Belden, Nancy Drew, Agatha Christie, Stephen King) and I read it now. I love romantic suspense (I’m a sucker for happy endings); police procedurals; and race-against-time thrillers. When I’m writing, my absolute favorite part is when everything comes together near the end and I have that “AHA!” moment. It’s exhilarating and worth every struggle along the way.

I’d also have to say that suspense is part of every story. If there’s no suspense, it’s a boring character study. I want to have that physical reaction in my story -- the sense of impending doom and “OMG, how are they going to get out of this?” -- and if I get it while writing, my readers will feel it when reading.

Q: From the books you’ve written or read, who has been your favorite villain and why?

A: The Man in Black, Randall Flagg, is one of the most compelling and scary villains I’ve read, created by the master Stephen King in THE STAND (though Flagg has also shown up in other books.) Favorite? Maybe not. But definitely the villain that stuck with me for the rest of my life. In my books, I’ve created a couple of villains who I’ve actually sympathized with (while condemning their crimes) because their backstories are so tragic -- such as in TEMPTING EVIL. My favorite villain to write was Elise Hansen Hunt who popped up in several books, including the recent COLD AS ICE. She is young, reckless, violent, and I never knew what she might do. I’ve written several serial killers, who are always scary because you never quite know what’s going to happen with them. For example, in the first Quinn & Costa book, the killer was so focused and determined I worried he would outwit my good guys.

Villains should be both believable and realistic, so sometimes the most compelling are those who you can almost sympathize with, or at least understand, even when you are horrified by their crimes.

Q: What hobbies do you enjoy?

A: Reading (duh!), baseball (go Giants!), television (too many shows to list), hiking (except during the Arizona summer), shooting at the gun range (my daughter is a cop and great instructor), video games (with my boys -- at least that’s my excuse.) A little known fact about me … for years I used to make my own soap. It was fun, relaxing, and always made the house smell amazing.

Q: Do you write under one name for all books across genres or do you have other AKA's?

A: Just me! Allison Brennan is my legal name. In fact, I once told my husband if he ever left, I was keeping the name. Ha.

Funny story -- I bought my website domain allisonbrennan.com right after I sold my first book. This was 2004. I wanted to make sure I had it when I had books to put up there. A year later I got an email from someone named Allison Brennan. She tried to buy the site but couldn’t -- she was also a writer (a journalist) and wanted to know how I picked the name and if she could buy it from me. Small world! (There’s also an Allison Brennan who is a Olympic diver, an Allison Brennan who is a gymnast, and an Allison Brennan who lived in my town -- we used the same pharmacy, the same vet, went to the same church, and both had sons named Luke. Yet we never met!)

Q: Do you have pets?

A: Yes. Life just wouldn’t be as much fun without animals. I used to have chickens when we lived on a couple acres in California. I miss them--they were so much fun, and fresh chicken eggs are so much better than store bought. Now, we have two cats and a dog (a ten-year-old black lab). My son has a bearded dragon (lizard) who I adore as well. Who would have thought lizards could have so much personality? And we have a goldfish named Filet.

#Allison Brennan #Quinn & Costa 2 #Suspense #Thriller #Mystery #Crime #Romance #Fiction #FBI #Under Cover #Toxic Dumping #Environment #Harlequin-Mira #NetGalley

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bigyack-com · 5 years

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Try some cli-fi with these novels about a changing planet - books

* The classic, re-discovered When JG Ballard wrote it in 1962, The Drowned World was an out-and-out science fiction novel. Ballard imagined a future in which polar ice had melted and sea levels had risen – something even scientists hadn’t worked out yet. Ballard’s novel was dismissed as a genre staple, but is now being hailed as one of the grandfathers of climate fiction.

* Shining examplesIn Flight Behaviour by Barbara Kingsolver, a swarm of monarch butterflies appears, numbering in the millions, for no apparent reason, in a rural Tennessee town. Locals see it as a miracle. Businessmen want to make money off it. TV reporters sensationalise it. A scientist blames climate change. But for one woman, perhaps they just mean freedom? The Water Knife, by Paolo Bacigalupi, is more of a thriller. Heat and water shortages cause drought in the American southwest, corporates control water supply. And spies, or ‘water knives’, sabotage and cut flow. Then a new source is discovered. One spy teams up with two shrewd women to investigate and stay alive.What happens when the world’s foremost disaster forecaster predicts that Manhattan will drown, and proves to be right? He becomes a media sensation. Nathaniel Rich’s novel, Odds Against Tomorrow, despite its exhaustive research, is light on its feet.

In Kim Stanley Robinson’s New York 2140, the title marks where and when. In a submerged Manhattan, every street is a canal, every skyscraper an island. The book marks the connection between capitalism and rising sea levels. Eight chapters take you through how life changes, and yet, optimistically, remains the same.* The ones with a sense of humourA climate catastrophe has changed everything. Borders are sealed. Beaches have disappeared. Britain’s coast is guarded by The Wall, manned by conscripted civilians keeping an eye out for migrants. It’s cold, dull work. But John Lanchester’s novel, sharp and funny, is anything but grim. Ashley Shelby’s South Pole Station sees an artist dispatched to Antarctica to live with researchers, and paint. The social dynamics are already off, when a climate denier joins to do his research, which he hopes will prove all the rest of them wrong. Worse still, the artist ends up helping him.

In Solar, Ian McEwan’s satirical take on climate fears, a jaded, womanising Nobel Prize-winning physicist — a sceptic who has more confidence than good sense or social skills — tries to save the world and find fame. His idea of stealing a better solar energy model ends up implicating him in a murder case, and that’s not even the worst of it. * The short stories Warmer is a collection of seven stories set in a believable future of a planet heating up through climate change. In one story, The Way the World Ends, by Jess Walter, a hydrogeologist wonders if it still makes sense to freeze one’s eggs when “one hundred percent of legitimate climate scientists believe the world to be on the verge of irreversible collapse”. On a more positive note, Glass and Gardens: Solarpunk Summers, edited by Sarena Ulibarri, collects 17 stories that imagine more collaborative futures in which we fight and survive changing climate.

Olivia Clare’s Disasters in the First World looks at how global environmental change affects individuals and their inner worlds. In a story set in a future Las Vegas, drugs are cheaper than drinking water. * The work from IndiaTanushree and Ajoy Podder’s Decoding the Feronia Files is a thriller that imagines what might happen if governments weaponised weather. There are artificial storms, earthquakes and temperature changes based on actual climate-manipulation research. Poet Urvashi Bahuguna’s collection, Terrarium, doesn’t seem like ‘cli’ or ‘fi’ at first. But her poems about mangoes, the Indian monsoon, growing up and examining one’s mind are inseparable from the changing physical world she inhabits.

In Gun Island, Amitav Ghosh travels across space and time, history and mythology, as he usually does. But this time, themes of displacement, migration and survival on a warming planet are added to the story of a rare-books dealer in search a gun-merchant’s shrine. Read the full article

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halloweendailynews · 6 years

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The new horror comedy Boo takes place on Halloween night in 1984, when a killer in a bed sheet ghost costume targets a group of teens, and while it pays homage to some of our favorite classics, it also marks the arrival of an exciting new voice to the genre in the film’s writer, producer, director, and star Dana Melanie, who’s ready to scare you and excited to get bloody.

Boo is Melanie’s first feature-length project as both writer and director, but she is no stranger to acting, having starred as a kidnapping survivor in the 2014 thriller Treehouse, a murderous outcast in the 2016 short film Lissy Borton Had an Axe, and most recently as legendary author Emily Dickinson in this year’s Wild Nights with Emily, which had its world premiere at the prestigious South by Southwest (SXSW) Film Festival.

In each role, she is unafraid to completely commit to transforming her physicality to fit each part, convincingly embracing a southern drawl for the tough heroine of Treehouse and a tragic lisp and braces as the title character in Lissy Borton. In the short comedy Waiting to Die in Bayside, Queens, she fully embodies a native New York teenager in 1976 talking to her diary about all the ways she is likely about to die.

Having written and directed a few smaller projects before, Boo will be Melanie’s feature film directorial debut, and when we talked a few weeks ago, I couldn’t wait to find out how she landed on Halloween in 1984.

In our pleasantly candid conversation, we discussed recreating the innocence of the ’80s, finding the right balance between Mean Girls and Halloween, and the timely importance of a woman calling the shots in the #MeToo era.

Read on for our exclusive interview with filmmaker Dana Melanie, on creating a killer in the gray area between comedy and horror.

Dana Melanie

What are some of your Halloween memories from when you were growing up? Did you celebrate Halloween a lot as a kid?

Yeah, I remember in my elementary school, we had a Halloween Day parade. We’d all dress up in our costumes and just parade around our track, which was not a big track. It was elementary school sized, but in my mind it was gigantic.

I remember my mom used to make my Halloween costumes. I was a gypsy one year, and it was freezing and raining. I was probably 7, and it was a midriff, so I was like, ‘But I want to show it, because you made it’. I had to wear a jacket because I was freezing and the rain was ice cold, but I was determined. My mom had spent all the time making it. She had the pattern and everything.

The homemade costumes are the best.

Very true.

How did you get into acting? Did you grow up in Los Angeles?

Yes, I’m from Los Angeles, born and raised. My whole family is from New York, so I spend a lot of time back and forth.

I have been acting and writing for several years now, basically my whole life. My mom is also a writer and she used to act a little when she was younger, so I don’t know, I just fell into it. It was always what I wanted to do and what I’m meant to do.

I’ve been writing a lot recently, and Boo is the script that I decided to take the leap with first, because I think audiences will respond to it. I have another film that I wrote, but it’s a little more dramatic and heavier. With Boo, I thought it would be a good starting point.

This is a first step for you as far as writing and directing a feature, but you’re certainly not new to acting. I love your work in Treehouse and Lissy Borton Had an Axe. Can you talk a little bit about those projects? Treehouse seemed like a pretty demanding role.

Treehouse was amazing. That was basically my first real project as an actress, my first big role. We shot it in rural Missouri for about a month. It was a fantastic experience. I met some of my best friends on that film. Actually our first A.D. on Treehouse is the director who directed me in Lissy. I learned so much. I got a taste of the horror/thriller side of the industry. It was a very good jumping off point for me. I’m so happy that I got the opportunity.

And then Lissy, I’m just obsessed with. It kind of takes the horror and has a little bit of comedy in it also. I love those films.

Dana Melanie directing a short teaser for ‘WS16’, which she also wrote.

Let’s talk about Boo. Where did this idea come from, and why did you decide to set the film in 1984?

I just love the ‘80s. I love films that are set in the ‘80s. That’s sort of how I came about wanting to write Boo. I just think that there’s this realness to them and a simplicity, but it’s also so entertaining, which I think is what movies are about.

I wanted explore what it would be like to have a scream queen that you kind of wanted to die, because she’s so mean. I started toying with that concept, and I was coming up with one liners and ideas. I thought, ‘Well, if you throw it back to back in the day on Halloween, costumes were kind of quirky and funny, and they weren’t necessarily like what we have today.’ So you had little kids in sheets with black eyes running around, and it was so simplistic and endearing and cute, but it could also still be terrifying if you saw that in the middle of the road in the middle of the night staring at you. It’s unsettling.

Then adding in the ‘80s itself, I mean, I thought it was a no-brainer because there’s so much to work with. The ‘80s just was an explosion of film and art and politics, so I just love it. Plus jazzercise, I mean, you can’t go wrong with jazzercise. (laughs)

So it was honestly because I love watching films that are from or are set back in the ‘80s. And you’re seeing it more and more in TV right now too.

Between things like Stranger Things and Glow on Netflix, the ‘80s are definitely all over the pop culture landscape right now.

I think it’s because there are so many different layers to it. So much happened in that time, and there are so many avenues to explore with it.

That’s what I thought was such a great thing about the ‘80s, was just how pure and just entertaining the films were, so that’s what we hope to bring back with this.

Obviously Halloween was different in 1984 than it is now, so I imagine you’ll be playing with that quite a bit in the film. I’ve seen where you’ve described Boo as sort of Mean Girls meets Halloween with a dash of Scream and Clueless thrown in, which sounds great. How will you be using those influences?

Again, I love stylized films, with wardrobe especially, which is how the ‘80s is really going to play a big part. That’s where like the Mean Girls and the Clueless comes in. And then you have Halloween, which is the actual gut of it.

We have our three main girls, Blair, Betty, and Becca, the three B’s. They’re the ones that you love to hate, who are the popular girls, naturally. So playing with all of that is really what we’re planning on doing, and just going with the whole concept of how back in the ‘80s you had all those Pretty in Pink, where it’s a popular girl and a not popular girl and how they’re clashing with each other. So we play a lot with that, and just getting back to those old movies and how the vibe was in high school.

It’s really about these high school kids and how they’re dealing with this psychopath who decided to show up and start killing people.

Would you say the tone is going to be more comedic or more horror, or will it walk the line?

It’s going to walk the line. The comedy of it may read a little slapstick, but it’s not going to be that, because it will be performed very real. It’s like real life, you know, you have these tragedy moments, but then there could be something funny that happens, and you’re like, ‘Oh my god, I’m not supposed to laugh, but I’m going to laugh because it was funny.’

Nothing is black and white. Real life is all about the gray area, so we’re going to be toying around a lot with the gray area.

Scream is one of my favorites, and it’s very funny throughout the movie, but when the horror comes, it’s serious horror. Would you say that when the horror does come into play in Boo that it will be similar to that?

Yeah, it definitely will. I think Scream makes fun of the whole concept of horror films a little bit more than we are going to, but when it gets down to the horror, I mean, it’s definitely going to be a murderer after these kids, and that’s scary.

‘Boo’ promo image

How did you decide on the look of your killer, using just a simple ghost sheet?

You know, I think it goes back to what I said before, being back in the day and having these simple costumes. I was thinking, ‘How could I make a monster that people wouldn’t necessarily find scary, but then make it scary?’ I think a sheet that you have on your bed, everybody’s got one, is a great way to play with that, and be like, ‘Well, you don’t think ghosts are scary, but wait until you see our film. You might change your mind.’

And it’s such an iconic old school, classic costume idea too.

Exactly, (we can) kind of bring it back.

You mentioned that a lot of what’s going to bring the ‘80s feel is in the costumes. Are you doing things like trying to find vintage Halloween décor of the time to incorporate?

It’s great because the location where we’re shooting is a school that’s actually been abandoned for a few years. We just location scouted for it the other day, and it looks like it was locked in that time. So the location itself is going to be so incredible and really add to the aesthetic of it.

And the language, some of the lines that we have are going to cater to the slang that was used back then. And yeah, of course the decorations also, and the ghost himself in the sheet.

It all sounds great. You’re running a crowd funding campaign now, but the film is definitely going into production, regardless if the Indiegogo goal is met or not, is that right?

Yes. We’re talking to investors right now, so that’s where the majority (of our budget) is coming from. But we wanted to start our Indiegogo because we wanted to start hype and we wanted to engage with our audience as soon as possible, and allow them to give us feedback of what they’re responding to, and allow them to be involved. It’s a great way to engage with an audience, and it’s not just giving us money, you’re buying a perk that’s going to give you a download of the film the day it premieres.

So we thought it was just a great opportunity for everybody to learn and engage, and to see what’s working and maybe what’s not working.

The more money we raise, the more blood we can have, the bigger name actors we can have, the more extensive our stunts can be. Every bit helps, especially when it’s on an indie film like ours.

What are some of your other influences as far as filmmakers?

I’ve been heavily inspired lately by the directors that I’ve recently worked with. I’ve done a lot of independent films, and each one is a completely new experience.

You know, indie films, they’re hard. You’re working against the elements to make this art, and hope that people respond to it and see it, so all of these directors and writers that I’ve worked with really inspired me to push forward and create my own stuff, and especially now. As a woman writer, my voice I think is important in its own unique way, so I want to be heard.

I’ve just been learning by watching. I love being on set. I don’t hide away in my room or trailer, I like to be there (on set) asking questions and learning, and figuring out as much as I can. Honestly that’s where I’ve been really heavily inspired, by all the directors that I’ve been working with recently and in the past.

Dana Melanie at the premiere of ‘Waiting to Die in Bayside, Queens’ in 2017.

Can you talk a little bit about the significance of the fact that you are a female writer, director, producer, and star of your own feature film in the current #MeToo era?

I just got back from South by Southwest, because my film Wild Nights with Emily premiered there. Our director, Madeleine Olnek, wrote and directed it, and she did an outstanding job. It’s a really artistic piece of work. I was inspired by her. And there was another film there that had a male who wrote, directed, and starred in his film, and I thought, ‘I can do that. Why don’t I just do that?’

It’s terrifying. I’ve never done this before. I’ve written before and I’ve directed a little short before for a script I did. I think I’m starting to gain enough experience. And because I’m so terrified, I think that means that I absolutely have to do this. I think what scares you is something that is – you need to take that leap. Otherwise, what’s worth it in the end? It’s the things that scare you which have the biggest rewards.

And then being a woman. Blair, the main character, I didn’t want her to be just your typical scream queen. In my opinion, she’s deeper than that. She’s got layers. She’s a force to be reckoned with. She’s an alpha woman girl who’s figuring all this out on her own. I think as a woman writing a female lead in a horror character, I think it’s important, and I’m excited to see how audiences respond to her and to the whole film itself.

So when do you begin shooting Boo?

Filming is going to take place this October.

So you’ll be filming right during Halloween season and getting those real October vibes, which is awesome.

Exactly.

And you’re filming in Minnesota, right?

Yes, Kiester, Minnesota.

How did you pick that location?

Actually, our producer, Mike, is from Kiester, Minnesota. It’s this extremely small town. Hardly anybody’s heard of it. Their claim to fame is a Preparation H commercial was filmed there I think last year. So we’re bringing Hollywood to Kiester. (laughs)

We originally assumed it was going to be filmed here in Los Angeles, because that’s where we’re all based, and our producer, Mike, was just telling us stories one day about his childhood in this small town. And I went on Google Earth and was just going through the streets and everything, and I thought, ‘Hey, this would be a great location for Boo to be filmed.’ The script wasn’t even finished yet. It was just kind of sitting there, because I was working on other things.

When I saw the town, it sort of just put everything into full gear, and I finished it and decided we’re going to do this now.

We’re shooting for 12 days in October. Then we’ll go into post production. And hopefully we can make a deal and get this out for October 2019.

I can’t wait to show it to everybody. I’m so excited.

‘Boo’ writer/director/producer/actor Dana Melanie

What else can you tell us about Boo?

Let’s see. I’m trying to think of how many people die. There’s a lot, actually. (laughs) I want to say that there’s going to be seven deaths.

Are you excited about shooting those scenes?

I’m so excited. I can’t wait to start killing people and get that blood gushing everywhere. Yeah, it will be really fun. And we’re playing with it. We’re going to get a little Hitchcock with it, where you don’t necessarily see things, but you will.

I assure you, there will be blood and guts. (laughs)

Boo is currently raising a portion of its budget through an Indiegogo campaign running until July 11, which you can contribute to in exchange for some sweet perks here.

Keep watching Halloween Daily News, as we are excited to cover the development of this fun new Halloween film.

Dana Melanie

For more Halloween news, follow @HalloweenDaily.

'Boo' Writer/Director Dana Melanie [Interview] The new horror comedy Boo takes place on Halloween night in 1984, when a killer in a bed sheet ghost costume targets a group of teens, and while it pays homage to some of our favorite classics, it also marks the arrival of an exciting new voice to the genre in the film's writer, producer, director, and star Dana Melanie, who's ready to scare you and excited to get bloody.

#Boo #Dana Melanie

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jasonsutekh · 5 years

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Murder, She Wrote (1984-96) including South By Southwest (1997), A Story to Die For (2000), The Last Free Man (2001), and The Celtic Riddle (2003)

A writer of murder-mystery fiction becomes embroiled in many murders, burglaries, and attempted killings and takes it upon herself to solve them.

Angela Lansbury was a great choice to lay a TV detective because she’s consistently likable as Jessica Fletcher and there are quite a few very witty lines, particularly when up against insufferable personalities who she plays at their own games. She also creates a character who can cast judgement on people in a way that makes it seem like real justice, however it would have been interesting to have seen an episode in which she’d actually agreed with the killer and how she would have handled it.

Due to there being so many episodes by mostly the same people, the plot structures do get a little repetitious at times since there’s a place the story has to get to in a limited time and only so many ways to get there satisfactorily. Because of this the same methods are often used and clues can be switched almost interchangeably. One of the most common ways the killer gives themselves away is referencing something that only the killer could know, it’s a trope used in many episodes. Many of the characters are also archetypes since a few suspects have to be introduced as quickly as possible and there’s limited time for development. The stories also have to end with Jessica personally cornering the killer and tricking themselves into revealing themselves and confessing despite all the laws against entrapment and none of the killers stick to their bluff.

One good feature about each episode is that the key clue or clues are always available to the audience in each episode. Sometimes they are rather obvious like someone revealing details for no reason, but other times they are more subtle and require a good memory or keen attention to detail. The gimmicks in a few of the later episodes add some welcome variety and could have been made more use of, like the virtual reality episode, or the third film.

The weakest season is easily the seventh because they tried to partially phase out Angela Lansbury which didn’t work well. The replacement detectives weren’t bad but they didn’t quite measure up to Jessica for this series. The last film also wasn’t the best and it’s a shame it didn’t end on something with a bit more closure or gravitas at least, it’s like an ordinary extended episode.

6/10 -Just a cut above average-

-There was one episode which crossed over with Magnum PI (1980-88), it’s the second part of a Magnum PI story, the first of which was included on the bonus features of the dvds.

-The Italian title for the show translates as “The Lady in Yellow” although it’s unclear why as the character rarely wears yellow.

-The word “murder” appears in 48 individual episode titles.

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savetopnow · 7 years

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2018-03-10 06 NEWS now

NEWS

Associated Press

Florida's governor signs compromise school safety bill

ACLU accuses US of broadly separating immigrant families

'Pharma Bro' tearfully apologizes, then sentenced to prison

US: Trump decision to meet Kim leader validates his approach

The Latest: White House says Trump must see 'concrete steps'

BBC News

Immigration agents detain mother in front of screaming children

North Carolina officer charged for tasing jaywalker

Big cat gets CAT scan

Spain strike: 'Young women are incredible'

Natthanan: the 10-year-old make-up artist

Chicago Tribune

Four-time felon indicted on 56 counts in killing of police Cmdr. Paul Bauer

Man charged with killing two pugs is 'a danger to the community', judge says

Dan Aykroyd takes shot at Cook County Assessor Joe Berrios in 'Blues Brothers' themed ad for Chris Kennedy

Three workers overcome by fumes at Southwest Side plant

Woodstock man was hallucinating, hearing voices when he killed roommate, expert says in insanity defense

LA Times

Trump's summit with Kim poses risks and benefits for two volatile leaders

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tessatechaitea · 8 years

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Kamandi Challenge Special #1, Part Two

I have to read this in bits and pieces so I feel like I'm accomplishing more than I truly am.

Intelligent Killer Whales off the Pacific Northwest Coast.

Australia also hasn't changed being that it's home to the "Kanga Rat Murder Society." The Pacific Island Nations have become the Orangutan Surfing Civilization. I hope there's an issue with Kamandi visiting those guys. Other inhabitants and places of note: Snow Wizards in the Fjordic countries (those are the Nordic countries full of fjords); Polar Parasites in Moscow; Death Worshipers and Screamers in Africa; Wolves, Baboons, and Gorillas throughout Europe; Bulldogs ruling Britain; Savage bats, jaguar sun cults, and God-watchers in South America; and Ireland. Kirby must have gotten bored by the time he got to Antarctica because he just calls the people who live there Antarctic Ice Dwellers. I'm going to assume they're sentient penguins. The second story in the book is simply called "The Last Boy on Earth!" Which I've already noted is totally a lie because Kamandi is obviously the last girl on Earth. Kirby explains, with liberal use of exclamation points (which I'm totally in favor of), that Kamandi is named after the building she and her grandfather, the possible last people on Earth, lived in. Eventually Kamandi's grandfather decided to send her out into the world to reclaim their lost home. Grandfather: "Kamandi, my grandson..." Kamandi: "Granddaughter." Grandfather: "You must go out into the world and find a woman..." Kamandi: "Man." Grandfather: "...to take your seed..." Kamandi: "Ew, gross." Grandfather: "...so that mankind..." Kamandi: "Fuck mankind, Gramps." Grandfather: "...can continue to grow and prosper!" Kamandi: "You know what? Good idea. I'm out of here, you old freak."

This will the the spin from Kellyanne Conway and Sean Spicer when Trump brings about the apocalypse: "It was a natural disaster! Natural! Couldn't be helped! Stupid scientists didn't even see it coming!"

Kamandi heads up the Hudson River and finds a tribe of people. But they flee when she calls out to them. I guess waving and yelling "Hello there!" translates to "I'm going to fuck you up!" in their language of grunts and hand motions. It took Kamandi a few days to paddle this far in her little life raft so it must be a real pain in her ass when she sees the explosion from the bunker she left days ago and feels forced to go back to check on her grandfather.

"Am I mating? Is this mating? Is something pregnant yet?"

Kamandi returns to find looters have broken into Command 'D'! She must save her grandfather at all costs! Well, maybe at some costs. And maybe she doesn't really need to save his old patriarchal ass either, really. Kamandi finds some humanoid wolves have killed her grandfather so she kills them. Afterward, she leaves Command 'D' forever. She steals the wolves kinky truck and hits the road for an American adventure! Kamandi's first encounter is with Great Caesar and his platoon of tiger-men. They're riding horses who are probably thinking, "What the fuck? Why aren't we sentient in the future?! This sucks." Kamandi saves Great Caesar's life by killing a sniper and subsequently becoming Great Caesar's pet. I suppose if a dog pulled out a pistol and shot some guy who was about to shoot me, I'd feel obligated to take him in and feed him. Since Great Caesar is busy with his war, he sends Kamandi off with one of his men to be locked in the Royal City Kennels until Caesar returns from battle. Kamandi is cleaned up and dressed by a sentient dog which must be humiliating. I suppose it could have been worse and one of the sentient felines could have licked her clean. She's then brought to Great Caesar's victory celebration where she discovers the sentient tigers worship a nuclear missile. Was Jack Kirby ever sued by the creators of The Planet of the Apes? Kamandi decides the only hope at this totally hopeless point of being freshly washed, fed (with dog vomit but it's still food!), and clothed that the only answer is to kill everybody by blowing up the nuclear missile. I guess she loved her grandfather more than I've been giving her credit for. Kamandi's attempt at blowing the missile with a stolen laser is thwarted by Doctor Canus, probably because the stolen laser looks so much like a stick and Doctor Canus can't help but retrieve it.

Now kiss!

Doctor Canus decides to help Kamandi because he's a scientist and he'd like to do experiments on a talking animal.

This is unnerving. I'm beginning to hope all Doctor Canus wants to do is experiment.

I know I wrote I wanted them to kiss earlier but that was before I really thought that they might! Inside the room is Ben Boxer. He has the ability to press his chest and emit radiation. It doesn't sound like the safest power which is probably why Canus keeps him in the closet. Doctor Canus calls Ben Boxer "a natural atomic-pile." I really hope Atomic-Pile is his superhero name. Kamandi hugs Ben Boxer and cries and asks, "Grandfather says we must exchange seeds now." The end! That's it for Part Two! Here's hoping this comic book doesn't become prophetic this year!

#Jack Kirby #DC Comics #Kamandi #Kamandi Challenge

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xicanation · 8 years

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Efrén Paredes, Jr. was a 15-year-old honor student in St. Joseph, Michigan who was who was wrongly convicted by in a majority White jury in Berrien County, Michigan, a community with a history of white supremacy. There was no evidence whatsoever linking young Efrén, who had no previous criminal record, to a murder and armed robbery. He was given two life sentences without parole and another life sentence with possible parole.

Efrén has now served almost 28 years an is now 43. He is also a longtime activist and advocate who has opened unimaginable doors and touched communities far outside his cell.

Efrén needs our support: Ways to help

1. Sign the petition: www.tinyurl.com/Efren1016 2. Donate: paypal.me/ZavalaParedes

The controversial case has gained international attention, been condemned by veteran investigators, city councils, been addressed at the United Nations, and by numerous reknown activists and academics, including:

His story is also part of a few documentaries:

https://player.vimeo.com/video/185104498

and the Natural Life film.

According to 4efren.com:

Several notable scholars and activists across the country support Efren’s release including Dr. Elizabeth “Betita” Martinez, Director, Institute for MultiRacial Justice, author, and activist; Dr. Carlos Munoz, Jr., Professor Emeritus, University of California, Berkeley, author and activist; Dr. Rodolfo Acuna, historian, educator and Chicano studies scholar; Dr. Jorge Chinea, Director of Chicano-Boricua Studies Department, Wayne State University, author and activist; Dr. Martha Grace Duncan, Professor of Law, Emory University, and author; Favianna Rodriguez, political printmaker, digital artist, activist; Juana Alicia, muralist, printmaker, educator, and activist; Elena Herrada, Director, Centro Obrero, Detroit Public Schools Board Member, and writer; Elisha Miranda aka E-Fierce, filmmaker, writer, and activist; Dr. Walter Garcia-Kawamoto, Journal of Adolescent Research, Manuscript Consulting Editor; and others.

Efren also enjoys the support of world renowned wrongful convictions expert Paul Ciolino, a veteran private investigator. Ciolino is the author of numerous articles in professional publications and the book, “In the Company of Giants: The Ultimate Investigation Guide for Legal Professionals, Activists, Journalists and the Wrongfully Convicted.” In addition, he co-wrote the best-selling and critically acclaimed textbooks “Advanced Forensic Criminal Defense Investigations” and “Advanced Forensic Civil Investigations.”

Ciolino is the former chief investigative advisor to Northwestern University Law School’s Center on Wrongful Convictions, the Medill School of Journalism, and DePaul University Center for Justice in Capital Cases. In 2003, when former Illinois Governor George Ryan granted clemency and pardons to 167 death row inmates, he cited Ciolino’s investigative work, which helped free five innocent men, as one of the reasons for the en masse commutations.

According to Ciolino, “There is not one shred of credible evidence to suggest that Efren was involved in the murder. No weapon, no eyewitnesses, no physical evidence, no motive, no prior conduct to suggest that a 15-year-old student athlete, and honor role student with zero criminal background, would have planned, participated in or committed this murder. The community and jury were sold a bill of goods based on the words of drug dealers and thieves.”

Juvenile Life Without Parole

There was no physical evidence linking Efren to the crime, no eyewitnesses to the crime, and Efren was home with his parents and two brothers when the crime was committed.

Efren had no juvenile or adult criminal record previous to his arrest on March 15, 1989. In a rush to judgment, and efforts to allay community concerns of criminals committing further acts of violence, he was tried and convicted only three months after his arrest by a jury comprised of 11 White jurors and one Black juror.

Efren received illegal two life without parole (LWOP) sentences for one homicide and a parolable life sentence for the armed robbery. The prosecutor charged Efren under two alternate theories of murder — premeditated murder and felony murder — and his trial judge, Zoe Burkholz, sentenced him for both counts of murder.

The Berrien County Court is located St. Joseph, MI, the same city where the crime occurred. St. Joseph had a racial composition of being 95% White at the time. The judge, prosecutor, all the investigating police, and the victim in the case were all White. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Berrien County ranks among the top 25 most segregated metropolitan areas in the country.

All but one of the youths in Berrien County who have received life without parole (LWOP) sentences have been children of color. Efren is the only Latino youth in the county’s history to receive the sentence.

Efrén Paredes, Jr.

Efren has since been actively involved in community issues and amplified his message of non-violence and criminal justice reform. According to his site, “He has appeared on various radio stations and podcasts across the nation to discuss criminal justice issues. Some of the stations include National Public Radio (NPR), Michigan Radio, Central Michigan University Public Radio, the Jack Ebling Show, La Raza Chronicles, KPFA Radio, Detriot Superstation 910 AM, Thousand Kites, Juvenile Justice Matters, Youth Radio, and others.

“Articles about Efren have been featured on ColorLines, RaceWire, The Progressive, The Michigan Citizen, South Bend Tribune, TelesurTV, Latina Lista, The Nation, Seattle Times, Miami Herald, Los Angeles Times, Lansing State Journal, MLive, Associated Press, 99% Invisible, The Theory of Everything, AlterNet, and other web sites. In 2015 Latina Magazine named Efren as one of four Latino prisoners in the U.S. deserving of clemency.

“Efren has taken his message of non-violence and criminal justice reform to other countries as well. He spoke to a large audience of youth at a basketball tournament in Toronto, Ontario (Canada) and has appeared twice on TelesurTV, a station based in Quito, Ecuador.

“During his incarceration Efren has raised money for underfunded classrooms, youth summer camps, and breast cancer awareness. He also applied for and received grants from a corporation to build a weight training area and fund the purchase of library books, encyclopedias, and a learning resource center at a prison he was formally housed at.

“Efren has been invited to speak at various religious services and cultural organization events throughout his incarceration. He has been a keynote speaker at Cinco de Mayo, Latino History Month, Kwanzaa, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, and Black History Month events, just to name a few.

“He has also developed proposals and received approval by prison administrators to host numerous members of the public who have visited prisons to speak on an array of subjects. Some of those people have included professors, state representatives, poets, authors, psychologists, lawyers, and social justice advocates.

“During the course of his incarceration Efren has received commendations from prison Wardens for the positive work he has done assisting the prisoner population through his work serving over 14 six-month terms as a member of the Warden’s Forum at various prisons. He also has the support of a retired Michigan Braille Transcribing Fund Executive Director as well as current and retired Michigan Department of Corrections staff.

“Efren is currently the subject of an immersive audio project being created by a New York-based podcast producer and Columbia University graduate student. An Emory University law professor is also devoting an entire chapter to him in an upcoming book she is authoring about prisoners sentenced to life without parole sentences when they were juveniles.

“In September 2015 Efren was among 20 prisoners selected to help develop a prison outreach component of the My Brother’s Keeper (MBK) program based at Michigan State University (MSU). MBK is a program that trains people to become mentors to at-risk African-American boys, Grade 6-8, in the Detroit Public Schools. Upon successful completion of the program training Efren will receive an MBK Mentor Internship certification from the MSU Residential College in the Arts and Humanities.”

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Xica Nation first heard about this story from Maria Luisa Zavala, Efren’s wife, who had these words to share:

How did you two connect? Why did this matter speak to your heart?

MZP: “In 2000 -2001 I was working at a nonprofit that started in SouthWest Detroit that later moved to Lansing Michigan. It was called the Xicano Development Center (X..D.C.). One of our board members had a relative that was incarcerated.

“In Michigan when prisoners want to start any type of cultural group on the inside they have to find an organization on the outside that will sponsor them.

“We had no idea what was required of a sponsoring organization. So, another board member and I went to find out. It was very simple, we just had to send a representative once a month to sit in on their meetings and make sure they were making positive plans and putting on cultural programs that benefited the rest of the inmates. So we signed on to sponsor L.A.S.S.O. (Latin America Spanish Speaking Organization). As the word got around in the facilities that the XDC had provided sponsorship to L.A.S.S.O. and then we got request from other facilities and from H.A.S.T.A. (Hispanic American Striving Towards Achievement). We also made contact with I.N.U. (Indians Nations United).

“In 2003 I started to attend the LASSO meeting in the Robert Cotton Correctional Facility in Jackson Michigan. This is where I met Efren Paredes Jr. He was the chair of the group. Efren, the LASSO Board members and I worked hard to prepare Xicano, Mexican, Latin American educational events and programing. I worked closely with Xicano/Latino professors at Michigan State University, community activities, and community leaders to go into the facility to speak and teach.

“I would say that maybe a year into the work that we were doing I became curious as to why someone like Efren (he was/is very well spoken, educated, eager to learn, caring, mentor, and well written (blog) would be serving three life sentences. So, I became interested and he gave me information about his case so that I could learn on my own why he was in there. He did not explain it to me, he wanted me to come up with my own conclusion after reading his court documents and learn details of his case.

“As for what motivated me to get involved in this matter I would say that after going through numerous court documents, and speaking to his family I am convinced he is innocent. The injustice that was committed upon a teen boy and his family was a terrible tragedy. I offered to help in any I could.

In college I learn to be a community organizer by being a member of MEXA, I was involved in a 6 day hunger strike, fought for xicano studies, increase hiring of xicano professors, increase recruitment of xicano latino students, and working on retention of those students. After college I we started a Brown Beret Chapter in Southwest Detroit in the late 1990’s. After learning of this injustice committed upon this family perhaps I could be of some assistance.

“I don’t want to sound cheesy but the words that resonated with me are “an injustice to one is an in injustice to all”. I also learned of the injustice committed to many youth getting waived into adult court to be treated, sentenced, and incarcerated as if they are grown. They can’t defend themselves, they can’t plead out because they do not know how to navigate the criminal system. Even adults that can understand the system get railroaded every day. So, this was an opportunity to help an individual get his case some attention locally, nationally, and internationally. Perhaps get him some justice.

“I helped him and the family launch a Free Efren campaign that went strong for many years, and we were even able to get a public hearing that would inform the Michigan Governor weather she should commute him or not. The hearing was attended by over 300 supporters. Unfortunately, the hearing was in front of the Parole Board, which informed him that they could not recommend to the Governor weather he should be commuted because up until this day, they are not charged with hearing cases of innocence.

“We have joined the national movement of changing laws of Juvenile Lifers With Out Parole (JLWOP), and prison reform. As a grassroots group we helped at times with informing ACLU and legislators of Efren’s case. Now as you have read laws have changed in favor or his release, but we still have a long way to go before his release.”

Efrén needs our support: ways to help

1. Sign the petition for resentencing: www.tinyurl.com/Efren1016 2. Donate directly to Efrén at: paypal.me/ZavalaParedes

Links to more information

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Free.Efren/

Online petition: www.tinyurl.com/Efren1016

Donate: paypal.me/ZavalaParedes

Efrén’s accomplishments: www.TinyURL.com/EfrenCV2016

Blog: www.4Efren.blogspot.com

Web Site: www.4Efren.com

Free Efrén: 15-year old honor student, wrongly charged 3 life sentences, spends 27th year changing the world from inside a cell Efrén Paredes, Jr. was a 15-year-old honor student in St. Joseph, Michigan who was who was wrongly convicted by in a majority White jury in Berrien County, Michigan, a community with a history of white supremacy.

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jerome-blog1 · 5 years

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Cambodia – Phnom Penh – Fashion Shop – 1ee

Phnom Penh (/pəˈnɔːm ˈpɛn/ or /ˈnɒm ˈpɛn/; Khmer: ភ្នំពេញ phnum pɨñ, Khmer pronunciation: [pʰnʊm ˈpɨɲ]), formerly known as Krong Chaktomuk or Krong Chaktomuk Serimongkul (Khmer: ក្រុងចតុមុខសិរិមង្គល), is the capital and most populous city in Cambodia. Phnom Penh has been the national capital since French colonization of Cambodia, and has grown to become the nation’s economic, industrial, and cultural center.

Once known as the "Pearl of Asia," it was considered one of the loveliest French-built cities in Indochina in the 1920s. Phnom Penh, along with Siem Reap and Sihanoukville, are significant global and domestic tourist destinations for Cambodia. Founded in 1434, the city is noted for its historical architecture and attractions. There are a number of surviving French colonial buildings scattered along the grand boulevards.

On the banks of the Tonlé Sap, Mekong, and Bassac Rivers, the Phnom Penh metropolitan area is home to about 1.5 million of Cambodia’s population of over 14.8 million.

ETYMOLOGY Phnom Penh (literally, ‘Penh’s Hill’) takes its name from the present Wat Phnom (‘Hill Temple’). Legend has it that in 1372, a wealthy widow named Lady Penh found a Koki tree floating down the Tonle Sap river after a storm. Inside the tree were four bronze Buddha statues and a stone statue of Vishnu. Daun Penh ordered villagers to raise the height of the hill northeast of her house and used the Koki wood to build a temple on the hill to house the four Buddha statues, and a shrine for the Vishnu image slightly lower down. The temple became known as Wat Phnom Daun Penh, which is now known as Wat Phnom, a small hill 27 metres in height.

Phnom Penh’s official name, in its short form, is Krong Chaktomok (Khmer: ក្រុងចតុមុខ) meaning "City of Four Faces". Krong Chaktomuk is an abbreviation of the full name which was given by King Ponhea Yat, Krong Chaktomuk Mongkol Sakal Kampuchea Thipadei Serey Thereak Borvor Inthabot Borei Roth Reach Seima Maha Nokor (Khmer: ក្រុងចតុមុខមង្គលសកលកម្ពុជាធិបតី សិរីធរបវរ ឥន្ទបត្តបុរី រដ្ឋរាជសីមាមហានគរ, Khmer pronunciation: [ˌkɾongˌcaʔtoʔmʊk̚ˌmʊŋkʊlˌsaʔkɑlˌkampuʔciəˌtʰɨp̚paʔdəjˌseʔɾəjˌtʰe͡aʔɾe͡aʔˌbɑːvɑːˌənte͡aʔpatˌboʔɾəjˌɾoat̚tʰaʔˌɾiəcˌsəjmaːˌmɔhaːˌnɔˈkɔː]). This loosely translates as "The place of four rivers that gives the happiness and success of Khmer Kingdom, the highest leader as well as unimpregnable city of the God Indra of the great kingdom".[10] It is similar to the much more famous long name of Bangkok, which in both cases incorporates many words from Sanskrit.

HISTORY First recorded a century after it is said to have taken place, the legend of the founding of Phnom Penh tells of a local woman, Penh (commonly referred to as Daun Penh ("Grandmother Penh" or "Old Lady Penh") in Khmer), living at Chaktomuk, the future Phnom Penh. It was the late 14th century, and the Khmer capital was still at Angkor near Siem Reap 350 km to the north. Gathering firewood along the banks of the river, Lady Penh spied a floating koki tree in the river and fished it from the water. Inside the tree she found four Buddha statues and one of Vishnu.

The discovery was taken as a divine blessing, and to some a sign that the Khmer capital was to be brought to Phnom Penh from Angkor.[citation needed] To house the new-found sacred objects, Penh raised a small hill on the west bank of the Tonle Sap River and crowned it with a shrine, now known as Wat Phnom at the north end of central Phnom Penh. "Phnom" is Khmer for "hill" and Penh’s hill took on the name of the founder, and the area around it became known after the hill.

Phnom Penh first became the capital of Cambodia after Ponhea Yat, king of the Khmer Empire, moved the capital from Angkor Thom after it was captured and destroyed by Siam a few years earlier. There is a stupa behind Wat Phnom that houses the remains of Ponhea Yat and the royal family as well as the remaining Buddhist statues from the Angkorean era. In the 17th century, Japanese immigrants also settled on the outskirts of present-day Phnom Penh.] A small Portuguese community survived in Phnom Penh until the 17th century, undertaking commercial and religious activity in the country.

Phnom Penh remained the royal capital for 73 years, from 1432 to 1505. It was abandoned for 360 years (from 1505 to 1865) by subsequent kings due to internal fighting between the royal pretenders. Later kings moved the capital several times and established their royal capitals at various locations in Tuol Basan (Srey Santhor), Pursat, Longvek, Lavear Em and Oudong.

It was not until 1866, under the reign of King Norodom I (1860–1904), the eldest son of King Ang Duong, who ruled on behalf of Siam, that Phnom Penh became the permanent seat of government and capital of Cambodia, and also where the current Royal Palace was built. Beginning in 1870, the French colonial authorities turned a riverside village into a city where they built hotels, schools, prisons, barracks, banks, public works offices, telegraph offices, law courts, and health services buildings. In 1872, the first glimpse of a modern city took shape when the colonial administration employed the services of French contractor Le Faucheur to construct the first 300 concrete houses for sale and rental to Chinese traders.

By the 1920s, Phnom Penh was known as the "Pearl of Asia", and over the next four decades, Phnom Penh continued to experience rapid growth with the building of railways to Sihanoukville and Pochentong International Airport (now Phnom Penh International Airport). Phnom Penh’s infrastructure saw major modernisation under the rule of Sihanouk.

During the Vietnam War, Cambodia was used as a base by the North Vietnamese Army and the Viet Cong, and thousands of refugees from across the country flooded the city to escape the fighting between their own government troops, the NVA/NLF, the South Vietnamese and its allies, and the Khmer Rouge. By 1975, the population was 2–3 million, the bulk of whom were refugees from the fighting. The Khmer Rouge cut off supplies to the city for more than a year before it fell on April 17, 1975. Reports from journalists stated that the Khmer Rouge shelling "tortured the capital almost continuously," inflicting "random death and mutilation" on millions of trapped civilians. The Khmer Rouge forcibly evacuated the entire city after taking it, in what has been described as a death march: Francois Ponchaud wrote that "I shall never forget one cripple who had neither hands nor feet, writhing along the ground like a severed worm, or a weeping father carrying his ten-year old daughter wrapped in a sheet tied around his neck like a sling, or the man with his foot dangling at the end of a leg to which it was attached by nothing but skin"; John Swain recalled that the Khmer Rouge were "tipping out patients from the hospitals like garbage into the streets….In five years of war, this is the greatest caravan of human misery I have seen." All of its residents, including the wealthy and educated, were evacuated from the city and forced to do difficult labour on rural farms as "new people". Tuol Sleng High School was taken over by Pol Pot’s forces and was turned into the S-21 prison camp, where people were detained and tortured. Pol Pot sought a return to an agrarian economy and therefore killed many people perceived as educated, "lazy" or political enemies. Many others starved to death as a result of failure of the agrarian society and the sale of Cambodia’s rice to China in exchange for bullets and weaponry. The former high school is now the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum, where Khmer Rouge torture devices and photos of their victims are displayed. Choeung Ek (The Killing Fields), 15 kilometers away, where the Khmer Rouge marched prisoners from Tuol Sleng to be murdered and buried in shallow pits, is also now a memorial to those who were killed by the regime.

The Khmer Rouge were driven out of Phnom Penh by the Vietnamese in 1979, and people began to return to the city. Vietnam is historically a state with which Cambodia has had many conflicts, therefore this liberation was and is viewed with mixed emotions by the Cambodians. A period of reconstruction began, spurred by the continuing stability of government, attracting new foreign investment and aid by countries including France, Australia, and Japan. Loans were made from the Asian Development Bank and the World Bank to reinstate a clean water supply, roads and other infrastructure. The 1998 Census put Phnom Penh’s population at 862,000; and the 2008 census was 1.3 million.

GEOGRAPHY Phnom Penh is in the south-central region of Cambodia, and is fully surrounded by Kandal Province. The municipality is on the banks of the Tonlé Sap, Mekong, and Bassac Rivers. These rivers provide freshwater and other natural resources to the city. Phnom Penh and the surrounding areas consist of a typical flood plain area for Cambodia. Although Phnom Penh is at 11.89 metres above the river, monsoon season flooding is a problem, and the river sometimes overflows its banks.

The city, at 11.55°N 104.91667°E (11°33′ North, 104°55′ East), covers an area of 678.46 square kilometres, with some 11,401 hectares in the municipality and 26,106 ha of roads. The agricultural land in the municipality amounts to 34.685 km2 with some 1.476 km2 under irrigation.

CLIMATE Phnom Penh has a tropical wet and dry climate (Köppen climate classification Aw). The climate is hot year-round with only minor variations. Temperatures typically range from 22 to 35 °C and weather is subject to the tropical monsoons. The southwest monsoon blows inland bringing moisture-laden winds from the Gulf of Thailand and Indian Ocean from May to November. The northeast monsoon ushers in the dry season, which lasts from December to April. The city experiences the heaviest precipitation from September to October with the driest period in January and February.

The city has two distinct seasons. The rainy season, which runs from May to November, sees high temperatures accompanied by high humidity. The dry season lasts from December to April; when overnight temperatures can drop to 22 °C.

ADMINISTRATION Phnom Penh is a municipality of area 678.46 square kilometres with a government status equal to that of Cambodian provinces. The municipality is divided into twelve administrative divisions called khans (sections) and of these twelve khans, Dangkao, Meanchey, Porsenchey, Sen Sok and Russei Keo are considered the outskirts of the city. All ‘hans are under the governance of the Phnom Penh Municipality. The sections are further subdivided into 76 sangkats (quarters), and further subdivided into 637 phums (villages).

The municipality is governed by the governor who acts as the top executive of the city as well as overseeing the Municipal Military Police, Municipal Police, and Bureau of Urban Affairs. Below the governor is the first vice governor and five vice governors. The chief of cabinet, who holds the same status as the vice governors, heads the cabinet consisting of eight deputy chiefs of cabinet who in turn are in charge of the 27 administrative departments. Every khan (district) also has a chief.

DEMOGRAPHICS As of 2008, Phnom Penh had a population of 2,009,264 people, with a total population density of 5,358 inhabitants per square kilometre in a 678.46 square kilometres city area. The population growth rate of the city is 3.92%. The city area has grown fourfold since 1979, and the metro area will continue to expand in order to support the city’s growing population and economy. Phnom Penh’s population is expected to increase to three million at the end of 2016.

Phnom Penh is mostly inhabited by Cambodians (or Khmers). They represent 90% of the population of the city. There are large minorities of Chinese, Vietnamese, and other small ethnic groups who are Thai, Budong, Mnong Preh, Kuy, Chong, and Chams. The state religion is Theravada Buddhism. More than 90% of the people in Phnom Penh are Buddhists. Chams have been practicing Islam for hundreds of years. Since 1993, there has also been an increase in the practice of Christianity which was practically wiped out after 1975 when the Khmer Rouge took over. The official language is Khmer, but English and French are widely used in the city.

The number of slum-inhabitants at the end of 2012 was 105,771, compared with 85,807 at the start of 2012.

Note: As stated in the "History" paragraph (The 1998 Census put Phnom Penh’s population at 862,000; and the 2008 census was 1.3 million.) the information collides with the information provided in the "Historical population" table.

POLITICS Phnom Penh is allocated 12 seats in the National Assembly, making it the largest constituency.

ECONOMY Phnom Penh is Cambodia’s economic centre as it accounts for a large portion of the Cambodian economy. Double-digit economic growth rates in recent years have triggered an economic boom in Phnom Penh, with new hotels, restaurants, bars, high rises and residential buildings springing up in the city.

The economy is based on commercial interests such as garments, trading, and small and medium enterprises. In the past few years the property business has been booming, with rapidly increasing real estate prices. Tourism is also a major contributor in the capital as more shopping and commercial centres open, making Phnom Penh one of the major tourist destinations in the country along with Siem Reap and Sihanoukville. According to the World Travel and Tourism Council, tourism made up 17.5 percent (US$2,053 million) of Cambodia’s GDP in 2009 and accounts for 13.7 percent of total employment. One of the most popular areas in Phnom Penh for tourists is Sisowath Quay, alongside the Tonle Sap River. Sisowath Quay is a five kilometre strip of road that includes restaurants, bars, and hotels.

The US$2.6 billion new urban development, Camko City, is meant to bolster the city landscape. The Bureau of Urban Affairs of Phnom Penh Municipality has plans to expand and construct new infrastructure to accommodate the growing population and economy. High rise buildings will be constructed at the entrance of the city and near the lakes and riverbanks. Furthermore, new roads, canals, and a railway system will be used to connect Camko City and Phnom Penh.

Other projects include: Grand Phnom Penh International City (under construction) De Castle Royal Condominium (Completed) Gold Tower 42 (On hold 32 floors construction begins again in the mid of 2018) OCIC Tower (Completed) Kokling super second floor house Vattanac Capital Tower (completed) The Peak (under construction

With booming economic growth seen since the 1990s, new shopping venues have opened: Sorya Center Point, Aeon Mall Phnom Penh, Aeon Mall Sen Sok City, Olympia Mall, and Parkson Mall (under construction). Many international brands have opened such as Mango, Salvatore Ferragamo, Hugo Boss, Padini Concept Store, Lily, Timberland, Jimmy Choo, CC Double O, MO, Brands Outlet, Nike, Converse, Pony, Armani Exchange, and Super Dry.

The tallest skyscraper in Phnom Penh is Vattanac Capital Tower at a height of 188 metres, dominating Phnom Penh’s skyline with its neighbour skyscraper Canadia Tower (OCIC Tower). The tower was topped out in May 2012 and scheduled for completion in late-2012. Modern high rises have been constructed all around the city, not concentrated in any one particular area.

The Central Market Phsar Thmei is a tourist attraction. The four wings of the yellow colored market are teeming with numerous stalls selling gold and silver jewelry, antique coins, clothing, clocks, flowers, food, fabrics and shoes. Phsar Thmei is undergoing under a major renovation, along with the creation of newer stalls.

CULTURE Phnom Penh also has its own dialect of Khmer. Speakers of the Phnom Penh dialect often elide syllables, which has earned it the reputation for being lazy speech. Phnom Penh is also known for its influence on New Khmer Architecture. Phnom Penh is notable for Ka tieu Phnom Penh, its variation on rice noodle soup, a dish available in sit-down cafes as well as street cafes.

Music and the arts are making a revival throughout Cambodia, especially in Phnom Penh. Phnom Penh currently hosts a number of music events throughout the city. ‘Indie’ bands (those without corporate sponsors) have grown in number due also in part to the emergence of private music schools such as SoundsKool Music (also operating in the city of Siem Reap), and Music Arts School (registered as an NGO).

The two most visited museums in the city are the National Museum, which is the country’s leading historical and archaeological museum, and Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum, a former Khmer Rouge prison.

CHAUL CHNAM THMEY APRIL 13-15 At this time, Phnom Penh celebrates Cambodian New Year, an occasion increasingly popular with tourists. During this typically hottest part of the year, water gets thrown around adding to the party atmosphere along with dancing and music. The precise date changes year-by-year but this holiday lasts, at least, three days. This festival marks the turn of the year based on the ancient Khmer calendar and also marks the end of the prior year harvest.

WATER FESTIVAL NOVEMBER The largest annual festival in Phnom Penh, this lively gathering celebrates the reversing of the flow of the Tonlé Sap River. The holiday lasts three days as people flood into the city to enjoy the fireworks, boat races, live concerts, eating and partying. The boat racing dates back to ancient times marking the strengths of the Khmer marine forces during the Khmer Empire.

On 22 November 2010 at least 348 people were crushed to death in a bridge stampede at the festival.

PCHUM BEN OCTOBER 11–15 (2012) Pchum Ben is a very important aspect of Cambodian culture. It may be translated as "gathering together" to make offerings and is a time of reunion, commemoration, express love and appreciation for one’s ancestors. By offering food and good karma to those possibly trapped in the spirit world, living relatives help assuage their misery and guide them back into the cycle of reincarnation.

VISAK BOCHEA MAY Vesākha is an annual holiday observed traditionally by Buddhists in Cambodia. Sometimes informally called "Buddha’s Birthday", it actually encompasses the birth, enlightenment (nirvāṇa), and passing away (Parinirvāna) of Gautama Buddha.

CITYSCAPE AND ARCHITECTURE The oldest structure is Wat Phnom from the founding days of the city, constructed in 1373. The main tourist attractions are the Royal Palace with the Silver Pagoda, and the National Museum, constructed during the French colonial era in the late 19th century in the classical Khmer style and hosting a vast collection of Khmer antiquities. The Independence Monument (Khmer: Vimean Akareach), although from the 1950s, is also constructed in the ancient Khmer style.

The French, who were the colonial masters from the 19th century to the 1940s, also left their mark, with various colonial villas, French churches, boulevards, and the Art Deco market Phsar Thom Thmei. A notable landmark of the colonial era is the Hotel Le Royal.

Starting with independence from the French in the 1950s and lasting until the era of the Khmer Rouge in the 1970s, Phnom Penh underwent tremendous growth as the capital city of a newly independent country. King Sihanouk was eager to present a new style of architecture and thus invigorate the process of nation building. A new golden era of architecture took off, with various projects and young Khmer architects, often educated in France, given opportunities to design and construct. This new movement was called "New Khmer Architecture" and was often characterised by a fusion of Bauhaus, European post-modern architecture, and traditional elements from Angkor. The most prominent architect was Vann Molyvann, who was nominated chief national architect by the king himself in 1956. Molyvann created landmark buildings such as the Preah Suramarit National Theatre and the Council of Ministers building. Other architects helped construct the newly founded Royal Khmer University, the Institute of Foreign Languages, and the National Sports Centre. With the growth of the upper and entrepreneurial middle classes, new suburbs were built in the 1950s and 60s. Although these buildings survived the Khmer Rouge era and the civil war, today they are under threat due to economic development and financial speculation.[citation needed] Villas and gardens from that era are being destroyed and redeveloped to make place for bigger structures. The landmark National Theatre by Molyvann was ripped down in 2008. A movement is rising in Cambodia to preserve this modernist heritage. Old villas are sometimes being converted into boutique hotels, such as the Knai Bang Chatt.

Monuments and memorials to the genocide of the Khmer Rouge era in the 1970s are the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum (a former high school used as a concentration camp) and, on the outskirts of the city, the Choeung Ek Genocide Center. The Cambodia-Vietnam Friendship Monument was commissioned by the Vietnamese communists as symbol of Khmer-Vietnamese friendship during the late-1970s following the liberation of Cambodia from the Khmer Rouge.

The population, foreign investment, and urban development in Phnom Penh grew dramatically during the 1990s and early-2000s. The rapid growth resulted in the city’s infrastructure distinctly lacking (the drainage system is particularly notorious, and Phnom Penh frequently floods during the wet season), and a need for both residential and commercial spaces. The simultaneous demand for residential and commercial housing and the increase of international investment has led to the planning, if not construction, of several satellite cities. The largest of these cities are: Grand Phnom Penh International City, CamKo City, Diamond Island City, Boeung Kak Town, and Chruy Cangva City.

On the outskirts of the city, farmland has been developed into garment factories and housing for lower economic classes and those displaced by the new development in the city center.

2035 MASTER PLAN Originally intended to be completed by 2020, the 2035 master plan[ is a French-funded project for the development of Phnom Penh. Although the plan was approved by the Ministry of Land Management, Urban Planning and Construction in 2005, it has yet to be ratified by the Cabinet of Cambodia. The original plan details five edge-city projects connected to the historical city centre by waterways and tree-lined corridors.

SPORT The martial arts of Bokator, Pradal Serey (Khmer kick boxing) and Khmer traditional wrestling have venues in Phnom Penh watched by dedicated spectators. Cambodia has increasingly become involved in modern sports over the last 30 years. As with the rest of the country, football and the martial arts are particularly popular. Ultimate fighting and freestyle boxing have also become more common in recent years.[citation needed]

The most prominent sporting venue in the city is the Phnom Penh National Olympic Stadium with a capacity of 80,000 – although the country never hosted the Olympic Games due to disruption by the civil war and the Khmer Rouge in the 1970s. Built in 1964, it is home to the Cambodian national football team. On completion the stadium was one of the largest in Asia. Today it is the 6th largest stadium in Southeast Asia. Volleyball, basketball, and Tai-Kwon-Do games are often hosted at the stadium. The stadium closed in 2000, but was redeveloped and reopened.

The National Sports Centre of Cambodia hosts swimming, boxing, and volleyball competitions. Noted local football clubs include Phnom Penh Empire, Khemara Keila FC and Military Police.

TRANSPORT Phnom Penh International Airport is the largest and busiest airport in Cambodia. It is seven kilometres west of central Phnom Penh. The airport is connected to the city center by taxi, train, and shuttle bus.

Cambodia’s national flag carrier, Cambodia Angkor Air, launched in 2009, is headquartered in Phnom Penh and has its main hub there, with an additional hub at the Angkor International Airport. Budget flights from Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur to Phnom Penh are operated by AirAsia, a regional low-cost carrier. Other budget carriers include Jetstar Asia Airways with daily flights to Singapore.

Air France used to serve Phnom Penh from Paris-Charles de Gaulle but this service has since stopped. Qatar Airways now flies to and from Phnom Penh, via Ho Chi Minh City.

Taxis, pick-ups, and minibuses leave the city for destinations all over the country, but are fast losing ground to cheaper and more comfortable buses. Phnom Penh also has a rail service.

There are numerous bus companies, including Phnom Penh Public Transport and GST Express, running services to most provincial capitals, including Sihanoukville, Kampong Chhnang, Oudong and Takéo. Phnom Penh Sorya Transport Co. offers bus service to several provincial destinations along the National Routes and to Ho Chi Minh City. Giant Ibis is another bus company based in Phnom Penh, which travels to Sihanoukville, Kampot, Siem Reap and Ho Chi Minh, and has free wifi, air conditioning and modest pricing.

The city is Cambodia’s main freshwater port, a major port on the Mekong River. It is linked to the South China Sea, 290 kilometres distant, via a channel of the Mekong in Vietnam.

PUBLIC TRANSPORT Phnom Penh is served by three air conditioned bus lines. Initial attempts by the Japanese government to develop a Phnom Penh bus service began in 2001. An update of the JICA urban transport master plan for Phnom Penh was completed and implemented in 2014. The city is now served by three bus lines, operated by the Phnom Penh municipal government. Private transportation within the city include the cycle rickshaw, known in Khmer as "cyclo", the motorcycle taxi known in Khmer as "moto", the auto rickshaw known locally as "tuk-tuk", the trailer attached to a motorcycle taxi known in Khmer as "remorque", and the standard automobile taxicab known in Khmer as "taxi". Private forms of transportation used by locals include bicycles, motorbikes, and cars.

WATER SUPPLY Water supply in Phnom Penh has improved dramatically in terms of access, service quality, efficiency, cost recovery and governance between 1993 and 2006. The number of customers has increased ninefold, service quality has improved from intermittent to continuous supply, water losses have been cut dramatically and the city’s water utility went from being bankrupt to making a modest profit. These achievements were recognized through international awards such as the 2006 Ramon Magsaysay Award and the 2010 Stockholm Industry Water Award. The city’s water utility is the Phnom Penh Water Supply Authority (PPWSA). Its main water sources are the Mekong River, the Tonle Sap river and the Tonle Bassac river.

WIKIPEDIA

Posted by asienman on 2019-06-15 17:39:48

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