#also watching hugh at all in that video was a pleasing experience

[cursed-elo-images]

18:56-19:01 HUGH SCREAMS

[mortallyclearwonderland]

Is Rise of the Guardians 2 possible? Yes!

Let's list all the facts supporting the possibility of another movie:

1. The director of the first movie is open to the idea of creating a sequel. "I'd love to be involved in something like that again, just because there are so many things I'd like to improve on from the first time because of inexperience or the circumstances that we didn't get to do.’’ (2020) The director? Peter Ramsey, the guy behind Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse!

2. Speaking of Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, Dreamworks started to experiment with 2D and 3D. Their newest movies The Bad Guys and Puss in Boots the Last Wish are huge critical and box office successes.

The Bad Guys earned $250.5 million from the $69–80 million budget. Puss in Boots the Last Wish earned $263.6 million and still counting from the $90 million budget.

3. When we're on the topic, Rise of the Guardians wasn't a flop but it didn't make as much money as Dreamworks anticipated. The movie cost $145 million to make and made $306.9 million at the box office. With the new art style being cheaper to make but not dropping in quality future films will make much more money. And that's how it should be. Not getting more expensive and looking like an early 2000s CGI video game, Disney! 

4. Dreamworks has no problem with making sequels even when there is a big gap between the last release. They announced Kung Fu Panda 4 for the 2024 release meanwhile Kung Fu Panda 3 came out in 2016. That's an 8-year wait while the original trilogy had about two 4-year gaps between installments. Between the original Puss in Boots and its sequel passed almost 12 years. Puss in Boots 2 also foreshadowed a potential sequel to the Shrek franchise for which the last movie was Shrek Forever After in 2010. The Croods came out in 2013, and its sequel The Croods: New Age came out in 2020. Again with huge positive critical and box office reception. $216 million from a $65 million budget. Dreamworks is the master of sequels!

5. Furry bait! People at Dreamworks have a connection to the internet. They know people went wild over Mr. Wolf and Death. Bunnymund voiced by Hugh Jackman? Come on, people will go crazy! 

6. Great villain potential! Everybody is praising Death for how scary he is. People love tragic and complex villains like Ramses, Tai Lung, and Lord Shen. If Dreamworks leans into Pitch Black's backstory from the books they might create one of their best villains yet! I'm not going to spoil it.

7. Jude Law, VA of Pitch Black, will be in the Star Wars Skeleton crew and Pan and Wendy. Whether or not those projects will be good in their own right people will know him from those roles and might want to watch an animated movie just because he's in it.

8. Dreamworks wants to please its audience. Unlike so many creators who destroy franchises out of spite or try to ''fix'' them to their own liking, Dreamworks respects its audience, characters, and lore. I'm sure they know fans want more, but they only make a sequel if they know it will be great.

There is only one huge problem. Alec Baldwin, the voice actor for Santa, killed someone. In October 2021 on the set of “Rust”, a Western being filmed, Baldwin pulled the trigger with a live round, killing the film's cinematographer, Halyna Hutchins. I'm not going to get into detail. Find it on your own accord, there are plenty of people already cowering it better than I could.

The solution is easy, just cast a new voice actor.  

It looks to me that practically everything is in perfect configuration for the Rise of the Guardians 2.

It also looks like Dreamworks has a new strategy. Release an original movie and then a sequel to the franchise, another original, and another sequel.

[unluckyhoneybee]

ALSO!

for the snowboarder one make her like super steezy and coolio and fun and she likes to do crazy big jumps

maybe he gets worried when she does crazy shit #overprotectiveiscute

PLEASE I NEED THIS

Note: I lost the other request, but I think I remember well. Anon was asking for Jack Hughes x Snowboarder!Reader. Sorry for the delay!

You put your helmet on and Jack took a deep breath. It was the moment.

"Hey, don't be so nervous, it's me the one throwing herself in there"

He chuckled and opened his arms. You launched yourself to him and squeezed him hard. The nerves and happiness were already flooding through your veins.

"I'm gonna do it."

Jack punched you softly and looked into your eyes.

"YN..." Worry filled his voice.

You had been trying a new trick. It was risky and difficult, many other snowboarders had done it but with more experience. You had practiced a lot, you had put all you have on that because you new that it could give you what you wanted. The other tricks were good, they were almost perfect, but you needed a final push. You needed the points that that trick would give you.

"Jack, I have done it well on practice."

"Yesterday you fell 6 out of 10 times, YN..."

"Listen, the team agrees that I can do it. I have nailed it a bunch of times too. I can do it"

He cupped your cold cheeks and made you look at him.

"Listen to me YN YSN because I will only say it once. If you dare to do even the sightless reckless thing and end up hurting yourself, I'm grabbing a board myself and kicking your ass"

You giggled and pulled him down for a kiss.

"Trust me. I can do it"

He brought you even closer and hugged you tight, so tight that for a second you only wanted to stay in there embraced by his warmth.

"I know you can, you just worry me a lot" He mumbled against your cheek. "You will go there and kick there asses, yeah? And come back down in one piece"

"I will get the fucking gold and a picture with Scotty James (:3), you'll see"

He laughed and kissed your lips, then your helmet. "For good luck and all"

"Ow... So cute" You pecked his lips one last time after hearing your coach calling you. "I've gotta go"

"I'll be down here cheering"

And he was. He saw every single snowboarder do their thing, explaining his brothers and friends (who he had dragged to the competition) every single thing and pointed their mistakes. After hours of watching videos with you, he could consider himself an expert. Well, without cpingting the whole thing about the board and doing impressive tricks on the air. The it was your turn and he felt a knot on his throat. He had the picture of you falling on his mind and it was terrifying.

"She's good under pressure" Quinn quietly told him.

"I know, I know" He mumbled, but inside his pockets, he had his fingers crossed wishing for a safe performance, he didn't even care about the gold.

And there you were, sliding down the snow from side to side. First trick. Perfect. Second. Perfect. Third. You lost balance a bit on the landing but it was good. Fourth. Fifth. Sixth. And...

"AND THERE SHE GOES. AFTER SECURING THE PODIUM, YN YSN NAILS HER BIG FINALE. IT LOOKS GOOD. IT LOOKS SO GOOD. SHE HAS BEEN DOMINATING THE STATISTICS AND SHE HAS SHOWED WHAT SHE IS MADE OF. THERE WE SEE HER, SLIDING BACK TO HER TEAM. LOOK AT THEM CELEBRATING. IT'S ALMOST CLEAR, AFTER A CLEAN AND ALMOST PERFECT PERFORMANCE, SHE HAS THE GOLD ON THE PALM OF HER HAND."

Jack was vibrating, he wanted to push everyone away, to tackle those photographers and being the one to reach you.

"Jack Hughes. It's not your first competition. How have you seen her?!"

It took him a bit by surprise, he wanted to go to you, not to talk to reporters.

"As everyone else, excellent."

"Are you happy?"

"I couldn't be more happy" He said and his hands moved to you, who was being lifter by your coaches. The gold wasn't yours yet but you had left the expectations way too high.

Jack completely ignored the reporter and ran to you.

"Jack!" Soon you were hugging him tighter than ever. "I did it, Jack, I did it"

He was almost bouncing with you.

"I'm so proud, so proud"

The adrenaline couldn't let you watch the following performances in peace. With Jack's arm around you and his vibrating body behind yours, you stood there with both hands pressed to your mouth. You didn't mind about the heat under your jacket or the cold air on your cheeks. Two other snowboarders had to perform and you anxiously watched them.

Jack's hand squeezed your waist when one of them made a mistake that pushed her out of the podium. And then, while the last one was bailing her performance, he kissed your temple over and over again.

"Okay, you've got this, yeah?"

You nodded and grabbed his hands while waiting for the judges to decide who the winner was.

"I love you. Gold or silver. I love you so much, yeah"

You turned to look at him and his beautiful blue eyes where the only thing you could see as they announced you as a gold medalist in the games.

Following your happiness squeak, you kissed him so hard he bit himself. It was a long his, mid covered by your big coats and his hands on your face but surrounded by dozens of people calling your name.

Before you knew it, Jack was shaking you and shouting your name. "Oh shit, oh shit YN"

His joy was so contagious, making everyone around laugh and reach to congratulate you. And there you were, happy tears falling down your face and wetting his jacket while he gave you kisses all over your face.

"Can you believe it?" You softly asked hours later. You were laying on the hotel with the gold medal in your hands. "This is mine"

He chuckled and reach to pinch your face. "The 3.000 heartattacks you have given me in the past weeks have been so worth it."

[docrotten]

THE WASP WOMAN (1959) – Episode 154 – Decades Of Horror: The Classic Era

“The enzymes . . . the enzymes, they’re going crazy. You do not understand that she’s a danger! You must stop her before it’s too late, you fool! Miss Starlin will kill her . . . tear her body to shreds. Miss Starlin is not a human being any longer.” Could she be a . . . a wasp woman? Join this episode’s Grue-Crew – Chad Hunt, Daphne Monary-Ernsdorff, Doc Rotten, and Jeff Mohr – as they feast on the royal jelly served up in Roger Corman’s The Wasp Woman (1959).

Decades of Horror: The Classic Era Episode 154 – The Wasp Woman (1959)

Join the Crew on the Gruesome Magazine YouTube channel! Subscribe today! And click the alert to get notified of new content! https://youtube.com/gruesomemagazine

ANNOUNCEMENT Decades of Horror The Classic Era is partnering with THE CLASSIC SCI-FI MOVIE CHANNEL, THE CLASSIC HORROR MOVIE CHANNEL, and WICKED HORROR TV CHANNEL Which all now include video episodes of The Classic Era! Available on Roku, AppleTV, Amazon FireTV, AndroidTV, Online Website. Across All OTT platforms, as well as mobile, tablet, and desktop. https://classicscifichannel.com/; https://classichorrorchannel.com/; https://wickedhorrortv.com/

The head of a major cosmetics company experiments on herself with a youth formula made from royal jelly extracted from wasps, but the formula’s side effects have deadly consequences.

  Director: Roger Corman

Writers: Leo Gordon (screenplay), Kinta Zertuche (from a story by)

Music by: Fred Katz

Cinematography by: Harry Neumann (director of photography) (as Harry C. Newman)

Editing by: Carlo Lodato

Art Direction by: Daniel Haller (as Dan Haller)

Director (additional scene for TV version): Jack Hill (uncredited)

Selected Cast:

Susan Cabot as Janice Starlin

Anthony Eisley as Bill Lane (credited as Fred Eisley)

Barboura Morris as Mary Dennison

William Roerick as Arthur Cooper

Michael Mark as Eric Zinthrop

Frank Gerstle as Les Hellman

Bruno VeSota as Night Watchman (credited as Bruno Ve Sota)

Roy Gordon as Paul Thompson

Carolyn Hughes as Jean Carson

Lynn Cartwright as Maureen Reardon

Frank Wolff as First Delivery Man

Lani Mars as Nurse

Philip Barry as Second Delivery Man (credited as Phillip Barry)

Gene Corman as Bit (uncredited)

Roger Corman as Doctor in the Hospital (uncredited)

Aron Kincaid as Renfrew – Beekeeper (uncredited)

Karl Schanzer as Mr. Barker – Front Office Executive (uncredited)

Who’s ready for some early Roger Corman-directed, drive-in monster movie madness? Oh, yes! Does it get any more “signature 1950s creature feature” than The Wasp Woman? Short run time, straightforward direction, thin but interesting plot, and crappy-yet-delightfully-campy monster make-up: it all adds up to a good time. This is especially true if you’re a monster kid through and through. Check out the Grue-Crew review and keep your ‘royal jelly’ safely hidden away.

At the time of this writing, The Wasp Woman is available for streaming from the Classic Horror Movie Channel, Kanopy, Amazon Prime, and several additional free with ads, subscription, and PPV sources. The film is also available as a Blu-ray disc from Scream Factory!

Gruesome Magazine’s Decades of Horror: The Classic Era records a new episode every two weeks. Up next in their very flexible schedule, as chosen by Jeff, is It Came From Outer Space (1953), directed by Jack Arnold, starring Richard Carlson, Barbara Rush, and some one-big-eyed extraterrestrials with strange abilities.

Please let them know how they’re doing! They want to hear from you – the coolest, grooviest fans: leave them a message or leave a comment on the Gruesome Magazine YouTube channel, the site, or email the Decades of Horror: The Classic Era podcast hosts at feedback@gruesomemagazine.com.

To each of you from each of them, “Thank you so much for watching and listening!”

Check out this episode!

[valuzas]

So, this morning (as per usual) i was going through tik tok, i could say it was cause i didn’t have anything better to do, but truth to be told it’s just an addiction i’m trying to deal with. Anyways, that’s not the point and i promised to keep this one short --- here the thing, a particular video left me with a existencial doubt that i need to run through you guys... it’s the sillest thing ever, but here it goes --- ever watched a movie scene so epic or that relates so much to you that it’s been stuck in your mind ever since (or like kids this days like to say, living rent free in my brain)? 

All my life I thought it was only one scene, that one from Notting Hill where Julia tells Hugh “But I’m also just a girl, standing infront of a boy, asking him to love her” and yes, i remember every line by hard. If you haven’t watched that movie we can’t be friends by the way, i don’t make the rules... well, the thing is this morning i realised there is another movie I can’t forget about and should be a dating bible for girls --- He is just not that into you. The scene where Justin tells Ginnifer that if a guy wants to date you they will just make it happen and that us girls build things up in our mind, take every little thing a guy says and then twist them into something else and how she tells him that it’s better to put ourselves out there cause it means we still care... epic and so relatable. And then when Justin’s best friend realises he is in love cause he wants to write song about the girl he is in love with, can’t focus and jumps everytime his phone rings, checking his email a thousand times a day and the irrational need to bring up their name on every single conversation... I so have been there, and let me tell you that it’s a terrible space to be at. Has any of you ever experience any of that? Wether it’s someone twisting everything you’ve told them, being the person that twists everything (let’s admit some people give really mixed signals) or just the one who is falling in love and doesn’t realise it... cause let me tell you that if the name of a person comes out of your mouth all the time at the most random conversations then you are so into that person that is crazy. Also please, if someone is willing to do a rewatch of He is just not that into you with me I’d feel a little less pathetic. @hfrpstarters​

[xtrastorageblog]

I have thoughts/theories/questions about Monument Mythos but I'm going to put them here because I don't want to get yelled at on the discord/reddit lol

Also I've only watch wendigoons vid, like 3 of the MM videos, and read through the wikia/tvtropes/discord/reddit. It's because I scare easily and would like to sleep, if anyone reads this and sees something that's already been confirmed/talked about, please lmk!

The guys that started Maize, Rob & Rob, I know they have different last names but I think it's weird they have the same name. I think it's going to be revealed they had a similar experience like that happened to Virginia, except somehow the met their mirrored version and became like evil or some shit. Kind of like the lettuce twins in bioshock infinite. I just think it's weird how they literally started technology in America and have the same name.

Ok, when Freedom finally made it to the US, Reed said that there was a woman in the box, that was like....an actual person. If Freedom covers herself completely in skin will she a la Pinocchio, become a real person OR was Reed's brain just not able to handle seeing a 20ft+ statue covered in human skin. Like I know the statue can move around, but..does it magically transform into a normal looking person after acquiring enough skin or his brain just stopped working.

A lot of the events in the series reference irl ones like the Jan 6 raid at the Capitol or operation mongoose, was the latter half the Suez canal crab, people raiding it and stealing stuff, a combo of the Area 51 event and the looters during BLM protests/riots, one or the other, or just...not meant to be related

Is it confirmed that ONLY the heads cut off by the glass swell or does every other body part do to? If only the heads why? Or why does anything swell at all? ALSO those images of people walking around without heads at the grand canyon, are they just...living their life? Are they just stuck roaming there since their heads are just giant meatballs now? Like a chicken with it's head cut off?

I hope other countries get... shout outs as well, I find it odd how important Egypt is in this story. Like I know it's supposed to be like ~Ancient Aliens~ but then why not also talk about the Mayan people? Although I might be jumping the gun with how many Native American references dropped in the latest vid ( the section names and the horned serpent)

Also about the popular Freedom doorway pic, I think that is her with the skin on. I say this since alot of people are theorizing that that is her victims head..meatballing but that doesn't make sense I'm my book, how long it takes for a crown to form + also dont aren't the heads that look in the room angled the same way, like freedom bends down to look inside, kills/skins lady, bends down again. I don't get people who think she's too tall to peer into the room since she was able to bust out of some crates, grab the kid, run up the island, dig a whole, and sharpen her sword.

ALSO is freedom her OWN person and the Crawfords have just...lost themselves in there, mentally I mean. Or is this like a Trojan horse situation since the guy hated America, so as long as he's able to kill Americans he's happy? Like I know people think it's fucked up that he killed his daughter but, it ties into her wanting him to make a statue of her and they're together again....🎉

What would happen if you tried to cut the "trees" with Giza glass I wonder. Thanks for the info!!

Rockefeller states that Hughes was the next president after him, that has to be in reference to the guy that lost to Wilson. So did Rockefeller only serve one term like Wilson or did he also take up Theodore Roosevelt's term too. (I'm not looking at the list of presidents rn so it's either Roosevelt or...is it Taft? Cleveland?)

Also fav character rn is the Angel. What'll probably happen is they'll be used for an epic Kaiju style battle between Government/Freedom vs ADA/Angel but, I hope they'll be more heroic or have more sentience than they appear to have rn. It be hard to have 17 consciences at the same time, and it helped all of them hated Rockefeller but...I'd like to think when they're not being the deadliest laser beam in the world, they are chill. (I'm using they/them btw for them since it's 17 guys) they remind me A LOT of the villain/antagonist in Oxenfree, if anyone's reading this and you like elements of government cover ups, the possibilities of radiation, the Angel, and/or sci fi then check out the game Oxenfree, it's superb

Thanks for reading 💞

[natsthinkitythinkthinkthonk]

Some Tweets Remember Keiji Fujiwara

Keiji Fujiwara died of cancer at the age of 55. The news was devastating for the seiyuu community. Many seiyuu are remembering and looking back on their times with Fujiwara and the impact he made on them. A lot of anime I’ve watched wouldn’t have been the same without Fujiwara. From Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood to Dr. Stone, he shaped a lot of characters that I look back and smile thinking about. 

The following were all translated by @granblue_en on Twitter.

Takuya Eguchi

[original tweet | translation source]

Kaori Nazuka

[original tweet | translation source]

Tetsuya Fukuhara (creative director, Granblue Fantasy)

[original tweet | translation source]

Emiri Katou

[original tweet | translation source]

Yuuki Ono

[original tweet | translation source]

Madoka Yonezawa

[original tweet | translation source]

Tomoyo Kurosawa

[original tweet | translation source]

Koichi Haruta (former producer)

[original tweet | translation source]

Minoru Shiraishi

[original tweet | translation source]

Yuuichi Nakamura

[original tweet | translation source]

The following were translated by lig0schndr on Reddit

Ayana Taketatsu

Tomokazu Seki

Megumi Ogata

Mariya Ise

Nobunaga Shimazaki

Showtaro Morikubo

Marina Inoue

Romi Park

Natsuki Hanae

Toshiyuki Toyonaga

Kazuhiko Inoue

Yuki Kaji

Hiroki Yasumoto

Jouji Nakata

Katsuyuki Konishi

Shouta Aoi

Kensho Ono

Noriko Hidaka

Rie Tanaka

Kikuko Inoue

Ami Koshimizu

Megumi Han

Arisa Komiya

Ryotaro Okiayu

Kenjiro Tsuda

Nozomi Yamamoto

Kanako Kondo

Haruka Kudo

Hitomi Harada

Miyu Tomita

Wataru Hatano

Atsushi Abe

Suzuko Mimori

Atsuko Tanaka

Aya Suzaki

Sayaka Ohara

Asami Imai

Daisuke Hirakawa

Hikaru Akao

Yui Ishikawa

Toa Yukinari*

Kotono Mitsuishi*

Nobuhiko Okamoto (blog)

Nana Mizuki (blog)

Toshiyuki Morikawa (blog)

Satoshi Hino (blog)

Tatsuhisa Suzuki (blog)

Chie Nakamura (blog)*

* not translated

Taketatsu Ayana (Taketatsu and Fujiwara both voiced characters in Dagashi Kashi and co hosted a series of bonus videos released with the Blu-rays of the series)

Fujiwara Keiji-san.

When we had a photograph session together for a TV show, even though you said, "I'm shy, so I can't really talk much," after the session started and I was nervous you kindly threw me a lifeline and chatted with me a lot, and even at live events and such you've saved me so much.

I wanted to spend more time with you.

I wanted to thank you directly.

_______

Seki Tomokazu (Seki and Fujiwara both voiced characters for the same series several times including PSYCHO-PASS, Sengoku BASARA, and Hajime no Ippo)

The way you looked when you came to the studio with your script sticking out of your back pocket was so cool, and I often copied you. When we went to karaoke together, I would put on a song that had a video of your acting as a prank and put you in a bind so many times. I wanted to play around with you again. This feels too soon... Fujiwara-san. Truly, thank you for everything.

_______

Ogata Megumi

I've had the honor of working with you on various, many sets but... my strongest impression, is actually not from an anime, but from the drama CD "Radical Hospital".

Dr. Sakaki... Please say it's a joke like you always do...?

Fujiwara Keiji-san. Truly, thank you for everything. Please rest peacefully.

_______

Ise Mariya (Ise and Fujiwara both voiced main characters in HUNTER X HUNTER, and Ise references Fujiwara's role as Leorio in this tweet)

What I remember is His white shirt and the sunglasses he wore His gallant figure standing before the microphone His bashful smile when having friendly conversations His stylish behavior when everyone goes drinking Both his voice and his acting were so cool Everything about him was wonderful

Keiji-san really felt like Leorio to me I have so many pleasant and fun memories Thank you so much

_______

Shimazaki Nobunaga

Fujiwara Keiji-san, I pray from my heart that you rest in peace.

_______

Morikubo Showtaro

The tears won't stop.

_______

Inoue Marina

His voice, his acting, his smile, I loved them all.

_______

Park Romi (Park and Fujiwara both voiced important characters in Fullmetal Alchemist)

He just recovered...

Be it with Hagane, or Muji, or FA he was everyone's older brother...

He truly was Lieutenant Colonel Hughes.

Early Far too early...

Kei-chan You fought hard against what ailed you... Please rest well...

Your casual comments Even now I treasure.

Tonight I honor you...

I pray you rest in peace...

Notes: I'm not positive, but I believe in regards to the second line

"Hagane" likely refers to the first airing of Fullmetal Alchemist in 2003 that used the title 「鋼の錬金術師」 (Hagane no Renkinjutsushi).

"Muji" seems like it refers to Zoids, the first Zoids anime series that is often referred to colloquially as "Muji Zoids", "No Label Zoids", to differentiate it from other Zoid series. In this series, Fujiwara voiced Irvine, a main supporting character and older brother figure to the main characters.

"FA" likely refers to the second airing of Fullmetal Alchemist in 2009 that used the titled 「鋼の錬金術師 FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST」 and thus is sometimes referred to as "FA".

_______

Hanae Natsuki

This is too sad...

_______

Toshiyuki Toyonaga

My heart aches... The words won't come out...

_______

Inoue Kazuhiko

Eh, Fujiwara Keiji... No way. It's too early. I remembered well the times we worked together in the studio. It's too early. I'm so saddened.

_______

Kaji Yuuki (Kaji and Fujiwara both voiced characters for the same series several times including Magi and Shingeki no Kyojin)

Keiji-san. I wanted to talk with you more. Wouldn't it be wonderful if I had a father like you, if I could become a man like you, that kind of stuff, always, I thought to myself... I should have told you so. I wanted to talk with you more. I'm full of regret. I want to see you.

_______

Yasumoto Hiroki

Words don't suffice. He was cool. Truly. We had talked about him visiting my place and drinking some unopened wine.

_______

Nakata Jouji First tweet, and reply

He was shy and gave off the impression that he didn't like superficial relationships, but when I tried talking to him he replied with a bashful smile, that's what I recall. When I heard he returned to work and was doing independent work, I thought on my own that he was doing well, but... You must have had it hard, huh. However, you weren't the kind of person to say that out loud... You stayed true to yourself until the very end. I pray for you.

I wanted to meet with you and talk with you again.

_______

Konishi Katsuyuki

No way. When I was a fledgling, because his place was in the neighborhood he invited me for a meal, and I was really happy about that. I wanted to meet with you again.

_______

Shouta Aoi

I can no longer meet you again. By all means, I wanted to meet you again.

Just how much encouragement I received from the acting of that wonderful voice I grew accustomed to hearing from a young age.

From now on and always that wonderful voice of yours will remain in our hearts and ears.

Thank you for all the wonderful times you gave us.

_______

Ono Kensho

Fujiwara Keiji-san. He really is cool, and he is someone I look up to. We have the same birthday, and on my own I felt like we had an affinity... I pray from my heart that you rest in peace.

_______

Hidaka Noriko

Fujiwara-san...

I thought I could meet you again someday at the studio, truly unfortunate.

Thank you for everything. Please rest in peace...

_______

Tanaka Rie

Fujiwara Keiji-san...

The last time we met was during the recording for the Granblue Fantasy game...

I pray from my heart that you rest in peace.

_______

Inoue Kikuko

Kei-chan, I'm so sad.

You fought against illness for a long time... You truly gave it your all. Please rest well in heaven.

I won't forget your shy, bashful, and kind smile.

_______

Koshimizu Ami (Koshimizu and Fujiwara both voiced important characters in Eureka 7, and Koshimizu references her role as Anemone and Fujiwara's role as Holland in this tweet, as well as Tsujitani Kouji who voiced Dewey Novak in Eureka 7 and passed away in 2018)

Dewey and Holland, please stay a little longer.

I want you to stay. I wanted you to stay.

If you're not there, we can't fly freely...

Because you were there, we were able to live freely.

Thank you but I still don't want to say goodbye.

Sorry that Anemone is like this. If I could say one selfish thing please come back...

_______

Han Megumi (Han and Fujiwara both voiced main characters in HUNTER X HUNTER, and Han references Fujiwara's role as Leorio in this tweet)

Just last night, during HUNTER's rebroadcast, we just saw off Leorio as he departed for his trip, Fujiwara-san.

Family and comrade, always thinking of his friends and a warm man, a perfect fit, my beloved senpai.

Always with the message title "Miss lovely forehead"

https://www.instagram.com/p/B_CUIyQAKMX/?igshid=14scn4kzgey86

Forever, and ever...

_______

Arisa Komiya

Fujiwara Keiji-san. I had the honor of working with you for 1 year on Go-Busters, you were always so cool on set, it was my first dubbing experience and I learned so much from you. I wanted to work with you again. I pray from my heart that you rest in peace.

_______

Ryotaro Okiayu

I participated in "Hoshi Koe" at the Saitama venue last year, and you attended, Fujiwara-san.

I read your letters.

The last time I met you was back stage there.

It had been several years before then.

That's how it goes.

Thanks so much for everything.

Note: Hoshi Koe is the name of a series of events held in Japan by AIR AGENCY, a talent management and production company founded by Fujiwara Keiji in 2006.

_______

Kenjiro Tsuda

His white shirt His light colored sunglasses His cynical smile His casual way of walking into the studio His unshaven face His still shadow at Planetarium His husky voice His retreating figure as he left His appearance in a coat when he slowly spoke in his last moments

was cool

Thank you so much

Note: Planetarium is likely also referencing Hoshi Koe, which was held at planetariums in various cities in Japan.

_______

Yamamoto Nozomi

We acted together for the first time in UN-GO, and a while later when I greeted you at another set, you remembered me, saying, "I've met you before, right?" After that, when on the set for Utawarerumono you noticed my Ironman iPhone case and chatted with me, I was truly happy about each and every thing. I pray that you rest in peace.

_______

Kondo Kanako

I can't believe it. I really liked your cool roughness. Fujiwara-san. I pray that you rest in peace.

_______

Kudou Haruka

Is it because of the air pressure that my head hurts, or because I cried too much that my head hurts, I can't sort out my feelings. However, more than these sad feelings, I want to say so many times, "thank you."

Fujiwara-san.

We were together for my seiyuu debut work "Honey and Clover", and from there with "Noein" and "DEATH NOTE", our work together continued. I didn't know my right hand from my left, and you gave me so much advice.

On set you always spoiled me, listening to my trivial chatter with a smile.

I entered college, and even when I cut off all ties to the industry up to that point and distanced myself from work, every half a year you would send me a message asking "Are you doing all right?"

I entered my fourth year of college, and when I said to you, "I want to return to work!" you got a little angry, but you earnestly heard me out. Even though I caused trouble to a lot of people, you saying "Welcome Back!" with a smile has always supported me.

4 years after returning to work, when I was worried that I wasn't doing as well as I had hoped, you said "It'll be all right!" and gave me a push on the back, and I was able to move forward.

I really have been spoiled by you for so so long.

You taught me so many things, I couldn't hope to write them all out. About acting, about movies, about novels, about life.

Even now I still have the novel I received from you right on my bookshelf. From now on, every time I watch a Kubrick or Victor Erice movie, I feel I will remember you.

The fact that there will no longer be replies to my messages, and the fact that I can no longer see you, really really make me sad, but you will always be in my heart. It's all right. I'm an adult now, too. I want to become an adult like you, someone who is loved by many, and someone who can guide others.

Thank you so much.

_______

Harada Hitomi (Harada and Fujiwara both voiced characters for Senran Kagura, and Harada references Fujiwara's role as Kiriya in this tweet)

Keiji-san. Kiriya-sensei.

I've been helped, so much by you. Thank you so much.

_______

Tomita Miyu

Fujiwara Keiji-san, I had the honor of acting together with you for the first time in Kotobuki Hikoutai. Warm, and yet mischievous, I truly loved acting with that voice of yours.

I pray from my heart that you rest in peace.

_______

Hatano Wataru

Fujiwara Keiji-san. Across various works, I've been in your debt. When you called me for "Hoshi Koe", I was really happy. The warm advice from a senpai I look up to, and the smile after a recording session. I couldn't possibly forget. I pray that you rest in peace.

_______

Abe Atsushi

I've been in your debt since when I debuted. I see... We can't act together anymore...

_______

Mimori Suzuko

I'm thankful that I had the honor of working on the same set as you. Thank you so much.

_______

Tanaka Atsuko

It's a sad sunset...

_______

Suzaki Aya

I'm truly saddened.

_______

Ohara Sayaka

It's a lie

_______

Imai Asami

............

_______

Hirakawa Daisuke

Keiji-san... Keiji-san... I'm so sad... I want to see you... Keiji-san...

Hirakawa Daisuke

_______

Akao Hikaru (Akao and Fujiwara both voiced characters for Back Street Girls, and Akao references this in this tweet)

I'm still in disbelief even after a new day has dawned and I can't quite get the right words. I feel like a hole opened up in my heart. Since I was young through anime you showed me this fun world and as a member of Gokudols, I looked forward to the day I could meet you again.

I pray that you rest well.

_______

Ishikawa Yui (Ishikawa and Fujiwara both voiced characters for Shingeki no Kyojin, and Ishikawa references Fujiwara's role as Hannes in this tweet)

[Yui] That voice that I heard so many times when I was a child. Shingeki's Hannes-san was also, rough, cool, and warm... I loved him. Fujiwara Keiji-san, I pray that you rest in peace.

_______

Yukana

I wanted to act together with you more.

Thank you so much...

I pray that you rest in peace.

_______

Okamoto Nobuhiko

Title: I'm sorry

I was planning to talk about trust and play today, but I hope you'll allow me to do that tomorrow.

I had the honor of doing my first radio show with him. When I was unable to speak well, he laughed at me. When we were recording for the Ao no Exorcist movie and from the start all I was capable of was shouting, he laughed at me. When I kept wearing the same clothes on the set of To Aru, he laughed at me. When I look back on things, it might have been sarcastic laughing, but I only remember the figure of him laughing. And, I'm sorry for causing you so much trouble.

His appearance as an actor, the way he thought about and interpreted the script, what he brought forth, I received so much encouragement and experience from him.

Keiji-san, Truly, truly, thank you so much. I really I love you.

Thank you for everything.

I pray from my heart that you rest in peace.

Notes:

The radio show Okamoto references I believe is "Sorairo Radio", a radio show promoting the anime "Sola" that aired from 2007/3/30 to 2007/7/27 for 19 episodes. During the month of July Okamoto and Fujiwara co-hosted the show.

Okamoto and Fujimura voiced Okamura Rin, the protagonist, and Fujimoto Shiro, Rin's adoptive father, respectively in Ao no Exorcist.

Okamoto and Fujimura voiced Accelerator, a main supporting character, and Kihara Amata, something of a mentor figure to Accelerator, respectively in To Aru Majutsu no Index.

_______

Mizuki Nana

Title: The carnation that arrived at my house 2 weeks ago ☆

At my last place, even plants said to be robust I ended up letting die (>_<) However, ever since I started living at my new place my plants have been really lively! My care for flowers especially has gotten better! Proper ventilation and sunlight really are important after all (laugh)

https://www.mizukinana.jp/blog/photos/2020/blog/nana_phot_20200416.jpg

I found out about Fujiwara Keiji passing away. I had the honor of working together with him for various works, during my first public performance at Tokyo Dome he provided wonderful narration, and at the planetarium in my home prefecture I had the honor of performing together with him... Truly I was blessed with so many irreplaceable experiences. I pray from my heart that you rest in peace.

Notes:

The performance at Tokyo Dome is referencing NANA MIZUKI LIVE CASTLE 2011, a series of live concerts performed at Tokyo Dome by Mizuki Nana on 2011/12/3 and 2011/12/4. Fujiwara provided narration for a short film called PLANETARIUM "Princess Nana of the Heavens" (PLANETARIUM「天界の奈々姫」) which was shown during the concert on both days.

The performance at the planetarium is referencing when Fujiwara and Mizuki co-starred in a Hoshi Koe performance held on 2016/4/24 at the Matsuyama City General Community Center Cosmo Theater. Matsuyama is the capital of the Ehime Prefecture, and Mizuki Nana was born in Niihama, Ehime. Mizuki had also made two blog posts about enjoying rehearsing for the event with Fujiwara and celebrating the successful completion of the event.

_______

Morikawa Toshiyuki

Title: Fujiwara Keiji-san...

Fujiwara Keiji-san... I pray you rest in peace.

It's too sudden. My mind is a mess. Even though I'm someone who works at my own pace... ... Right now, I'm overcome with feelings of loss.

From the time when I was a newcomer, we've been walking together through the ages for over 30 years. As an actor, and as a president, you were truly a friend... Since you were young you were shy and cool, overflowing with chivalry, an existence that even men were charmed by that is "Fujiwara Keiji"

..., It's so painful... the words won't come out. I'm sorry.

I feel that you really must have had it tough fighting against your illness. Now, please rest well.

And, the letters you sent me I will always cherish.

Morikawa Toshiyuki

_______

Hino Satoshi

Title: Keiji-san...

Keiji-san... It's a lie, right...? It's a joke, right...?

This... is too sad...

Keiji-san as a person, as a man, as an actor, you were someone who I respected from the bottom of my heart.

Everything about you was cool, you were someone I admired.

I wanted to learn more and more about various things from you.

Even now I clearly remember the time when on the set of the anime "Shakugan no Shana," as the role of the father, Kantarou, you kindly covered up for and accepted my terrible acting.

Keiji-san, "Dad, thank you so much for everything up to now"

While reflecting on each and every thing I learned from you, I will devote myself towards the sake of the future of the seiyuu industry.

I pray you rest in peace.

Note: Hino and Fujimura voiced Sakai Yuuji, the protagonist, and Sakai Kantarou, Yuuji's father, respectively in Shakugan no Shana.

_______

Suzuki Tatsuhisa

Title: Letter

I hate the idea of something getting overshadowed without anyone knowing about it, so I will write about it here.

Since we first met when I was 19, I've been in your debt for a long time. Since before we started having work together, you'd hear out my concerns and give me advice, and go along with my selfish requests to take me along for drinks. Even though you'd always say, "Waddaya want now, Tattsun," you'd always keep your promises. Whenever we met at the studio you'd always be giving off a pleasant, lazy mood. When you were the sound director you'd say things like "Tattsun, you're the only person I can ask for this," things that I couldn't tell if you were being serious or not. It's only now that I can say this, but I took you seriously every time, and every time I was seriously happy you asked me. The fact that you said those things to me.

Sometimes I'd tell you about how people say that our voices or our acting are similar, and even though you'd reply by saying stuff like, "What? That's gross," behind your sunglasses I could see that the look in your eyes always softened happily. I like chatting in the smoking area, so anytime I'd spot you I'd head straight there. When you'd say, "Yo!" to me, it was a little embarrassing, but I was always happy you did.

I won't talk about acting. That's something I'll keep locked away in my heart.

I know you had it tough. However, I stopped talking about it. Since you hate that.

All I can remember, is you always saying, "Yo! Tattsun," every time you saw me. Gimme a break, let me remember something else, too.

Thank you for always listening to my selfish requests. Thank you for always listening to both my trivial ramblings and my serious talks.

I always thought you were an annoyingly cool old man. You were always the best. You were always the strongest.

Everything about you is cool. So I envy you.

When I go over there, I'm gonna have a ton of stories for you. Before I do, please make sure to find some good sake and tobacco over there. It might take a while, but I'm definitely going to have, a ton I want to talk to you about.

It's about time I wrapped things up. This is a letter that will never be read by its recipient, after all, so there's no point in going on for too long.

Let's meet again with a smile. Anytime, anywhere.

With love.

[colemanroute]

Scott Adkins Talks about Deadpool and Ryan Reynolds

It was the year 2004 when Ryan Reynolds first got associated with the Deadpool project. In 2009, five years later, Deadpool aka Wade Wilson appeared in his theatrical debut with X-Men Origins: Wolverine. Wade Wilson did impress in the movie and alluded to the fact that the signing of Ryan Reynolds was a fantastic business decision. Ryan Reynolds ably portrayed the character of “Merc with a Mouth”; however, by the time the final act revealed itself to us, the writer had taken everything from the character, which had made him a fan favorite.

Hugh Jackman’s version of Wolverine skirmishes with a toned-down and bad version of Ryan Reynolds’ Wade Wilson. The movie revealed to us that the character had been waxed out courtesy of a program that was exposed to us as the Weapon X program. Furthermore, Deadpool did have his dreadful weapon choked off.

And while it was Ryan Reynolds’ job to provide death stares, it was Scott Adkins (a martial artist who is also an action movie legend) who provided the film with necessary stunts.

It is possible that you might not have heard Adkins’s name ever in your life, but you will be surprised to know that he has made a massive name for himself as one of the action movie veterans, especially in the domain of Video on Demand. Those people who have seen his work and are, in fact, impressed with what he has achieved in the smaller scale films argue that he has been knocking on the doors of big opportunity for a long time now and had the industry truly cared about the merit, he would have even got his big gig after all this time.

However, all he has ever got from the industry are a handful of not-so-important roles in the films such as Bourne Ultimatum, Doctor Strange, and The Expendables 2.

Despite the virtuosity possessed by the 44-year-old actor, he has given a rather pessimist interview to Max Cloud. In the interview, Adkins has openly talked about his film X-Men Origins: Wolverine. He conceded that he now wishes that Deadpool aka Wade Wilson should have had traveled back to his past and must have killed him in the meta PC (meta post-credits) scene.

Scott Adkins made it clear in the interview that he was not at all pleased with the 2009 film.

He explained further about his experience of working in an X-Men film and said that he and Ryan Reynolds barely interacted on the set. He also said that when he got the opportunity, he was quite excited to play the part of Deadpool. However, when he flew down and saw the actual costume designed for the character in the film, Adkins was mighty disappointed, and he was sure that it would surely not work. And he was right. Nobody liked the Deadpool iteration in the 2009 film, and even more so now after we have got the better(and more accurate) version of it.

Adkins expressed his disappointment of not having been called up for Deadpool 2. He also funnily suggested the idea that Reynolds’ new version could have even gone back in time and killed his version in the X-Men Origins as he thinks that the failure of the latter is partly his fault.

Deadpool 3 is already in development, and some rumors are also suggesting that the actor might also appear sometime in the Marvel Cinematic Universe as well.

I am Max Coleman, a blog writer based in NY City, USA. My interest lies in writing about technology and smart machines. I am a web security enthusiast also. I guide my readers about the installation and activation of antivirus software like Webroot.com/safe. In my leisure, you can find me watching movies and playing games while eating my burgers.

Source: Deadpool

[noviceaoiryusei]

Pia Movie Special 2020 Winter Close Up Feature : Suezawa Seiya

Entertainment interview

SUEZAWA SEIYA

"I want myself to grow as Franz"

From Kansai Johnny's Jr. unit Ae! group, Suezawa Seiya challenged roudugeki (reading theater) in his first solo starring.

While spreading an active place, even he, himself is most likely to be one of the audiences.

Leader of the group cut the challenge to his first solo stage

Formed in February 2019 which already has their own solo tour is a 6-man popular unit of Kansai Johnny's Jr. called Ae! group; it's Ae! group's member Suezawa Seiya. The stage performance "Bokura no Ae! group tte imasunen" which had a stage debut in Tokyo.

First of all, he was starring in the stage alone. The stage to be commemorated is the leading theather entitled "Kiosk". At first, "I was surprised, I thought it's a prank" it's surprisingly what I said. I heard about the work on stage from the manager but from there, I haven't heard anymore after that. I had no choice but to wonder what is it about. I was surprised because it was a starring (role).

First, I talked with my parents then, I talked about work with (Hamanaka) Bunichi-kun. When I called him and reported it, he said "really? that's great! do your best!". When I told it with the members, they said "congratulations!". Masakado (Yoshinori) jokingly said "lead role?" I've heard about it. Since it's really a lead role he said, "isn't it the opposite?". (laughs) (Fukumoto) Taisei said "I felt like crying", because of you, I have a reason to cry. (laughs) Richa (Kusama Richard Keita) was also pleased after a long time. Me and everyone was in high spirits, I'm really happy.

In the reading theater stage format which became the foothold to a full-pledged stage, since I've been working on a number of straight plays and musicals.

In the current stage performance, I haven't talked with Ishimaru-san yet. I don't know what kind of type it is so, I haven't clearly understood it. I think roudugeki (reader's theater) is the first challenge, I thought that there are many things that I need to know after I started practicing. Even if it says roudugeki (reader's theater), it is how much you use it while using your body. It's anxious and also fun, that's what I think.

The original work is by Robert Seethaler, an Austrian writer. It's a youth novel that's adapted into a film in Germany, I saw it as a reading theater (roudugeki). Suezawa plays the role of Franz who became an apprentice in a koisk when he was 17, the setting is drawn back in Vienna at 1937. He grew up surrounded by nature and came to visit Vienna. His mother's old friend is the kiosk's shopkeeper, the psychoanalysis founder, Sigmund Freud. He (Franz) fell in love with a mysterious girl.

It is a work depicting the youth during the time of Hitler's administration so, there was some feelings that comes in the end. There are lots of things that resonates the feeling, including the growth of Franz that will surely make you cry. Franz went through a lot of encounters during the time of the turmoil, learn various things from other people and becoming an adult. Franz's mother felt his growth thru their exchange of letters. I thought it's a story that is easy to get in touch with the nature while reading (it). Reading the script, I honestly felt that roudugeki (reader's theater) will be a challenge that I need to express firmly in narrating it to the audience. Vienna isn't particularly known in the image of music, from now on, I would like to know everything.

(He is) Currently 25 years old. The previous stage experience and the group's oldest (member), it's like his taste is like the youngest. It seems that the fluctuation of the 17 year old youth is delicately expressed.

Even now, there are a few roles from the actual age. (In a performance) Starring Bunichi-kun, I played a role of a 10 year old (boy). I'll try to challenge (myself) and play much younger roles as possible, I thought I need to do it well. For Franz's character, I had an impression of a simple, pure young man who came from the countryside. If you think about your own character, you need to remember that it's necessary to play it a lot purely is what I've thought. (laughs) It's not that I'm not pure but, I want to remember the feeling when I was still young. I want to improve myself with Franz.

Starring from behind his seniors

Co-starring with seniors and juniors from Johnny's office, it's the first challenge to be in a stage play without his fellow. In that sense, is there a sense of pressure and nervousness?

That's right. Because until now there's Bunichi-kun and Yara (Tomoyuki)-kun....... Of course there is pressure but, I don't think to much of it. "It's okay if you do not have to be aware that you're starring", I have received these words from my co-actor Ichiro Maki-san. It's the lead role but, of course I want to have a feeling that I can share with everyone. Ichiro-san said "I thought that I'm (your) real mother" since I've also said it (to her), I hope that I can consult with her again. From the previous experience, I wonder if each person's position as the lead character is different. Yara-kun liven up everyone with a friendly atmosphere. Bunichi-kun is a shy person so, he isn't the type who's lively but he creates the mood of the place and someone who you can be relied on. What they have in common is that they don't make others feel uneasy, I want to emulate it. Anyway, both of us don't show everyone that a lot.

I have gained a career not only in musicals but also in straight play. It says that in which you feel the charm of the stage while gaining experience is when you can say "it's a living place".

It's fun because there's no exact same performance. In every curtain call you'll feel a sense of achievement when you hear the audiences clapping. You'll absolutely don't get tired performing for each and every person. I'm still lacking in my ability. Yara-kun and Bunichi-kun have trained me and I feel that I'm changing little by little. When I went out on an external stage, I was rather negative but, both of them changed me conciousness. After I've changed my way of thinking into positive, the stress got reduced and the way I went to practice had changed.

He talks about stress "I thought it's because I can't do things". Someone said "winning is better when you're having fun".

Of course there are lots of things we can't do yet but now, having fun is much better. It became decisive. Before the first day of "Skellig", Bunichi-kun left me a phrase "it's better to throw away (that) pride". He said with a serious face "because of that, this stage play will not succeed". I might probably ashamed of myself, I think I didn't tell everything. Even from the practice you can feel Bunichi-kun's compassion. In front of everyone, he let me do something that when I'll be able to pull it out, I'll be able to go out.

This time it's the reading theater, it's supposed to be a performance using a loud voice and shows the attractiveness of one's individuality at the end.

Because of a loud voice, I want to make a song with the high tone portion but I'm anxious whether this voice will be on the reading performances. (laughs) Should I drop the key (pitch) or is it good to change the setting into Franz's? I thought it'll be different in the way of how you'll express it such as irregularity and the way you'll say it. Also, everyone start after the beginning of the practice. Now it's exciting and feeling nervous, it evenly matches the (current) status in the case of musical, straight play and this time roudugeki (reading theather). I want to try different genres so this time, I want to learn a lot!

I'm touched everytime I watch my favorite musical movie

(We'll) Transfer to the topic of his favorite movie when the title "Les Miserables" (2012) was mentioned.

I really love it! I have watched it at the cinema. I even bought the DVD and watch it repeatedly and still get touched everytime (I watched it). Everyone in the cast is singing on the spot, isn't it great!? In that sense, I've watch the stage play and even the pictures emits impact, I feel overwhelmed. Hugh Jackman is also starring in "The Greatest Showman" (2017) wherein I'm also moved (in the performance) so, I think I like musicals. If there would be a chance, I want to try starring in a musical movie someday.

The leading work of Fujiwara Tatsuya is being pulled in Japanese Movies

A splendid actor can be everyone but I think it's great to be a completely different person for each work. I felt attracted that only Fujiwara-san has that kind of voice and acting. About Ninagawa Yukio-san's stage play, I read in an interview that you should learn how to speak even if your voice is muted. I still thought that it's a difficult experience. It's hard to choose what's my favorite among his works, I've read the original (work) so I couldn't forget Death Note (2006). About the image, I've read the manga and Fujiwara-san has a great impact.

As I have been active in stage plays, I'm still inexperienced when it comes to drama, movie and video but I'm interested so if I'll be offered a work I'll immediately reply "I'm eager to do it!". One of my big dreams was to work together with my admired senior, Kimura Takuya-san.

My mother has been a fan for a long time and so it became my admiration. I think I'll be greatfully devoted.

Next spring they'll broadcast "Kyojo" (CX/20) starring Kimura Takuya. Is there a jealousy with Naniwa Danshi's Nishihata Daigo......?

I immediately contacted Daigo! I said "congratulations" and he also talked about me. (laughs) Even though (he) saw Kimura-san during Johnny (Kitagawa)-san's farewell party, Daigo's sly. (laughs) He had also co-starred with his admired (senior), Ninomiya (Kazunari)-kun. I'm thinking that I'll do my best so that someday I can be his co-star. If I can be his co-star, any role would be fine! I'll be glad to be in the same work but if possible, it would be great if we'll be on the same scene together even just for a moment. He's so cool in "Grand Mason Tokyo" (TBS/2019).

For the group, I want to be active as an actor

From now on, my dream is to expand the role that I want to play.

I'm watching various works with roles that are crazy and psychopath. I want to do it for quite some time now, it looks difficult but it's interesting. It's a dark role because there isn't much dark role on myself so, I think I'm just attracted to such characters.

Nishihata Daigo is the first, from the same (group) Naniwa Danshi, Michieda Shunsuke and Nagao Kento had appeared in drama and movies. Also from Ae! group, Masakado had appeared in the drama "Koi no Yamai to Yarougumi" (BS Fuji terebi/2019) expanding the places were they're active, it seems to be a good motivation.

Takahashi Kyohei (Naniwa Danshi) had appeared in "24 Jikan Terebi" drama entitled "Kizuna no Pedal" (NTV/2019). He's good, I thought that "I won't loose". Ae! group still hasn't explored the field of drama and movies so, I want to continue further. Also, all active activities as an actor will be an opportunity (for people) to get interested in the group, I think it's important. (In) My group, Richard is strong when it comes to variety and also because every member is individualy strong. I want to increase the number of entrances for people to know about (our) group in different genres. That's for the group, I believe it will also be for our own.

[buckybleeds]

Supplementary Reading Materials for Chapter 2 of Nothing Fades Like The Light.

The first page is the one-page history of the US that Nick Fury gives to Steve the day after he wakes up.

The next two pages are from the 10th grade history book Steve is given to read.

All of these pages are technically-factually-true (except the last paragraph of “the cost of freedom” section of the history textbook where mutants and asgardians are discussed) but have a strong bias in their presentation.

Fury’s presentation of US history is VERY US-positive; the textbook is slightly less US positive but still much, much, much more biased than, say, Wikipedia.

Anyway, here’s the text of these pages:

This is the one-page history provided to Steve by Fury. Please note that it is technically factual but VERY biased in its presentation of American Contemporary History.

For release to Cpt. Steven G. Rogers

Per Director Nicholas J. Fury

4/25/2011

        Vital points in US History from 3/5/1945 to Present

- April 12th 1945 Pres. Franklin D. Roosevelt dies of stroke, succeeded in office by VP Harry S. Truman.

- April 30th 1945 Adolph Hitler commits suicide, Germany surrenders 5/7/1945 Victory is declared in Europe.

- September 2nd 1945 Japan signs terms of surrender after Americans halted a possible invasion through the use of nuclear weapons in Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

- June 24th 1948 Soviet Union blockades communist-controlled East Berlin, prompting American airdrops of food and fuel.

- June 27th 1950 American troops are sent to support South Korea against invading North Korean communists.

- September 24th 1957 Black/White school segregation is ended by presidential order

- August 2nd 1964 Vietnamese torpedo boats attack American Sailors

- November 22nd 1963 US President John F. Kennedy is assassinated in Dallas,Tx.

- January-February 1968 North Vietnamese launch a coordinated offensive against American soldiers stationed in South Vietnam

- August 6th 1965 President Lyndon B. Johnson signs the Voting Rights Act, to prevent racial discrimination from hindering democracy.

- July 20th 1969 American Astronauts become the first men to walk on the moon.

- May 3re 1970 US troops launch offensive in Cambodia to counter Vietnamese troops hiding past the Cambodian border.

- January 27th 1973 The US brokers a cease-fire with Vietnam and signs the cease-fire agreement in Paris.

- August 9th 1974 President Richard Nixon resigns and is succeeded and pardoned by VP Gerald Ford.

- April 25th 1980 American Servicemen are killed attempting to free US hostages in Iran

- January 20th 1981 President Ronald Regan is inaugurated and Iranian hostages freed.

- March 30th 1981 Failed assassination attempt on President Ronald Regan

- June 12th 1987 President Regan demands the Soviet Union tear down the Berlin Wall.

- November 9th 1989 Berlin Wall demolished.

- February 1st 1992 US President George Bush and Russian President Boris Yeltsin meet to sign an agreement declaring an end to the Cold War.

- June 26th 1993 President Bill Clinton launches an attack against Iraq after failed assassination of former President George Bush.

- September 11th 2001 Terrorists destroy the World Trade Center in New York by flying hijacked planes into the towers, killing over 3000 people

- January 29th 2002 President George W. Bush declares war on Afghanistan in response to the 9/11 terror attacks.

- June 28th 2004 the US returns sovereignty to the Iraqi interim government

- September 10th 2007 The US remains committed to training operations, counter-insurgency measures, and fighting terrorists in Iraq.

[Here’s the text of the Vietnam War page from the 10th-grade textbook given to Steve]

Perspective Shift – Photography

[included image of a US soldier burning a home during the My Lai Massacre]

In March of 1968 American Soldiers killed over 300 Vietnamese noncombatant civilians, including many women and children, in what became known as the My Lai massacre.

Testimony given by Warrant Officer Hugh Thompson Jr. described ditches full of bodies, homes being burnt, and unarmed civilians being executed by American soldiers.

While there were eyewhitnesses and many credible reports of unsanctioned American violence it is largely due to the greater portability and durability

of cameras that the American public gave up support for the Vietnam War.

Famous photos of Nguyễn Văn Lém (“Saigon Execution” 1968), Phan Thị Kim Phúc (“Napalm Girl” 1972), and even the deaths of American students protesting the

bombing of Cambodia at Kent State University in Ohio (“Kent State University Massacre” 1970) made the reality of war more obvious to people reading newspapers at home and watching reports on television.

While mass media has always been a part of modern warfare there had never before been such a stream of violent, full-color images making their way off of the battlefield and into people’s living rooms.

Previous wars had sent newsreels showing successful battles and strong soldiers back to the home front, frequently as a tactic for promoting the sale of war bonds or increasing recruitment, but the visibility of the cost of war has become more and more apparent as it became easier to show what was happening on the ground.

DISCUSSION QUESTION: How does the internet and social media shift the way that American civilians experience war today? What do you think would be different about war today without cellphone videos or livestreaming?

 US commanders were more grounded in offensive and aggressive warefare than defensive positions or missions. This, combined with the heretofore unusual challenge of fighting opponents who utilized guerilla techniques and could easily blend in with (or actually be) the civilian population made a unique challenge in terms of tactics and planning.

Additionally, after the initial surge US recruits were typically drafted and only recently trained and stationed overseas. They were unfamiliar with the local culture and languages, unfamiliar with the terrain and wildlife – even unfamiliar with the food. A recruit from Indianapolis would find himself in a very strange place standing on the bank of the Mekong river.

This led to engagements unlike any ever seen in American military campaigns – search and destroy operations were stymied on the ground by impenetrable jungles and the ability of the Viet Cong to disappear into the local population but bases were left poorly defended – the Viet Cong took advantage of these strategic inconsistencies and carefully provoked US offensive actions into Hill Fights in the Central Highlands as a diversonary tactic before launching the Tet Offensive.

The Tet Offensive (1/30/1968) was a major strategy launched at more than 100 cities, with focused attacks on government buildings, military installations, and the US Embassy in Saigon. During the first month of the offensive over 1,100 Americans and 14,000 Vietnamese civilians were killed.

The Tet Offensive marked the beginning of a collapse of morale among US soldiers and marked an end to majority support at home. Infantry units began to falsify or simply disobey orders or even turn around to attack their commanding officers, sometimes going so far as to kill those giving orders.

DEFINITION – FRAGGING

Fragging is the act of killing one’s own officer or teammates in war, named for fragmentation grenades because officers killed in grenade incidents were noted as accidental deaths. There were over 900 fragging incidents investigated in the later years of the war.

Questions were also being continually raised about the ethics and efficacy of US tactics. The use of Napalm was uncontroversial at the beginning of the campaign and justified as a way to protect US troops and eradicate cover for the Viet Cong, but after tens of thousands of civilians, many of them children, were killed or burned in napalm drops support for the war continued to drop as it became impossible to ignore that the American use of incendiaries on civilians was only causing increased support for the North Vietnamese forces.

Pathways Through American History: Chapter 21 – The Vietnam War

Hugh Thompson Junior, who is mentioned in the “perspective shift: photography” section of the history book Steve reads, is maybe the truest definition of an American hero - he was responsible for reporting and attempting to end the My Lai massacre, landing his helicopter between American soldiers and the Vietnamese civilians they were attempting to kill and evacuating survivors of the massacre. He faced tremendous criticism for his actions and was ostracized for testifying against American soldiers. He was eventually awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for extraordinary bravery in flight. He threw it away.

You can read more about him being just the biggest swinging dick in the northern hemisphere here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hugh_Thompson_Jr.

Additionally there was an opera written about his actions and dedicated to his bravery and to the survivors of the My Lai massacre, which includes music played on instruments made from artillery left in Vietnam after the war. You can see excerpts from that opera here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RQu9lxaDsI8

[Here’s the text of a page from Steve’s history book - this one is about the Patriot Act]

Take Note

[includes image of a sign that says “The FBI has not been here – watch this sign carefully to see if that changes”]

Librarians strenuously objected to the USA PATRIOT act, specifically Section 215, which allows the FBI to request books, records, papers, and other documents that a suspected terrorist might have accessed, including what books had been checked out from a library. The American Library Association stated that library records are fundamentally different from ordinary business records and that the provision granting access to library records would have a chilling effect on free speech but discouraging the use of libraries or the free exploration of information therein.

The sign pictured in this section was posted in a library in 2005; while libraries were not permitted to announce that the FBI had requested records because of the gag order attached to the provision they were allowed to post a sign saying there had been no requests for information and then surreptitiously remove the signs if that changed.

DISCUSSION QUESTION: Is checking a book out from a library free speech? Do you think you would search different websites if you knew your parents or school were monitoring where you went? Do you think it’s worth it to be careful about what you search if it means someone else doesn’t get bullied or hurt because of search filtering?

 The Cost of Freedom

after 9/11 it became clear that our democracy was not prepared for the spectre of terrorism that had invaded our shores - but some of the responses have been criticized as worse than the cause.

The USA PATRIOT act continues to be controversial for many reasons, but most frequently cited are the normalization of mass state surveillance and erosion of personal privacy and the elimination of constitutional protections for certain classes of terrorist suspects.

Reauthorizations of the USA PATRIOT act have continually approved unwarranted wiretapping and gag orders on people (like librarians and internet service providers) who might otherwise warn people about data collection in the public interest. Some provisions have become more controversial as time has passed – for instance the “Lone Wolf” provision that allowed for the warrantless wire-tapping of individuals not connected to known terrorist groups has come under additional scrutiny as groups like the ACLU point out that the FBI’s definitions of “terrorist” are both expansive and opaque. Other sections are more and more accepted – nationwide service of search warrants for electronic evidence is wholly accepted now whereas the question of widening jurisdictions was seen as a threat to individual liberty when the act was signed into law in 2001.

Of greater concern are the changes made to criminal law in broadening the definitions of terrorism; it is now possible to be considered a terrorist for causing mass destruction as well as causing injury or death, and the definitions of “cyber terrorism” set down in 2001 might certainly give computer-users in 2008 some pause; accessing a ‘protected computer’ is a terrorist action, after all – or at least it can be.

The indefinite detention of non-US citizens is also of serious concern internationally, though American citizens are not subject to the indefinite holds that are possible for non-citizens. Constitutional scholars, civil liberties groups, and many activists contend that constitutional freedoms are guaranteed to all people on American soil, but that is a more and more difficult question to tackle when ‘aliens’ discussed in the law become literal Aliens, as the revealed Asgardians and their advanced technology prove. The protections that might be necessary for an accused immigrant don’t need to be enshrined the same way for beings we have no better description for than ‘demigod.’

Mutant activist groups have recently hopped into the fray in this conversation, as the USA PATRIOT act can also classify their genetic powers as terrorist weapons and the damage that is caused when an adolescent mutant matures into their talent has more than once been labeled a terrorist action.

 A Different Perspective

President George W. Bush, who signed the USA PATRIOT Act into law, has stood by his decision all this time and continues to insist that it is in the best interest of the American people.

The Department of Homeland Security, a new branch of the Department of Defense, was also formed under President Bush and has seen similar ups-and-downs. The most well-known face of the DHS is the Transportation Security Administration, or TSA, who most of us know from long lines at the airport and taking off your shoes to get on a plane.

It’s true that these things are inconvenient, but security usually isn’t convenient - there have been no attempted shoe or liquid bombings on planes since the TSA changed their carry-on policies, so maybe the trade-off is worth the inconvenience.

 Pathways Through American History: Chapter 28 – The War on Terror

[toongrrl-blog]

Part One of Barb Series: Why Barb Died (Character Device Talk)

*Please watch the Betty Draper Francis video first, for extra credit, check out the channel’s vid on Jack Dawson and come with knowledge of Beth March*

Happy end of the 2010s! Before I discuss what Barb could have brought to the Party in Stranger Things I need to discuss how as a character she needed to die.

1. Beth March

In one scene in Little Women, the girls and Laurie discuss their ambitions for adult life. Oldest sister Meg wants to marry and have kids, oldest middle sis Jo wants to become a known and successful writer, youngest sister Amy wants to become rich and famous as an artist and maybe a socialite, and middle child Beth wants things to stay the way they are for her, with her loving family at her side. What’s wrong with this? What the other three sisters have in common is that they are hoping for adult lives which include a lot of change, responsibility, independence (either as a career woman or running a household with little kids underfoot), new experiences, and even new people in their lives (Meg would need to meet a guy to marry and have kids with him, Jo would need to meet people in her professional life, Amy would entertain guests and appeal to patrons). Shy Beth is a talented pianist, vet, and doll collector and is very charitable but she doesn’t seem to want to take the risks it would take to grow as a person and thrive and mature or be noticed for her own merits aside from “Angel of the House” and the future looks pretty hostile; so by the end of the novel, Beth has died in her early 20s while sisters lives have changed (Meg married and had children in a cottage while gaining confidence as a homemaker, wife, and mom; Jo sells her writing and meets a professor who wants to start a school where she becomes headmistress after they marry; Amy goes on a Grand Tour of Europe and marries wealthy and happy).

The series Stranger Things, on a whole, is a coming-of-age series that borrows from the John Hughes and Steven Spielberg films of that era that captured the joys and pains of growing up, while Joyce’s and Hop’s storylines borrow from conspiracy thrillers around that era and somewhat from Hitchcock films. All these films captured ordinary people undergoing extraordinary (E.T., North By Northwest, The Goonies, The Stepford Wives) and life altering events (Jaws, The Breakfast Club, Silkwood) that force them to encounter challenges and make decisions they wouldn’t normally make in their mundane lives. Joyce ends up facing a monster with an axe and even makes demands of people who could wipe her off the Earth, the boys have to ride their bikes to evade murderous men in vans and hide a young traumatized girl, Nancy has to learn to create and use deadly weapons and use her skills of sneaking out for something besides sex, Jonathon has to cut his and another girl’s hand to lure a monster to their trap, Hop sneaks into a morgue just to slit a dead boy’s corpse and find cotton stuffing, Will has to use what knowledge and skills he has to survive another world filled with creatures out to kill him, most of the kids throughout the series have to lie and break laws to save their town. 

While the official guide does list Barb as being a varsity softball player and a mathlete and Shannon Purser concurs that Barb would have been the Velma of the group if she lived, there is one big thing that separates the Velmas from the Barbs and Beth’s of the world: Velma takes risks, she would trespass private looking property and dilapidated buildings to solve a mystery. Barb is a loyal friend and honest and studious and smart, but she’s ultimately the good girl archetype: cautious, obedient to her elders, predictable, conservatively and femininely dressed, chaste. An archetype that Nancy is trying to flee (not that the alternative of being a girl who sneaks out with her boyfriend to makeout is going to help Nancy at all) to avoid ending up like her mother. Barb has the fangs (talent and means) to be a Party member, she just lacks the nerve to jump and sink those fangs.

2. Commentary on the Patriarchy and the Tyranny of Beauty Standards

Most of the female characters in the series don’t fit the strict criteria of their Reagan era Indiana small town regarding what makes a good woman. Joyce is a single mother who doesn’t come with well-coiffed hair and she appears to be hysterical and is a working mother in a time and place where all these factors would label her a “bad mother”, Nancy is a frank young woman who takes risks and even asserts her sexuality and herself when plenty of people (like the shitheads at Hawkins Post) would prefer her to be a delicate virgin in pastels, El is physically stronger than the boys with her powers and she is very direct in her manner despite her soft-spoken demeanor, Max is a girl who is interested in arcade video games and skateboarding and brightly colored summer clothing and reads her Mom’s Cosmo cover to cover and is assertive, Erica is an assertive young girl who can talk truth (and shade) to adults and has a knowledge of My Little Pony and Cold War Politics, Robin is snarky and has a style that makes her stand out from most girls in Hawkins and is a teen genius, Kali’s rage and Joan Jett-esque appearance would make the preppy and pastel and autumnal tone wearing residents of Hawkins in Cardiac Care, Suzie has defied notions about girls in science and math and even the Mormon beliefs of her parents by french kissing and dating a non-Mormon boy like Dustin, and Karen despite her appearance of hot housewife perfection is dissatisfied with her marriage and comes close to cheating on her husband. 

In contrast Barb is pretty much the most conventional character: she dresses conservatively in ruffles and pink, she is seemingly chaste, follows the rules diligently and worries about getting punished by the Holland and Wheeler parents, and has a more common body type found in cis-gender women (correct me if I’m wrong, hopefully I don’t offend trans pear shaped women) and not often found in the older members of the female cast. But despite Barb’s body being common among women in general and specific to her region (the American Midwest is noted for starchy and creamy and fried foods and is historically farming country, where pioneers would find her strong for work in and out of the log cabin and give birth to the necessary amount of children i.e. extra hands for work), the delicate and slender builds of Joyce and Nancy, the classic proportionate and slender grace of Robin, and the leggy and toned image of Karen are closer to the female standard of beauty in the 1980s. In Barb’s lifetime (1967-1983), the image of beauty was dominated by leggy, toned, slim, busty women or lean women with minimal breasts: no room for tall, broad, pear shapes like herself. And in 1983, Molly Ringwald wasn’t yet a household name that freckled redheads with dry wit and atypical images could look on with pride. Hell I remember reading a copy of Color Me Beautiful where they recommend that women with heavy hips and small waists (similar features of Christina Hendricks and Shannon Purser) shouldn’t cinch their waistlines, the celebration of Marilyn Monroe pinups with round hips, pillowy thighs and tummies, rounded tushes were long gone by then. Basically Barb being her natural self, was not seen as “feminine enough” and combined with her glasses and style (any plus sized or early developing gal can tell you that it is hell to find junior styles that suit your body size and shape) have ruled her as “uncool”. 

There is also that Barb does a lot of things that the boys do: being slightly geeky, a loyal friend, has innocent and wholesome interests, chaste, and is quiet (like Will) but she still gets killed. One can sense that #JusticeForBarb came out of an anger with misogyny in media and society that tells women to be a certain way and punishes them whether they fit a mold or not. Women are still underpaid in the workplace, underrepresented in government, still deal with unequal and toxic relationships, are shamed for being virgins or for having sexual experience (Carol pokes fun at the idea of Barb finding the sex sounds too much and yet contributes to the slut shaming graffiti of Nancy), are told on one hand to look a certain way to attract the male gaze and shamed when they indulge in sexual desire (something Nancy can attest to with her glamorous mother who offers to lend her black heels and focuses on Nancy’s beauty before a funeral, the same mom who was angry her daughter had sex), they are either too fat/skinny/busty/flat/frizzy/straight haired/pale/slutty/prudish/dark/feminine/masculine/full-butt-ed/quiet/loud/naive/cynical/smart/dumb/angry/happy, and they deal with a media that sells a very narrow standard of beauty to the point that when they see a drop dead gorgeous actress or model with similar features they feel seen.

Oh Bondage, Up Yours!

*Read this is not a “Barb is a slut shamer!” piece yes that was shitty but she was a teen girl in a small 1980s town and she ISN’T starting a (paraphrasing Kimberly Nicole Foster quote) “no whores allowed campaign” OR trying to pass a law that demands women keep their ectopic pregnancies to full term*

3. End of Innocence

When Barb died, it marked the end of Nancy’s childhood and her needing to grow up. That was the night Nancy went straight from childhood (Barb), teenager (sex with Steve), and then shortly became an adult when she realized that Barb had disappeared. For many women (like myself at ages 9 and 10), the moment they get their period or grow breasts or reach a certain age, marks a dramatic end of their childhood. Suddenly many are told to police their behavior and language around boys, even policing the food they eat or their bodies. There is also extra responsibility and stress, demogorgans being one of them. Nancy is now having to deal with the sorts of issues that adult women dealt with on Mad Men along with scary monsters threatening her town and the fact her parents are not as happy as they look to the world, there is a gap between the experiences of her and Mike, she has a baby sister who probably was conceived to save the marriage, and Nancy can’t confide or trust either of her parents (who are absorbed with their own issues). Now Nancy is making big decisions that Barb, with the sheltering and seemingly close parents, will likely never deal with. Nancy is even taking fashion risks with clothes that are more functional, stylish, show off her figure, and can even withstand flayer blood and exorcising her boyfriend’s little brother.

4. A Huge Threat

Barb was intended to be a character that we connected with, someone to be built up somehow. There was a character like this in a movie: her name was Marion Crane. She was a secretary who has been supporting herself and her little sis since their parents died, patiently waiting for her boyfriend to make more money at his job so they can marry and stop sneaking around sleeping with one another, in desperation she steals a lot of money from her workplace, drives to California where she meets a mild-mannered but strange young man who manages a distant motel in the vicinity of a Victorian house where an older woman is croaking about promiscuity, after talking with him over a dinner of sandwiches in his taxidermy themed office, she goes to take a shower and has decided to return to Phoenix to return the money, then a strange figure comes with a large butcher knife in horribly out of date clothes and starts stabbing her to death.

This was from the Hitchcock film Psycho, the forerunner of the slasher genre that dominated the earlier half of the 1980s, and it premiered to shocked audiences in 1960. The meaning of the grisly murder of Marion, a character the audience was following from the beginning of the film, was that Norman Bates was a huge threat and intensified the need for Marion’s killer to be brought to justice.

The same thing can be said about the deaths of Benny and Barb, to show how much a threat the demogorgan and Hawkins National Lab were to the townspeople of Hawkins (and the world as a whole), basically such big threats that a little boy can be kidnapped from the safety of his home, a young teenage girl could be snatched up and killed from a suburban swimming pool, and a kindly cook and owner of a local diner would be executed for knowing about a runaway child. 

5. The future of Women in Stranger Things

Not all is lost, Barb’s death forced the Duffer Bros to take a look at how women were written and treated in their series, and even helped spurred tv viewers (who ordinarily wouldn’t pay attention to social issues) to take a deeper look and interest in how people especially women are treated. For some reason I like to think: Max, Robin, Erica, and Suzie are a way of recognizing Barb’s potential within the series and even what viewers saw. 

Now stay tuned to where I figure out how Barb could have been beneficial to the party.

[a-man-for-hire-and-his-archives]

Actor Luke Arnold on playing rocker Michael Hutchence in TV miniseries INXS: Never Tear Us Apart

Luke Arnold certainly looks like Michael Hutchence, but has he got what it takes to portray the tragic story of one of Australia's biggest rockstars?

Arnold explores a life in excess Source:Supplied

Luke Arnold is three weeks into filming INXS: Never Tear Us Apart and he is busy trying to grasp all the layers of the enigmatic Michael Hutchence.

The start of Never Tear Us Apart is all innocence. It is the late 1970s and a bunch of Sydney mates - Hutchence, Kirk Pengilly, Garry Gary Beers and brothers Andrew, Jon and Tim Farriss - sport big hair and play dodgy clubs.

By the end of part one, 1987's Kick has gone multi-platinum, INXS is the biggest band in the world and the band members are busy living the sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll dream.

As everyone knows, it was downhill after that. Follow-up albums including X, Welcome to Wherever You Are, Full Moon Dirty Hearts and Elegantly Wastedcouldn't recapture Kick's glory as music tastes changed.

On November 22, 1997, Hutchence, aged 37, was found dead in his hotel room in Sydney. The music hadn't been making headlines anymore. Instead it was his turbulent relationship with Paula Yates.

Along the way there were relationships with pop star Kylie Minogue and supermodel Helena Christensen. On the night of his death, Hutchence phoned another old flame, Michele Bennett.

"This story is a tragedy, there is no avoiding that, but most of it is a lot of fun," Arnold says.

"No one knows what happened that night (November 22) other than Michael. It is not our place to allude to any definitive answer. We've tried to be respectful to Michael and those nearest and dearest to him. While it (INXS: Never Tear Us Apart) is obviously about Michael, there is something universal about the story. When you lose someone and still have questions, that is something almost everyone experiences in their life at some point."

Arnold, who played a rocker on Winners & Losers and has a major role in US TV sensation Black Sails, bears an uncanny resemblance to Hutchence.

It is easy to see why he got the part. There is a softness and sensitivity to the actor that mirrors his rock star role.

"There had been rumours for years that the INXS or Michael story was going to be told," Arnold says. "At the end of 2012, I got my brother to grab a camera and started sending them (producers) stuff. I recreated some interviews and did some music video mock-ups even before they had started casting. I'm so lucky that there is so much reference material out there.

"I took as much as I could from watching him - his vocal and physical attributes - as well as first-hand accounts. I was trying to really understand what type of guy he was when the camera was off."

INXS: Never Tear Us Apart shows Hutchence enjoying the high life early on. Andrew, played by Andrew Ryan, is the band's creative heart but also an eternal pessimist. Tim (Nick Masters) is ambitious, and manager CM Murphy (Damon Herriman) is relentless. Packed to the Rafters star Hugh Sheridan is Beers, Underground's Alex Williams is Pengilly, and Ido Drent plays drummer Jon.

"I think something that was really key to Michael is that he was quite a shy young man," Arnold says.

"His career chose him. If his friends didn't happen to have a band, he wouldn't have been in the position to be a frontman. He was definitely a philosopher and a writer, but asking him to take centre stage in a rock band was circumstantial. He wasn't someone looking for the limelight or attention. He had to step outside of himself and his own insecurities to take that role. He had so much attention so early. I think that changes you. There are very few of us who really understand what that experience is. Everyone else in the band had ways of keeping themselves grounded but he never did. "Most of his life he was adored by the fans and the media, but when things turned he had nothing to fall back on. He didn't see it coming. That really hurt him."

INXS: Never Tear Us Apart doesn't ignore the women in Hutchence's life. Jane Harber (A Moody Christmas) plays Bennett. Yates is played by Georgina Haig and Christensen by Mallory Jansen. Samantha Jade is the spitting image of Minogue. It is The X Factor winner's first major acting role.

"I'm so lucky - how often do you get to play an Australian icon," Jade says. "At first I was nervous because acting wasn't my thing.

"Kylie tends to talk with her hands a lot and I do the same thing. I think their relationship was one of those great loves that is kind of crazy."

Arnold has his own take on Hutchence's relationships.

"Kylie was the girl next door and Michael was the dark rock star," Arnold says. "He dirtied up her image and she gave him an extra push as a prominent celebrity in his own right. With Helena, he suddenly went from this little pop star to the most beautiful woman in the world. Especially at that point in his career, that was something he couldn't have turned down. With Paula, it was entirely different. There was a want of family and someone to settle down with, but she would also have been into all the kinky rock star stuff he wanted. He probably saw in her that he could fulfil both things."

The remaining INXS band members have been heavily involved in Never Tear Us Apart. Tim is listed as a co-executive producer (along with Murphy).

"In our rehearsals as a band, Tim was there to help us out," Arnold says.

"We haven't compromised the story to please them and at the same time there is no temptation to create bad guys or get to the dirt because there is enough tragedy in this (real life story) anyway." - News Corp Australia Network

[littlestoneinspace]

My reasons to love Star Trek Discovery

First posted on Twitter, link for thread: https://twitter.com/svebara/status/1125873671816531968

Intro

No one TV series has ever become so personally important to me as #StarTrekDiscovery. So many feelings and important thoughts, new inspiration and new people. For me this is more than a fandom. This is a part of life. And in this long txt&art thread I'll try to talk about it.

Despite the fact that I had planned to write about it for a long time, it'll not be perfect, consistent, and I will definitely forget something. Well, perfection is not the main thing, but honesty is. And it will be a lot of chaotic words from the heart. And my still bad English.

Culmets

#Culmets was the reason why I returned to watching, not very impressed with 1x01 episode. And it still remains my main reason to love #StarTrekDiscovery. Because...So great representation of true love, so great performed by Anthony Rapp and Wilson Cruz - it take my heart since first view.

I fell in love with ordinary things. Unfortunately it's still a rare thing, to see on TV a gay couple with really healthy relationship and without accent on their orientation. But that it should be. And I love every single detail in their interaction.

And next to these ordinary things, we saw love, which is literally stronger than death. #StarTrekDiscovery teached me hope. I lived with it since 1x10 episode and never lost it. And most importantly... I have never experienced such strong feelings about the characters.

For a long time I was not one of those who "love to feel feelings" and suffered from it, in fact. I was so “in the shell” that it was difficult for me to cry for example, although there was reasons. I cannot explain exactly how, but DSC and #Culmets helped me start open my heart.

And I've never cried so hard about characters before. About the death of Hugh, about Paul's grief, about the strength of their connecting and about everything that they had to go through. About resurrection, about new mistakes and new loneliness, and about reunion, finally.

Paul Stamets

But besides culmets, I love them both very much. #PaulStamets is my favorite character in DSC and one of my favorites ever. Passionate scientists are perhaps my favorite type of people in real life, maybe because this is my forever unrealized dream. But it's not only that.

I love endlessly what Stamets is showed not only as extremely enthusiastic about his work, but also a person with a brave heart, capable of great love, self-sacrifice for friends. A man with a not easy character. Hero, but not perfect. Wish I have a friend like him.

Hugh Culber

Hugh. I so wanted to know him more in 1 seas, well we got it all now. An experience that no one around can understand, loss of oneself on the physical level- in another sense of course but these sensations are close to me.And I still can’t calm down how great Wilson played it .

My Fan Art

#Сulmets became for me a huge source of inspiration. Perhaps, I have never drawn so much about one subject, but it's never bored, but only prompts to do more. Here are some of my works made during year.

My feelings about losing Hugh were so strong that drawing was not enough and I wrote a song. We're a very beginning group and haven't studio records yet so only this.  Read translation of lyric in description of video please.

People

DSC also has helped me fight my fear about language barrier. I didn’t have DSC fans irl and I had to go to English-speaking community. And so I found many wonderful people. For example twitter.com/SerinaTirek on Facebook group. For more than a year, she and her art are my source of joy and inspiration.

Now I do not suffer from a lack of communication with Discovery fans, including those speaking my first language and this is a great joy. I send hugs to my friends Allayonel, HardRain, Chmonder, Cammie Greene <3

Your amazing cosplay works,  @soundofcosplay are delight and a real inspiration. It is not just made with high quality, it is made with great love! As for me - I have never felt confident about this issue, but now I have already tried to sew something and have some big plans)

My tardigrade

I had some fear of sewing something, especially large in size, but ... I really wanted to have my own space tardigrade's baby, which I painted recently. This is how Mark, an albino #tardigrade, appeared (named after the hero from Rent, of course :) 

Anthony Rapp and Wilson Cruz

And also my great discovery thanks to Discovery (I love this wordplay) was Anthony and Wilson.Their movies, activism, musical activities, and just THEM are my source of inspiration and joy every day.

Anthony Rapp

I first found out about Rent a year ago, and it was love. I had a difficult period in my life, I listened these songs, and other songs also performed by him, and that helped. It continues to help. It's more than "one more favorite singer." It's  is a special place in my heart.

Silence will never win. His #Metoo story was the one because of which I really thought about this topic at 1st time. How complicated it all is, although it should not be: rapist is always guilty. It's so terrible that many don't understand this.I admire his courage.

Watching his filmography, I discovered so much interesting. "Do you take this man" has become one of the most important films to me, this lesson about "non-perfection "...  I watching and cry every time)

Wilson Cruz

I don't know when I would finded “My so-called life” and “13 reasons why”, if it were not for Wilson . And I'm so glad for this, these series have become very important to me. / And Ricky's story is so touching and powerful. so especial.

I truly admire his activism. It's courage, sincerity and inspiration for others. When I watch videos where he talk about it - I always cry and can't help to stop. He is the one of them who makes this world better ...and we need more of his beautiful singing voice ))

Conclusion

Well... I talked a lot, and I will talk again later, but for today, I think, this thread is finished) Thanks to everyone who read and understood my feelings.   ... and sorry for my bad English)) #StarTrekDiscovery is love.

[aragarna]

So last month I went to see Hugh Jackman’s show - Hugh Jackman. The Man. The Music. The Show. - in Paris and it was AMAZING.

The show was terrific. Hugh can do everything. Sing, dance, tap-dance, move the audience, play the piano, crack jokes, be Wolverine... Oh also, he’s an actor, which allows him to *live* each role of the songs he’s singing. It being Barnum, Gaston or Jean Valjean...

I’ve spent the past 3 weeks watching videos of the show on Youtube to revive the moment. Here are some of the highlights

He sang a lot of songs from the Greatest Showman. Including Come Alive and A Millions Dreams (with a signed choregraphy, which I just loved!). Here is a close up on Hugh, to show you how much he smiles. <3

Gaston!! ahaha

Look at him dance! And tap-dance! I think I’m in love...

And a couple more for the smiles: Somewhere Over the Rainbow and Dancing in the Rain.

There’s a lot more obviously, but those are a few of my favorite. The whole thing was a great experience. Hugh clearly has a lot of fun performing all of it. And he doesn’t forget to share the spotlights, inviting his Greatest Showman co-star Kaela Settle who sang This is Me, as well as traditional Aboriginal musicians. Also, several times during the show he pointed out to his very talented dancers and musicians.

I’ve taken a few pics of the show and I’m quite pleased with the way they came out, so I’m gonna share a few in the coming days. Please, do not crop my pictures nor remove my name. Give credit if you share them on other media.

[cordellarecords-blog]

Welcome to Cordella Records, MILES, we are are so excited to have you on board with us. Please make your account within 24 hours and check out the NEW MEMBERS CHECKLIST. Enjoy your time on tour!!

IC Information:

Name: Jesse St. James

Family/birth order: Eldest

Face Claim: Jonathan Groff

Age: 29

Birthday: 8th of March 1989 Gender/pronouns: He/Him

Sexuality: Homosexual.

Ships: Jesse/Male, Jesse/Smythe, Jesse/Stage Relationships (females included) Anti-Ships: Forced

Hometown: Washington, DC.

Job on Tour: Manager to Cordelia Wilde If they are in a band which band?: Cordelia Wilde

Stage Name: Jesse St. James

Voiceclaim: Jonathan Groff/Andrew Rannells

Head Canons:

Jesse St. James or Jesse Hughes, was born on the 8th of March, 1989 to a single mother. He never knew his real father and his mother never spoke of him. From what he can remember, his relationship with his mom was rough. She was always working and whenever he got to see her, she would be sleeping. Leaving him to find ways to entertain himself. The main escape he had, was to watch Disney. He adored Disney as a child. He loved pretending to be Tarzan, Hercules and Captain Hook. Sure, Hook was a villain, but he was a damn fun villain. And, what? Was he going to be Simba? No thanks, way too much fur.

When he was four years old however, things went a bit south for the Hughes family. One day, he waited outside of the school for his mom to come and pick him up, but she never came. He waited and waited and eventually, a staff member phoned. A police man answered. Apparently, his mother had been in a car crash. She had survived but the person who she had crashed into, did not.

His mother was facing time for ‘man slaughter’ and Jesse was put into a group home while the trial began. He doesn’t remember the details; all he could remember was his mom never picked him up from school and now he was living with strangers. He missed his videos. He missed his heroes.

Denise Hughes was convicted of the crime and was sentenced to 16 months in prison and as a result, lost custody of Jesse. He didn’t know why he couldn’t see his mom again; all he knew was he had to wait for his ‘new family’.

A year later, the new family arrived. Jesse came back from school and found two strange men in his foster home. They introduced themselves and said Jesse could come and stay with them for a few days. He thought it was strange that it was two boys, but he went along.

Their house was so cool! They had a big room for him to stay in, lots of stuffed animals and best of all, a Disney collection! Jesse loved spending time with his two dads, and he grew close to him. Very close.

When the time came, they adopted Jesse and gave him the new last name, St. James. He was now Jesse St. James and loved his new life with his new gay dads. He felt very blessed to be with them, even if it came with bullying from the school yard. He didn’t care, whenever people would ask; ‘why do you have two dads?’, he would just smile and shrug.

“Because having one dad is boring.” That was his usual response. He tended to ignore the questions about his mom though. He wasn’t sure on the whole situation himself!

Two years later, the house became a little fuller. His dads had a baby! Which was crazy because he knew it was so rare for a gay couple to have a child. Yet, his fathers had been lucky and along came his little brother, Scott. He never really asked about Scott’s mom because he knew the problems that came with him losing his own mom.

It was difficult to connect to his brother when he was seven years older than him. He always tried his best, but Scott began to like things that Jesse had just grown out of. However, he was delighted when he found out Scott also enjoyed Peter Pan. Every year Jesse would go dressed as Hook, and much to his distaste, Scott would go as the crocodile. Their dads found this hilarious, Jesse not so much.

High School was a challenge, not in terms of classes, Jesse was actually highly gifted in academics. But the bullying became worse. So bad that he couldn’t go outside during breaks, instead he’d either hide away in the library or the choir room.

Jesse was quick to sign up for as many clubs as possible, but he found his heart in the theatre department. He became obsessed with plays and musicals; he found himself listening to cast albums on repeat. Jesse was a natural-born theatre kid.

Throughout high school, he was the shining star of the drama department. He was the lead in everything, and this only went to his head. He was the kind of the school in drama and show choir. He knew it was where he belonged. So much so, with a lot of help from his parents, he found himself applying for drama schools.

Jesse was accepted into Marymount Manhattan College with a Major in Acting and a Minor in Musical Theatre. It was a tough four years, but Jesse made it out of the other side a stronger person. During his showcase performance, he was picked up by an agent, Yvette. Overcome with joy, he signed on the dotted line.

He had every desire to make it as a star. Jesse worked closely with Yvette and she found him a lot of play work, occasional ensemble work in musicals but nothing great. Getting a little tired of her lack of roles for him, Jesse left her and signed up with a new agency. This one, was the one to get him into the world.

At Twenty-Four years old, he was cast as the lead in Book of Mormon, the role was everything he had dreamt it would be. He loved signing autographs at the stage door and most of all, he loved achieving his dream.

But even with everything going right, something was still wrong… He had been in relationships before, but nothing ever felt right. He enjoyed his time with the girls he was with, but he knew something was off.

One night, at a cast party, one of Jesse’s cast members kissed him and suddenly everything became clearer. He liked guys! With having two gay dads, he had never considered the fact that he himself could be gay. He never had a problem with the idea, but he had also never pushed himself to try.

Delighted, Jesse felt somewhat altogether. He put in for some personal days with the show and headed home. He knew he had to come out to his family in person. When he arrived in Washington, Jesse soon found out that Scott had been kicked out. He wasn’t in a hurry to ask why, instead he jumped in his car and drove around looking for his little brother. It was two hours later until he finally had a call off Scott telling him where he was.

The two had a much needed catch up and Scott was the first person Jesse came out too. Jesse had a small apartment he paid for in Washington that was his first home away from home. Granted, he wasn’t there often as New York was his main habitat, but it was big enough for two.

After the family discussion, when all was said and done, Jesse came out to his dads in private and spent some more time with his brother. While he was in New York, he wasn’t around a lot and he knew he hadn’t been the best brother. Jesse wanted to try and fix that with the few days he had left before he had to return to the show.

When he got back to New York, he continued in the show for a year, even stayed with his cast mate who had kissed him, for a year too. After the first year, Jesse was picked up for another musical. An off-Broadway revival of Heathers. He stayed with the show until in closed and then bam, straight into another musical.

After the third year of Broadway, Jesse got bored and pushed his agents to find him new work, this time in TV. He did a lot of voice over work for cartoons and then eventually found his face on the TV screens. He had a guest spot on a few episodes of a popular sitcom and after that, hit what he thought would be his big break, an actual movie.

It was a cheesy rom-com and he played the love interest, but it flopped. Hard. He was pissed but this did nothing for his career. He decided to go back to what he was best at, Broadway. Even though he was twenty-eight, he could still pull off a few young roles. He was even lucky enough to play King George in Hamilton.

As his 28th birthday came along, he started to feel stuck. He had ticked off all his bucket list and now what? Where did he go next? He was nearly thirty and sure, he could keep doing theatre or voice over work but… It was satisfying anymore. Jesse decided it was time to give back.

When he started out, he hadn’t had the best agent. So, why not be the best agent there could ever be? He had made enough contacts by now. He could do this. Raise a new generation and take in the new world as a manager.

He found talent quickly enough in Cordelia Wilde. In a way, she reminded him of Scott, they were of a similar age and perhaps this was a chance to connect more with people his brothers age. Jesse met up with her when he had the chance, told her of his past and how much experience he had in show business.

Fortune favoured him and he signed the contracts to become her manager. He saw a lot of potential in her and while this was a whole new world to him, he loved the challenge.

As a manager, Jesse is tough. He’s firm and hates lateness. If anyone was ever late when he was a director on Broadway, he’d make them do laps. That didn’t change her. He followed his school’s spirit of pushing people to their edge. He was soft too. If he ever found himself going too far, he would treat Cordie and the rest of her ensemble to dinner.

His only goal now, is to make sure Cordelia becomes even more iconic than she already is. Even if it means finding ways to help her stand out. He admired her past PR relationships and still looks for potential people he could hook her up with, if they were good enough for her, that is.

[crystaliquor]

why la la land is better than the greatest showman

ok, so recently i saw blog about why the greatest showman is better than la la land, and i’m not gonna lie, i totally disagree with it, and i’ll give you all of my reasons right here right now. also, please keep in mind that yes, i KNOW these movies are totally different and aren’t too comparable, so don’t attack me lmao.

choreography and music

ok, so one thing i noticed is that the other blog mentioned music and choreography which i think is a hard thing to compare since the people who wrote the music for la la land also wrote the music for the greatest showman. i will say this though. i think the greatest showman and la la land are harder to compare as they were made for different audiences. i feel that the greatest showman lyrics were very cheesy and it wasn’t anything remarkable. it was more cringey than phenomenal, but since i feel like the movie was geared toward younger audiences, i feel that it doesn’t appeal to me very much even though i could fit in that age range. la la land was intended for teens and adults so the music was more mature. also, the other blog complained how the music was one piano riff repeated over and over, and how it was unoriginal and lazy. it was not, solely because it was to benefit the story. if it didn’t have anything to do with the story or the romance between the two main characters, then i would agree, but it does have to do with the story.  i will give credit on choreography to both movies, as i feel that it was both beautiful and executed very well.

storyline and plot

ok, so let me get this straight before i start talking even more: a generic plot does not make a bad movie. i say this because la la land’s storyline is very basic. a young woman moves to hollywood because she wants to become a famous actress, etc. but, i do truly feel that it was executed very well, especially in the ending where both characters got what they thought they wanted, but in reality they really wanted each other; something they did not get. the greatest showman’s plot was good as well, the plot being what made me see the movie. i liked the idea of a circus act and uptight middle class people, and the different worlds they lived in. so, i think both plots were done well, i just don’t think the greatest showman’s was executed as well for the sole purpose of how cheesy it was. i honestly wouldn’t have finished it if it weren’t for the choreography and the cinematography.

casting

ok, so i completely disagreed on the casting section of the blog i saw, as the blog said these exact words: “It had a diverse cast that weren’t white, skinny, middle upper class people.”

so, reasons why i disagree with this statement is that the casting for the greatest showman wasn’t so-called “white, skinny, middle upper class people.” is because it again fit the plot. they needed different races, classes, and looks because they needed to show the difference between the circus group and the higher class. for la la land, it’s in a completely different time and society where things like being different isn’t being made fun of, it’s more present day. also, this movie only focuses on two main characters mostly whereas the greatest showman focuses on many different characters. so in the end, the casting people are gonna hire whomever played the roles of Mia and Sebastian best since they’re the main characters of the movie. the greatest showman can easily have more diverse casting as it has more unique and different roles to experiment with. 

romance

ok, don’t hurt me, but i did not like the romance between zac and zendaya. maybe because i don’t like them as actors (THIS IS NOT WHY I DO NOT LIKE THE GREATEST SHOWMAN AS I LOVE HUGH JACKMAN), but i just didn’t feel emotionally attached. maybe because i also thought the music was cheesy. i just didn’t feel like there was really any depth. the reason why i loved Mia and Sebastian’s relationship so much was because it had so much depth and emotion that you really realize at the end of the movie, which i think the maker of the other blog did not realize. in the end of the movie, Mia and Sebastian both got what they thought they wanted: Mia became a famous actress and Sebastian opened up his own jazz club. they end up moving on in life, Mia gets married and has a child, Sebastian is running his club, but the conclusion ends up being that they wanted each other instead; they didn’t want the lives they thought they wanted. so, contradictory to another point they made, it’s not the typical “middle aged whit girl ends up getting into hollywood” ending. she’s not happy, and neither is sebastian, because in reality they wanted each other.

other points

so, now i’ll be responding to some points they specifically made in their blog. (i will link the other blog at the end of this one)

“It celebrated more then just show business success, it celebrated humanity.”

so, i do believe the greatest showman did a better job illustrating this, especially considering it’s plot, but la la land didn’t just celebrate show business success. yeah, sure, she ends up becoming a famous actress, and yeah sure, he ended up having his own club, but it was much more than that. it showed the characters struggles and hard work that was put into achieving their dreams, and again, my other point, it wasn’t what they thought they wanted. i think one of the main reasons why la la land supposedly doesn’t celebrate humanity, is because it doesn’t openly come out and say it does. you have to really think about it and try to find it, whereas in the greatest showman, it’s the whole plot of the movie; to celebrate and realize that our differences and unique qualities are what make us special.

“The choreography and setting was fucking stunning.“

i do agree that the choreography and setting was beautiful, but i think that la la land’s was too. i loved the bright colors in the movies, the pretty city at night, and especially the planetarium scene in la la land. i think it was a tie in this category, as the choreography and scenery was incredible in both movies.

“Had scenes that gave the audience chills. (Not gonna lie I cried during this is me while bopping my head)”

in all honesty, i didn’t cry at all during the greatest showman, or get chills. i did cry during the last scene of la la land, as it was emotionally beautiful, as well as the music, choreography, scenery, etc that accompanied it. honestly, i believe that instrumentals can be just emotional as a song with vocals and lyrics (although in this case i don’t think the songs made me very emotional as i thought they were very cheesy).

“The movie left the audience leaving the cinema smiling so what if it was predictable so was a white girl making it in Hollywood. The songs were raw and heart felt with more then two characters. The cast were diverse in a realistic setting. The ending didn’t leave the majority of audience looking up YouTube videos for ending explanations.”

ok, i thought that this was just stupid. one, la la land left the audience leaving smiling as well, and even teary and emotional. the songs were emotional and raw, and it doesn’t matter if the main focus was on two characters, it can still be emotional and raw. also, the greatest showman was so straightforward that i felt like i was loosing iq points while watching it because there was nothing to dig deeper for. and clearly, if you think the true ending of that movie was a white girl making it in hollywood, then maybe you need to watch one of those youtube videos explaining the ending, because you clearly didn’t grasp it. 🙃

hope you enjoyed this blog! reblog and like if you agree. if you’d like to read the blog that inspired me to write this, click here