#anyway I can't speak much on the ACTUAL quality of the film I haven't seen it yet

[repurposedmeatlocker]

With the new Disney movie Wish out, I find it interesting how a lot of people's criticism comes down to the argument that "Disney used to be about artistry and pushing the animated medium. Now, it is only concerned with being commercially appealing and financially safe."

While this has some truth to it, it feels awfully simplistic in regards to what the studio actually, and always has, represented. Even back when the studio first came to fruition, commercialism was ALWAYS a part of the Disney formula. There are definitely films that diverge from this, but ultimately, it is the financial superiority of the company that has allowed it to stand in power for so long. It may have just been a small element in the beginning, but it is a growing factor that only now has taken unashamed center stage.

A film like Wish is not showing the company "falling to the evils of capitalism." It is showing, in bold text, the dark shadow that has been behind the corporation the whole time!

[doritosandavocados]

Okay y'all the fabulous @discomagicwitch actually DMed me a bunch of DWD deets like an absolute saint, so it's time to keep my end of the bargain. Here is an updated 2022 version of "yo Hollywood please stop casting Harry Styles" (no that is not the real original title sadly)

A few things worth noting:

1- I went back and realized I wrote the headline and the blurb for the original article, but an ex co-worker actually wrote the article itself so this is actually my first stab at the topic.

2- I am not a Harry Styles stan - I don't hate the man - I find him rather intriguing and very hot, but I really haven't ever listened to his music much, nor was I a One Direction fangirl. So, overall I'm wildly ambivalent about him.

3- While I was, in fact, a professional entertainment news writer... I am not anymore. Which means I barely re-read this and I did minimal fact-checking or sourcing because that's the true spirit of Tumblr. Anyway, without further ado: Hollywood please stop casting Harry Styles, 2022 edition

Harry Styles is best known for being a boybander gone solo and (true to his last name) a fashion icon. However, over the past few years Styles has begun venturing into the world of acting.

Styles, however, did not start small and work his way up. He had the shocking luck to work with Christopher Nolan on his acting debut. Nolan, who (at least at the time) was an untouchable and unreproachable writer & director. (While Nolan has finally experienced what a flop is, his track record is still absolutely stunning - but I digress.) Styles was, somehow, plucked from the music industry and plopped into the highly acclaimed Dunkirk. Nolan is known for being highly choosy about who he casts and is most certainly in filmmaking for the art above all else. So, the choice had most everyone's curiosity piqued.

So, how did Harry Styles, pop star extraordinaire, get added to the cast of Dunkirk, alongside the likes of Kenneth Barnagh, Cillian Murphy, and Tom Hardy? Honestly, I still haven't the faintest idea. Did somebody lose a bet? Was there blackmail? Was Styles so desperate for a chance at the big screen he bought out Nolan's artistic integrity? We'll never know.

What we do know is that his role was relatively small and had minimal speaking lines. He was there just enough to bring in an audience of young women (his core demographic) that otherwise might not have been interested in Yet Another WWII Movie.

Considering he'd peaked pretty early - starting at the top of the mountain, as far as most actors would be concerned - it was hard to imagine Styles continuing his unexpected career detour. Most actors would offer up a kidney in order to work on a Christopher Nolan movie, so maybe Styles just packs it up, calls it a day, and says "thanks for the fun, but I'm going to go back to my life of being screamed at by a couple thousand fans every night while I sing about fruit."

To most people's surprise that is very much not what he did. Sure, he made more music and went on more tours, but suddenly he was being cast in more movies.

Why? For what reason? For the butts in seats? We know Hollywood is rabid to cast well-known faces to draw in crowds - quality of story or other movie aspects be damned. They'd rather overpay a recognizable face than *gasp* cast a nobody and put the budget in say... literally anything else. Costumes? Practical effects? Soundtrack?

So, here we are in 2022. Harry Styles has not one, but TWO movies coming out in the near future where we're going to really find out what kind of acting skills he harbors within. First up is Don't Worry Darling, which is again a star-studded cast. This means that if he falls even a little bit flat in his performance it's going to stand out like a hog at a dog show.

Frankly, I'm not holding out a whole lot of hope considering he can't even hold an intelligent, nay, coherent conversation regarding the concept of film. We've all seen it, the video where Harry is asked why he likes Don't Worry Darling and replies, I like the movie because it's a movie. Well hot damn, I never would've guessed that! Guess I have to see this groundbreaking film now!

Oh Harry, it's a good thing you're pretty. Poor Chris Pine, who is forced to sit beside Styles, seems to be helplessly deciding between looking like he is completely unengaged or interrupting the inane ramblings of his younger co-star. Like a true gentleman, Pine sticks with the former option.

If an actor can't even talk about the filmmaking process or even just... film in general, that seems like a hell of a red flag. Even the interviewer has to try not to laugh in that video.

Could I be pleasantly surprised by Harry Styles' performance when I inevitably sit down to see DWD in theaters? Sure! I'd be happy to be wrong, but I'm really not expecting to be.

I know why producers will continue to give the green light to putting Styles in movies. It's always about the butts in seats with them. What I don't know is why Styles decided to take on this foray into acting in the first place. I don't know what he gets out of it. He has a stunning music career. He gets praise and adoration from his countless fans. He has a career some people would kill for.

There's probably an interview floating around where he says something about "ooh it sounded fun", but like... that's what sixth graders say about their school musical. Not what a professional should be saying about BEING IN A CHRISTOPHER NOLAN MOVIE.

Of course, we've moved on from there. We now await Don't Worry Darling and My Policeman where Styles has far more substantial roles with actual lines. One would think that surely he must have some potential to be put into these films by casting directors - especially since these are films that are vying for Oscar nominations. But let us all remember that Hollywood is about money first and art second... oh and a lot of lust. Let's not forget that Olivia Wilde is (or was? - okay that's just speculation) dating Harry Styles.

In the end Styles being in Don't Worry Darling has generated far more press than if someone else (even Shia LaBeouf) were in the same role. The social media chatter, the strange & unhinged theories, gossip, and speculation about drama have created more free press than a movie producer would dare to hope for.

I mean really, we all know Harry Styles didn't spit on Chris Pine in public. Though, I'm willing to entertain theories on what wildly rude or idiotic things he may have said to elicit that reaction out of Pine.

In the end, Hollywood will always be filled with things like nepotism, favoritism, et cetera, et cetera. And that means we can beg the powers that be to stop putting Harry Styles in movies, but at the end of the day they will just cackle and stick him into a Netflix Christmas rom-com next. (Fuck they're going to do that aren't they?)