#best ai writer for film

[unproduciblesmackdown]

truly lmao 2024 lambda literary award finalist wynnstannery

[film-editor]

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[tailschannel]

HOLLYWOOD ACTORS AND STUDIOS ANNOUNCE TENTATIVE AGREEMENT, ENDING HISTORIC STRIKE

A tentative agreement has been officially reached between Hollywood's actors' union and studios, ending the historic labour disruption.

SAG-AFTRA's tentative deal with the AMPTP secured "above-pattern" minimum compensation increases, provisions for consent and compensation to protect members from artificial intelligence, and streaming participation bonuses.

Dear SAG-AFTRA Members: We are thrilled and proud to tell you that today your TV/Theatrical Negotiating Committee voted unanimously to approve a tentative agreement with the AMPTP. As of 12:01 a.m. PT on Nov. 9, our strike is officially suspended and all picket locations are closed. We will be in touch in the coming days with information about celebration gatherings around the country. In a contract valued at over one billion dollars, we have achieved a deal of extraordinary scope that includes "above-pattern" minimum compensation increases, unprecedented provisions for consent and compensation that will protect members from the threat of AI, and for the first time establishes a streaming participation bonus. Our Pension & Health caps have been substantially raised, which will bring much needed value to our plans. In addition, the deal includes numerous improvements for multiple categories including outsize compensation increases for background performers, and critical contract provisions protecting diverse communities. We have arrived at a contract that will enable SAG-AFTRA members from every category to build sustainable careers. Many thousands of performers now and into the future will benefit from this work. Full details of the agreement will not be provided until the tentative agreement is reviewed by the SAG-AFTRA National Board. We also thank our union siblings — the workers that power this industry — for the sacrifices they have made while supporting our strike and that of the Writers Guild of America. We stand together in solidarity and will be there for you when you need us. Thank you all for your dedication, your commitment and your solidarity throughout this strike. It is because of YOU that these improvements became possible. In solidarity and gratitude, Your TV/Theatrical Negotiating Committee.

The contract, valued at one billion USD, has yet to be ratified, but the union announced that the strike will end this Thursday, 9 November 2023 at midnight PST.

Sonic movie screenwriter Pat Casey acknowledged the announcement late Wednesday night on X, the social media website formerly known as Twitter, and said that he's "excited that everyone in this business, cast, crew, everybody, can finally get back to work doing what we do best - entertaining people!"

No word from Paramount as of yet, or the studio's upcoming production plans for the third Sonic the Hedgehog film, currently scheduled to debut in 2024.

[1dfilmfest]

🍿 1D Film Fest Rules 🍿

“You're pirates. Hang the code, and hang the rules. They're more like guidelines anyway.” - Pirates of The Caribbean: Curse of The Black Pearl (2003)

General

• This fest is not anonymous. Feel free to post snippets or teasers. (Make sure to tag @1dfilmfest)

• As this is a One Direction fest, one of the members must be included in the main pairing. Pairings do not need to be romantic. They can be platonic or simply sexual.

• All AUs are allowed such as A/B/O, Mpreg, girl direction, etc, as long as the fic/artwork is inspired by a film.

• Fics and Artwork must be inspired by their film prompt. If in doubt, please ask the Mods if your idea fits.

• This is an 18+ fest

• Please alert the mods as soon as you’re having problems or need to drop out.

• Those signed up can request a secondary film prompt once sign ups close.

• You can sign up as an artist and writer if you like but will need to fill out both sign up forms.

• Prompts are first come first serve (even if you sign up as both artist and writer and choose the same film it is not guaranteed!)

• Collabs between artist and writers are a choice you commit to at sign up (if you happen to choose the same as the opposite creator)

Writers

• The minimum word count is 1000 with no maximum word count requirement.

• Fics must be completed when posted to Ao3. No WIPs.

• There will be no restriction on the writing of explicit, sensitive, or potentially triggering content, though this must be tagged appropriately

Artists

• NSFW artwork is allowed. (It will be partially censored on tumblr and added to a AO3 master art post, 1 chapter per artist, uncensored.)

• You may use AI art to inspire your work but please do not use it in your final piece.

• Accepted forms of submitted art include: any type of traditional or digital art, videos, drawings, paintings, manips, GIFs, podfic, and moodboards. Please note that if you are creating moodboards, we require that you do a minimum of three.

🍿 1D Film Fest Schedule 🍿

We're all traveling through time together, every day of our lives. All we can do is do our best to relish this remarkable ride - About Time (2013)

Prompts Open: August 1st 24

Prompts Close: August 31st 24

Sign Ups Open: September 1st 24 (6pm UTC)

Sign Ups Close: October 1st 24

1st Check Ins: February 1st 25

2nd Check Ins: March 1st 25

Fics & Art Due: April 1st 25

And Action! Posting begins: April 19th 25

Submitted Prompts

Sign Ups!

Beta-Reader and Brit-Picker Sign Ups!

Beta-Reader and Brit-Picker Masterpost!

[therkalexander]

Tbh I'm always crossing my fingers and hoping that whoever the crew and creative team ends up being for the show will take the time to read both books thoroughly so they can do it justice when bringing it to life. No cheap wigs, no bad CGI, no cringy dialogue, none of that! Aidon and Persephone and you deserve only the best :) //rant done lol

So!

One of my stipulations is that those involved with the show read the books. And so far, the production team and writer and director involved have NOT disappointed.

I have fielded a lot of pointed questions about specific plot points in the book and what I want out of x, y, or z and how it should be portrayed.

Also, my creative vision is protected because I created an EXTENSIVE Show Bible that went into specific detail on every character, mapped their journey through current and future books, and drew a picture of the world: fashion, locations, even going into available materials and fabric dye available at the time.

As far as CGI goes, the discussions have been centered around practical effects, stop motion, time lapse, in camera effects, things that feel and look REAL.

I want REAL flowers and plants writhing up through the earth. Not floaty CGI-ed uncanny valley perfection.

When you see the Chthonia for the first time, it’s not going to look like an AI screensaver. It’s going to be layers upon layers of real locations composited together, and we’ve had discussions about filmed locations ranging from Australia to the American desert, to the UK.

As far as the worries about bad wigs goes, with the studio we’re working with, let’s just say period hair, costume, and make up is what they’re known for.

And yes. Aidoneus and Persephone deserve the absolute best. I’m going to do my utmost to make sure that the world I revealed in my books is realized on screen.

[emotionalcadaver]

Welcome!

My name is Lauren. I am 23, use she/her pronouns, and am a fanfiction writer as well as a self-admitted film snob. Most of my fics are focused on OC x Canon pairings.

18+ ONLY. Minors do not interact.

You can also find me on Archive of Our Own.

I do not consent to my work being copied or translated to any other platforms or posted by any other accounts that are not my own. Nor do I give permission for any of my work to be used in the training of AI.

I am always happy to chat, so please feel free to send me an ask or DM anytime! Mutuals are welcome to ask for my Discord!

Dunkirk

Cold Waters & Sunlit Gardens

When she decides to accompany the Dawsons on their voyage to help during the evacuation of Dunkirk, Daisy Preston has little idea of what she is actually getting herself into. All she knows is that there's tea, the roar of planes overhead, and the blue eyes of the handsome, shivering soldier they just rescued from a shipwreck staring at her from across the deck.

In Time

The Shackles of Broken Time

Trapped in poverty and forced to contribute to a cause she doesn't actually believe in, Rose Mason keeps her mind focused on simply surviving day to day. Until a few reckless actions catch her the attention of Timekeeper Raymond Leon; the last person anyone would want to have as an enemy.

Inception

Hiding Here Inside a Dream

Alice Emerson has known Robert Fischer since they were four years old. Instant best friends, they were near inseparable until the meddling of an abusive father drove them apart. But perhaps they can find their way back to one another. And maybe, finally, admit that they've been in love with each other all this time.

Peaky Blinders

Love Me Where I'm Most Ruined (IN PROGRESS)

They call him the Devil. They tell her to stay clear of him. They warn her that he'll steal her soul. But Lucy Winters came to Small Health fleeing monsters and unspeakable trauma. And her soul seems but a small price to pay in exchange for the things that Tommy Shelby has to offer her.

Nocturnal Me

There’s something sitting on the edge of the bed, and it wants her husband.

The Dark Knight Trilogy

The Shadow Game

Broken, traumatized, and more than a little insane, Vanessa Sullivan and Jonathan Crane's childhoods were steeped in horror and loneliness. But when they are assigned as lab partners during their time in college, they realize that they may not be as alone in their madness as they'd both originally thought.

Thank you for reading! Please consider leaving a comment, reblog, or like. I always appreciate feedback and love getting the opportunity to interact with you and hear your thoughts!

[maxwellatoms]

as a person on the inside of the animation industry, are there signs that we might be heading to another dark age of animation like the 1980s (e.g. animation is regulated to just glorified toy commercials or dark fantasy movies)?

"Kid Vid" regulations mean you can't advertise for stuff kids might buy from within a show anymore. Generally, you can't even have (say) Yogi Bear wearing a shirt with his best friend BooBoo's face on it as a gag, because "what if someone made that shirt one day?" Then it would be a retroactive ad, I guess? I'm not schooled in reverse-time law like studio lawyers, so I can't really say. Still, it's almost impossible to get even a fictional product into a kid's show these days, so I think the 1980s will probably stay in their timeline. At least in that way.

I do think a bit of a "Dark Age" is upon us, though. Maybe just a small one. Just a wee little snip of a Dark Age is all.

As far as I can glean, there are going to be precious few animated shows coming out over the next couple of years because not much was picked up during the pandemic. There are only a few things being developed here and there, and I'd wager that those properties "win" simply by existing in a competition-free environment. It takes a long time to produce animation, so almost anything greenlit right now is looking at a full year for turnaround. If you talk to people in the industry right now about jobs, they use words like "wastelend" and "ramen noodles".

Then you've got A.I., of course. The other night I was having dinner with a friend and I found myself in the A.I. conversation I always imagined myself having one day-- the one where we're talking with some immediacy about what the rest of our futures look like as artists, because we know they're not going to look the same ever again. It was pretty cool in a William Gibson sort of way, but I honestly didn't expect to be having that conversation for another decade. Turns out A.I. is becoming a problem right now.

I've already talked about the "art theft" angle, and that's not the problem I'm speaking about here. The problem I'm talking about is the "what do I do when what I do becomes trivial?" problem. If anyone can make a TV show or movie in a week or a day using AI assistance, who determines what gets seen? Networks, I'd imagine, would become redundant. You don't need to fork over $15 a month for Netflix if you can make Netflix-quality content yourself. And if you can't make anything decent even with A.I. assistance, surely someone on the internet can. There would be an incredible glut of content to choose from, so again... who decides what gets seen? An algorithm, probably. Who owns the algorithm?

Peak Dark Age will be the time period when the networks realize that they're going to die, and sink all of their resources into forcing their own survival on the rest of us. I imagine massive layoffs (you don't need multiple writers or artists or support staff when you've got the right tools.) Studios will want to own the tools (of course) and/or suppress the use of those tools by anyone who might want to cut into their profits. Expect to see "A.I. is just too dangerous for the public to utilize, so it needs to be left in the capable hands of corporations". Expect to see customizable Batmans, the ability to put your mom in any Star Wars, and the serialized fever-dreams of billionaires.

I think that's the next 5-10 years. And while that's happening, the tools will keep getting better and better until literally anyone can sit down, ask for an Oscar-worthy part-rom-com/part action movie starring a twenty-five year old Steve McQueen and and eighty year old Daniel Radcliffe rescuing Air Bud from the Death Star, and then watch the resulting film with some degree of satisfaction. There'll come a point when content of any visual, auditory, and written complexity can be generated on-the-fly, and the traditional limits of budgets and schedules will just be gone.

It's easy to spin off into fantasy and try to guess exactly what's coming. I could probably spin on that all day. But what I know is that the future of the animation industry won't look anything like what I've become accustomed to. And maybe that's okay because what I've become accustomed to looks nothing like the industry I started in. Things change, and you roll with the punches. Thanks to the self-fulfilling dystopian prophecy we find ourselves in, just about everyone on the planet is finding themselves rolling with the punches coming from the Powerful Greedy. That's less a "me problem" and more a planet-wide problem we should probably all sit down and hash out, like, yesterday.

My immediate problem as an artist (and yours if you're an artist too) is figuring out how to get your ideas seen in a world where the amount of entertainment content is exploding exponentially. Especially if you're the sort of artist who needs to eat and live somewhere.

So yeah, I think there's going to be just a little peppering of Dark Age coming up. But in every time of change, there are opportunities. Hey, I'm down for an animated Dark Fantasy movie. Let's do this!

[mariacallous]

One of the many knock-on effects of Marvel making post-credit scenes a feature of the studio’s cinematic universe is that fans get a glimpse of just how many “below-the-line” workers it takes to make all that superhero movie magic. Production designers, hair and makeup folks, camera operators, the lists run on and on. Amongst them, usually toward the end, as theatergoers are eagerly anticipating that tease for the next MCU movie, are lists of the visual effects studios—places with names like Framestore, The Third Floor, Cinesite—that created all of those space scenes and Wakanda visuals. But unlike most of the other names in those credits, the ones attached to VFX artists have never been in a professional union.

On Monday, some folks at Marvel made a move to change that, with a supermajority of Marvel Studios’ VFX crew signing cards saying they want to be represented by the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE).

To be clear, the Marvel team is a small faction of a huge industry and doesn’t represent all those outside VFX houses that also work on MCU films. But their move marks a huge shift in Hollywood at a time when people in other industry unions—the Writers Guild of America (WGA) and the Screen Actors Guild—American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA)—are on strike to get better deals with the major studios. VFX workers have been talking about unionizing for more than a decade, says Bilali Mack, a VFX supervisor who has worked on everything from The Whale to The Flash. The fact that one group, albeit a small one, has taken steps to unionize is “huge,” he says.

This moment has roots in 2013, when Life of Pi won the Oscar for Best Visual Effects just as the company that worked on those effects, Rhythm & Hues, was facing bankruptcy. When the movie’s VFX supervisor, Bill Westenhofer, took the stage to accept his award he said the traditional thank yous and then added “Sadly, Rhythm & Hues is suffering severe financial difficulties right now. I urge you all to remember …”—at which point his mic was cut off and the theme from Jaws began to play.

Rhythm & Hues wasn’t the only VFX studio facing troubles. Some 21 similar companies shuttered between 2003 and 2013, due in part to production delays and the fact that many jobs were going to companies based outside the US, where tax subsidies and incentives give VFX houses a better shot at survival. Attempts to organize have been bubbling up ever since, and this week they bubbled over. “We are witnessing an unprecedented wave of solidarity that’s breaking down old barriers in the industry,” IATSE president Matthew Loeb said in a statement. “That doesn’t happen in a vacuum.”

Loeb was, of course, talking about the fact that the unionization effort at Marvel is happening amidst the SAG and WGA strikes, which may be emboldening folks in other Hollywood sectors. When the Marvel news came, I called Dave Rand. He’d worked on Life of Pi at Rhythm & Hues and had helped organize a protest outside the Oscars on the night the movie won. He agreed that the current strikes played a role but added that the VFX workers who are laid off or on hiatus amidst the strikes may be hesitant to organize because they’re worried about landing their next job. Still, he added, “it’s a step in the right direction, and it can set an example.”

Considering artificial intelligence has been a major point of contention in the Hollywood strikes so far, I asked Rand and Mack if it might be on VFX artists’ minds as well. Both agreed that it was, adding that AI can be a tool for VFX artists, but it will still always require a human to guide it. Is it possible, I asked Mack, that studios would try to create shots with AI and then have human VFX artists clean them up?

“A hundred percent,” Mack replied. “That’s a legitimate worry. Because there’s a saying in visual effects, and I think in a lot of other industries, which is that the first 90 percent takes 10 percent of your time, the last 10 percent takes 90 percent. They’re gonna spit it out, it’s gonna be a piece of crap. Then they’re just gonna be like, ‘We just want it to look perfect and feature film quality,’” and then a VFX company will get called in to spend 90 percent of their time to get paid for 10 percent of the work.

Whether that scenario plays out remains to be seen. The National Labor Relations Board still needs to do due diligence on the Marvel VFX team’s request. Only after that’s complete will all members of the eligible Marvel team be able to vote on whether they want to join the union. And only then, presumably, will it be known whether the other visual effects studios in the MCU credit sequences follow in their footsteps.

[redgoldsparks]

May Reading and Reviews by Maia Kobabe

I post my reviews throughout the month on Storygraph and Goodreads, and do roundups here and on patreon. Reviews below the cut.

The Crane Wife: A Memoir in Essays by CJ Hauser 

This essay collection focuses on human relationships, many of them romantic, but also with grandparents, parents, sisters, best friends, COVID-isolation pods, and with the children of romantic partners from previous relationships. The title essay interweaves the experience of a broken engagement with a scientific expedition to study the dwindling population of whooping cranes in the Gulf Coast of Texas to devastating effect. Another experience, covering the DARPA Robotics Challenge trails, in which teams test out potential robotic first responders, speaks to the author's own desire to both save others and be saved by a string of problematic men. The author dated a lot of men and a few women in their twenties and processes them through the lens of media (the film The Philadelphia Story, the TV show The X-Files,the novels Don Quixote, Rebecca, We Have Always Lived in the Castle) and the perspective gained with time. I really loved this whole collection, but the piece that keeps rolling around in my mind is "The Fox Farm", about trying to recreate an archetype of a child's fantasy house (full of animals, friends, gardens, infinite rooms) in real life as an adult. I left this book wanting to know more- when did the author start using nonbinary pronouns? Have they resolved their feelings about their tits? Is that guest room in their big upstate New York house still available for visiting artists, and if so, how do I apply for the position of resident writer/new friend?

American Teenager: How Trans Kids are Surviving Hate and Finding Joy in a Turbulent Era by Nico Lang

Queer journalist and author Nico Lang traveled around the US to meet 11 families of trans teens and see how anti-trans legislation is impacting their daily lives. Each family has different circumstances; one teen fears his top surgery will be indefinitely delayed, while another had surgery already and has joined the boys swim team at his high school. Some teens are moved to become activists while others want to just live their normal, low-profile lives. With humor and compassion, Lang shows trans teenagers as they really are: kids trying their best, day by day, to grow into their truest selves and fullest potential. The various chapters are by turns deep, silly, introspective, sweet, and smart, just like teens themselves. I was able to read an advanced copy of this book- pre-order it now, or look for it on shelves in October 2024!

Fool’s Assassin by Robin Hobb read by Elliot Hill

NO ONE IS DOING IT LIKE ROBIN HOBB. NO ONE! After a disappointing journey up the Rain Wilds River, baby we are BACK! And by back, I mean, back in a first person POV and back with FitzChivalry, one of my literal favorite fictional characters ever. This is the 7th book about his life, and the 14th overall book in this series, so I won't be summarizing it. Let's just say that Fitz found his happy ending (minus a few key soulmates) and then his life kept going. More problems, more politics, more magic, maybe stranger than ever before. A new character introduced in this series swept in and stole my heart. I can't wait to dive into the next book very soon!

Rose/House by Arkady Martine read by Raquel Beattie  

A brief murder mystery set in an fully conscious AI house in the southwest desert. This story feels in conversation with Ray Bradbury's story The Veldt and has many elements I enjoy, but a somewhat unresolved and slightly unsatisfying ending. I'm honestly still simmering on my thoughts, but looking forward to discussing this in book club soon! Edit post book club: a discussion helped me clarify what I thought was working in this book (tone, setting, themes) and what was not working (too many red herrings for such a short book, and an ending twist that seemed to undercut the book's main premise). I still think it's worth a read for Arkady Marine fans, but it is not as strong as her full length books.

Dances of Time and Tenderness by Julian Carter

In 2016 Julian Carter, a queer author and long-time participant in San Francisco's dungeon kink scene, received an invitation to be part of an archival matchmaking project. The project paired artists, activists, and scholars with specific issues of OUT/LOOK: The National Lesbian and Gay Quarterly. The assignment was to use the issue as a jumping off point to think about queer history and make something "new and provocative." Carter's assigned issue was from Winter 1991, the year the CDC announced 1 million American were HIV positive and AIDS was the 3rd leading cause of death in people aged 25-44 years. One of the many who died in 1991 due to AIDS related complications was Lou Sullivan, one of the first trans men to publicly identify as gay. From this starting point, this book traces paths of queer lineage, both proclaimed and obscured, traveling through history, memory, and poetry. Carter is linked, through friendship or scholarship, to Susan Stryker, pioneer of transgender history, to Zach Ozma, who edited Lou Sullivan's diaries for publication, and to Lou himself. Casting a transgender eye back on a queer history divided sharply into gay and lesbian, Carter allows himself to claim as ancestors sailors, skeletons, writers, lovers, and reaches forward in time towards students, readers, and artists. Including me. I was fortunate enough to be gifted an early copy by the author, and read it back in February back in one delicious rush. I already want to read it again, and more slowly, this time underlining and annotating it. This is a book to savor, but is easy to devour instead. It's sensual and surprising, formally precise, and made me want to dig around in a mess of queer historical papers and also contribute my own to the pile. It's out on June 4, 2024; give it a pre-order or look for it on shelves soon!

49 Days by Agnes Lee 

Kit, a young Korean American woman, wakes up on a beach with a map and a watch telling her she's already late. For days, she clambers over rocks and up trails, reaching for an undefined goal. Slowly, the book begins to flash back to Kit's childhood and family, the people she loved and left behind after her accidental death. In Buddhist tradition a soul travels for 49 days before rebirth, and this book follows one version of that path, the grief and slow healing that follow a loss. Drawn in a very simple yet evocative style, the spare ink lines and limited color fill this journey with meaning.

Early Riser by Jasper Fforde read by Thomas Hunt 

What a bizarre and delightful novel. It's set in an alternate history in which ice-age level cold spells cause the majority of humans to hibernate every winter, which has ripple effects on the development of technology, societal rules, culture, and family structures. Charlie Worthing was born in a "pool" in the independent nation of Wales, or a group home in which nuns dedicated to reproduction birth and raise dozens of children, in returns for credits from those who can't or don't want to have their own kids. Charlie has very few job prospects, especially ones that will give him access to morphanox, a drug which helps most people survive their months-long winter sleeps. The drug also turns about 1 in 3000 into a brain-dead zombie, but this risk is considered better odds than sleeping without it. So Charlie volunteers for the Winter Consuls, the law-keepers and problem-solvers who stay up all winter to safe guard the majority. There he has to face the three well documented dangers of winter- Vacants (zombies), Villains (the British) and Winter Volk (fairies, whose reality is debated), as well as rumors of a viral dream. The humor in this book is a close cousin to Terry Pratchett's work, in which absurdity and invention mask some pretty biting social commentary and anti-capitalist motives. I did think some of the twists at the end didn't quite pay off, however, I had such a good time with the ride this book took me on that I'd still recommend it.

Blue Flag vol 2 by Kaito 

This vol has already taken a kind of melancholy, bittersweet narrative tone which might put me off the series. I still really like the characters and overall think the writing is very effective, out I wish the humor and sweetness of book 1 would last farther into the series!

Critical Role: The Mighty Nein Origins: Jester Lavorre by Sam Maggs, Laura Bailey, Matthew Mercer, Hunter Severn Bonyun, Cathy Le, Ariana Maher

Short and sweet, this prequel comic shows Jester's first meeting with The Traveler, the prank that caused her need to flee from Nicodranas, and a window into Jester's relationship with her mother. It's a slight story but I loved the artwork, especially the outfits and the beautiful city views.

The Book of Love by Kelly Link

Kelly Link, one of my favorite short story authors, debuted a novel 650 pages long. I bought this the day of release but it took me a few months to actually crack it open. I'd seen it described as slow, but I think I'd say leisurely. It opens with an intriguing premise- four teenagers come back from the dead, not knowing how they died or why they were brought back 11 months later- and have to solve a magical problem if they want to keep living. But the book is less a mystery than a close examination of the teens lives in a small New England town in December. The teens include Danial, oldest of many step-siblings, who rejects his new magical powers and just wants to live a small and ordinary life. There's Mo, who lost his parents young, and was being raised by his grandmother, a famous Black romance novelist- who herself died during the 11 months he spent in an underworld. There's Laura, a musically ambitious teen, who comes back to her single mom and sister Susannah, who seems somehow entangled with the magical ritual that killed and might save her friends. And then there's a fourth person who none of the others know, who snuck out of death on their coat tails and has no name and few memories. The book rotates POVs every chapter, with more than 15 different POVs, some of whom only appear once in the whole volume. I love Link's writing style so this worked for me, but I can see how this choice to linger over details not directly related to the plot might not work for some readers. I really enjoyed this but it did take me 3 weeks to read it and I suggest other readers pick it up when ready for a slow burn of a book.

Plain Jane and the Mermaid by Vera Brosgol 

This original fairytale opens with teenage Jane mourning the recent death of her parents, after she already lost her younger brother to the sea as a child. Because there's no male heir, Jane's horrible cousin will be kicking her out of the house in a week. The only option she can see is marrying within the week so that she can access her dowry. So Jane walks down to the fishing village below her manor and proposes to a beautiful but shallow fisherman's son. He accepts- then is immediately lured under the waves by a mermaid. Jane runs into the town asking for help but only an old woman with witchy vibes is willing to aid her. The crone gives Jane a potion so she can breathe underwater, a stone which will allow her to walk on the bottom of the ocean, and a shawl to keep her warm in the depths. So armed, Jane walks into the sea after the boy who feels like her only hope. Under the waves she encounters allies and enemies, learns the true power of her own will, and realizes she might have more choices than she's realized.

Blue Flag vol 3 by Kaito

Well, I started another book because the last one ended on a massive cliff hanger, but I think I'm setting the series down after this one. I still think it's very well written, but the main character has such low self-esteem that he shouts at other characters that he sucks, he's a jerk, he doesn't deserve their friendship and they should leave him alone. I bet the arc of this series will be building this character up to where he believes he deserves their love and friendship, but I just don't feel like dwelling in this character's self-pity at the moment. I would have eaten this shit up as a teen though! Especially with the queer characters.

The Free People’s Village by Sim Kern

Set in an alternate timeline in which Al Gore won the 2000 election and declared the War on Climate Change instead of the War on Terror, this novel is an interesting mix of hopeful and dystopian elements. The main character is Maddie Ryan, a white high school English teacher working in a primarily Black neighborhood in Houston, TX. The novel is Maddie's written account of a tumultuous year in which the grungy music warehouse where her punk band practices and performs is threatened by a proposed high way and oil line which will rip up not only their art space but also a historically Black neighborhood. Maddie starts attending activist meetings which quickly morph into a full blown protest encampment surrounding the warehouse. Dubbed the Free People Village, this protest movement goes viral and is met with the exact same kind of violent police response as the current student encampments protesting for Palestine on college campuses. Woven through this depressingly accurate political forecast are multiple queer love stories, interracial friendships, a 101 crash course in anarchist philosophy and bracing look at what long-term activism takes. Folks with more of an organizing or activist background than I might find some of this book a bit basic; but I was completely drawn in by the relationships and conflicts of Maddie, Red, Gestas, Angel, and Shayna. This book feels almost painfully timely, and I hope a lot of people read it and gain both courage and perspective.

[the-cat-and-the-birdie]

Sidebar while I'm here -

The reason I'm so enthusiastic about analysis and breaking down ATSV and dialogue and stuff especially now is because it's one of the best ways to highlight and stress the work and experience of screenwriters, which is something super dear to me

for context, I work in film and live in New York, and I can say that the WGA strike is something very real and very tangible, everywhere in the city.

Writers are not the only ones affected. Family vendors that feed sets are out of work, PAs are out of work, Directors won't shoot without their writers and Assistant Directors won't come on without a director.

These CEOs are starving dozens of industries everywhere. Prop houses are even closing down.

It's really bizarre to work on these big wig sets, and then see your bosses picketing and protesting in Chinatown and Lower Manhattan. But they really are out there.

And they're still out there. Working class people who use to work 10+ hours a day, 5 days a week (or more).

All I'm really saying is please keep the WGA, the actors, and the film industry as a whole in your thoughts.

The film industry is like the culinary industry. These people are doing this work out of passion - not money - me included. They're doing this because they want their work protected and their name on credits. This is about rights and AI.

Hollywood, run them their checks. End the WGA Strike.

GODDAMN.

[srbachchan]

DAY 5614

Jalsa, Mumbai                     July 1/2,  2023                  Sat/Sun 11:57 PM

🪔 .. July 02 .. birthday greetings to .. Ef Ef Madhuri Dharanipragada .. Ef Sanjay Patodiya from Kolkata .. Ef Jayesh Brahmbhatt from Gujarat ..

And .. dear Avni Rathi , the CONQUEROR from Solapur .. your birthday was on May 22 , and we regret missing it , because we didn't know , but now we know .. you have our wishes and affection always and of all the Ef Family .. keep conquering 💪🏽 .. love ❤️ ..

..

And .. wishes for the Amar Akbar Anthony Film screening tomorrow Sunday 2nd July at BFI ( the British Film Institute .. UK’s lead organization for Film ) under the brand ICONIC ..

never ever thought that this film would be seeing a day like this .. but the genius of Manmohan Desai had other ideas .. his first Production under his banner .. and what a complete joy to be a part of it .. 

Much has changed since then .. but this lives on .. as do most others ..

And the debates on AI continue .. many have reacted to the informal mention on this page and have commented on its veracity and its drawbacks .. society, morals, defence, secret services .. the list is endless .. and we move on ..

Anxious now how the morning papers shall portray this bit of the Blog .. 😁 

Autobiography .. !!! 

Many do insist that it must come from me .. and it amuses me .. I have nothing autobiographical about me .. Babuji did , and his, in 4 volumes, became iconic and ably rewarded .. the best reaction coming from the pundits of literature and the literary world that ..

“ your prose is better than your poetry” !!

Then on set I came across a book being used as a prop that volumed various quotes on various topics .. and on ‘autobiography’ this came up :

‘An autobiography is an obituary in serial form with the last instalment missing.’ ~ Quentin Crisp 1908 - 99 The Naked Civil Servant ( 1968 )

for some strange reason the book on set .. had its title covered with paper that read  Bonsai Plants .. 

Bonsai represents miniature .. I guess minimalistic for a book on quotes was an apt thought .. he haha ..😂

There were many more .. but I refrain .. that strain, brings pain .. for the ability of the copywriter to make it in sensationalist headlines would be compromised ! 😳

Ahh heh .. I be too naughty in my write .. disruptuous , mutinous , recalcitrant  .. but then the liberty of express , plays uniformly , does it not  .. especially for the 1.4 + billion .. ypj’s

be in good stead dear readers and writers .. the path to the glory hath been disrupted by the diversionary lanes to the ultimate destination ..

So was I able to make this readable in compete with the morrow HL  ..

Love and regard as always ..

Amitabh Bachchan

[freefromthecocoon]

Hello There! A little conversation about "experience" and trust.

So it's my understanding there are some concerns about the experience Zabel has as a writer and a showrunner. More below the cut.

I have spoken on this before, but I think some of you may have missed it. Zabel has quite a bit of experience with writing and with showrunning shows.

I honestly believe a fresh eyes approach has been what TWDU has been needing for a long time.

Some of you may not be old enough to remember ER, but I sure do. One of the best ships ever was Abby and Luka on ER which was primarily under Zabel's watch. Spoiler alert....Abby and Luka ride off into the sunset together (happily) after Abby's last episode.

I don't know what TBOC will bring. I haven't seen scripts or portions of scripts. But one thing I know is that Melissa AND Norman have both expressed excitement about Season 2 and I too am very excited.

I guess what I am saying to you all once again. Don't let anyone steal your joy based on their attempts to try to maintain their perceived "power" in the fandom (which admittedly seems to be dwindling with every outlandish post... "AI Carol/Melissa"...I still cackle about that one!) You know it was funny that a week after that claim was made, Melissa appeared BESIDE Norman with both of them smiling and laughing about being back together. Melissa also appeared by video link during NYCC to talk about her excitement for filming Season 2.

Bottom line...I trust Norman Reedus. I trust Melissa McBride. I trust David Zabel.

[the-madara-squad]

MADARA SQUAD PODCAST ~Episode #1

Hey y'all !

Since the 24th of November, our server discord Madara Squad discord is one years old🎂.

Born from the chaotic warring social media of tumblr, our goal was originally to unit the fandom of those who love Madara from the canon : mission accomplished with flying colours! We did it through many live events :

the Creative Club every week religiously for the last 10 months those endless chit chat gave birth to many fanfics, OC, headcanons, japaneses history classes, drawings, helped finishing homeworks, kept people awake until morning,

japanese Film/Anime reaction live,

Astrology VC

Naruto Video Games session in VC

board games VC

NSFW live

having the biggest database of the Uchiha fanart all sources to their original authors!

having the only Madarapedia : sources the best meta from the Narutoverse

and the cherry on the top : the summer Uchiha Week 2023 where we were the PIONEERS in coding from scratch a character AI of Madara bot for this event.

And if you think we have done enough? Oh boy you're not ready for what's coming this december! 😈

Our community reunites fanfic writers, artists, analysts, debaters, fighters, wifeys but always warm and kind to each other. And we thank you squaddies for making this happened, helping each other and inspiring each other. And it's with a lot of proud that we are announcing a new expansion : The Madara Squad Podcast.

Our smooth voices will continue to debate endlessly about our General-in-Chief, the Uchiha clan but also all the cast from the Narutoverse and why not comparing with others mangas because after all sky is the limit!

Let's start with our first podcast on the Minato one shot released by the sensei Masashi Kishimoto in July 2023.

Follow us on youtube, thumbs up in our videos, leave us a comment if you like our content, and share this post!

Created with love by @margretescrimsonatelier and @al-hekima-madara-blog

[anotheruserwithnoname]

12 favourite things about Beetlejuice Beetlejuice

So I saw the Beetlejuice sequel over the weekend. I saw the original in the theatre nearly 40 years ago. And I admit was a bit nervous about whether the film would live up to the original, or would it be derailed by so many of the things that have caused remakes or continuations of legacy properties to fail in recent years. (Those factors vary from person to person but often boil down to either failing to recapture lightning in a bottle, or going against the spirit of the original in some way.)

I'll put in a spoiler break before I pass along my favourite things about the film, but the tl;dr is I had a blast, and I should never have doubted Tim Burton.

The following includes not only plot spoilers for B2, I also have to mention a major spoiler for the Wednesday series, so you are warned.

Favourite things about B2:

Jenna Ortega

Michael Keaton has managed the near impossible - reprising a role from decades ago without losing anything. It makes me sad that we'll never see his proper return as Batman in the now-lost Batgirl movie. I won't name specific names, but with only a couple of exceptions (most of them in Deadpool and Wolverine), so many times an actor reprising a role from years past has either failed to recapture the magic or does a good job but is still missing something that makes their reprise feel lesser in some way. You could splice together scenes of Keaton from B2 with scenes from B1 and you would be hard-pressed to tell the difference.

Jenna Ortega

Winona Ryder is terrific as the older Lydia. I loved the fact they made her a "paranormal-reality" TV star; I figured Lydia would have grown up to be either that or a goth-rock singer. I am not in favour of always darkening characters when they return after a while, but I think the idea of Lydia being haunted (literally) by her past and seeing dead people was well handled and does put a bit of a dark spin on the happy ending of B1. But in a way that works.

Jenna Ortega

For reasons best left to a google search, Jeffrey Jones was unable to appear in B2. His absence was well-handled by way of photographs, having his character lose his head, and a very clever and unexpected stop-motion sequence that at times looked like it was one of those wild AI-generated shorts.

Jenna Ortega

The change of style - the stop-motion, and the Italian art film pastiche that served as Beetlejuice's origin story - were a couple places where the film distinguished itself from the original. Same with Beetlejuice pulling a Deadpool a couple of times and talking to the audience.

Jenna Ortega. OK, seriously, she's a lot of fun in this and is a highlight of the film. My only complaint is they're not completely successful in separating her from Wednesday, both when she gets involved in a Beetlejuice-driven dance sequence, and a subplot where her character falls in love with a boy who turns out to be a villain - which is identical to what happens in Wednesday; the actors even look similar (there is the big Wednesday spoiler I warned about). That's one of the only major criticisms I have with B2, made a bit more glaring as Burton produced Wednesday and I think the film and show used the same writers. Jenna is in danger of being typecast which I'm sure she wants to avoid. I hope her star just continues to rise.

Bob. 'Nuff said.

Burn Gorman of Torchwood fame makes an unexpected appearance in the film as a preacher. He's quite funny to watch in his few scenes. He's become quite a good character actor over the years.

The Disney joke. Aside from the fact I know it'll play well with the many who have been turned off the House of Mouse for various reasons (including their treatment of various franchises and the never-ending Snow White saga), it has a different meaning when you realize that reportedly Burton had a bad experience making the live-action Dumbo for them, so this wasn't just a topical dig at Disney (like we saw in Deadpool) - this one was personal. When film scholars of the future write their books examining Burton's films and he and everyone else involved in his movies have collected their copies of the Handbook, the joke will probably get covered in quite a bit of detail, even though it comes and goes so quickly on screen.

One criticism I have is that Monica Bellucci's character doesn't really do too much. Reportedly Burton and Bellucci began dating while making the film so at least those two got something out of it. But her end was a bit overwhelming. I also felt Willem Defoe's character was underused. But if someone decided to do a spinoff of his actor-turned-underworld cop character, I think it could do well. I know both Bellucci and Defoe were playing plot maguffins - their purpose was to push things along to get to the Beetlejuice/Lydia reunion. But there could have been more. (I also didn't care for the fact no one thanked Beetlejuice for saving the lives (and souls) of Jenna's character by dealing with the boyfriend and everyone else by helping dispose of Monica. That's the only part of the film I disliked, but a minor point.)

Is B2 better than B1. I would say no, but it is an excellent film. I don't know if a third movie is justified, but the prospect of releasing a film called Beetlejuice Beetlejuice Beetlejuice may be too much temptation to ignore.

[monkey-network]

Good Stuff: Best Movies of 2023

This was NOT a great year for blockbusters, huh? This was probably Disney's worst in years, multiple flops including what was meant to be their centennial anniversary film. It looked remarkably by the numbers, but think of the conglomerate's losses... Anyway, this to me was a pretty great year for films. Like 2022, I'm amazed at the variety we got that says more about the shifting tides of people's interest in movies. It was the most times I've been to the theater. We got a big worker's strike over the summer, especially large push back against degenerates trying to push AI to do more than just shitposting. And it was enough for me to know Adam Sandler, Godzilla, and Hayao Miyazaki could get the better of Disney. With this said, let this be a first for Good Stuff and count down my favorites of this year.

12. Renfield

My suspicions were on the money and I'm glad I gave this a shot in the theaters. Cage was the best Dracula I could've asked for in what you might say was an Adult Swim-esque dark comedy. It definitely has that style of gruesomeness and humor given Robert Kirkman and the Writer/Director behind Moral Orel made this. Unfortunately, Ben Schwartz stuck out like a sore thumb even if he fulfills his purpose in this, reminding me of Christopher Mintz-Plasse in KickAss; I feel he or Jason Schwartzman would've been better suited. Plus it can feel all over the place, an identity crisis that you can't even grasp after it finishes. Then again, I just had fun watching and would gladly rewatch for Cage and Hoult who are the highlights of this.

11. Migration

Call it blasphemous, but I enjoyed this more than the Mario movie. It's essentially Rio mixed with National Lampoon's Vacation, with a lovable cast, solid animation, and an eazy breezy road trip story. I've always looked to Illumination for simple enjoyable romps and I got what I expected here. Gave me Amphibia vibes in a way, replace frogs with birds. Everything surrounding the villain is my only real issue, he was an obvious and very nothing bad guy, but it's overall better paced than Super Mario Bros where it felt like you watched an eternity in 3 minutes. Still don't get the air of folk looking down on this for just being serviceable when it's honestly become my favorite Illumination movie next to the first Despicable Me.

10. Killers of the Flower Moon

Sad to say this is the weakest Scorsese movie for me, mainly because it felt like we're following the wrong main character. Lily Gladstone is incredible in this, among the other great performers, but she felt sidelined in favor of DeCaprio and De Niro's perspectives. It's like if in 1995's Casino, we just follow Ginger throughout the moment Sam introduces her. I liked the turmoil Leo's character goes through, but it paled in comparison to Mollie who was more affected by his and Hale's actions. That does not mean it's all bad. This can be a beautiful, dynamic, and ruthless movie that just made me feel bad for watching it; running with the words "harsh reality" throughout the 3 and a half hour runtime.

9. Good Burger 2

I watched Good Burger 1 & 2 this Thanksgiving weekend, and just had a blast. These are the kind of movies that are charmingly stupid but not insultingly so. Kel Mitchell's Ed is emblematic of how much dumb fun this duology is where he's actively comical but not smoothbrained to ruin your time. This I say is like Home Alone 2 where it is just beat for beat the 1st movie with minor developments but that doesn't really matter when it's just as well put together. It never feels like Kenan nor Kel missed a beat and the drama not overstaying its welcome. It is just "Good Burger Again" without it feeling like diminishing returns compared to other rehashing sequels.

8. Leo

Can you believe this got better publicity than Disney's Wish? Even YMS could appreciate this movie, that's how you know Sandler has his recognizable game when you least expect it. But Leo is a surprisingly good comedy that has actually sincere moments. Being Happy Madison's 2nd ever animation, it's like Adam waited to refine the production as opposed to putting a cash grab together like one would expect. It's not all good, especially trying to be a musical, but seeing it once you'd be impressed how much good it does with the risks it takes.

7. Nimona

Like Migration, everything surrounding the villain is the one big issue I have with this, especially when it comes to affecting the film's message. At the same time, she pales in comparison to the dynamic pairing of Ballister Blackheart and the titular shapeshifter. Nimona is my favorite character of 2023, her energy and confidence matched by the struggle she bears existing alone and the facade made to band-aid it. Her and Ballister's journey alone made me glad this got out of development hell, being Blue Sky's final production posthumous. To me it wasn't about being a take that to Disney, it was about the fact a movie like Nimona got to exist as great as it did. Hoping Stevenson is satisfied with their adaptation, because it definitely earned its flowers.

6. Emesis Blue

Offhand, it openly sucks that Letterboxd refuses to let this stay on the site to log, but it can't be overstated how much of a marvel this was. Repurposing not just the characters, but the lore and mechanics of Team Fortress 2 into a feature length horror thriller. The animation's top notch where it can have godly framing that was on par with the known legends of horror film making. SFM animations can be beautiful on their own, shitpost or otherwise, but Emesis Blue goes a step beyond by having a compelling story fitting for the universe on top of, again, every frame being a painting.

5. Shin Kamen Rider

I've never really saw any Tokusatsu shows. Not that I hate the genre, just could never get into it while recognizing the glorious looking chaos found in clips. Knowing Hideaki Anno directed was what got me into seeing this film and it opened my mind quite a bit. This was the legacy film that definitely had Anno's touch in both the action and drama. While the climax can notably drag, you never feel left out of what was essentially the original Kamen Rider's origin story. It doesn't have the complex VFX of stuff like Marvel, but the costumes and fight scenes makes me wish we got more of this in America beyond Power Rangers.

4. TMNT Mutant Mayhem

Advertising before release really didn't make this appear like a promising film. If there's anything I learned from this year though, appearances can be deceiving. Like Nimona was for her movie, the creative choices for this made it the TMNT movie I never knew I wanted. To me this felt akin to the Lego Batman movie where it's not only a good love letter of the franchise for more than its fanservice, but this spin on the characters is able to have a new sincere view of them without overhauling everything about the TMNT. That and it has the greatest needle drops I've had in a long while like how do insert He-Man Fabulous Secret Powers and expect me to hate this?

3. Godzilla Minus One

I call this a great year for films because it marks the first time I got to see a Toho produced Godzilla, with subtitles, in an real movie theater. Needless to say, it felt like I got to enjoy the 1954 film again anew. Not a remake mind you, but the parallels were uncanny and this spins here work just as well, if not more here than with the original in a couple places. Both are still strong movies nonetheless. Minus One is a refurbish that dishes out what people always wanted and uniquely giving a little more while never sacrificing why the OG is that timeless. With it getting more than a limited release, I'm glad this got to be more than a niche celebration of the kaijuu king.

2. Oppenheimer

This film's been meme'd to heaven, hell you could say it got meme'd to success thanks to its dual release with Barbie, but it didn't undermine getting hooked to watching this anyways. This really has become my favorite Nolan film, a compelling biopic that doesn't exactly herald its titular lead in the best light thanks to the paradoxical storytelling. Oppenheimer gives us the largest ensemble I know, and delivers in the most breathtaking moments I never knew I could get. Cillian killed it among the many who made the three hours of people sitting and talking in rooms actually tense and intriguing to thread. Plus it gave us the beauty of Josh Peck being the guy to detonate the test bomb like cherry on top of this cinematic cake.

1. The Holdovers

I remember watching Alexander Payne's Sideways with Paul Giamatti as a high schooler but couldn't appreciate it until rewatching this year. It's one of the best mid-life crisis comedies you could see, still fresh in its easy going presentation and music. The same can be said for this film, made to feel like it came from the late 70s or 80s with the old opening logos that I didn't think you could do in these times. Out the gate, this was the holiday story I was shocked would be as relatable as it was, with the trio of Giamatti, Randolph, and Sessa each having their story that resonated with me strongly. With the right amount of time, Payne offers an remarkably cozy, down to earth movie where from reserved to outgoing, it did a lot for me emotionally. Like Netflix's Klaus, I kinda want this to be a traditional rewatch for the holiday seasons. One that everyone should try at least once, especially if they feel the disillusionment of the season where this might lift their spirits one way or another.

If there's anything to learn from this year, it's that the meta has definitely shifted. Even when the many on my list didn't make billions like the Avatar films, the variety and risks made spoke more than the big dogs like Disney and WB putting out unprofitable blockbusters that ranged from very by the numbers to you don't need to see The Flash to know how god awful it just was. More people are & should branch out beyond the major mainstream names. Not that the big dogs aren't ever gonna make great films in the coming years, but we should appreciate more than the big budget features you can tell are playing it safe. Time can be patient for great cinema, sleeper hits or not, so take advantage while you're young.

[mariacallous]

Hollywood has an inclusivity problem. How is this possible, in 2024, you wonder, when films like King Richard or Sound of Metal or Everything Everywhere All at Once—all nominated for Best Picture Oscars—suggest otherwise. They are films rich in story, dimension, and purpose. They are also exceptions to a long-established rule: White men still run Hollywood. Women remain almost entirely shut out, compared to their male colleagues, while disabled and Black actors are underrepresented in all major employment arenas for theatrical film, according to UCLA’s most recent Hollywood diversity report.

In the face of this, Kamala Avila-Salmon wants better for Hollywood and its storytellers. Avila-Salmon is the head of inclusive content at Lionsgate Motion Picture Group, where she began her stint in 2020 and has since leveraged her experience as a marketing savant (she has held top-level roles at RCA, Universal Pictures, Google, and Facebook) to shift how the studio makes movies. At Lionsgate, her main directive is simple: to create a creative economy that allows for more attentive storytelling. Stories of magnitude and conviction, yes, but also ones with as much reach as possible. It begins, she tells me, by having an “audience-first” mindset.

This month she launched Story Spark, an online tool that helps creatives understand the limits of their scripts and hiring choices by pushing for inclusivity in all aspects (it resembles a BuzzFeed-style multiple-choice questionnaire). As AI threatens a shrinking workforce and streaming upends traditional viewership, Avila-Salmon believes Story Spark can be a bridge to a healthier future for Hollywood. “Story Spark isn’t telling you if the movie is good,” she jokes when we chat over Zoom. “I have no idea.” You don’t upload a script. There is no secret counsel of industry insiders judging your work behind the scenes. Story Spark is simply meant to challenge writers and filmmakers to create their most audacious work possible. And, yes, there will be plenty of notes.