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serendipitous-magic · 5 years

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⭐️

(For the “Reblog this if you want readers to come into your ask box and ask for the “director’s commentary” on a particular story, section of a story, or set of lines. Or, send in a ⭐star⭐ to have the author select a section they’ve been dying to talk about!” post)

Okay, okay, okay - so this is in Ch 1 of TRS3, and I’m gonna chatter a tad about a section near the beginning, in Dustin’s POV.

-_-_-_-

“You’ve been away a whole month, honeybun, maybe they just...” She wiggled her shoulders with a tilt of her head. “Forgot.”

She didn’t mean him. Of course she didn’t mean that they forgot him. She meant the radios; she meant they forgot what channel they’re supposed to be on. Or that they forgot what day he was coming home. She didn’t mean that they forgot about Dustin himself.

It’s just, it’s not exactly reassuring, you know? It’s the middle of summer already. All the roads are lined with tall, dark weeds. In a few days, everything will smell like sparkler smoke and kettle corn from the annual 4th of July fair. When he left it was barely June, and the weeds along the roadside were little more than sprouts. What else has happened since he left? What else has changed?

Okay so this is the first time I’ve written from Dustin’s POV, so this opening scene with him was a bit of a trial run. I had to establish several things, specifically for Dustin’s character in this story and where his arc starts out.

In this story, Dustin is starting out his arc in a place where he’s a little uncertain of his worth. Here, that specifically means within the Party. As we’ve seen, the Party in general has kind of started drifting apart this summer. Oh, they still hang out all the time, but they’re starting to push more towards “teenage” activities, most of them in a hurry to grow up and leave behind what happened to them as kids (except for Will, who’s clinging to the childhood that was stolen from him, but that’s another discussion). This push to “move on,” combined with the fact that Dustin has been away at summer camp for a whole month, leaves him a little worried that they may have moved on without him.

Lately - probably ever since the Snow Ball, actually - it’s felt like everything has been changing, and not necessarily in a good way. So when Dustin goes away for a month and comes back and it’s like the whole summer has been going on without him (which... it has, really), he’s not feeling great about it.

Secondly: this scene is lifted nearly straight from the trailer we got (since for this fic I’m considering most S3 trailer/promo material “canon,” and then picking and choosing from the show). So, it’s not exactly how the scene in the show went down, but it’s pretty close to how I expected it to go down based on that one trailer we got. So that was fun to kind of re-imagine a little bit (although I think it ended up fairly close to the Netflix version, thus far).

A muffled little tink draws his attention to the vivarium on his left, where Yurtle is bumping against the side, stumpy little legs flailing as he fails to comprehend glass. Dustin grins at him.

“At least someone’s happy to see me.”

Yurtle continues his mission to pass through the solid glass wall, unperturbed by his complete lack of success. Determined little guy. Never gets very far, but he tries.

I love Yurtle.

Dustin isn’t worried about it - the Party, that is. Honestly, he’s not. It’s not like they’ve all been acting weird for the past few months anyway. It’s not like ever since El reappeared Mike has been MIA more often than not, visiting her at the cabin for as long as Hopper will allow. It’s not like Max and Lucas have developed their own little language and routine together - not just boyfriend and girlfriend, but best friends. It’s not like Will has been a slightly different person since... well, since everything. It’s not like he misses how the Party used to be.

And here’s more of Dustin feeling a little insecure about the Party moving on without him - but more than that, I also needed to establish, in this first chapter, where the Party starts out in this story. Recap style. “Last time on: Hawkins, December through June.” What do we need to know to jump right into the story and have all the information we need? Mike has been hanging with El constantly. The Party is being a little weird (as discussed above). Everyone is kind of paired off except for Will and Dustin (until Suzie). Will is having Struggles (TM). Boom, boom, boom. We know what we need to; now on to the plot.

But Dustin doesn’t like to mope. He slaps his thighs and stands up, reaching into the vivarium to turn Yurtle around. Yurtle lumbers off towards his pool, apparently assured that his ability to move is due to his own success, and Dustin hums along with the radio as he unzips his duffel bag with a flourish. Who is he to complain? He just got back from possibly the most amazing summer camp ever. He’s got the whole rest of the summer ahead of him. He’s got things to do. Places to go. Popsicles to eat. (You know what they don’t have at Camp Know Where? Otter pops. Unbelievable, right? Three hundred acres, over five hundred campers and dozens of counselors, and not a single person could produce even one pack of sugary, brightly colored frozen goodness.)

He’s got plans. Specifically, an invention to get up and running - and he has the perfect place in mind. He bets he can get the gang to help him set it up - if they’d just answer.

Dustin is a fairly optimistic and resourceful person. We’ve seen that in seasons 1 and 2. He’s often underestimated, because he seems a little goofy at first glance - which he is, to be fair. But he’s also a problem-solver. He’s smart, and he doesn’t like to just sit and watch a problem get worse. He takes action. He’ll go to the library before school to check out extra books against the rules so he can identify the creature he found in his garbage. He’ll send his mom out of the house by having a fake one-person conversation on the phone, and then armor up in sports gear and single-handedly lure a baby demogorgon into the cellar. He’s not one to laze around and mope about his problems.

So this ^ here is an example of me trying to feel out how this character thinks and acts, and portray it accurately (because, again, I’ve never written Dustin’s POV before.)

Okay, maybe he’s a little unsettled. The Party doesn’t just go radio silent on each other, okay? Because when a Party member goes radio-silent, it usually means that something is wrong. Really wrong.

His eyes slide over the stain in his carpet. It’s a barely-perceptible rusty brown, now, blending in with the striped carpet unless you know just where to look. He had to tell his mom it was spaghetti sauce.

Will wasn’t the only member of the Party who was scarred by what happened last fall. Everyone in the Party went through some shit, to varying degrees. Maybe Dustin wasn’t possessed by a shadow monster, but he did witness his cat being disemboweled and eaten by a baby demogorgon, and then he had to face said baby demogorgon, and scrub cat blood out of his carpet, and all the while make sure his mom wasn’t gonna be around to get hurt, and that would be pretty rough to go through for an adult - and Dustin was thirteen. (And that’s not even to mention the whole fighting-demodogs-with-Steve and infiltrating-the-Mind-Flayer’s-tunnels business.)

His toy robot starts marching out of the corner just as Dustin turns away, chattering unintelligibly in its perpetual-low-battery fizzle, red eyes glowing.

Wait.

What.

Dustin turns back, slowly, and this time the robot is joined by a toy tank and R2D2.

Now, he’s no expert, but in Dustin’s fourteen years of experience on earth, toys don’t come alive.

I just love that little bit.

Also, I REALLY REALLY WANTED TO FIND A WORD THAT MEANT “TOY EXPERT” BUT I COULDN’T FIND ONE. Like, the same way you might say, “Now, I’m no podiatrist, but in my experience that’s too many toes for one foot.” That kind of tone. But apparently there’s not a word for “toy expert,” at least not that I could find. Everything google gave me when I typed that in was sex toy related lol. Not what I was going for.

-_-_-_-

And that’s that little bit! It was fun doing Dustin’s POV, and this fic will be a fun challenge in that I usually write (at least in this fandom) nearly exclusively from Mike or Will’s POV, and in TRS3 we’re gonna get Dustin, Joyce, Nancy, Hop, Billy, the Mind Flayer... So, that’ll be a fresh challenge for me!

Thanks for the ask! I am also working on the others, I just completely forgot what the stars meant because I’m dumb lol

#asks #anon #trs3 #writing memes #writing commentary

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thotyssey · 7 years

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On Point With: Blake McIver

Beginning his career as a child star with memorable roles in “Full House” and “The Little Rascals” reboot, this actor / writer / producer / director / singer / songwriter / ex-gogo boy has definitely sashayed his way into our hearts and minds. New Yorkers can enjoy a pair of performances from him this week at the Laurie Beechman Theatre: first covering a legend’s songbook in a solo show, then as a supporting player of a drag queen’s showcase that he’s directed. It’s the charming and talented Blake McIver Ewing!

Thotyssey: Hi Blake, thanks for talking to us! So, are you mad busy now with rehearsals and finishing touches on your two shows (Blake Sings Barbra and I Dream of Jackie), or are you comfortable with what you have down now for both of them?

Blake McIver: Well, I am admittedly a rehearsal addict, but I had to come back to LA for another show. So, we'll do a couple quick clean-ups before next weekend!

You've certainly been performing for nearly all of your life... have producing, writing and directing always been part of the equation as well? I've actually been directing for over a decade! I started a theatre company in Southern California at 19, and cut my teeth as a producing major during my time at UCLA. Writing came shortly thereafter, first with songwriting, and then it expanded from there! So are you pretty much open to a variety of projects, or do you have a pretty specific wheelhouse? I like wearing many different hats. It keeps my passion alive, and keeps me learning and constantly refining my skill set.

Are you still basically based out of California? I am still based out of LA. As much as I love my time in NYC, the West Coast is always home. I was born and raised in the heart of LA, which is very rare. I consider myself a unicorn, haha!

Unicorn indeed! You've had a long and amazing career as an actor, beginning with some choice gigs as a child star... including Derek from Full House, Michelle's adorable friend who slayed “Yankee Doodle Dandy” in his debut episode! When you're that young and that famous/successful, can you even fully understand what is going on... or is it just normal because that's all you know?

For me, it was just going into the family business at a young age. Both my parents have lifelong careers in entertainment, which meant that many of their friends were in the business as well. I went to regular school, with non-working kids in between gigs, so I was aware that my life wasn't exactly typical. But I wouldn't have traded it for the world.

Nor would your fans! I understand Derek was meant to be a one-time-only appearance, but that evolved into a beloved recurring role for several seasons.

You're right! Derek was supposed to be a one episode thing, that turned out to be three seasons of the show until it ended. It was a joy to be on that set every single time. It really was a cohesive family by the time I entered the cast, and they all made me feel right at home.

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One fun part of Fuller House is seeing many of these supporting characters and their actors from the original show return as adults for cute cameos. It would be difficult without the Olsen Twins on board for this version, but would Derek stop by Fuller House if it were up to you?

YES! If it were up to me, Derek would definitely be the flamboyant show choir director at the School of the "new generation" kids! Have you noticed the show is so gay now? DJ and Stephanie are hitting on gay guys, and Kimmy's ex-husband is basically the New Trade. It's wonderful! Haha! That's awesome to hear. I have to be totally honest and tell you I haven't actually watched any of the reboot past the first episode! I know, sacrilegious! There's just only so many hours in the day, and I have so many Real Housewives franchises to keep up with! But I'm so glad people are loving it, and I hope it goes on and on.

Speaking of Housewives, you made appearances on a Bravo show a few years ago, "The People's Couch!" What was that experience like?

Well I have to say, when they pitched the show to us I thought, "Okay, we've officially reached the end of entertainment! You're making a show about people watching other shows on TV." Of course I hadn't yet seen the brilliant original British version, Gogglebox. And then when I saw the rough cut of the pilot, I was blown away with how fresh and funny it was.

We really had the opportunity to engage in social commentary in a way I couldn't have predicted. Of course there was plenty of silliness along the way, but we did get to talk about some real issues on Bravo primetime, which I'm proud of.

Your album The Time Manipulator was such a diverse collection of songs and styles.

Indeed! The Time Manipulator was intentionally stylistically diverse. It wasn't until I began writing music that I realized the diversity of my musical influences. Each track on that album represents a story from a moment in my life; some happy, painful, frustrating, etc. The narrative is quite dramatic, and I felt the genres really needed to serve the narrative.

Of course, that's the last thing any record label wants to hear... which is why it was important for me to self produce / release the first one so that my un-diluted musical story is there.

That's the way to do it! Who would you consider some musical influences?

I'm inspired by everyone from The Beatles and Queen to Diana Ross, Carole King, Elton John, Antonio Carlos Jobim, to Gaga and Beyonce. I'm a real music nerd so if the melody and lyric meet a pure emotional intention, I'M IN! Do you have any plans for another recording? I do! I'm in the middle of a (much more musically cohesive) new EP that is inspired by my love of Motown, Blues, and Soul.

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Right before recording The Time Manipulator, the internet-browsing public was alerted (thanks to Perez Hilton, I think) to the fact that you--a former child star!--were gogo dancing to fund its production, and the Thirst Pics were abound. You've already talked a lot about that experience with honest candor and charm, but I was wondering.. does being a stage and screen performer prepare you for gogo dancing at all, or is it a completely different animal?

The performative aspect of it definitely felt familiar to me. Performing for an audience has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. But does anything truly prepare you for shaking your moneymaker in a jock on a box? Not sure, lol!

It was like playing a role to a degree. I had a character / persona in my head. He had a name and a personality that was admittedly bolder than my own. So I guess it kind of was like a fun acting gig. Def, and it paid! Is that also how you got to know people in nightlife, like promoters and drag queens, or did you already kinda know that crowd from just being a gay entertainer in LA? It all sort of happened simultaneously, in a beautiful way. Just as I was becoming more comfortable and free in my queer identity and expression, I was meeting wonderful queer artists and brilliant performers who challenged me artistically and mentally, which was really wonderful.

What's been your history as a stage performer in NYC?

Well, my NYC stage debut was as an honorary member of "The Broadway Kids" in the early 90s. I believe a Gavroche got sick before one of their big shows, and my friend Kathryn Zaremba (who was Lisa on Full House) was Annie Warbucks on Broadway. She said to the director, “my friend can learn this show in four days.” Before I knew it, I was singing and dancing alongside all these young Broadway vets who were very gracious to let the TV / Film brat come play with them! What's a dream role for you, as far as Broadway is concerned? Deena Jones in Dreamgirls. Which I realize is extremely problematic on every level, and will never and should NEVER, EVER happen.

I wish that Disney could get it together and put Hunchback on Broadway. I would do just about anything to bring Quasi to the Broadway stage. Oh God that would be incredible!

So I saw I Dream of Jackie during its initial run at the Laurie Beechman Theatre, starring NYC queen Jackie Cox, which you directed and also co-starred in. I absolutely loved it, it was cute and very funny, and even had sincere moments! How did you get involved with that show, which I’m happy to see returns to the Beechman on Sunday, August 20th?

I'm so glad you enjoyed IDOJ! It was such a joy bringing it to life. Jackie (aka Darius) has been my best friend since we met on day one of college at UCLA. We actually came up with the character of Jackie together, which is why I am referred to as her "Drag Father," hahaha!

It worked out that my schedule opened up enough for me to be in NYC for the month of July, and I jumped at the chance to direct and choreograph the show. Can't wait to do it again next Sunday!

Amazing! Have you / would you ever try drag yourself, by the way?

I have very strong, angular features. Me in drag just looks like Idina MANzel.

Ha! Well, the night before IDOJ returns, the Beechman will see you solo on the stage for the return of your own hit cabaret revue, Blake Sings Barbra: The Concert! What role does Barbra Streisand's music play in your life, and what made you want to bring this show to the stage?

I've been captivated by Barbra since I first saw Funny Girl at 7 years old. But it wasn't until her 1994 comeback concert that I became completely obsessed. It was a crazy year for me: I was in my second season of Full House, I filmed The Little Rascals, and my parents’ house was destroyed in the Northridge earthquake. In the show, I take you through all these things via The Concert, which basically taught me everything I know about being a performer.

I've wanted to do this tribute show for many years, and finally sat down one day last year, during the tumult of election season, and wrote it all down.

Now that you mentioned The Little Rascals--where you play spoiled villain Waldo-- and the election, I have to quickly ask about how surreal it is that Donald Trump plays your Dad on the other end of a phone conversation in a brief cameo. That must be so surreal to process, nowadays.

It really is! And I tell the extended version of the story in my show. It becomes relevant at a certain point in the concert! Intriguing! What's your favorite song to do in the show? I love the setlist from the concert so much, so it really changes with every audience. Last month I had some true 94 concert superfans in the audience, so during "The Way We Were" they were quoting her ad libs at me, then I quoted some back at them during the interlude, and we all screamed and it was a fabulous moment. I explained it all to the rest of the crowd after the song, haha!

Sounds like a remarkable experience, congratulations! Anything else coming up for you? Yes, in September I am directing and choreographing a tour for the wonderful cabaret and burlesque artist Ariana Savalas (of Postmodern Jukebox fame). I built the first version of her show last summer, and now it's expanding into a full Caburlesque extravaganza, which is so fun! And then I'll be back at the Beechman in October with two more shows! Excellent! So, lastly: what do you think The Little Rascals’ Waldo would be doing today, as an adult?

I feel like he'd be on a yacht in the South of France, spending his father's money as rapidly as humanly possible!

Sounds about right. Thanks, Blake!

Check Thotyssey’s calendar for Blake McIver’s scheduled NYC appearances. Follow him on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube and his own website.

On Point Archives

#onpointwith #blake mciver ewing

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furederiko · 7 years

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Sheeesh!!! It's happening again. All these huge news came out just a day after I posted the last Random-News-Digest. I could've included them in that post instead!!! Personal ranting aside, let's get right through the news then... PS: Yeah, this one arrives a little early than usual, because I have to go off the grid for a while. At least until I return from embarking another exploration to the far off galaxy this week... ;D

Disney Live Action

Guy Ritchie is doing the live action adaptation for "Aladdin"? I'm sure you've already heard about that. The movie is going to be an action musical with Middle Eastern leads who have natural talents in singing and dancing? You've heard this before early last month? Well, it's a first for me, but of course... hell yes! That's GREAT news. But did you know which actor Ritchie is currently approaching to play the magical Genie? The answer is... much to everyone's surprise: Will Smith!

Okay, this casting? I'm not too sure about. The last time we had an African-American as a geenie was Shaquille O'Neal in "Kazaam", and that was... uhm, how do I put it? ODD? Not saying I don't like the idea, or that Smith's a bad actor, nor that I'm being racist or anything. I guess I just can't see the "Fresh Prince of Bel Air" in this role. And if we're indeed going about race, why couldn't we get another Middle Eastern actor, or at least an Indian for the job? Someone who's more 'racially appropriate'. Of course Smith's appeal is understandable. He's an actual singer so he'll nail the musical part nicely, a natural Oscar-darling for dramatic moments, and has comedic chops that might rival the late Robin Williams. Even if I feel Williams is pretty much irreplacable in this role.

The problem with Smith however, is that he has turned down Tim Burton's "Dumbo" before. That was due to scheduling issue with "Bad Boys 3". That Michael Bay movie had just lost its director, thus putting it on an uncertain delay, yet Smith hasn't walked back to "Dumbo". Thus suggesting that he's probably just not 'keen on' the project. If that's any indication, could we even expect Smith to take a higher coveted role like the Genie instead? Many seems to doubt it. Beside, the current situation is, he's just in "early talks" for this role, and we know that in Hollywood, that means 'nothing is yet set in stone'. Or legal papers, if you prefer to be more modernly accurate. LOL.

If I have a voice in this movie's production, I say just let Genie become a fully CG character. You know, like those household members in "Beauty and the Beast"? Thus they can get practically anyone who's NOT Will Smith to voice the role. Someone who has strong comedic timing, and is equally masterful at singing. Hmmm... why am I suddenly reminded of Seth McFarlane? Perhaps, because he was a standout in Illumination's "Sing!" last year? He can even be a prolific Broadway actor. What about Jamie Fox, Hugh Jackman, Nathan Lane, or... LIN-MANUEL MIRANDA? I think those names are much better choices than Smith. Here's a completely random suggestion though: Timothy Omundson, or Ben Presley from "Galavant"!!! They live in UK, have worked with Alan Menken before, for a Disney's ABC series, and CAN totally sing. Anyway, we can expect confirmation to this pretty soon, because apparently the casting call explicitly stated that: "Rehearsals begin April 2017. Shooting July 2017-January 2018 in the UK.". And April is about to end pretty soon! LOL.

DC Films

Here's a quick one from Warner Bros and DC! Because as we all should understand by now, they won't ever let Marvel take the whole week of spotlight onto themselves, right? They just need to sneak a completely random news of development here and there. This time, it's from Joss Whedon, whose name has been kindly talked about recently thanks to Kevin Feige kindly mentioning him during Marvel Studios' open house. And this news came from a very ironic place too: The red carpet premiere of the new Guardians movie! LOL to that.

The news was, well, Whedon is NOT looking for a big name to fill in her lead actress for "Batgirl". He said clearly, "I don’t have my eye on anyone. I’m creating this character, I’m in a dialogue with her, and then we’ll see who joins that later on. I doubt it’ll be a name.", which means she can be anyone. Whedon had a soft spot for Oscar-nominee Saoirse Ronan before ended up going with Elizabeth Olsen for Wanda Maximoff in "Avengers: Age of Ultron". And his TV works have always involved a strong female lead, like Sarah Michelle-Gellar in "Buffy the Vampire Slayer". So he can practically choose any actress for the character, including a relatively unknown. The big question though, how does WB feel about this? And considering the studio's really BAD habbit of pointlessly putting reference, will this actress debuted in "The Batman" before her solo movie? Which means she needs to be cast right away. We'll have to wait and see how this develops.

Wait a sec... turns out this news didn't really come from WB after all. But due to Variety asking Whedon about the project, when they bumped into him at the premiere. So not WB's intentional spotlight-hogging trick this time around. LOL. Sorry WB, my bad. This is why you shouldn't do that to other studios, as people would easily assume you're doing it again and again eventhough you're guilty of charge. Ahahahaha... *sigh*.

Fast and Furious

"The Fate of the Furious", which is a dumb title albeit a nice little twist on 'F8', raced through the box office and conquered the winning lane ever since it debuted. It has even amassed a record breaking global opening of all time, beating 2015's "Star Wars: The Force Awakens"! But with the franchise started getting a little... tiring, the question is, for how much longer it has the engine to keep on running? If the latest statement by producer Neal Moritz is to be believed, we're going to see this drug race-inspired movie - at least - up to "Fast and Furious 10". Which might be dumbly named "Fasten Your Seatbelt". Get it? LOL. That's already one more than the previously reported "Fast and Furious 9" by the way. Remember when Lucas Black was approached to do it until 9, but ended up a no-show in 8?

It certainly ain't stopping anytime soon though. Why? Because already, a plan is in motion for a... spinoff. Yikes! Yes, because apparently, due to the much publicized rift (is it real or fake? That has been settled though, I think... *sigh*) between lead actor Vin Diesel, and new regular Dwayne Johnson, it seems fans are now shipping Johnson's Luke Hobbs with Jason Statham's Deckard Shaw. Yep, the bad guy who killed Sung Kang's Han Seoul-Oh. Seriously, will Han's death ever be avenged? I haven't seen the eighth movie yet, but it sounded like Hobbs and big bro Shaw (while lil bro Shaw was singing his way in "Beauty and the Beast") actually had... great chemistry together?

It's currently 'in talks' stage for now, but I can already see it happening. Particularly considering The Rock would do any film, while Statham is in need of another franchise after his participation in "The Expendables 4" is put into question. Chris Morgan is expected to write, and the timeline would put it between the 8th and 9th movie. I'm not too sure about this idea, but perhaps, somewhere along the line we might be seeing a Han and Gal Gadot's Giselle "Mr & Mrs Smith"-esque movie along the way? Especially after Gadot's profile will get another significant boost following this year's "Wonder Woman". I'd certainly would watch that.

X-Men Universe

Now here's what I consider a rather 'dumb' report serving the headlines for "Deadpool 2". Actress Leslie Uggams is set to reprise her role as Blind Al in the sequel. Why is that dumb? Duh... because she's an important element of the first movie, stealing scene every single time she showed up. It would be a crime to not have her back! Not to mention, he's Wade's roommate. What I'm curious to know however, is whether Morena Baccarin will indeed reprise her role as Vanessa as well. I sure hope she will, otherwise it would mess up continuity... not that FOX have actually cared about it. Then again, Deadpool could've gotten away with it by turning it as a mockery excuse towards FOX. While at the same time, punching jabs towards Marvel Studios' case of Pepper Potts and Jane Foster. Ain't that a good idea, right?

Oh yeah, by the way, FOX has announced the official release date for the movie! Eventhough the first movie opened in February, its success has apparently warranted this sequel to change gears into a Summer movie. Yes, it will now open in June 1st, 2018. Which is a rather crowded spot, since Disney has "Han Solo: A Star Wars Movie" to open in the previous week, and the following week has WB's all-female "Ocean's 8" and Paramount's "Bumblebee" movie. Is this a wise move, then? I doubt. That's the way it is with FOX though, they don't give a damn about things like this. They've also set up Josh Boone's "New Mutants" to arrive on April 13th, 2018. Which is, a few months... AHEAD. Huh?

And a little movie called "X-Men: Dark Phoenix" that will arrive in November 2nd, 2018. Squaring off directly against Disney's "Mulan" live action revisit, this news just came in several hours ago (thank Jesus I can add it before this post goes up *sigh*)! Nope, don't be mistaken, it's not "X-Men: The Last Stand" that practically ruined the franchise the first time. It's a... reboot of said movie? Meaning it has the ultimate potential (same story, same WRITER) to do the same? LOL. Need I remind you, these are 3 different movies, set in an entirely 3 different timeline/universe, right? Once again, LOL to that.

Aaaaanyway. With the uncertainty of WB to produce any DC Films earlier than December's "Aquaman", looks like FOX is snatching all the empty superhero slots, eh? The only empty space is in January, March, and August to October, with SONY's "Venom" already dated in the last one. So NICE move to FOX....!!! I guess? *sigh*

Avatar

This is a direct follow up to the above paragraph. Remember the James Cameron's sequel that was supposed to open on December 2018, but got delayed and thus became occupied by "Aquaman"? Yep, I know what you're thinking. This whole release date business already sounds like a confusing game of chess! Well, brace yourself, because "Avatar 2", the sequel we never even asked, will now open on December 18th, 2020. Eeeeh? Not kidding. But what took Cameron so long to get one done? The answer is, because he's doing all FOUR sequels altogether. Yes, "Avatar 3" has been scheduled to open on December 17th, 2021, while "Avatar 4" and "Avatar 5" are coming in December 20th, 2024 and December 19th, 2025 respectively. Ain't that a mouthful to write! Those, if there's any among you, who are waiting for these... sequels, should be really happy to hear this news. You have 5 years of Avatar-time! You've got to hand it to Cameron though. This here is risky business. VERY risky. I can't even imagine what would happen if the 2nd movie is a bomb.

Marvel Studios

Let's start with the juiciest part! Just last week, I speculated that Marvel Studios will announce the female director for "Captain Marvel" when they return to Hall H of this year's San Diego Comic Con. Well, this is Marvel Studios, a studio known for catching people off guard, and they've done it again. Not just for one, but a double surprise at the same time.

Yes, the director for their first female-led female-centric movie has indeed been selected. And it's not one, but TWO of them! Marvel Studios officially announced (first reported by Variety) that Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck have been assigned to helm the project. So to you who wanted a female director, you get one. And those who prefer a male director, also get one. Fair and square!!! Intriguingly, their names weren't even part of the frontrunners list, so it certainly caught almost everyone by surprise. According to The Hollywood Reporter, apparently Marvel Studios met with several female directors since last summer; from Niki Caro (who has been hired to do "Mulan" instead), Lesli Linka Glatter, Lorene Scafaria, to Lucia Aniello, and Quicksilver's real life wife Sam Taylor-Johnson, with Jennifer Kent and Jennifer Yuh also in the early mix; before ultimately settling in on this "Mississippi Grind" duo. Turns out, they've managed to impress the studio with their vision for the movie, which put focus on elevating character's journey beneath all the spectacle. Sounds like something right up on Marvel Studios' alley, huh?

Just like the Russo Brothers, Boden and Fleck have done more TV based project, instead of big features. Does the similarity to Anthony and Joe feels more than mere coincidence? Clearly Marvel is taking their first female-led superhero VERY seriously. I wouldn't be surprised if Carol Danvers will be taking Steve Rogers' important role in the Marvel Cinematic Universe going forward. To be honest, I'm not at all familiar with the duo's work, not on movies ("It's Kind of a Funny Story", "Sugar", "Half Nelson"), nor TV ("The Affair", "Billions"). But I'm hearing good things about them, and considering Marvel Studios has a powerful knack in choosing who they partnered with (particularly ever since they no longer serve under Ike Perlmutter), I've completely put my trust in their decision. Lest we forget, people doubted that Joss Whedon, James Gunn, and also the Russos would deliver before. And now their movies are considered among MCU's best. With the smart and loveable Oscar-winner Brie Larson more than excited to front, a script currently in progress by Nicole Perlman and Meg LeFauve, and an official production targetting a February 2018 start, "Captain Marvel" will arrive on March 8th, 2019.

After debuting their first worldwide tour in Tokyo, Japan, the Los Angeles Red Carpet Premiere for "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2" has been held on Friday. As always, the glamorous event took place at the El Capitan Theatre. Unlike previous movies, I couldn't catch the live stream of this premiere, because I'm running out of data charge on my internet! After all, when you're saving up money to watch the movie (tickets' pre-ordered by the way, yaaaay! XD), you have no choice but to wait until early next month to get it reinvigorated. Whoops, let's get back on track. Most of the cast attended the celebration. Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige, co-president Louis D'Esposito, VFX producer Victoria Alonso, and director James Gunn were obviously leading the pack. They were joined by returning actors Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Vin Diesel, Karen Gillan, Michael Rooker, and Sean Gunn, as well as new cast members Pom Klementieff, Chris Sullivan, Elizabeth Debicki, and Tommy Flanagan. Veteran actors Kurt Russel and Sylvester Stallone were also in attendance, with a surprise appearance of one David Hasselfhoff! Okay, I didn't even know he has a part in this movie. I thought his name in the recently released Original Soundtrack was just pure coincidence. By the way, said album's tracklist could potentially be considered spoilerish, so you might want to avoid it the way I do.

Another press junket was held following the premiere, and the folks behind this movie has been spilling additional details here and there. The kind of information that you would want to steer away and avoid, if like me, you don't want to be spoiled ahead of the game. This could range from the simplest bit like: - Various critics' reviews as well as the first accumulated RottenTomatoes score can be expected to arrive very soon. So check your favorite entertainment sites in the next 24 hours or more, to see what their journalists have to say about this movie. I'm personally avoiding the internet after this to avoid spoilers, and will get back once I've seen the movie. 3 days from now! YAAASSS!!! \(^o^)/ - The fact that the movie's core theme is about family. Sean Gerber of Modern Myth Media, even said that the movie was "pure love", and something that should be watched together with their family. Gunn even dedicated this movie to his parents during the LA premiere. - That baby Groot is the star of the movie! Even fellow Marvel Studios director Peyton Reed thought he could win an Oscar! - New official images released on Entertainment Weekly that hinted towards various plot points. - A supposed Nathan Fillion's cameo that got edited out. Complete with proof by the actor himself, that turned out to nothing but a... prank? LOL. Though it's possible he's indeed the actor that Gunn openly admitted had to cut during post production. - About "the collector’s museum"-level Easter-Eggs-filled scene that went out in the cutting room... and might not be available as the Deleted Scenes. - About a surprise pop star cameo. - To the more complex one, like the removal of one character by the name of... *drumrolls* Adam Warlock!

Yes, turns out the Warlock was originally a major part of "Vol. 2"! Confirming that it was indeed his cocoon we saw in the first movie, but was decided to be saved for later movies. Once again, Gunn has been pretty open about this before, as he said that the script originally had 'one other' member of the team that he unfortunately had to let go. Yes, he WAS talking about Warlock, as the decision to omit him was because "it was one character too many and I didn’t want to lose Mantis and Mantis was more organically part of the movie anyway. So I decided to save him for later.". Gunn expressed his love for him though, eventhough we also shouldn't expect to see Warlock in "Avengers: Infinity War" as well, much to fans dismay. Nevertheless, Feige gave assurance that we will definitely see this important cosmic being in future movies.

By future, I believe we can expect this important character to show up later in "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3", or even earlier in the UNTITLED 2019's Avengers movie. As I've always said, Adam Warlock is an amazing character because he's basically serving as both protagonist and antagonist due to his alter-ego Magus. And the prospect of having him playing a crucial role in future Marvel cosmic universe is enough as an excuse for me. Gunn stated to EW, that the "the three movies work together as a whole, they’re going to tell one story,". Which is exactly the reason why he agreed and excited to continue with "Vol. 3". Don't forget, we're getting Warlock's comic-book's 'sister' Ayesha and her golden-skinned race in this second movie. It would be very obvious, if Warlock will indeed take the follow up spotlight on "Vol. 3". One more thing, Gunn's collaboration with Marvel Studios won't be stopping after "Vol. 3". Birth.Movies.Death speculated, that Gunn is basically the architect of Marvel Studios' future cosmic universe, and I'm inclined to agree on that. Which his role important going forward. After all, Feige himself stated that Gunn "could easily oversee additional stories beyond Vol. 3.". I honestly can't wait to see what we can expect next in the massive galactic side of MCU, considering some of its more popular properties like Galactus, or Silver Surfer, are owned by FOX.

With one movie of 2017 out of the way, when can we expect the 2nd one then? The Los Angeles premiere for "Spider-Man: Homecoming" has been set for June 28th, 2017. Similar to the case of "Vol. 2", we can expect first screening reactions, critics reviews, and all the information dump related to Tom Holland's solo movie, beginning on early June. Or perhaps, much earlier? Yep, L.A. Times shared a new official photo of Spidey inside a pipe, accompanied by a breakdown of what his VERY convenient suit can do. After all, it's Tony Stark's creation! LOL. There's another one from EW, included in an article that focused on director Jon Watts' and Holland's experience with the production, considering the two "were in the same boat". In case you forget, "Homecoming" is the only MCU movie this year that takes place on Earth! So in that sense, it could be considered an important movie, because it's one of two that will directly lead up towards "Infinity War".

The other one is of course, Ryan Coogler's "Black Panther" that will arrive February 16th next year. A movie that had just wrapped production in Atlanta, but already sounds stunningly promising in many delicate ways: first female cinematographer in Rachel Morrison, dashing 'tribal-modern fusion' costumes by Oscar nominee Ruth E. Carter, fully imaginative high-tech metropolitan Wakanda, and stellar supporting cast, among others. Both Holland's Peter Parker and Chadwick Boseman's T'Challa debuted in "Captain America: Civil War" to critical acclaimed last year. We know that the two has officially joined the MCU's shirtless club, that even the bigwigs at Marvel Studios thought as something brag-worthy (LOL!!!). Yet the biggest question for them, is whether their stand-alone features will perform as good, or even better as the hype. Whether the directorial visions of Watts and Coogler are the right ones to catapult each solo title into their own franchises. Because if they are, then they will be joining the likes of Peyton Reed and Scott Derrickson who are moving forward with their second MCU movie.

Meanwhile, production for "Infinity War" is still ongoing in Scotland. And the latest sighting will make fans of the comics glee with joy. Why? Actor Paul Bettany was seen filming a romantic scene with Elizabeth Olsen, confirming that the relationship of his Victor Sha... I mean Vision and her Wanda Maximoff actually have progressed significantly since their encounter in "Avengers: Age of Ultron". There's something more to the scene though, because Bettany is NOT in his thick Vision makeup! Thus many have been assuming this could be either a dream-scene, or an alternate reality caused by one of the Infinity Stones. In fact, it makes sense to be the movie's happy ending too.

Speaking of 'happy ending', don't assume that this scene is part of the 2019's UNTITLED Avengers movie. Why? Eventhough the Russos DID plan to film both movies concurrently, apparently what might have sounded possible in theory, didn't work out so well in practice. Feige revealed to Collider, that the studio has decided to change course, and film both movies as back-to-back but entirely separate productions. "It became too complicated to cross-board them like that, and we found ourselves—again, something would always pay the price", he admitted, which might point out various issues like technical requirements of making sure both movie would be different from one another, actor's scheduling, and others. Which means, every behind the scenes candid images we've seen so far, are all part of "Infinity War". Feige then confirmed that they expect filming for the first movie to wrap in July, before moving on with the next one in August. Think of it like how Peter Jackson worked on his "The Lord of the Rings" or "The Hobbit" trilogies.

Last but not least, Feige also teased that while they are focusing on the seven ongoing tasks at hand, the MCU might be 'evolving' into a different form/route beginning in Phase 4. If... it can even be called that way, of course. "Certainly as we get to Infinity War there is a sense of a climax if not a conclusion to, by the time we’re at untitled Avengers 4, the 22 movies that will have encompassed the first three phases of the MCU. And what happens after that will be very different. I don’t know if it’s Phase 4, it might be a new thing.", he openly said to Collider. Intriguing, because if we observe closer, two of the confirmed titles ("Vol. 3" and "Homecoming 2") have their own separate and unique timelines; one probably mere months apart, while the other taking the "Harry Potter" yearly approach. A third that has been unofficially confirmed, the next chapter to "Doctor Strange", isn't likely to be bound by time and space either. Feige summed up that after 2019's Avengers movie, the MCU is "gonna be very, very different.". Hmmm... let's just say, I won't be at all surprised if the official title for Avengers 4 is called... "AVENGERS: SECRET WARS"! *wink*

Marvel TV

As Marvel's "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D." closing in on its 4th season finale, the fate of this ABC network series remains a huge question. Will it be renewed for a 5th year? And will it serve as the final season, as Entertainment Weekly has predicted before? Fans of the show, however small and numbered it might be, are anxious to find out. But while we're waiting for the answer, Marvel TV isn't stopping anytime soon. Instead, they are moving forward with their two Freeform projects.

The first one is Marvel's "New Warriors", as the former ABC family network officially announced its main roster! As speculated, it's a combination of actual "New Warriors" members from the comics, as well as ones from "Great Lake Avengers". The characters were revealed last week, complete with a catchy comic book art to accompany the announcement. They are (in list, because I love one): - Doreen Green, or Squirrel Girl. Well, duh? Obviously she's part of the show! Because it's the character that Freeform has always wanted to get from the beginning. According to Freeform, Doreen is an empowered girl, and a natural leader. Fitting to her power of acrobatic, and as such, she is bouncy and energetic. She will be accompanied by her pet squirrel Tippy Toe, everywhere she goes. - Craig Hollis, or Mister Immortal. True to his superhero alias, he's practically unable to die. Problem is, the lazy guy hasn't made use of this ability at all, and tends to be cocky and grumpy instead. Freeform calls him as the team's troublemaker. Or as I would see it... the jerk whom I would easily hate. - Dwayne Taylor, or Night Thrasher. He doesn't have any super ability, but he's a... Youtube artist? Huh? Ain't that something that the millenials would dig, right? He's rich kid who's pretending he's not, because he's a local celebrity 'hero' who is... shamelessly full of himself. Wow, our first two guys both sound annoying already. - Robbie Baldwin, or Speedball. His ability is to launch kinetic balls of energy, which of course would require CG work. His character description is kind of important, because it confirms that the show takes place in the MCU. Yes, because he's a fan of the Avengers Tower. Unfortunately, he's "impulsive and immature people-pleaser with a misplaced sense of confidence". My oh my, why do all the guys are characterized like this? - Zack Smith, or Microbe. This guy might already be my favorite, because he's a shy and sweet big guy who... talks to germs? Huh? Yep, his ability practically turns him into some kind of telepath, as he can tell everything from the millions germs scattering in the planet. Considering the MCU has very few people who can be categorized as an actual telepath (Scarlet Witch, and Mantis?), this is a good excuse to make Zack be another one. Judging from the character design, it seems like an Asian-American is going to be cast for this character. - Deborah Fields, or Debrii. This lesbian African-American is proud, and has a sharp tongue. Always unafraid to say what she thinks, and calls out people on their BS. Sounds like an amazing frenemy to either Craig, Dwayne, or Robbie, right? She has the power of telekinesis, and also acts as some sort of trickster.

If you ask me, I think these characters are good, and also wise choices because they represent diversity. No actor has been announced just yet because the casting process is said to commence very soon. But considering how fast this show is moving forward since it was greenlit, I wouldn't be surprised if we're getting cast announcement next week! I'm still not sure if I can see this show, considering it's airing on Freeform, but the idea of a 30-minutes 10-episodes only live-action comedy is too good for me to miss out. Obviously, if there's one main concern I have for it, is whether they can nail the VFX for show or not. And how much practical effects that will be utilized. Like the case of Tippy Toe, will an actual squirrel plays the rodent? Or a completely CG character? Of course, having characters like Mister Immortal, Night Thrasher, and Microbe is a beneficial cheat, considering their abilities can all be done practically. Even Debrii's power can also be done through simple camera tricks. The biggest challenge would be Speedball's, and the appearance of Squirrel Girl. Let's hope showrunner Kevin Biegel, and Marvel TV can work these out. Marvel's "New Warriors" is expected to arrive in 2018, which means, plenty of time to get the VFX done.

The first trailer for Marvel's "Cloak and Dagger" has been released! I did NOT see this coming. After all, the series won't premiere until Winter 2018, right? Unless, that literally means January or February, since both months are still regarded as winter. Hmmmm. Anyway, as soon as I'm done with the trailer, I'm 100% certain that this show is NOT for me. Not saying it's bad, because the whole teenage romance thing is, well, certainly new for Marvel. So a 'good job' for them is at hand? I don't know why, it just doesn't work for me. The lack of special effects, perhaps (that practical one looks... weak, and fake)? Too soap-opera for my taste, probably? Or is it because a conservative soul like me and some others just couldn't get the charm of it. Maaaaan, I feel old *sigh*. As I said before, as much as I liked the characters in the comics, I'm going to give this series a pass. It's definitely a no go for me. The only thing I liked about this is the logo... and that's saying much.

I can't help but wonder if these lovers would somehow, in some way, have a crossover with the "New Warriors". Both are running in the same network, and the age gap between their characters aren't too big. Of course, we must not forget that "Cloak and Dagger" takes place in New Orleans, while "New Warriors" will be in... hold on, they haven't mentioned where the setting will be, huh? Character description for Speedball mentioned 'Avengers Tower' though, so it likely takes place in New York. If that's the case, now I'm wondering if Squirrel Girl and her friends will bump into any of the Defenders, or Doctor Strange, or even Spider-Man? Aaargh.... this whole #itsallconnected thing is confusing.

Netflix

Would you look at that! Marvel's "Luke Cage" has... begun production for its 2nd season? Wowzers... Marvel is certainly firing on all cylinders, attacking on all front last week, huh? However, just like Marvel's "Jessica Jones", this report didn't arrive from Marvel, who usually posted an official announcement for a start of production. Instead, this silently came into public's attention through some keen-eyed fans who spotted the working title of "Luke Cage" being set up in Port Washington, New York. Add to that, Simone Missick's tweet about her training for the new season, and many can easily come into the same deduction.

Intriguingly, assuming this report IS true, "Luke Cage" going into production at the same time as "Jessica Jones" feels a little suspicious, eh? If I recall correctly, "Jessica Jones" showrunner Melissa Rosenberg did teased about Mike Colter's Luke's appearance in the series. So I'm secretly wishing this is the case, because his presence did wonder in the 1st season. Don't forget, Colter was cast due to his chemistry with Krysten Ritter! As for "Luke Cage", we need to remember that showrunner Cheo Hodari Coker actually wanted to do a "Heroes for Hire" show. But we all know how it turned out right? He was hired to do the solo series instead. With Scott Buck being occupied with Marvel's "The Inhumans", and the uncertainty of his Marvel's "Iron Fist" getting another season (sad to say, it's Netflix and Marvel TV's worst-reviewed show so far), could we be seeing Finn Jones' Danny Rand and Jessica Henwick's Colleen Wing entering the world of Luke Cage instead? I certainly hope so, because that would be the WISEST decision for both series. Coker would get what he have always wanted, and Marvel fans can finally see these two lead characters turning into that charming best buddies we've always seen in various other medias. Not to mention, Missick's Misty Knight can pair up with Henwick's Colleen as well. Once again, just like in the comics! To be honest, I don't have any interest to see new season for both series at this moment, but a pleasant twist like that would totally alter said plan completely... XD

Of course, that's merely a random speculation on my part. And a wishful thinking too. If the recent exclusive on MCU Exchange is also true, then well, such fantastic crossover already sounds unlikely. Which means, there goes my excitement level...

As for Marvel's "The Punisher", Tyler Bates who has done work for James Gunn's MCU movies, will be lending his hand to score the series. Possibly hinting towards a more rock and roll, or heavy metal vibe to the music. One more thing, actress Rosario Dawson had openly stated that she won't be showing in the series. Not really a surprise, because her Claire Temple never really interacted with Jon Bernthal's Frank Castle before. I think her role will specifically be taken over by Deborah Ann Woll's Karen Page this time. She did remark that she would love to be in it, but scheduling conflict somehow prevented her from doing so. Marvel's "The Punisher" is expected to premiere this Fall.

Kamen Rider Shally

Tokusatsu scooper Dukemon, posted some reports regarding the next Kamen Rider season following "Kamen Rider Ex-Aid". According to him, the rumored title will be "Kamen Rider Shally", and as previously hinted before, is a SUSHI-themed. Shally will be using the Shally Driver, and Neta Units to transform. He added that Shally will have three forms, obtained through the Neta units: Maguro, Ika, and Tamago. These are all obviously named after variants of Sushi that uses tuna, squid, and roll-egg respectively. For now, we need to consider this rumor with a huge grain of salt. But Dukemon is reliable, as many report he posted ended up becoming a fact. So I guess we'll just have to wait and see.

Persona

"Persona 5" is still taking the main attention of many Persona-fans until now, but it seems Atlus is already moving forward with new projects for the franchise. According to Gematsu, Ryu's Office, the company who worked with Atlus to register domain names, has submited several Persona-related ones on April 18th. These names include: P3D, P5AG, P5D, P5R, P5U, Persona-Dance, PQ2. Three more were submitted on April 4: Persona8, Persona9, and Persona10.

Since they have created a crossover title between "Persona 4" and "Persona 3" before in form of "Persona 4 Arena", it seems likely that one of said domain might be a continuation to said title. Perhaps, the P5U one stands for "Persona 5 Ultimax/Arena"? I hope that's the case, because the possibility of the Phantom Thieves of Heart crossing path with the Inaba Investigation Team is too good to ignore. The notion of a Persona title from 8 to 10 is also intriguing. I don't recall we have heard any rumble of a "Persona 6" just yet, but they already book the spot up to 10! That's... WOW, right? Nevertheless, if Atlus can continue building better and better game like what they have done with P5, I don't see why there can't be a "Persona 10" somewhere in the franchise's bright future...

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dorothydelgadillo · 6 years

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The Do’s and Don’ts of Doing "Work Stuff" on the Weekends

I love that feeling when Friday rolls around and the weekend is in sight.

I’m ready to unplug, relax, and recharge. Yet I know, I’ll probably wake up Saturday morning with a clear mind and motivation to finish that blog post I’ve been working on, and I’m sure I’m not alone.

Do you do work “stuff” on the weekends? Do you need to step away from work completely to recharge?

Marcus Sheridan asked a question in IMPACT Elite that really sparked an interesting conversation.

“Question for the group: Do you do "work" stuff on weekends? Personally, I find Saturday mornings are my most productive in terms of inbox zero, brainstorming, planning, etc. I'm sure there isn't a right/wrong approach to weekend work, but I am curious to see what my fellow Elite peeps do, and why it works for you.”

In just the first few days, Marcus’ question got 58 responses! So, we decided to dive in and see what people had to say.

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Finding Fluidity Between Personal and Professional Time

For a lot of people, working weekends simply means work time and personal time are more fluid.

While you may stop working mid-afternoon on a weekday to attend an event at your child’s school, you’ll work for a few hours on a Saturday morning which evens out the time you spend getting work done.

For many members of IMPACT Elite, this is exactly the case.

I’m pretty fluid with my personal vs professional time. Some weekends I find great productivity and some [week] days I’m busy with family activities. Fortunately for me, I truly enjoy my work and the company core values & structure support flexible work hours.

- Dan Moyle, CMO at Interview Valet

Absolutely. Everyone in my house sleeps to ten and I hammer starting at six. This allows me to free up time M-F to leave work for personal business without guilt.

- Daniel J. Sullivan, Executive Recruiter at J. Patrick & Associates, Inc.

Trading a little weekend time for greater flexibility during the week is a way to potentially achieve better work-life balance or harmony.

A Clear Mind and Freedom From Distractions

When you think about your workday, do you think about back-to-back meetings, an inbox full of messages waiting for your response, and barely time to have lunch?

If so, you may find the weekends to be a distraction-free time to catch up. When you’re spared the constant dinging of notifications requesting your attention, it can be much easier to be productive on something you haven’t been able to focus on during the week.

Others use the weekend to do specific types of work. For many, it’s more strategic, creative work.

“Sundays are my jam — no pressure — thoughts are flowing nothing urgent, right until my kids wake up lol”

- Brian Brady, Inbound Marketing Consultant at Bluleadz Inbound Marketing

“Saturdays are a great day to get work done as it’s a day without structure of the work week”!

- Keven Ellison, Director of Marketing at AIS

For others, it’s educational or self-improvement, such as reading a book or catching up on industry trends.

“Weekends are time for family, but I also like to reserve time for personal growth. If there are deadlines or if I’m taking off during the week, then I’ll work ahead on weekends, but it’s rare. Reading and personal growth, im a.ok with, as long as it’s not taking me away from my kiddos.”

- Angela Myrtetus, Principal Strategist at IMPACT

For many, it’s even time to do the part of their jobs they enjoy most.

“Yep. [I] was just watching the Hubcast and have listened to two other HubSpot related podcasts since I left work yesterday. On the weekend, I generally skip the to-do list and deep dive into things I want to do. For instance, I just signed up for SEMrush yesterday so I was looking at results from the initial audit this morning and mulling a plan of attack.” - Frances K Bowman, Content Marketing Strategist at TIC Gums

“I use Saturday mornings to be indulgent with my time. I allow myself to think outside the box, research and actually think about new ideas, catch-up on industry news, etc. Almost all of my good ideas come from my weekend “work” time but it doesn’t feel a lot like work!” - Jennifer Goode, CEO at Enrollment Builders

But that doesn’t mean it working works for everyone.

You May Need to Step Away from Work for the Whole Weekend

While many people find weekends to be productive work time, There are certainly who need to unplug completely to be able to fully recharge and tackle the week ahead.

“I try my absolute hardest not to work on weekends! I usually find myself working late on weekdays. In fact, I very rarely do anything but work then — so Saturdays and Sundays are for me, family, friends, and maybe some side projects. If I really need to get something done, it’s nice to not have the ping of emails or Slack, but it’s a last resort. Need the balance.”

- Ramona Sukhraj, Content Marketing Manager at IMPACT

“Weekends are for my kids and husband. Hands down. That’s exactly why I’m doing this instead of the corporate gig.”

- Casey Johnson Gromer, Founder of Casey Gromer VMO

“Saturday is my day to unplug from work. I need my Saturday morning yoga, Farmers market and whatever else I need to get done. Then on Sunday I'm ready to put a few hours in and I can really be productive. I need that Saturday recharge.”

- Suzanne Bouffard Lopez, Principal / EVP, Client Strategy & Services at DataBranding

Not a bit! Maybe it’s a cliche millennial “work balance” thing, but weekends are my time for the most important things - family, friends, volunteering, and other passions. Maybe it’s the way my brain works, but I need rest from M-F in order to bring my best on Monday morning. - Alexandria Abel, Video Producer at Weidert Group, Inc.

Marcus had a great reply to Alexandria’s comment. He said: “I don't think it's a millennial thing at all actually, Alexandria. I just think we're all different, and find flow and balance in different ways. The main thing is that we're able to find ours-- and not someone else's. Sounds like you've found yours. Have a great weekend!”

Marcus is exactly right. Find what works well for you and stick to it!

It can be tough to stick to your guns when others work differently than you. Fortunately, there are some things you can do to make sure you’re staying true to yourself while enabling others to do the same.

The Do’s and Don’ts of Working on the Weekends

IMPACT’s Chief Strategy Officer, Tom DiScipio, commented on the discussion in Elite saying:

“My first boss who was the owner of small general contracting business told me something I’ve carried with me my entire career. ‘Time off is as important as time on.’ My weekend goals are to disconnect, but like many have said here, if the creativity hits, it’s go time! At the same time I want to make sure I’m available for others on my team that leverage the weekend to get things done.”

Finding the right balance can be tough, especially when you work collaboratively.

Once you find what fits you best, it’s important to communicate with your team to set proper expectations and avoid an unnecessary source of friction with your coworkers.

Here are a few things you should do as well as a few you shouldn’t:

Do Communicate Your Preferences

Do what’s right for you while being transparent and forthcoming with your team.

While knocking out a few blog posts on a Saturday morning may work well for you, this is likely not the case for at least one of your teammates.

By letting your team know what works for you, you’ll set proper expectations and ensure no one feels like they’re leaving you in the lurch.

Do Respect Other Team Members’ Preferences

You may spend Saturdays and Sundays with your family and need to turn off your work phone to truly be present; or maybe you enjoy grabbing a cup of coffee and diving into a blog post or listening to a new podcast episode. Either way, that’s great!

Just remember, this isn’t necessarily the case for some of your coworkers - and that’s okay.

Don’t get mad or frustrated when your team works differently. If you’re flexible with them and vice versa, the team as a whole will be more productive.

That being said...

Don’t Expect an Immediate Response

Once you commit to a work pattern, you cannot expect others to work when and how you do.

If you’re sending a message on the weekend, don’t indicate that you expect an immediate response.

If someone has notifications turned off, never override that and send one anyway.

Don’t Feel Obligated to Do What Others Do

While a lot of people do “work stuff” on the weekends, it can make others, who don’t, feel pressured to follow suit.

Don’t feel obligated to bust out your laptop on those days that start with “S” just because you see others doing it.

Conversely, if you work on the weekends, you may feel pressured or even be told you’re not taking giving your brain enough of a break or spending enough time with your family. You do you!

By knowing when you’re most efficient, you can free up other time (when you wouldn’t be as productive anyway) to do things like take a mental break or spend time with someone in your life.

Do Make the Most of Your Time

Knowing what type of work you do best on weekends will make that distraction-free time even more productive and also prevent you from wasting time during the week trying to move it across the line.

Think of your work habits and use them to consciously organize your workload.

Don’t Forget to Set Boundaries

Consider this story from Peter Caputa, CEO at Databox.

“In my first startup and for the first 6 years (or so) at HubSpot, I worked weekends. I also worked from sun up to sun down for the most part on weekdays. I also commuted 2 hours each way 4 days a week in the early days of HubSpot.

My wife helped me realize that I was missing out on life. So, I pretty much stopped weekend work cold-turkey. It was an important decision. We also moved a lot closer to Cambridge 3 years back. Every time we drive towards our old house, my wife says, "I can't believe you drove almost twice this distance twice per day." I can't either.

Lately, I've been doing a bit of work on the weekends in the mornings or evenings. Not every weekend, but some. Now that I am the boss, I feel the pressure of a lot of people counting on me, so that is part of the reason. Also, I work from home a lot more now which allows me to coach my son's soccer team, help with stuff around the house and have meals with my wife and son. So, opening up the laptop to get organized or get a task done doesn't seem like I'm sacrificing time with them. Also, I have trouble not thinking about work on the weekends. So, sometimes, it's just better to jot something down so I can stop worrying about it.”

Setting boundaries is important.

Working on the weekends can be great for gaining flexibility during the week, getting some distraction-free work done, or growing personally, however, stepping away from work for a bit to recharge is important too, no matter when you do it.

Make sure to set boundaries so you don’t burnout.

Whether you're working for the weekend or getting work done on the weekend, remember to communicate with your team, be respectful of each other, set boundaries, and make the most of your time.

from Web Developers World https://www.impactbnd.com/blog/the-dos-and-donts-of-doing-work-stuff-on-the-weekends

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mimemindmine · 7 years

Text

The『Monster Hunter World』Team discuss the complex development history of the Zora Magudaros and other game features such as the Pillaging and Automatic Compounding system! (1/2)

By KBJ on November 2, 2017

Original Link:

http://dengekionline.com/elem/000/001/621/1621848/

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Capcom announced in an interview that the Playstation 4 version of Monster Hunter World will be released on January 1, 2018.

From Left to Right: Mr. Fujioka, Mr. Tokuda, and Mr. Tsujimoto

This is the latest entry into the Monster Hunter franchise and the Hunting-Action game genre. The team has constructed and given life to a new world filled with a rich diversity of terrains and ecosystems. By forcing the player to utilize all their resources, the team hopes to allow the player to personalize the hunter-gather life style.

This interview occurred at Capcom's Osaka branch during the Media Tour event. The interview participants include Mr. Tsujimoto Ryozo (the game's producer), Mr. Fujioka Kaname (the series’ Executive Director and Art Designer) and Mr.Tokuda Yuya (the game’s Director). These three will discuss the game's current development status, circumstances, and the team’s current fixation on the setting and its impact on the franchise’s mechanics[L1] .

From here on, titles will be omitted.

Domestically and internationally, the demo has been reviewing well.

– So, how is the current development?

Tsujimoto: We're at the final stage and are currently bug testing! We're hoping that there won't be any major bugs on release.

--Why have you participated in this Media tour?

We wanted to see and measure the player feedback. We didn’t really have an opportunity to do so before. So, when we saw an opportunity the Media Tour, we wanted to let people try and play our game[L2] .

(Interviewer’s aside: Later, I planned on seeing the team's workplace in Osaka. Since they were almost done with the game, my chance to see the place was shrinking. Despite their busy schedule, they still allowed me to see the place.)

At the Tokyo Gameshow, domestic players tried the Demo. How was the Feedback？

Tsujimoto: I’m really happy with the feedback— there’s been a lot of positive feedback and a wide variety of opinions. We consistently ran out of tickets, so a lot of people will have to wait till this fall to personally experience the game[L3] .

Fujioka: Because the people playing were smilingly delightfully, I was put at ease. Since a twenty minute demo isn’t enough to truly understand the game, the people who had come to the event asked us a lot questions. The range of questions had such a wide range and we couldn’t answer them all this time. Thus, we’ve been considered making time to introduce some more details.

Tsujimoto: [L3] Anyways, the reaction to character creation was especially amazing.

Tokuda: Yeah, that process confirms my belief that Japan loves to have creative options.

Tsujimoto thought we could save time when he asked, “Isn’t it fine if we only have male characters?” However, our development staff worked hard to create cute female characters and I didn’t want to propose something impossible. So, we happily published their work. (Lol)

Fujioka: A member of the character creation team told me that he was "glad for the positive feedback." There were a lot of comments that felt that the character creation was creatively liberating and whenever someone commented that it (the character creation) was great, I didn't realize it was that important to people until I had opened Pandora's [L4] box. I think that discussion was a weight off their shoulders.

Tokuda: We were able to explain the component of the battle system, but it was a surface level explanation and further explanation was delayed until the Tokyo Game Show. This time we were finally able to publicly discuss the nitty-gritty details. The members in charge of the battle system were delighted and were exclaiming, “Finally! Our turn has come!” They were quite happy to hear the feedback and they are still looking quite pleased with themselves.

The playtest received an incredibly warm reaction. And people who had played Monster Hunter and had previously lost interest were having their interest renewed. During both Tokyo Game Show and the Gamescom, the test demo was cleared; this indicated to us that the difficulty level was considered a selling point.

By the way, in the Tokyo Game Show there was 1 instance each for a single player and a multiplayer team to successfully suppress the Ratholos. There were no reports about the mission being unbalanced or disappointing, however we had about five instances where the player was forcefully retired. So, the difficulty seems just about right. (Lol)

Fujioka: In this game, outside of specific target quests, the difficulty level will fluctuate and add additional difficulty to those who seek to challenge themselves with monster suppression. However, this is something that any challenger would understand. To put it simply, the player is expected to gather information before taking the challenge head on.

Tokuda: Speaking of gathering information[L5] — At Gamescom, there was a group of people that made it their goal to suppress a Ratholos. For two consecutive days, they came to our booth. And while they had incredibly enthusiastic strategy meetings, the still started blaming each other when they failed the quest.

Everyone laughs

Tsujimoto: How incredibly human! Wonder if it’s like that outside of Japan.

Monster Hunter’s booth line at Gamecom.

Fujioka: We’ve received various frank reactions from the international community. Even at the Tokyo Game Show, there were a lot of foreign players and I’m still trying to gauge their reactions.

Tsujimoto: Our reception at the Tokyo Game Show was especially large this time. I think those who couldn’t try the demo at Gamescom gathered to try it at the Tokyo Game Show.

What did players want to know about?

[L5] Tsujimoto: I was worried about the sheer volume of their inquiries.

Fujioka: I predict that there will be a lot of questions about the environments and monsters though.

--In Japan, there’s a heavy density of people playing Monster Hunter. To the people who are only playing the main story, would you consider the campaign worthwhile?

Fujioka: When you play the same game, you countlessly revisit the same places. This time we tried to spice it up a little: there are new things to discover and the mission structure has been altered. We feel that these changes are important as it will help the player understand the game’s “world” better and allow for a more enjoyable experience.

—I was astonished by the level of detail in the tutorial screen. Can we talk more about that? [L6]

Tsujimoto: That was carefully designed. Because of the stronger hardware, the UI could demonstrate more minute details.

Fuijoka: In addition, the presentation screen is large and attention to detail is this generation's specialty. Previous screen resolutions really can't compare. So, we had to adapt to that.

The terror of the Aberrant Zorah Magdaros!?

— Before I even started playing the game, I felt that the Zorah Magadaros was going to be an issue. That feeling only grew as the story progressed.

Tokuda: Well, it was in the opening sequences, so that might be a natural reaction. Before arriving to the new area, series veterans already know what to expect. So, to create any kind of player agency, we needed something that would leave an impression. It had to be something that regular players would understand, something that could restrict player freedom, and something that would inspire players to explore and survey the land. We were hoping to create that kind of level design.

Fujioka: We wanted to inspire caution onto the players and encourage them to gradually become bolder.

Tsujimoto: Because I decided to accommodate for the player, I thought of an easily understandable narrative structure that would “lead and convince the player to want seek progress.”

—Well, that sounds like a key quest. So, are there going to be “Liberation” quests like that?

Tokuda: In this game, we made it difficult to get lost while you are trying to progress. “If you do this mission, you will progress” was something we wanted each mission to confirm. In the previous games, even if players were constantly playing, there were times where they would ask, “Why aren’t I progressing?” So, we wanted to avoid that this time.

—Stories involving ecological investigation have been done before. In fact, this franchise has already explored this theme. Admittedly, I feel that this entry dives deeper into this theme than its predecessors.

Fujioka: Upon reaching the Coral Highlands, this game’s setting makes you wonder what happened to the environment bit by bit. Before arriving to that question, the player’s interaction to the world is interrupted by the Zorah Magadaros.

—Can you tell us about the Zorah Magadaros?

Fujioka: When this monster begins its Elder Dragon Migration, the player begins the story in a party of five. As they play through the story, they will come to understand the Zorah Magadaros.

Tsujimoto: It is currently the largest monster in the series.

Fujioka: The player will understand that the monsters are environmental burdens that must be dealt with. In comparison to the daily quests, confronting the Zorah Magadaros will surely be treated as a climatic event.

Tokuda: Because of its enormous size, developing and balancing this monster has been especially difficult. (Tokuda lets out a strained expression)

Fujioka: Well, it’s a bit more complicated than that: The Monster and Environment development teams operate separately. They do their fair share of work, but because the Monsters are burdening the environment, they are occasionally forced to work together. In those situations, people have asked: "Who's in charge?"

Everyone Laughs.

Fujioka: Somewhere along the line, we formed an unusual team. While the Environment team has been asked to revise their work, the situation isn't one-sided: the Environment Team also dictates how some monsters must be designed and how their behavioral habits must be animated. In our situation, it is hard to coordinate our teams and know who's in charge.

Tokuda: As a matter of fact, throughout the game's development, modifying a monster to better fit the environment and then bug testing the new adjustment was our most time consuming, but necessary task.

Fujioka: Furthermore, if the decision to create a monster larger than the Zorah Magadaros was made, we would have a difficult problem on our hands. If we were to properly make a monster of that size, it would certainly be a monster called “The Walking Earth.”

Translator’s notes: I don’t think the information in this article is new. However, I do think it’s interesting to get an idea of the developer’s opinion on their products. At the very least, I hope someone enjoyed this article and please tell me if you noticed any translation mistake, awkward sentence, or something along those lines. I would like to try and improve as a translator/interpreter. Anyways, I hope you all have a wonderful day. I’ll get to the second half of this interview as soon as I can, but juggling between work, school, and will probably delay the second half of this article.

[L1]This part is currently inferred and interpreted

[L2]In a literal translation this is referred to a “game cycle.” In NA, the Game cycle refers to the sale and resale of games. However, that doesn’t fit the context here. According to a JPN blog, the Game Cycle can be broken down into three sections: “Action”, “Reaction”, and then “Extension.” Basically, the diagram states that “Action” or playing the game is within the player’s control. However, depending on their response or “Reaction” to the game, that may influence their desire to keep playing or “Extend” their playtime. While this is interesting, I think a localization was needed to make sure the localized flow was understandable.

Term defined from this blog post: http://rootport.hateblo.jp/entry/2015/04/03/020139

[L3]Tsujimoto implies that the Monster Hunter Tokyo Game Show demo was a ticket reservation.

[L4]Localization choice. Literally this phrased is “opened the lid” and this can refer to Urashima Taro’s opening of the box. I found that the context that this issued is similar to Pandora’s box in which one doesn’t know the possible outcome and the decision to open the box is done to sate one’s curiosity.

[L5]This section was added to transition to this comment better. A more “truthful”/literal translation would remove this transition

[L6]This section is not literally there, but the conversation flows as if it was implicitly there.

#monsterhunterworld #mhworld #Tsujimoto Ryozo #Fujioka Kaname #Tokuda Yuya #Noobtranslation #dengekionline

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