#i know that there's no film in this list directed by a women directors

[greenfiend]

The Significance of Lover’s Lake and Byler (Theory) Part 2

Sequel to this post

(Warning: mentions of sex and drugs)

Okay so first of all, if you haven’t seen my previous post on my theory involving Lovers Lake and Byler, please read it first. I go over my theory and predictions for Byler and the heart shaped lake. This is a secondary post to it, outlining some VERY interesting details involving the owner of the lakeside house, the lakeside house itself, and all the romantic and sexual elements present. I’m saving the best for last here.

Let’s start with the owner of the lakeside house.

Reefer Rick

So I recently made a silly post arguing that the most queer coded character in Stranger Things is not Mike nor Will (nor Robin, Henry, Eddie etc), and I stand by this statement. The most queer coded character is: Reefer Rick. Now, I know we never see the guy, but literally all the information we have on him is either queer coding or drug references.

Synonyms of his name are literally f*g Dick, with a shared last name with the famous tea company founder who so happens to have been a homosexual: Lipton.

We know he doesn’t have a family, thus he’s a single man who occasionally has his buddy/fellow dealer Eddie stay over. Hm, not very heterosexual of him.

Then we have his movie list.

Now, as many of us know, the movie “Fast Times” is used within Stranger Things as a way to gage if someone is attracted to women or not. We have Steve, Dustin, Lucas, and Vickie all confirmed to have enjoyed this movie… specifically for that shot at 53 minutes and 5 seconds. Sure, Reefer Rick rented the film, but why is it the only movie he rented that was returned on time? For context, he’s the only character who had films listed as “late” returns. So, he obviously enjoyed Cheech & Chong a lot more. Two guys doing drugs is more interesting to him than a sexy lady. Okay, noted.

Now, how is he perceived by the people of Hawkins?

Oooof. Okay. He’s not well liked it seems. He apparently is causing some fear and anger amongst the Hawkins residents. Kind of similar of a reaction these people would have towards an openly gay man during the 1980s.

Also I have to include @/conflictofthemind ‘s excellent point that injectable drug use and unprotected sex (specifically between two men) were both commonly associated with HIV/AIDS… a major epidemic during the 80s and a major subtextual theme within the show.

Now, where’s this guy live while outside of jail?

I don’t blame the guy for “hiding” when the town is not too fond of him. Of course he is a drug dealer so there’s that as well. But interesting they used the word “hide”, which has been associated with queerness within the show already (plus this line was said by Robin (featured in the middle of the shot!!!) who is queer herself).

(Both of these screenshots are from 1x02 interestingly enough.)

Wouldn’t it make sense for these two “hiders” to hide out in “a perfect place to hide” together? Seeking refuge in a fellow gay man’s secluded house?

I will say it’s also worth noting that he does not have any women featured on the walls within his house. Also, he has a phallic shaped bong (we’ll get back to that soon).

Phew okay so that’s Reefer Rick. Are you still with me? Hopefully I didn’t bore any of you with this. I promise you this all leads back to Byler.

So, moving on to his house.

So as @/therainscene kindly pointed out, this poster with the smiley face can be related to rave culture and ecstasy in the 1980s. So a drug reference, in a drug dealer’s house… shocker I know. But I gotta say, ecstasy is also a term often related to sex. I also have to add this little tidbit from one of our favourite directors of Stranger Things, Shawn Levy. Keep in mind, he knows what’ll happen in the next season… and he’s directing episodes after 3 and 4…

Interesting word choice, no?

So, back to the symbolism within (and near) the house.

Let’s talk about the phallic symbolism that appears in pairs in these shots. It’s a choice, isn’t it? With two males in each shot. We know the Duffers love details and foreshadowing… I doubt it’s a coincidence. Also, anyone else notice that phone in the background? Just had to mention it, since our boys are frequently associated with phones and calls.

Then, of course, I gotta bring back this shot.

The bed. Blue meets yellow. You know it! We all heard it a thousand times by now. Let’s look at what else is in the shot. A closed closet. Another reference to our boys. To the right, you’ll see a toilet paper roll. Now, if you have a brother, you might see the same thing in his room. Sure it can be used as a tissue for your nose but let’s just say there’s usually another use for it. I’ll call it “self love”. So, basically, another sexual reference.

To sum up this house: lake/water, drugs, and ecstasy/smiley face. Now, let’s go back to a scene featuring our boys with all these elements in the background.

Makes you wonder doesn’t it?

I must also point out the “Paris” poster in the background. City of love, anyone? Plus the fireworks. They’re really trying to tell us something here.

Also, @/foodiewithdahoodie pointed out how Paris specifically was one of the first places to decriminalize sodomy.

You know, I also wouldn’t rule out every aspect of Murray’s prediction here.

Shout out to the Hylers out there!

Perhaps after a lot of stressful days of fighting interdimentional demons, these boys want to wind down and de-stress in their hiding spot. I can see Reefer Rick as a fellow Nintendo player, leaving his console behind, as well as his weed, for our boys to use. I also wouldn't be surprised if Eddie left a few of his beers behind. I mean… Murray has a pretty good track record for predictions. This would also really double down on the message that Mike and Will “aren’t kids anymore.”

Also, wouldn’t it be fun to look back at Murray’s predictions and realize that they’ve all come to be?

Okay, now let’s finally get to the romance elements!

First thing I want to start with is this shot:

So… they had to show us a mailbox, didn’t they? With that name “Lipton” which as I mentioned in my previous post… is associated with Thomas Lipton who had a lover named William Love.

1 point for #lettergate

And…

“Hope Our Love Lives/Lasts And Never Dies”

WWII solders used the acronym H.O.L.L.A.N.D. to convey a love message in a letter. The whole love letters association with Mike and Will never end, do they?

2 points for #lettergate!

As for the “2121”, I think it’s possible that it’s referencing multiple things… number references are tricky like that in my opinion. But I will say that @/thestrangestthing89 brought up the fact that “2121” could be a reference to “Twin Flames” which is yet another reference to romance.

Continuing on with the romance…

Let’s return back to the scene where Reefer Rick is first mentioned. After Max mentioned him, we are cut to Steve talking about a movie.

A movie filled with action and romance, you say?

So… Doctor Zhivago.

Basically a tale of two people in love during a difficult time (Russian Revolution) being separated, with other people, then finally reunited. Not completely unlike our boys. Notice how the “adult” sign is noticeable in the background. Not kids anymore.

He mentions action, which I’m sure there will be some of as well at the famous lake.

Okay enough with the silly details, let’s stop and look at the bigger picture.

Our beloved lake. Look how gorgeous it truly is. Plus the fact that it’s a literal heart? You can’t get more “on the nose” than that.

Now, who else is known as a heart? (Tough question I know…)

This boy is, without a doubt, narratively tied to the lake. He is “the heart”… he is THE LAKE (symbolically).

Thank you to @/everaster for bringing attention to the fact that after Mike was pushed to deliver that monologue to El by Will, Max “died”, then the gates opened WIDE. One of those gates, as we know, is located within Lover’s Lake… known was “watergate” (term coined by Dustin).

So, as of now in this story… Lover’s Lake is literally broken in two. A broken heart in need of mending.

Who better to accomplish that task than the boy who has known him for a decade and loves him completely and selflessly?

💌📬❤️‍🩹

Hope you enjoyed these posts as much as I enjoyed making them! It’s honestly so much fun looking for evidence and finding such interesting stuff. Some of it may be reaching, and that’s okay because it’s all in good fun! That’s what fandoms are all about.

The level of attention to detail in this show never ceases to amaze me! There’s so much depth and clues to look for and play around with. I hope to have sparked some inspiration and creativity for some people! 💛💙💚

As always, would love to know your thoughts!

[hadesoftheladies]

FEMALE MOVIE/TV RECS (PART 1 / FANTASY)

got inspired from a recommendation post so decided to make a list of movies and shows with female-centric stories/female protagonists. since i can't post all of the genres in one post, i'll split it into multiple posts and y'all can save or add to the list as you wish. (disclaimer: i have watched most of these, but i only know about the existence of others. not every movie/show on these lists will be my recommendation. my recommendations will be beneath the list with reasons. also some of these are way better than others in terms of storytelling/performance--which is why i'll list my faves separately):

#1. FANTASY/ADVENTURE (LIVE ACTION)

Common Themes of Media In the List:

-Strong female friendships

-Romance critical (or anti-romantic centrism)

-Emphasis on female-female relationships

-Warrior girls and women

-Revenge against awful men

-Distrust of male love interests

Ones I Haven't Watched:

His Dark Materials

Everything Everywhere All At Once

Paradise Hills

Crimson Peak

Outlander

The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina

House of the Dragon

The Nevers

Cursed

NOT LISTED BUT QUALIFIES

Pan's Labyrinth

Mary Poppins

Twilight

The Craft

The BFG

PERSONAL NOTES FOR THE ONES I'VE WATCHED

The School for Good and Evil

5/10

There were many things about it that were good. The chemistry between the two leading actresses, the primacy of friendship over romance, the effects, the costume and set design, the insane cast (Charlize Theron, Cate Blanchett, Michelle Yeoh, Kerry Washington?!) and the score. Some of the performances were good, too. The pitfalls of the film had more to do with the writing and directing. Some scenes were rushed, some dialogue was embarrassingly bad, some plot points were just nonsensical and childish. The magic system was also not well executed (though I've seen worse).

It's mostly mid, but the ending is refreshing for the fairytale genre and if you like fairytale fluff, you'll probably be more willing to forgive the film's transgressions. If you can, there'll be a lot of fun left to have with it.

2. Damsel

6.5/10

More action than fantasy and with a much smaller cast. Most of the movie focuses on Millie's character. The performances in this were pretty good, though. If you like heroines getting revenge, non-cliche fantasy stories involving princesses, and dragons, this movie is right up your alley! Also the costuming is delightful! It's predictable, but it is also entertaining.

3. Willow

7/10

This show was just fun. Fantastic effects, female heroics, tomfoolery, lesbians, action, evil forces, cool costuming, lesbians, sword-play, riddle-solving, dumbass princes, sarcastic mentors, and lesbians! This show knew exactly what it was trying to be. Aside from some poor performances, my overall impressions is positive.

4. Wednesday

7/10

I personally enjoy Wednesday Addams' character wherever I see her. Having a whole show of her was just a treat. I didn't care for the typical highschool-shenanigans (like the cliques) as much, but there were many enjoyable elements in this for me. Particularly, the effects, the crime, the other female characters, and the ending. It's entertaining and pretty to look at. Also I'm always on my wenclair propaganda.

5. Shadow & Bone

6/10

I've read the Six of Crows duology and the first book of the Shadow & Bone trilogy, so for me this show was a let down. For new watchers, however, you'll find interesting female characters, cool effects, and an entertaining (though sometimes choppy) plot. Inej Ghafa is my queen forever, regardless.

6. Renegade Nell

7/10

This is puts the fantasy in revenge fantasy. I love all the actresses from Derry Girls, and Louisa Harland is still charming in this. It's basically if Gentleman Jack (same director, I think) and Tinkerbell teamed up. Or if Little Women was also Pirates of the Caribbean but instead of taking to the sea it was highway robbery! The action sequences are so fun, the villains are nuanced (particularly the villainess) the comedy isn't overbearing (like I forgot I was watching a Disney show tbh) and the silly towel boy from Ted Lasso is here! I personally had fun. I hope it's renewed.

7. Alice in Wonderland/Through the Looking Glass

7/10 (i love these so much so it's 8/10 for me)

It sucks that Depp is in this, but I can never ever forsake my girl Mia Wasikowska. I just love these movies. I love the design, the music, the costumes, the irreverence toward marriage and romance, Alice's personality and relationship with her mother, how it tackles the pathologisation of female autonomy, the performances, etc. The books are one of my favorite books of all time so there's that.

8. Maleficent

7/10

I really loved the performances in this, the metaphor for rape, the satisfying revenge. I don't mind that it was cliché. I love Maleficent movies. AND the Lana Del Ray cover for "Once Upon A Dream." Also, the first one makes me tear up every time. The mother-daughter love is just so touching to me.

9. Warrior Nun

(?/10)

I love the premise of this show and I can get behind the characters. The protagonist just annoyed me so much so often I have taken multiple breaks and can't remember the story. I am all for imperfect, asshole girl characters. But this protagonist was just whiny and careless beyond reason. And it was taking too long for her to get with the nuns. Like I was not invested enough in her running away arc. Like sis get your ass to the coven you are not that main of a character!

She took up so much screentime when literally every other character in the show was more interesting than she was.

At least there's lesbians.

10. Snow White & The Huntsman

(8/10)

What can I say? Kristen Stewart was hot in this, as was stepmother. Effects? Stellar. Direction? Stellar. Performance? Mostly stellar. Drama? Action? Magic? All there. Thoroughly entertaining. Refreshingly anti-Disney. Unfortunately there are some annoying men involved (I'm talking about the dwarves of course) but it never gets too overbearing. This is, however, the least feminist of the entire list and scores lowest on the above common themes.

[rgr-pop]

My goal for the year was to watch & log 100 movies. Shorts count, didn't matter whether I had seen them before, but they can only count once for the year. I logged 117!

First & last watched: Ken Russell's Women in Love (1969)--the reason I cared about movies so much this year, just an obvious life-changer for me--and Ken Russell's The Rainbow (1989)--Westlin's suggestion for the perfect round out. Surprised to be surprised by how good it was. Great films! Totally on the program! Questions to this day unanswered! Let's go!

Shorts (everything short of Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story) watched: 16

Favorite shorts: Nuit et Brouillard (Alain Resnais, 1956) (decided this year one of my all-time favorite films); Un Chant d'Amour (Jean Genet, 1950); Fireworks (Kenneth Anger, 1947)

Next year my shorts watching will be more programmatic

Films I watched twice in 2023: Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story (Todd Haynes, 1987) (another film I realized this year obviously belongs in my top ten--more specifically I decided finally that this is my favorite non-Texas Chain Saw film); Beau is Afraid (Ari Aster, 2023); The Nightmare Before Christmas (Henry Selick, 1993)

By decade: Before 1900: 0 1900 - 1910: 1 1910 - 1919: 1 1920 - 1929: 1 bro come ON what the FUCK 1930 - 1939: 1 im literally evil 1940 - 1949: 7 1950 - 1959: 3 1960 - 1969: 24 1970 - 1979: 14 1980 - 1989: 16 1990 - 1999: 17 2000 - 2009: 13 2010 - 2019: 9 2020 - 2023: 10

By nation/language roughly: uk/english: 6 us/english: 66 canada/english: 6 france/french: 10 italy/italian: 4 italy/france/french: 1 italy/english: 1 czechoslovakia/czech: 5 palestine/arabic: 3 soviet/russian: 2 russia/russian: 1 austria/german: 1 austria/french: 1 spain/spanish: 1 japan/japanese: 1 poland/yiddish: 1 poland/polish: 1 senegal/wolof: 1 brazil/portuguese: 1 sweden/swedish: 1 eur/farsi: 1 south africa/afrikaans: 1

numbers not adding up there but w/e

By director: Not sure if this is surprising or totally unsurprising, but in spite of my auteurial talk (and all the thematic/completionist plans I like to make), I very rarely watched more than two movies by the same director. I can't decide how I feel about this, nor do I know how to proceed this year given that my goal is to discover who my top five directors might actually be. How do you go about investigating that?

Overwhelmingly the director I watched the most was Adrian Lyne, with five films. I have a few more things to work on but I'm close to done with my shakedown/theory. Neither my favorite director nor favorite guy, I would say I probably 'enjoy' and 'personally get more out of watching' his films more than most. In second place, I watched three Kenneth Anger films--all shorts of course. I watched two films each by the following directors: Ken Russell, David Cronenberg, Stanley Kubrick, Pier Paolo Pasolini, Paul Schrader, Bernardo Bertolucci, Ti West, Todd Haynes, Michael Haneke, Jan Švankmajer (both shorts), and Billy Wilder (one of which being a war department documentary short).

I have mixed feelings about this approach (let me watch man movies if i I want to!) but a quick skim suggests I watched about 15 films directed by women (12%)--lower than expected and probably low for me typically. I always have a romance habit on the backburner so it's never hard for me to watch a lot of movies by women, but obviously my focus on revered directors I never previously wanted to spend time on has had an impact here, meaning I should make an effort with Great women directors in 2024 to keep that in check. I will also say that I specifically recall having a hard time getting my hands on things I wanted to watch by women in a few different cases, including by Great women directors (Barbara Hammer and Akerman), and especially also soviet women directors. There's an overlap here with difficulty accessing short films!

I'm not an active or thoughtful starrer, but these are the films I watched in 2023 that I've given five stars to:

Women in Love (Ken Russell, 1969) (upgraded from four after the year of appreciating it) Mandabi (Ousmane Sembène, 1968) Crash (David Cronenberg, 1996) Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story (Todd Haynes, 1987) The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (Tobe Hooper, 1974) Night and Fog (Alain Resnais, 1956) Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom (Pier Paolo Pasolini, 1975) (demoted Teorema [1968] to four stars to prevent Salo is A Perfect Film deflation) Un Chant d'Amour (Jean Genet, 1950)

Least favorite films watched in 2023: Jojo Rabbit (Taika Waititi, 2019), Barbie (Greta Gerwig, 2023), All My Good Countrymen (Vojtěch Jasný, 1968), Zahrada (Jan Švankmajer, 1968), the one streaming true crime doc I watched that I then had to log (will not repeat in 2024)

Loved/treats for me: Barry Lyndon, Crossing Delancey, Unfaithful, The Cremator, The Night Porter, Cabaret, talking to people about Funny Games and realizing I love it more than I think I do

Recommended for the romance girls as a thank you for the good romance you have recommended me: Habibi (Susan Youssef, 2011)

Most incredible movie experience of the year by miles and I can only hope 2024 has something this good to offer: House of 1000 Corpses (Rob Zombie, 2003) anniversary screening my birthweek

The otherwise defining film of 2023 for me: Hostel (Eli Roth, 2005)

Onward! Back to work! On the Terror and Violence line! The Family is out there, comfortable, in relative peace…

[odinsblog]

“Professional” white women have disrespected Angel Reese and told her to “shrink don’t shine” ever since she was in high school

“I was sleeping when she came into my bedroom at about 11:30, and she was really upset,” her mother, also Angel Reese, recalled. “Then she showed me why.”

The 17-year-old Reese had become unnerved after seeing comments about her on a social media post.

Overtime women’s basketball Instagram page had posted a video clip praising Reese on Tuesday. But that post prompted the user of the Instagram account of an opposing coach to send a direct message to the Overtime WBB page, criticizing Reese and claiming her success was because she was “genetically blessed.”

Chloe Pavlech, who curates much of the Overtime women’s basketball content, was going through the messages when she discovered the message:

“Celebrating a player (w god given height and talent) and zero humility or impulse control. As a female coach of female high school ballers, I find this behavior repulsive, unacceptable, unflattering and unnecessary. You can have swag while not acting like a punk. Highlight some other girls in the conference who aren’t as genetically gifted …”

Pavlech found a second direct message from the coach’s account in response to a different video in December celebrating Reese:

“She’s not the greatest player that’s ever come out of this area. She’s genetically blessed. And lacks any humility. Guess you haven’t watched the film of her…”

not acting like a punk. Highlight some other girls in the conference who aren’t as genetically gifted …”

Pavlech found a second direct message from the coach’s account in response to a different video in December celebrating Reese:

“She’s not the greatest player that’s ever come out of this area. She’s genetically blessed. And lacks any humility. Guess you haven’t watched the film of her…”

The area that was whited out (by Pavlech) is the coach referencing a fight that Reese was involved in during a scrimmage last season against a non-league opponent, an altercation that earned her a three-game suspension.

“Angel had to apologize in front of the student body, and she’s played this year knowing if anything else happened she’d be off the team for the year,” her mother said. “People come at her, but she plays at a college level against high school girls. When she steps on the court she doesn’t hold back. She’s going to go at you until you sit down.”

Pavlech took a screenshot of both messages from the coach and posted them on her personal Overtime Instagram page (that post, as seen above, has since been removed). Pavlech included her own message at the top of her Tuesday post: “Why do women try to tear down young girls?”

“I was shocked that an adult — especially a coach — would be talking about a young girl in that manner,” Pavlech said. “The context of those remarks was also surprising; she was DMing in response to a very positive video Overtime WBB had posted about one of the country’s most gifted young talents.”

The direct messages came from the Instagram account of Lisa Smith, who, as of Thursday morning, was listed as the head coach of Archbishop Spalding High School girls basketball team. Later Thursday, Smith’s name had been removed from the site, with athletic director Jeffrey Parsons now listed as the current head coach of the girls team.

(continue reading)

[cinemagooey]

FEMME FILM

In Celebration of Women Filmmakers

Greta Gerwig as Francis Ha!

Remember when that thing happened called the pandemic?

HAHA! Jk...of course we do. We're still living in a mad, disjointed post-pandemic world, four years later. The pandemic pummeled humanity and just about everything else - Hollywood included.

Covid re-wrote the Hollywood playbook. Theater attendance stopped cold. At-home streaming became standard entertainment practice. The last movie I went to see at the theater before the virus invaded was a little-known 2019 horror flick called The Lodge. I don't remember much about the movie, but, looking back, I feel bittersweet about the experience. How was I to know that would be my last, innocent foray before society unraveled in a such way that going to the movies would never be the same?

So what's the connection between the pandemic and female filmmakers, you might ask? Well, just when the Hollywood studios were on their covid-masked knees begging for something to save the theater experience (and their financial lives), along came:

BARBENHEIMER!

Some say it was Top Gun Maverick/Tom Cruse that saved Hollywood after the virus, but I'm sticking to my pink atomic guns that it was the daring duo of Barbie/Oppenheimer.

WHAT A SUMMER! Those two films energized the movie-going experience like no other and Hollywood was as pumped as tween on Twizzlers and RedBulls.

Nolan's Oppenheimer is epic. It is historical. It is emotional. It is long. It is a history lesson about the annihilating evil that man created and that the world can (literally) be relegated to stardust with the push of a button. Applause, applause! Kudos, Christopher Nolan! Your Academy Awards and other trophies were well deserved!

But Barbie? Greta Gerwig's Barbie is communal. It brought people together for a joyous theatrical excursion. Groups gathered at theaters all over the world, dressed in pink, creating bubble-gum colored watch parties, drunk on the female power the film reminded us we have, and sobered at the admonition that the patriarchy is very real. It was also the highest grossing film of 2023, gracing Hollywood with a 1.4 billion box office gift. Applause, applause! Kudos, Greta Gerwig! Your Academy Awar...

Oh. Wait.

The Academy Awards didn't happen for Barbie, other than best song, which is nice, but...

And them's the brakes (and I do mean brakes as well as breaks) for women in Hollywood. The good old boy network rules in LALA land just like it does everywhere else (click here to see the factual, if not depressing, data).

In this post Cinemagooey raises it's fist in solidarity to women filmmakers everywhere, those heroes of feminine empowerment who buck patriarchal odds to bring their creative vision to life and share it with the world, come hell or highwater.

Highlighted below are just some of the women filmmakers who serve as shining stars and beacons of hope for other film warriors who are following in their path:

ELAINE MAY

Elaine May and Walter Matthau in A New Leaf (1971)

Elaine May is a gift to humanity. A true genius, she's been a Broadway star, film star, playwright, screenwriter and director in her long, illustrious career. If you want to introduce yourself to her prodigious talent, I recommend starting with A New Leaf, in which she performed the Hollywood trifecta: writing, directing and starring in this hilarious black comedy. Other writing/directing credits include: The Heartbreak Kid, Mike and Nickey, Heaven Can Wait, Reds, Tootsie, The Birdcage and, famously Ishtar, the film that effectively ended her movie career (here's a little link to that fascinating story). May boasts even more directorial and writing credits, but there's too many to list here. Look her up and prepare to be amazed.

I could go on and on about Elaine May, but I'll save it for a post dedicated exclusively to her and her shining accomplishments. She was one of the early greats who painstakingly forged a path for others in the field.

Today's women filmmakers stand on May's shoulders and owe her a debt of gratitude. Cinemagooey salutes this original, one of a kind bad ass.

With Charles Grodin, directing The Heartbreak Kid

Directing A New Leaf

Schmoozing with the big boys, circa 1980s

NANCY MEYERS

Nancy Meyers is the queen of the cozy romcom. When it comes to LOL-witty love stories that make us swoon, she slays. Meyers is renowned for directing comfy, side-splitting hits such as The Parent Trap (1998), Something's Gotta Give (2003), The Holiday (2006) and It's Complicated (2009), to name a few. She also wrote or co-wrote a number of smash hit screenplays, starting with my favorite, Private Benjamin (1980) but also crafting Irreconcilable Differences (1984), Baby Boom (1987) and the Father of the Bride franchise (1991, 1995 and 2020), just to name a few.

Directing Something's Gotta Give

Meyers is not only famous for her filmmaking acumen, her loyal Instagram fans are obsessed with the houses in her movies, homes that imbue a rich, intimate, put-your-feet-up-by-the-fire-and-let's-have-some-wine kind of coastal vibe. Follow her on Insta. You won't regret it. And watch her movies. You're welcome.

Above: Father of the Bride, starring this house

And the stunning beach home in Something's Gotta Give

PENNY MARSHALL

Penny Marshall Directing Big (1989)

Penny Marshall was a staple in my household in 1976 when she starred as Laverne DeFazio on the television sitcom Laverne and Shirley, about two working class gals sharing an apartment and comedic hijinks in Milwaukee. I loved that show. My sixth grade BFF and I conspired to live just such a life after high school (but with better jobs in a warmer climate). Life can upend the best of plans, howeve - that BFF and I never became Laverne and Shirley and when the show ended, Penny Marshall moved from comedic acting to cinematic directing - lucky for us.

Marshall directed a slew of hits in the 80's and 90s: Jumpin' Jack Flash, Big, Awakenings and The Preacher's Wife. But my all-time favorite is A League of Their Own, starring Geena Davis, Rosie O'Donnell, Madonna and Tom Hanks.

A League of Their Own (1992) (turn up the volume and watch this buddy moment between Madonna and Rosie O'Donnell)

The film is a Rosie-the-Riveter-meets-the-MLB story of the The All American Girls Professional Baseball League, an organization started during WWII when it was feared that men's baseball would die off as a casualty of war. The movie recounts an age when men marched off to the trenches and women were suddenly valued for more than their domestic talents, challenging patriarchal traditions and set-in-stone cultural beliefs. It's all heart and Madonna's moving "This Used To Be My Playground" theme song, as well as the reunion of the real life women who were in the league at the end of the film, poignantly encapsulate a brief, shining moment for women in sports.

Penny Marshall died in 2018. But her cinematic legacy and comedic versatility lives on in her extraordinary films, as well as the dozens of comedic roles she inhabited on t.v. (The Odd Couple, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Frasier, Portlandia and Hocus Pocus, to name but a few). It's well worth your time to dig into her films to appreciate this one of a kind female director.

Directing Tom Hanks in Big (1988)

Awakenings, starring Robin Williams (1990). Pass the kleenex

GRETA GERWIG

With Ben Stiller in Greenburg (2010)

Before Barbie and Lady Bird - two films that placed Greta Gerwig squarely on the Hollywood writing and directing map, she was the darling of a lesser known indie-film movement called Mumblecore. This cinematic genre peaked in the mid-aughts and is best described as movies with impromptu dialogue, realistic settings and low-budget markings. This is where Gerwig got her start in movies as an actress/sometimes screenwriter.

After mumbling her way through a myriad of films, Gerwig teamed up with her (now) real-life partner, Noah Baumbaugh and co-wrote and starred in a sweet little movie called Francis Ha!.

Gerwig, dancing through the streets of Manhattan in Francis Ha!

I fell, and am still, in love with Francis Ha!, a comedy about a dreamer living in NYC whose life is derailed when she loses her roommate and best friend, as well as her position in a dance company, rendering her an unemployed, aimless nomad. Francis Ha! became an indie smash, nominated for several awards (Golden Globe, Independent Spirit, London Film Critics Circle Film Awards, to name a few), and cementing Gerwig as a force in film.

Bouyed by this success, Gerwig wrote and directed Lady Bird (2017), Little Women (2019, an adaptation from the Louise May Alcott novel) and of course Barbie (2023). I can't wait to see what Hollywood's new femme-fab director brings to the table next. If it's an original movie that resonates with millions and draws in big crowds and big bucks, like Barbie did, maybe the Academy will finally give this remarkable talent the recognition she more than deserves.

Gerwig, directing Ryan Gosling in Barbie

And there are more, but not enough...

Despite the fierce odds against them, women have been fighting to share their celluloid visions with audiences since the advent of film (the first: Alice Guy-Blanché made her first movie in 1896). Hats off to the past pioneers and present day warriors who continue to fight the good fight and inspire future femme filmmakers everywhere. I wish I could write a tribute to them all, but here are a few of the greats and one film that I recommend from each, in no particular order:

Jane Campion The Piano (1993), Sophia Coppola, Lost In Translation (2003), Kathryn Bigelow, The Hurt Locker (2008), Ava DuVernay, Selma (2014), Nora Ephron, Julie and Julia (2009), Kelly Reichardt, Certain Women (2016), Debra Granik, Winter's Bone (2010), Lana Wachowski and Lilli Wachowski, The Matrix (1999), Jennifer Kent, The Babadook (2014), Charlotte Wells, Aftersun (2022).

Kathryn Bigelow, making history as the first woman to receive the Oscar for Best Director for The Hurt Locker.

[ssa-sapphic]

Pairing: Emily Prentiss × (POC)fem!oc

Previous Chapter: part one

Summary: When the bodies of several women show up all around LA, it's Garcia who aids the team in making the shocking connection that all of the victims look exactly like one of her favorite actresses, Sloan Hudson. Upon making this discovery, the team soon realizes that this famous celebrity might just be the unsub's final target, meaning that she is now in grave danger and needs to be protected. Unfortunately for Emily, her days of being a profiler are soon put on hold when Hotch assigns her to be Sloan's personal bodyguard.

Warnings: Basically all that an episode of Criminal Minds consists of. I don't really know what to specifically list, but if you have any additions or specific triggers, please let me know

Word Count: 4.6k

“Hollywood is a place where they’ll pay you a thousand dollars for a kiss and fifty cents for your soul.” - Marilyn Monroe

“Good morning, everyone!" The talk show host introduced, directing his words to the huge camera lens a few feet away and the small audience sitting behind it. "We’re here with America’s Sweetheart, Sloan Hudson, daughter of the late world-renowned director and Academy Award-winning actor Omar Hudson, and she’s here to catch us up on how life has been treating her over the past year since her father’s passing.”

On the sofa next to him, Sloan sat with her legs crossed and a dazzling smile plastered on her face as she looked out into the crowd filled with many of her adoring fans and supporters.

“So, Ms. Hudson, first and foremost how are you doing?” He asked, politely.

With a glance at her manager, who stood backstage with a pointed look, Sloan swallowed the lump in her throat and addressed the man next to her.

“Well, Jimmy, I’ll admit things were rough the last several months after my father’s accident. Loss isn’t ever an easy thing to experience, and it was difficult picking myself up from such a dark place in my life. However, I knew the impact he left on this world would never be forgotten and in a way, it’s like he’s still a part of me. Of course, I know firsthand that life and the industry itself won’t ever be the same without him, but it’s that idea alone that has motivated me to continue in his footsteps and keep his legacy alive. He helped shape me into the woman and actress I am today and I will always be grateful and honored to share the same passion he had for acting.”

Once again, she looked over to her manager behind the scenes, who was now sending her a nod of approval, almost as if she had doubted Sloan’s capability to remember the simple words written for her on yellow note cards that morning. Did she honestly forget that reading pages and pages of scripts was part of her job?

“Yes, his death certainly shocked all of us who watched his career develop over the years but we’re glad to hear that the Hudson talent won’t be ending so soon,” Jimmy noted solemnly, allowing the audience to clap in encouragement before he moved on to his next question. “I think we’re all looking forward to seeing your career flourish just as much. Speaking of which, I hear you’ve already begun a new project that’s set to hit theaters as early as next summer. Can you tell us a bit about the film and what we can expect to see from you this time around?”

"Unfortunately, I can’t say much,” Sloan smiled apologetically, knowing she’d get in heaps of trouble for disclosing any details while production was still underway. “But I’m excited to introduce my fans to this new character I’m portraying. She’s nothing like the roles I’ve had in the past and I hope she touches their hearts just as much as she has mine. I know you’re all used to seeing me in romantic indie films and the like, but this one is going to be a real emotional and dramatic performance for me and I’m honored to be part of such a brilliant storyline. I can’t wait to see it come to life.”

“That’s amazing!" He exclaimed. "It sounds like maybe this could be your year to take home an award, what do you think?”

With a small chuckle, Sloan suddenly grew bashful as she hid her face behind her hands, while the crowd cooed and awaited her answer. Truth be told, her anxiety crept up on her like a shadow in the night from his question, but within a second, she managed to ground herself and slip her mask back on before addressing his words.

“Well, it’s like the famous painter Van Gogh once stated: I know nothing with any certainty, but the sight of the stars makes me dream. In that same aspect, I don’t know what the future holds for me or if I’ll ever take home an Oscar. All I can say is that I’ve been dreaming of it ever since I was a little girl sitting in my father's director chair, and that drives me to be the best that I can be. We’ll see if that’s good enough.”

“Ah, Miss Hudson, just as humble as ever, huh?” Jimmy smiled at her. He then turned to face the camera. “When we come back we’ll talk more with Sloan and even play a few games with her that are favorites on the show! I’m sure all of you watching at home don’t want to miss it. So, stay tuned and we’ll be back after a quick commercial break.”

On the way out of the studio, lights flashed and shouts erupted as Sloan and her security team rushed through the crowd of paparazzi, journalists, and fans. Quickly they made their way over to the limousine waiting for her in front of the building, but not before being stopped by a woman with a microphone blocking their path.

“Sloan! Is it true you’re dating your costar, Colton Davis!? Are you engaged to him?? Where is he, and why isn’t he here with you!?”

“Who said he’s not here?” A male’s voice cut in, as the dirty-blond himself emerged from the limo and threw an arm around Sloan’s waist. She had to force herself not to cringe away from his touch as his hand lingered far more downward than she’d liked. “I’m always supporting my girl from the sidelines. Isn’t that right, babe?” He turned to her, leaning down to press a kiss to her lips knowing the press would have a field day with it.

But just as his chapped lips neared her freshly glossed ones, she moved her head so that they met her cheek instead. It was an act of nonchalance executed so perfectly and ritualistically, that no one seemed to notice. They never did, and it was one of the few reasons that made having a PR boyfriend manageable. As long as they were seen out and about together, that was all that mattered. The nonexistent kisses and intimacy could happen behind closed doors and away from the public’s knowledge.

Sloan ignored the rest of the questions thrown at her and blew a kiss to her fans before entering the vehicle, where she finally let out the breath she had been holding in since pulling up to the studio just hours ago. Moments like these were when she was thankful for whoever invented tinted windows, or in her case, the acting shields that allowed her to remove her mask completely without the worry of being seen. It was there that she could let her guard down and wipe away the thick layers of makeup caked on her face consisting of nothing but fake smiles and faux happiness.

She looked over to her manager, Vera, who was currently having what looked to be a serious conversation on the phone. The older woman spared a couple of glances her way, a mixture of worry and skepticism clouding her features, but Sloan couldn’t seem to find enough energy in herself to care. It was probably a modeling gig or another interview that fell through.

Cancellations and rain checks were like the end of the world to Vera, but to her, they were the calm between each passing storm. Moments where she could finally rest and step away from the limelight to have a day or week to herself.

Outside the car, she watched Colton wrap up his goodbyes. His proud demeanor and love for himself amused her to the point where she let out a dry laugh. The people out there didn’t care about him at all, and she knew that. They were all there for her and the only reason they gave him the time of day was so they could find out more information about her life. However, he was too blinded by his new rise in fame to see that.

Deep down, she couldn’t blame him though. When her career first set off, she too enjoyed the love and attention, but over the years she soon recognized it all for what it truly was:

Misconception.

With a roll of her eyes, she sat back in the leather seat and pulled her iPod out of her bag. Within seconds, “Please, Please, Please, Let Me Get What I Want” by The Smiths flowed through the earbuds she had placed in her ears. Listening to music was her usual way of grounding herself before getting into character, and knowing she was due on set within the hour, she figured the car ride there would be her only time to do so.

The song choice was deliberate, not only because The Smiths were one of her favorite bands, but also because the lyrics resonated with her in more ways than she knew how to explain. As a celebrity, you’d think she had access to everything she ever wanted. Truthfully, however, that was far from the case. There were many things she wasn’t allowed to have, and those specific things just happened to be what her heart desired most in the world.

“Sloan,” Vera called for her attention, having hung up the phone. “Don’t think I didn’t see that kiss with Cole. If you could even call it that.” She muttered the last part. “Remember what we talked about? You need to sell this relationship to get more publicity, and that won’t happen when you’re giving him the cold shoulder right in front of the cameras.”

“I still don’t see why I need a fake relationship.” She muttered. “I mean, I’m literally in the middle of filming a new movie. Isn’t that enough to warrant publicity?”

“That’s what showbiz is all about, you can’t rely on one single project to keep you trending, you know that. Besides, your fans don’t know anything about this movie aside from the cast. There’s not much keeping their attention. This relationship, however, is the key.” Vera exclaimed. “Haven’t you checked your socials? You and Colton are the hottest new couple, everyone and their mom is shipping you two.”

“I just don’t understand why it had to be him.” She mumbled in reply, looking out the window and watching him take a few photos with fans.

“Look,” Her manager sighed. “I know you’re still upset about our talk last week, but this is for the best. What you were asking me could’ve put you at risk for so much backlash and negativity. You’d lose hundreds if not thousands of supporters and that’s not what’s going to skyrocket your career, Sloan. What the people want from you is to see your face plastered on skincare ads telling them the secret to beauty, or on movie posters for upcoming blockbuster hits. I mean, you’re America’s Sweetheart for a reason. The public loves you, just as you are now. Why change that?”

“Seriously?” Sloan asked in disbelief. “Vera, this is just the kind of thing that could tell me who my true supporters are! I don’t care about the fake fans or what people think of me. People constantly come into my life just to end up taking advantage of me or using me for their own gain anyway and I’m so tired of it. For once, I just want someone to love me for who I am, not some false image that you or anybody else is forcing me to be. Why don’t you get that?”

“Because it’s ridiculous,” Vera answered simply. “We’ve worked too hard to get you where you are in this industry, and I won’t have you throwing it all to waste over some happily ever after fantasy that isn’t necessary when people literally throw themselves at you every day.”

With a scoff, Sloan put her earbuds back in. “You know, contrary to what you may believe, having people constantly throw themselves at you or want something from you doesn’t feel as good as you think it does. It makes trusting people impossible.”

“Sloan, come on–”

“No, Vera.” She cut her off. “I’m done with this conversation. If you want me to keep acting like someone I’m not then I’ll do just that. Luckily, for you, I know how to put on a good show.”

With that, she turned the volume on her iPod up to drown out any other remarks Vera threw at her. That, and also to distract herself from the overwhelming thoughts constantly plaguing her about life and adulation. It was all becoming too much, and Sloan just wanted to remember the passion she once felt for acting again. Lately, it felt like she was putting on this never-ending show for the world and she hated it. She felt used, empty, and hopeless. If she knew pursuing her dreams would end up making her sign her life away, she would have chosen a different route. At least then she would know who she was, because nowadays she felt her true self slipping away from her with each passing day, and it was starting to take its toll.

“Agent Hotchner,” The lead detective, Owen Kim, shook his hand. “I can’t thank you and your team enough for coming all this way to help us out.”

“Of course,” Hotch replied, before turning and introducing his team. “These are Agents Rossi, Morgan, Prentiss, Jareau, and Dr. Reid. Our technical analyst Penelope Garica will also be here this evening to help assist. Where are we so far in finding Kayla Shafer?”

“Well she’s now classified as a missing person, so we have her face plastered on the news and her family has orchestrated a search party of their own.” He answered, solemnly. “We’re doing everything we can but I’m afraid we don’t have much to work on. My officers are heading down to the bus stop area in a few minutes though to see if we can find any working surveillance cameras along the route we think she would normally walk.”

“Great. I’ll have my team set up in the conference room and we’ll go from there.” Hotch spoke formally, watching Detective Kim nod and walk off before JJ slipped into his sight next.

“So, how are we going to approach this?” She asked, quietly, knowing they had to be careful with letting more details about the case reach the media with a celebrity possibly being involved.

Hotch sighed as he looked around the precinct, discreetly. “If Garcia was able to connect the pieces from being a fan of Miss Hudson, sooner or later other fans will too. Our priority right now is to work the case like normal until we hear back from her management team. Until then, I want you to call Garcia and work on putting together a list of all of Sloan’s past roles in chronological order so we have a map to base off of. Hopefully, we’ll learn who the unsub’s next targets might be.”

“Got it.” She gave him a quick nod, before stepping aside to make the call.

Once the rest of the team finished setting up, they equally dispersed in pairs to take care of the respective tasks given to them on the jet. Rossi and Reid headed over to the morgue to examine the other bodies while Prentiss and Morgan followed the LAPD officers to the diner where Kayla worked.

Immediately after walking in, they were hit with the fresh smell of burgers and fries wafting through the air as the bustling breakfast hours quickly turned into lunchtime for many customers. Waiters and waitresses scurried about, taking orders and wiping down counters left and right. Derek just managed to move away from a serving tray filled with plates of food coming his way as the family in the booth next to them got served their meals.

“Looks like we came at the worst possible time’,” He commented, removing his sunglasses and trying to look for someone in charge. Or at least, someone who wasn’t too busy enough to talk with them.

“There’s something so nostalgic about vintage diners.” Emily looked around in awe. “During my college years, I worked at one just like this so I could pay for my apartment. There was a jukebox and everything.”

Derek smirked, “And how’d that work out for you?”

“It sucked.” She dry-panned. “But it did give me a whole new level of respect for waitresses.” She added, just as a woman with ginger hair walked up to them.

“Table for two?” She asked, already picking up menus.

“Oh, no ma'am.” Emily politely declined, as she and Derek held up their badges. “We’re actually with the FBI, here to talk about Kayla Schafer. Did you happen to be working with her the night she went missing?”

“Yeah, we were on the same shift.” The girl answered, whose name tag was revealed to be Julie. “But it's like I told those other cops when they came asking this morning, I clocked out early for my hair appointment so I wasn’t here during closing hours. I don’t know if she left with anyone or not.”

“That’s okay,” Emily assured her. “We’re more interested in the hours you two worked together. Do you remember if there was anyone suspicious hanging around either without ordering anything or maybe even after paying?”

“Perhaps all they ordered was coffee, but they still stuck around for hours anyhow,” Derek added.

“I’m sorry, I don’t.” She shook her head. “As you can see, it gets pretty busy in here. Most days I’m so occupied with running back and forth between tables and the kitchen that my mind is elsewhere. I don’t focus too much on who’s ordering what, you know?”

“I understand.” Emily nodded.

“I really wish I could help, but I have to get back to work,” Julie explained, before reaching into the pocket of her apron. “Here, this was Kayla’s notepad she used to take orders. It might not be much help either but if you’re looking for odd customers maybe there’s something in it you can find. Kayla hasn’t been working here for too long and after an incident that occurred her first day, she’d often make notes about customer appearances to help her remember who ordered what.”

“Thank you.” Derek accepted the small notebook. “Can you tell us more about this incident?”

“Oh, it wasn’t anything major.” She dismissed it with a wave of her hand. “Some woman complained that her food wasn’t right and made a big fuss. Just the normal slip-up with orders. Even the most seasoned of us workers still have those days. I don’t remember it much but if she came back after that day, Kayla’s got it jotted down somewhere in that book.”

“Alright, thank you. We’ll let you get back to work.” Emily replied, nodding before she and Derek walked out into the parking lot.

“You think this has something in it?” Derek asked, flipping quickly through the pages to see quick scribbles of dates, food orders, and vague customer descriptions.

“I’m not sure,” Emily answered honestly. “We’ll let Reid take a look at it though. He’ll be able to read it faster than any of us and point out specific characteristics in the handwriting.”

After Derek agreed, the two of them entered the SUV and drove back to the precinct. Meanwhile, on the other side of town, Rossi and Reid were in the middle of examining the bodies of Jessica Dunnings, Rina Mendes, and Sofia Lombardi.

“The toxicology reports indicated that various traces of poison were found in each of the victims,” Spencer recalled, his hands gloved up as he leaned closer to Rina’s body. “Have you found out what they are yet?”

The M.E. in charge nodded, picking up his clipboard and reading the report. “We found white powdery residue in each of their nasal passageways which the lab identified as cyanide salt, so we believe they inhaled some sort of potassium cyanide prior to their deaths.”

“Most likely how our unsub abducts them,” Rossi noted, standing over the body as well. “They become dizzy, confused, and end up unconscious right there at the scene. Blitz attack.”

“Initially that was all we had discovered,” The examiner continued. “But after closer inspection, we found neurotoxins in the flesh of their hands consistent with aconite and mesaconitine as well.”

“Aconite and mesaconitine,” Spencer repeated, deep in thought as he lifted Rina’s lifeless hands to observe her palms. “The flowers each victim was holding when they were found were purple. I couldn’t get a decent look at the shape of the petals in the files but now after learning that I’m almost certain that it was Aconitum. Also known as wolfsbane.”

“You’d be correct.” He replied, handing Rossi the full report. “Each of them had signs of respiratory distress, which can happen when the neurotoxins of the plant absorb through the skin. It’s why in the crime scene photos there was no blood around the stab wounds. Cardiac arrest is what caused their deaths, the stabbing was inflicted post-mortem.”

“That doesn’t make any sense,” Rossi frowned. “How did the unsub have time to do all this at the disposal site? And what reason did they keep each girl for when there are no signs of torture or assault?”

“That’s another thing,” He went on. “When I checked for defensive wounds, I noticed that all three bodies had their nails neatly trimmed, and their hair was freshly washed. Not only that but their torsos had markings embedded in the skin from around their waist and up towards the chest region. Most likely from a corset or restraint of some sort.”

That piece of news instantly made the two agents look at each other knowingly. Perhaps their original theory of the case relating to Snow White might not be as far off as they thought.

Once the team regrouped at the station and exchanged all of the new information they discovered, by that time Garcia was able to get in contact with Sloan’s management team. Unfortunately, they only had a small window to meet with Vera, but hopefully, it would give them enough time to convince her that Sloan needed to up her security and answer some questions that they had.

To keep things hush, only Hotch, Prentiss, and Morgan went to meet with her, while JJ drove to LAX to pick up Garcia (who was bummed out she wouldn’t be meeting Sloan herself). Spencer, on the other hand, stayed back to look through Kayla’s notebook with Rossi assisting him.

“Always a first for everything,” Emily spoke up, as the three of them pulled into the Hollywood lot location where filming was currently underway. Trailers were set up in rows all around, and crew members roamed about with several large pieces of equipment and props, making it hard for them to find a parking space.

Hotch furrowed his eyebrows as he scanned the lot, “Vera said to meet her in trailer seven, does anyone see it?”

“Over there,” Derek pointed out, motioning to the right.

Hotch nodded and maneuvered the car over in that direction. Finally, after finding an open spot, the three agents stepped out into the blazing heat of Los Angeles and walked over to the trailer.

“I want you two to scope out the trailer as I talk to Vera.” Hotch directed them as they neared the entryway. “Look for any signs of fanmail lying about or over-the-top gifts. If our unsub truly is obsessed with Ms. Hudson they no doubt attempted to contact her more than once.”

“How do we know for sure it isn’t Sloan herself committing these murders?” Derek wondered aloud. “I mean, we agreed that the crime scene photos depicted to be the clean work of a female. It wouldn’t be our first celebrity unsub case like that either. Remember Jonny McHale, the comic-book artist?”

“Let me stop you right there.” A new voice cut into their conversation, making each of them turn their heads.

An older blonde woman stood behind them with her arms crossed, looking at them with a mixture of impatience and skepticism laced in her features.

“Sloan has been working endlessly on this new movie, and in between set hours and resting she has had other bookings to attend to where she’s constantly followed by fans and paparazzi. That girl wouldn’t have time to kill anybody even if she wanted to.” Vera argued, defensively. “Now, I took the time out of my busy day to talk with you agents but I will not stand here and allow you to accuse her of murder. I’m sure you’d run right to the press with it and have it be the headliner for tomorrow’s paper.”

“My apologies, Ma’am,” Derek replied. “I’m just trying to make sure all possibilities are covered.”

The woman scoffed but said nothing as she quickly opened the trailer door and ushered them in before they were seen. After closing the door, she led them to the small living space at the end of the trailer and sat down on one of the cushioned chairs motioning for Hotch to sit on the adjacent one.

“You guys have 20 minutes before the cast is dismissed for the day,” Vera sighed, as she texted away on her cell phone. “What’s this about a bunch of killings related to Sloan?”

Emily fought the urge to roll her eyes at her blatant nonchalance, as Hotch introduced everyone and started diving into the case findings with her. She and Derek, however, took that as their cue to wander around the place looking for clues.

There wasn’t much to the eye besides the luxurious furniture and interior design elements. Still, Emily’s eyes landed on what looked to be a black notebook or journal sitting on the small table in the dinette. It was bound in leather and had gold letters imprinted on the cover that spelled out “HUDSON” in cursive. Inside the journal, she saw a white envelope poking out and wondered if it was fanmail or something more personal.

Though curiosity tempted her to read it, she ultimately decided to leave it be and ask questions later, not wanting to leave a bad impression if Vera had caught her snooping. However, when she averted her gaze over to the counter across the way, what she saw next certainly piqued her interest even more. A fresh bouquet of purple flowers rested in a vase by the sink, with the gifting tag still attached to it.

At the sight, Emily walked over and picked up the tag with her glove, but unfortunately, no name was listed. It was completely blank. She was about to call out to Vera and ask if she knew who delivered them but before she could, the trailer door creaked open, and Sloan herself emerged from outside with a look of surprise.

Emily’s breath nearly caught in her throat when she locked eyes with the young actress standing just a few feet away. Instantly, she was hit with flashbacks from the night before when she was watching one of Sloan’s movies with JJ and Garcia. Yet, Emily couldn’t remember a single scene that did the girl justice in terms of her beauty and physical essence. For one thing, her eyes seemed much more warm and vibrant in person. Whatever filters and color editing were added in the film completely dimmed the natural glow radiating behind her false lashes. She could only describe them as golden pools of honey hypnotizing her in the very spot she stood. Unable to look away, all she could do was stare in a trance as Sloan studied her back with furrowed eyebrows.

Though her presence was quite alluring, Emily was soon brought back to reality by the repellent attitude in Sloan’s voice as she slammed the trailer door closed behind her.

“Who the hell are you?”

A/N: hope you liked this chapter! drop a comment and let me know your thoughts if you enjoyed :) also let me know if you want to be tagged whenever a new chapter is posted! thanks for reading <3

[dribs-and-drabbles]

GMMTV 2024 part 1

My thoughts on the trailers (from what I can remember and from some dms I shouted to @grapejuicegay two nights ago...and which I also did last year as well - that was interesting to read again!) and in order of preference/excitement about its potential:

Pluto has to be top of my list because not only WOMEN but WOMEN KISSING OTHER WOMEN. I'm a little confused on the story (like most people it seems) but I'm here for a little mystery. I just hope we don't get a repeat of 'one twin being awoken from a coma by the other twin having sex'...or maybe I do.

Of course Ploy's Yearbook is second because, again, WOMEN. But also JIMMY! And Joong and Mond! I don't even mind the 'adopted siblings' thing, because in my mind the adoption is a recent thing and they haven't grown up together (watch me be wrong). Anyway, here for the ladies not for the story.

How could I not put My Precious the Series in third spot with Nanon (and Film)?! Not only are these two adorable together but HOW has Nanon managed to look SO YOUNG here? (At 22 I know he's still young but he looks even younger). I guess the plot is a simple teenage friend group lovestory but I don't care, I'd watch Nanon in just about anything. (Ooo, and Fon [10 Yrs Ticket] is co-directing!)

Whether Peaceful Property is a bl or not I am signed the f up. This trailer was the best to be honest. It was like a refreshing slap in the face and I would have set it top if it hadn't been for The Women and Nanon. Spooky hijinks? Absolutely. Found family? I'm eating that shit up. Jan being kooky? More more! New in a more domineering role than Tay? Yes please. This was basically me:

I'm sort of 80% believing/trusting that Kidnap is a BL, not that that's the only reason I'll be seated for it. No, I'm here for Ohm. Now, I did say that about him last year in Double Savage and then I couldn't get past ep 3 (even though I had said I couldn't wait to see him in something heavy and dramatic...the intergenerational trauma was just too much for me) but I have high hopes for this one. And I'm intrigued as to why they've put such a newbie (Leng) opposite such an experienced actor (and someone SO experienced with bl series), so I'm thinking they will either use that difference in the plot, OR they know Leng is just That Good, OR he's a 'placeholder' for another actor who will be recast in the role. We'll see if I'm right. (Also, it's directed by Noom [Midnight Museum]...)

What's not to love about The Trainee? (apart from the fact that we haven't even had Cooking Crush yet so how am I supposed to get excited over another Gun/Off show?!?). We get Off and Gun again, and then there's Sea...and a possible GL side couple??? And it's not set in a school/uni!! Let's see how different it will be to ABAAB...

At first I was a little disappointed to see that GMMTV was doing a My Love Mix-Up! remake, even with Fourth and Gemini (whom I love) and Au directing (MSP and BBS), because I would have preferred to see them in something new, maybe something meatier (having seen what they could do in Moonlight Chicken), but I guess I don't mind. It will be interesting to see how Thailand approaches this story and if they can do the nuance of the exploration of sexuality as well as the original.

I'm excited for Wandee Goodday mainly to see Great again but Inn also looks good. This is an interesting pairing, and I love some of the side characters. The main reason it's not higher up the list is because I'm not a fan of boxing, but I'm definitely here for the friends-with-benefits to fake-dating shenanigans. Oh and for Golf (The Eclipse) directing.

What can I say about My Golden Blood that hasn't already been said?! Gawin in another BL! And with Joss! And Mond again! And it's about VAMPIRES! Signed and sealed. Give it to me. (Also, it's the same director as Shadow: Ark).

We Are looks cute, and it's nice to see all the couples again but the trailer didn't wow me. Having said that, it'll probably end up being my favourite or something knowing me 😂

The main thing I'm looking forward to with Only Boo! is to see Louis and Aun (and maybe the other two but I don't know them) killing it with the dancing (unfortunately there'll probably also be singing). I mean, look at this. Show me what you've got Louis!

I'm not really feeling Summer Night at all to be honest. And they used the ost for UMG at the end which threw me as well. I'll see what the real trailer looks like and decide whether to watch it then...but my hunch is I won't.

High School Frenemy had FAR too much fighting in it and I'm not sure if I'll watch this one. It seems like it should be a bl but I don't think it will be (I am fighting the urge to read up on the Korean original). BUT I might show up for these three...as well as View, Est, Mark, Mark, Prom, and AJ AND JJ (my beloveds). I'm warning the show, though, it had BETTER have a DAMN GOOD REASON why Shin won't forgive Saint. (I've just seen it's directed by Fon, so that's giving me more hope).

I'm really really hesitant about Ossan's Love Thailand and it's not because I know the original (because I don't) but mainly because I've never felt inclined to see the original because of one of the age gaps. I'm usually fine with age gaps but this one just feels icky. I wonder what they'll do with the Thai version...but it's directed by Au, so I'll probably watch it (and because it's Earth/Mix - duh), but I might not do the whole comparison with the original thing.

And lastly The Interest (Movie Trailer #2) and Enigma 2 which I doubt I will watch. The former is a movie, so I don't know if it'll get an international release, and the latter is a sequel and I haven't seen the first series...and probably won't unless someone gives me good reason to otherwise.

[its-not-a-pen]

fifth generation film recs!! it’s a longer list than i usually compile (and i’ve still got more i wish i could include), but i hope this is a good resource as you look for films to watch

THE CONTEXT

the red detachment of women (1961) - third gen

two stage sisters (1964) - third gen

the last emperor (1987) - for a sense of the international film scene these directors were entering into (also director bertolucci apparently consulted a number of fifth gen directors about the cultural revolution while making the film)

the king of masks (1996) - fourth gen

EARLY FILMS

yellow earth (1984) - zhang yimou was the cinematographer for this one! (chen kaige directed)

the black cannon incident (1985)

dislocation (1986)

the big parade (1986) - i haven’t actually watched this one yet but it’s considered an important early work

red sorghum (1987)

ju dou (1990)

life on a string (1991)

raise the red lantern (1991)

farewell my concubine (1993)

to live (1994)

not one less (1999)

the road home (1999)

LATER FILMS

the emperor and the assassin (1998)

happy times (2000)

hero (2002)

together (2002)

house of flying daggers (2004)

curse of the golden flower (2006)

the founding of a republic (2009)

a woman, a gun, and a noodle shop (2009) - an adaptation of blood simple (1984), which i would recommend you watch first

sacrifice (2010) - a reimagining of the orphan of zhao, which i recommend you’re familiar with first

coming home (2014)

legend of the demon cat (2017)

shadow (2018)

the battle at lake changjin (2021) - also haven’t gotten around to watching this one, but like i know i ought to

BONUS FILMS

code name: cugar (1989) - it’s bad

the great wall (2016) - also bad. BUT it’s got pedro pascal

hope there are some films here you like!

WOW that was fast! Thank you so much this is such a great list!

[justzawe]

Zawe Ashton, the star of new must-see period drama Mr Malcolm’s List, is the October cover

Wowee, Zawe! Miss Ashton is ripping up the Regency rule book in Hollywood’s Austen-esque Mr Malcolm’s List. Just don’t ask her about her own A-list Mr Darcy…

By Louis Wise

On a sweltering Friday night in London, The Soho Hotel is a surprising hive of big names. While the Booker Prize-winning author Howard Jacobson is in the doorway, Aquaman – aka Jason Momoa – passes around the back in a jaunty white beret. And, sitting in a corner of the restaurant, there’s Bridgerton’s Jonathan Bailey, whom Zawe Ashton waves to giddily when she walks in. ‘I do actually know Jonathan,’ says the 38-year-old actress once she’s plonked herself on the banquette next to me, ‘in case you think, “Oh! She’s bold!”’ She is wearing a black wrap dress, her hair simple and straight – all very low-key, except for the enormous ring, liberally encrusted with gems, on her wedding finger. This comes, I assume, courtesy of her equally starry fiancé – and father of her soon-to-be-born baby – actor Tom Hiddleston.

I had wondered which Ashton I’d get tonight – panicked that, what with an A-list partner, a superhero franchise job and a Broadway stint under her belt, she had been ironed out by the Tinseltown machine. But the smiley, huggy woman who has just swept across the restaurant, starting to say ‘Hiiiii!’ from a full 10 metres away, hardly seems to be some Garbo-like recluse. To be honest, the Hackney-raised star is always hard to miss. She can be monosyllabic, like Vod, her gloriously deadpan character in the cult sitcom Fresh Meat, or angsty like her ‘gallerina’ Josephina in Netflix’s Velvet Buzzsaw. Or she can be just a normal, serene, very adult adulterer, like her Emma in the recent West End and Broadway revival of Harold Pinter’s Betrayal – yes, the one where she met Hiddleston. But large-eyed, large-laughed, larger-than-life, she certainly can’t be ignored. Even less so when you consider that she is an actor-writer-director-activist – everything but the kitchen sink.

Ashton’s first ever job was on the kids’ TV show Jackanory when she was six. Since then, she has written several plays, including For All the Women Who Thought They Were Mad; she has directed short films and developed TV series; she had a phase of doing performance poetry (‘before it was cool’); and she has inevitably published her own book, Character Breakdown, which details her many travails in the showbiz industry. This summer, you’ll have spotted her in Maryland, a harrowing BBC drama by Lucy Kirkwood, exploring violence against women. And next year sees her in her biggest role to date, playing the (as yet unnamed) villain in the ultra-feminist new Marvel instalment, The Marvels. If she doesn’t always take the easy route, if she’s always fought to get her voice heard, you get the impression she generally tends to win.

‘I’ve been saying no to work that I didn’t feel was right for me, or right for the world, since I was about 12,’ she says, halfway through a dinner of fish and chips with mushy peas followed by a summery posset. This seriousness is offset by a very daffy and Tiggerish enthusiasm: ‘Excuse me,’ Ashton later says over the posset, beckoning a waiter. ‘I’m just triple-checking that I can eat the flowers on this.’ ‘Oh yes,’ replies the waiter happily – a relief for all of us, as Ashton has already scoffed them. ‘Do you see how I asked that after eating them?’ she sighs. ‘Other personality types would wait for that guy to come along first. I’m like, “Er, am I gonna die shortly?”’ It would obviously have been awful if Ashton had died, mid-interview, done in by a decorative flower garnish – but I rather think she would have relished the drama.

We’re here first and foremost to discuss Mr Malcolm’s List, which has clearly benefited from the Bridgerton effect. An adaptation of Suzanne Allain’s 2009 novel, it’s an Austen mash-up, where the two main romantic leads – Sope Dirisu’s Jeremy Malcolm and Freida Pinto’s Selina Dalton – have a Darcy-and-Lizzie-style romance, while Ashton’s character, Julia, comes across as a particularly hoity-toity post Emma Woodhouse, whose machinations and manoeuvrings end in a sweet self-reckoning. The familiarity of the tropes is offset by the casting, which, as in Bridgerton, is exhilaratingly diverse. Julia is, Ashton smiles, ‘a little Regency terroriser’. She is also, for long stretches of the movie, the baddie, as she strives to punish Jeremy for cold-shouldering her.

Is Ashton on a villain trip right now? She cocks her head. ‘I think that’s probably a phase I’ve always been in – certainly the outsider phase.’ She then tweaks her answer: ‘I’ve always played outliers, and that’s great. I think it’s where you can move the needle the most.’ Yet when pressed as to why she tends to play an outsider, or outlier, she demurs. Perhaps it’s too on the nose.

Zawedde Emma ‘Zawe’ Ashton was born in Hackney, to teachers Paul and Victoria: Paul from Britain, Victoria originally from Uganda. She is the eldest of three and her first name means ‘princess’ in Swahili. The young Zawe sounds particularly precocious, always encouraged to read and express herself; she recalls devouring Margaret Atwood’s The Robber Bride aged 11, which, she admits now, was probably far too young. (‘Is there arson? I remember there being arson.’) During her teenage years, Hackney rapidly gentrified. She does not view herself as part of that wave. ‘I remember when it happened,’ she says. ‘When lots of people who looked like they worked on The Big Breakfast descended on your postcode. They’d be knocking on people’s doors, looking through windows, asking when they were thinking of moving. We called them the Shark Fins because they all had that little shark-fin haircut – remember?’ (The capital remains her true home, although she’s light on current specifics, settling on the description: ‘I’m London-ish.’)

Her parents always supported her artistic ambitions. She signed up for acting classes at the illustrious Anna Scher Theatre in Islington and was soon working professionally alongside her school studies. But the standout family tidbit is a nugget on the internet that says her grandfather Paulo Muwanga was the president of Uganda. ‘Oh gurl, don’t go there,’ she mugs, full Drag Race-style. ‘He was actually acting president [for a few weeks]. I’m not like one of the Obama girls.’ Ashton mostly remembers him as ‘a very old, lovely grandpa’, who died when she was young. But, as a child, Ashton spent many summers in Uganda and still feels close to her heritage. ‘There’s a lot of strength in having a duality,’ she muses. ‘We’re finally seeing that more and more now as something to be celebrated. When I was younger, that wasn’t the case.’

Ashton has spoken about being ‘badly bullied’ at school when acting work gave her a profile. ‘I was this tall, skinny misfit who was unapologetic about the things I was passionate about. I had a sense of who I was and what I was into – and you’re not supposed to have that. You’re just supposed to blend in,’ she told The Daily Telegraph in 2019. The feeling of being targeted as an outsider continued when, as a young adult, she signed up for drama school in Manchester. ‘It was rough,’ she says. ‘They break you down.’ Why? ‘I think they saw my keenness, my enthusiasm…’ Her fashion sense, for starters, was ‘experimental’, she grins. ‘Carrie Bradshaw on acid. I remember, for one of the first club nights I went to in Manchester, I found this long, oversized, stripy silk dress with a massive bow on the side, and I had a huge yellow visor with another bow. Basically like I was going to Ascot in the 1980s.’ It went down ‘amazing’, she promises. ‘Sometimes I’d go to college dressed as a cheerleader.’ A pause. ‘Did I go as Snow White one time?’

She sighs. ‘I don’t know why, but sometimes they really want to wash you out.’ This continued even when she started working full-time. Right after Fresh Meat, Ashton had in mind to create a show similar to HBO’s Girls, which Lena Dunham wrote, starred in and directed, but instead she got lost in ‘developmental hell’. ‘There was just this weird resistance. And bullying. Bullying, demeaning, gaslighting… I was yelled at by one producer because I was questioning something about my own work.’ I venture cautiously that, to some, Ashton might just have been too much of a multi-hyphenate. ‘Yep,’ she says immediately. ‘We didn’t do that kind of thing here until the success of things like I May Destroy You or Fleabag.’

All this has made her extra eager to help others. During one episode of Fresh Meat, she struck up a conversation with a young bit-part actor. ‘I could see he was committed, clear-eyed about what he wanted to do,’ she says. ‘And so I gave him my number.’ Not long after, the actor texted Ashton to ask if she would write him a recommendation letter for his American visa, which she did. ‘And then, 10 years later, I turned on Bridgerton and…’ The actor was Regé-Jean Page. Ashton doesn’t take any credit for that (and she has texted him to check he’s OK with her telling the story) but she does think people should give each other a hand. ‘We don’t fuel the fire of genuine enthusiasm in the UK,’ she sighs. ‘It’s like, “Don’t get ideas above; stay calm; it’s not that good.” I appreciate that, because I’m London through and through – I love that acerbic quality and I love that edge. But it can be really damaging.’

Six years ago, Ashton moved to Margate to focus on her book, Character Breakdown, which is a play on words: a ‘character breakdown’ is the short description of a part an actor tends to get with a script – but it also means, obviously, a bit of personal disintegration. Unsurprisingly, during more than 30 years of pretending to be other people, Ashton has experienced both, as she details grimly and hilariously in the book, listing encounters with lecherous directors, callous agents, scary celebrity stylists and more. We laugh several times about how miserable she makes the industry sound. She also calls the book her ‘novel’ a lot, which I raise my eyebrows at a little sceptically. ‘Well, it’s a fictionalised memoir,’ she admits. ‘“Unconventional memoir” is what the publishing house recommended we call it.’

Margate was, she says, a conscious step back from acting, a way ‘to write myself out of the toxicity’, as she puts it. ‘I didn’t want to audition, I didn’t want to have lattes with people that went nowhere. I just thought, “I have to go and live by the sea and see what all the people who don’t act have been doing for a long time, and how they’ve been making themselves happy.” And then of course it didn’t work out, because I got bloody Velvet Buzzsaw.’ Dan Gilroy’s art-world horror satire, where Ashton’s Josephina ends up in a twisted romance with Jake Gyllenhaal’s cold-fish art critic, is exactly the kind of offbeat work Ashton wanted to do. So she went to LA to film it, published the book, and then got offered Betrayal, which came about after ‘Tom and I had done a reading together of the central scene, at a gala for Harold Pinter’s birthday’. Cut to four-or-so years later: here she is, engaged to Hiddleston and pregnant, too. But that’s pretty much the only time she’ll say his name.

Ashton and Hiddleston rarely speak publicly about their relationship, and reports suggest they got together during the play. Their first red carpet as a couple was last September, then in March this year to signal their engagement. But for the Mr Malcolm’s List premiere in June, Ashton appeared alone, visibly pregnant, and glittering in an embellished tulle dress by Sabina Bilenko. Recently, Hiddleston offered a full three words on the subject: ‘I’m very happy.’ Today, Ashton offers a few more, to the same effect. I congratulate her on her big news. ‘Thanks,’ she beams. ‘It’s wonderful.’ I’d read somewhere that she’d always wanted children. ‘I know,’ she acknowledges, grimacing. ‘I used to talk about it all the time in interviews – it was really unsuitable.’ Has she learnt the art of discretion now? ‘I’ve got to learn it,’ she says, with a groan.

Having a baby is another knotty decision in the life of an actress. ‘You’re told, “Don’t get pregnant” but also “Don’t leave it too long” because then you’re going to be an old maid. I’ve been prehistoric in this industry since I was 25,’ she says drily. ‘The mixed messaging is rough and has to be addressed.’ She hadn’t felt stressed by her biological clock ticking: ‘It was just suddenly this self-permission comes over you that goes against all that messaging.’

I ask about her red carpet announcement, but the drawbridge comes up. ‘I don’t want to talk about my personal life,’ she says, politely but firmly. ‘I didn’t feel like I had to do anything,’ she clarifies, but ‘it felt like [the pregnancy news] happened in the right way. [It is a] really, really, vital moment where we’re talking about women and their autonomy when it comes to their bodies.’ The Roe v Wade reversal had been announced just days before, and she had no desire to ‘be cute’ about it. ‘I’m not into “announcements” or “reveals”,’ she adds. ‘I’m into trying to carry the narrative as much as possible myself, rather than anyone else feeling like they have an exclusive on my body.’

At Anna Scher, Ashton says, ‘you were never allowed to use the words “fame” or “star”. They were swear words.’ She plainly approves – so she’s not a star in any way? ‘Gimme a break!’ Is she a bit like Adele, who has famously kept her privacy quite well? ‘I cannot put myself in the same privacy conversation as Adele. But…’ She pauses. ‘I think it’s like any choice. You make it and then do it as much as you can.’ I conclude by complimenting her ring. ‘Thank you,’ she smiles again. ‘And the wedding plans?’ I tease. She cringes. ‘Please don’t.’

On Broadway, Ashton pursued what she jokingly calls her ‘Zawessance – which no one asked for, by the way’, she honks. She signed with new acting reps she felt more aligned with. ‘I said, “Look: just send me the names of fledgling directors who are from under-represented backgrounds.” I felt that’s where I’d be of most use.’ And she has apparently followed that to the letter, with Maryland, The Marvels and, yes, Mr Malcolm’s List.

Growing up, Ashton loved Austen but there was always an assumption that she would never feature in those stories. ‘You just accept the status quo,’ she muses. ‘There’s this very strange acceptance that is definitely tinged with sadness.’ It’s weird, she says. ‘You don’t necessarily realise how long you’ve been locked out until you see the pendulum swing.’ There is certainly a swing now, though – and when I ask if she worries it could be a trend, she is categorical: ‘This is where Bridgerton comes in – because the language this industry understands is money.’

She recently went back to her old drama school in Manchester to address the students. ‘I can see that opportunities for so many under-represented students are suddenly there. I don’t worry about them the way I worried for myself – and that’s really lovely. Systemic racism isn’t going anywhere fast. But they can imagine themselves in huge franchises, in the new Netflix show, in the lead in West End theatres.’

Persuasion, by the way, is Ashton’s favourite Austen to read. She also adores the Emma film starring Gwyneth Paltrow, and Clueless, its ’90s Californian cousin. But ‘I’m not really a Pride and Prejudice girl’, she frowns. Not into Darcy? ‘No, too austere. People love that. I know friends who are like, “I love how emotionally unavailable you are.” I’m like, “Oh gawd!”’ Those seeking a tidbit could read in that a hint as to what she likes in Hiddleston. But it could also apply to her relationship with the acting industry, which has long been her Mr Darcy: infuriating her, misunderstanding her, undervaluing her worth. She seems to have a handle on it now, although she has said she’ll quit acting a few times. She chuckles sanguinely at this.

‘It’s the same as with marriage, isn’t it? You divorce multiple times in a long marriage: as long as you never want to do it at the same time, you’ll probably be all right.’ She’s clearly in it for the long haul.

[noodlesha]

Fair Play (2023) - Just some thoughts.

DISCLAIMER - I want to give a disclaimer as this film does deal with SA and I will be discussing it, so please feel free to skip this one if this topic isn't for you, but I will give a warning if you would still like to read.

So, a couple of days ago I watched this film which was on my ‘to watch’ list for AGES, Fair Play which was directed and written by Chloe Domont (we LOVE a female writer/director), and it was so captivating the whole way through. The way this film got me invested in a hedge fund is mind-blowing because it became so much less about what the job was and more about the character dynamics – this could’ve truly been in any setting, and I would’ve watched this. I will be discussing spoilers so if you haven’t already, PLEASE go and watch the film, if you love films that discuss a complex dynamic between men and women, I think you’ll enjoy this one.

-

I truly appreciated how the film depicted women in power, particularly within a relationship, the movie starts with a very happy couple that have become recently engaged (Emily and Luke), and they work for the same hedge fund company where they keep their relationship a secret. Something we’re shown very early on is men and their reaction toward their failures – when their manager gets fired at the beginning, we see the man destroy his office in a fit of rage, yelling that the company needs him and that it is their fault and not his. We see this foreshadowed in Luke further into the film, but we’ll discuss that later.

After their ex-manager’s explosion, there are rumours around the office that Luke got the promotion in which we see Emily’s face as she hears this, and through the audience we see how she reacts positively to this information, you know as any NORMAL human would (I’m looking at you Luke…). Emily tells Luke without a hint of malice or jealousy; she is simply happy for her significant other in this moment.

However, when Emily gets called in to drink with a colleague, she’s surprised to find her boss gives her the promotion instead of Luke. We smash cut to Emily in the car and she tells Luke that she got the promotion instead, whom facilitates a VERY different reaction to the news and is stooped but eventually congratulates her. Not without asking if their boss had touched her, of course, because obviously women just can’t get a promotion because she’s good.

It’s from then we see this couple spiral out of love and become vastly different people than they started. Emily starts to earn a lot more than Luke does, she offers to take him out to dinner, she ends up coming home late, even goes to a strip club which fully blurs the line of gender dynamics and the idea of ‘masculinity’. Her success at work is shown through Luke’s myopic view of what a man should be like, and even challenges our view of what a successful woman looks like – when success is relegated by a male perspective, can it hinder our view of a successful woman?

When another PM is fired, we see Luke beg for the job only for the position to be filled within an instant by someone else (I thought this was hilarious by the way) and Emily tells him that instead of promoting him, their boss was considering firing him. Which speaks a lot to the fact that he was doing so terribly that his boss was going to fire him, and yet he was just so sure that he deserved that promotion (typical am I right?). It’s then where Luke goes missing, only to return to do the one thing he can think of to make Emily feel as he does – embarrassed. So, he reveals their relationship in the hopes that it gets her fired (which it does not) and publicly shames her in front of important clients.

Okay so I’m going to talk about the scene in which Emily is R-worded by Luke so please skip this paragraph if need be. This scene arrives when Luke has well and truly fired from their firm, and unbeknownst to Emily’s parents they put on an engagement party not aware of the tensions between the two. In this scene, we feel Emily’s rage and her nervousness to see Luke, he has completely transformed over the film, mind you in a very realistic manner. When Emily confronts Luke, we see his true feelings towards their situation, when he argues that she offered sexual favours to their boss, and in response she smashes a bottle over his head (rightly so). It’s then that she runs away to the bathroom where he follows, and they continue to argue before they start to engage in… acts – which parallels when we first meet them in the scene at his brother’s wedding party (in that scene they face each other, however in this scene Luke controls Emily). However, Luke starts to get rough with Emily, and she tells him to stop but he doesn’t and slams her down into the sink, leaving a massive bruise on her face.

Now, I’ve never liked it when films contain an R-word scene, particularly as it feels incredibly obtrusive, and while it gives the desired reaction (discomfort), it is also viewed through a male gaze most of the time where we focus on the brutality the MAN is giving rather than how the WOMAN feels in this matter. And in this scene, it’s a shame that it doesn’t seem like the latter; I just think I’m of the majority of people who feel that these types of scenes aren’t needed and it could’ve been portrayed a lot better – I also find it interesting that people reviewing the film tend to leave out this scene, instead calling it a ‘sexy’ or ‘erotic’ thriller, which just feels very pedantic in a way.

The next scene shows Emily covering her bruise and telling her boss at the hedge fund that Luke was a crazy stalker, whom she did date but became out of control. We see then the boss doesn’t care, because Emily is worth keeping there. When she returns to her apartment, Luke is there who appears nonchalant about what happened and tells Emily that he’s staying at his brother’s. Emily, enraged by this, demands he apologises for assaulting her and attacking him until he cries and begs for forgiveness for him (she is also in this scene towering over him and he is sprawled on the floor and I guess you could argue mimics her assault in some way). As his blood is spilled on the floor, the film ends with her telling him to clean it up.

I remember watching this film and thinking that it was really odd that it showed Emily getting her period a few times, particularly at the beginning, but after seeing the whole thing, it made more sense. The idea of a period is something quite powerful, when we think of blood spilling, I think we most associate that with violence and domination, which also coincides with a period cycle. The idea that people who deal with periods, spill blood monthly but it is not deemed as powerful. So when at the climactic end of the film when Emily slashes Luke and spills his blood (and makes him clean it up, what a queen); Domont had created this connection of a woman being innately powerful.

So overall, this film was really something, I ended up enjoying a lot more than I thought I would, and while it does have some faults, it brings a very interesting topic through a very sleek and stylish manner. I would love to see what Domont does next.

[isobelleposts]

What I’ve Been Watching This Year

by Isobelle Cruz [April 13, 2023]

March has passed and I figure it’s too late to follow through with a post on the female directors I love, so instead, here’s a short list of the shows and films I’ve been watching this year in no specific order.

Beef (2023)

Directed by Lee Sung Jin

My most recent and favorite watch…lo and behold, Beef. A show about two extremely vulnerable and flawed people masking themselves through pride and borderline pettiness. Beef has it all from road rage, heist, and arson, to child abduction.

The Netflix Original starring Ali Wong and Steven Yeung features some of the most lonely characters I’ve seen on film. Danny Cho is a struggling self-proclaimed contractor that works every opportunity he’s given to keep him and his brother afloat while also standing by his promise to buy their parents a house in Los Angeles. With all of that weight at hand, Danny resorts to attempts at suicide and at the perfect time, meets Amy Lau—a woman just as lonely, struggling, and desperate at life as Danny.

But I promise you, it is not as touching as I made it out to be.

Danny and Amy take turns attacking each other after a road rage incident—pissing in Amy’s bathroom floor, vandalizing Danny’s truck, breaking into her house, fucking his brother, kidnapping her daughter—it never seems to end. … Until it does, in the middle of nowhere. The final episode of Danny and Amy in the Deserts reminded me of animals in the wild, a representation of what humans are in the grand scheme of it all. Beef is a must-watch for the hot-tempered, prideful Asians out there who are looking to see themselves on screen

Aftersun (2022)

Directed by Charlotte Wells

Aftersun was an experience. It was uneventful yet somehow spoke so much to me about the joys I’ve been holding myself back from and continue to do. I’d say that Aftersun is so well-loved because of how much it’s able to connect with its audience, despite their varying experiences in life.

It reminded me so much of a trip I had gone on with my father when I was about the same age as Sophie. It’s happened, it’s passed, and I can’t say it really made a drastic impact on my life. But it was there. It is now a memory—which is exactly what the film was. Instead of showing a major turning point in the protagonist’s life, it showed a memory, and it was enough for me to love.

Daisy Jones & the Six (2023)

Directed by James Ponsoldt, Nzingha Stewart, and Will Graham

Let me start off by saying how rich the production for Daisy Jones & the Six was, firstly through their music. I still remember when I first got my hands on the book and searched the band on Spotify, knowing very well that no results would come up, but now there they are—-with 3 million monthly listeners and 24 songs released.

Although the production and marketing went beyond my expectations, the writing seemed to lack, unable to show depth and establish the characters’ relationships with each other. The show went straight to the point, as though the writers had been scared of losing the audience’s attention by putting more focus on the little things, which I would doubt. It lacked the craziness that was found in the book. It lacked the drugs, women, fans, and the skyrocketing feel of their career that were always present in Reed’s works.

Nonetheless, these things never dragged down my rating of the show. It was interesting to finally see what Daisy and Billy’s chemistry looked like on screen and hear their lyrics come to life, which were, oh, so difficult to read on paper. Amazon Prime did its job to reach DJATS fans’ expectations and to entertain newcomers to the fictional band. — Let’s just hope Netflix does the same for Evelyn Hugo.

Suzume (2023)

Directed by Makoto Shinkai

My first anime experience in the cinema. Suzume’s soundtrack blasting from the speakers and Makoto Shinkai’s breathtaking art displayed before me brought this urge to jump through the screen. The atmosphere his art carried through the room was something I wish I could do with my own works.

Throughout the whole watch, it didn’t come to me that this was a love story between two people. There was that obvious crush Suzume had on Sōta, but it surprises me to hear a few people refer to this film as romance. It was moreover an emotional adventure, shining light on the lost souls that have made inches of the world alive.

My favorite scene, before Sōta is turned into a keystone, wherein Tokyo is shown in slow-motion with people going through their everyday lives—eating, shopping, and commuting–-while not knowing their world was on the brink of end, made me ponder of the unseen things that make life the way it is. Everything that has brought everyone to where they are.

There had been times when Suzume and Sōta would prepare to lock up a door once again and I’d think to myself, when will this end? It was as though listening to a song that would repeat the same line over and over again, but besides that, the pacing was captivating---had my eyes stuck to the screen the whole time.

Suzume is exactly what you would expect from Makoto Shinkai. Beautiful art, music, and an okay story.

Babylon (2023)

Directed by Damien Chazelle

Ask me if I’m tired of watching films set in Hollywood and I would likely say yes. But that doesn’t stop me from doing just so over and over again. It surprised me to see how negative the reviews on Babylon have been and almost allowed myself to be swayed by them, but thankfully, had chosen otherwise.

Although I do see where some of the negativity comes from.

The film has been branded as “ Chazelle’s attempt to pander to the Academy for another best pic nomination” by audiences, and as yet another film showing off the lavish and wild lives of Hollywood. Inequality, drugs, women, abuse, and everything. What’s new?

Well, I don’t really care about what’s new or what makes Babylon a poorly-made knockoff of Cinema Paradiso or Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. Chazelle was able to keep me entertained and laughing throughout its 3-hour duration, and sometimes it gets really tiring trying to make cinema a technical experience. I can proudly say (shaking as I type this) that I loved Babylon.

[rogha]

I just listened to a man list his 77 top rated films on letterboxed and counted 6 women directors and two of them were the wachowski sisters directing the one film so really out of 77 favourite films he had five “perfect” films directed by women. i think that’s the same number of films on the list as those directed by ingmar bergman and I want to yell at i him about it but honestly like. he’s at least got fairly diverse watching patterns in terms of older and non-English cinema and i dont know the maths on whether approximately six and a half percent of all films ever made were directed by women to know if that’s proportionate and if I’m mad at him or like. society.

[queen-paladin]

A PSA regarding women writers and directors

(tw: mentions of internal misogony, domestic abuse, cheating, and suicide)

I hear all this stuff on Tiktok and on Instagram. All about the phrase "Written by a woman" in regard to men and cis-hetero relationships. Praising women for creating "soft" male love interests that check all the boxes. And for their treatment of female characters. Like the "Female Rage" trend where instead of an angry woman yelling and losing their cool, we only have a woman glaring directly into the camera. They list all these books and films written and directed by women noting this. Now, let's be clear- I am 100 percent for supporting female-created and controlled works

But

Can we stop pretending women writers and directors are perfect? That there aren't women who are internally misogynistic and problematic in various ways (Do I even need to mention Rowling. I mean, she's a woman after all too!)? And that for those women who are artists, that said internal misogyny doesn't show up in their works? And that they don't romanticize things that are really messed up, wrong, or even dangerous?

Take Colleen Hoover for example. She's huge on Tiktok and you will see her books promoted everywhere. You would think if you picked up one of her books that it would involve all the Romance Written By A Woman Goodness.

BUT

So many of her books romanticize abuse, toxic relationships, and cheating with her female protagonists easily forgiving the male love interests (ex. Verity and All Your Perfects) or excusing and not taking accountability for their actions (for ex. hitting on a guy when they 100% know he has a girlfriend, calling other women "sluts" which the heroine of Maybe Someday does).

Or in Erin Morgenstern's The Night Circus where it is implied that Isobel is a bad person for being upset about her boyfriend cheating on her for the female lead and being dumped for the Side Chick?

Or take Kiera Cass's The Selection. In the first book of the series, we have a female protagonist who looks down on other women for wearing super show-offy dresses that promote their cleavage in a beauty competition (Yup! We also get slut-shaming!) While said modest, plain dressing (she dresses plain because she is "not beautiful" and "not like other girls!") heroine gets praised and called beautiful and ultimately lands the prince for this.

And I cannot tell you how many times in historical fiction and even sometimes in fantasy written by women I read a protagonist who "wasn't like other girls" who shat on women for wearing corsets, being "ladies", liking sewing and dresses, actually wanting romance, etc. And the female characters who DO that stuff sometimes even get punished and criticized for it! (ex, Enola Holmes, A Court of Thorns and Roses, A Great And Terrible Beauty, and my favorite punching bag, The Essex Serpent. Shout out to the tv adaptation to have the Proper Lady Stella's one act of agency after being cheated on and getting terminally sick...is to KILL HERSELF) Like it was a bad thing for women of that time or even women today to enjoy traditionally feminine things or to want romance. (I could also get into historic accuracy, but that's a different can of worms. Watch Karolina Zebrowska's videos for more in-depth explanations like "How men taught us to hate corsets" and "busting historic myths on women").

(There is also the whole element of other factors like racism, ageism, transphobia, and homophobia, that we could get into, but let's not make this post long)

Just because it is written or directed by a woman doesn't make it default good and perfect. Women are people. So women can be flawed and make mistakes. And women can create stories that hold up patriarchal ideas and notions and that shows up in their writing. Women can romanticize shitty men. Women can tear down other women for doing something harmless.

Listen, if you enjoy these stories that don't make you a bad, problematic person. You can definitely read them, but keep an eye out and question things. Women can create problematic elements in their stories just as much as men do and we need to watch out for them and deconstruct and question these when we see them.

Ok, thanks for coming to my Ted Talk.

[wellntruly]

For the movie ask: 13, 14, 19, & 20. Resisting the urge to brew a pot of tea and say, “All, please!”

Wishing you unexpected delights, pal!

Aww thanks!

13. What is your comfort film?

I've been giving the same answer since I was 18, and you know it's still the case that if I'm very truly depressed (how I'm interpreting this question) I would still find such comfort in the warm, absurdist, cyclical melancholy of Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead.

14. Who is your favorite director? Why?

Terrific now I get to give another recency effect answer, because I just finally watched last year's Stars At Noon ("lol"): I fucking love Claire Denis. She makes these movies where I'm like, gee I don't know Claire, are we doing this??, and she's like, yeah I'm gonna. We need more older French women making movies so troublingly horny & bold that even back in the '90s the film establishment was like, have to concede that this movie does fuck. If you aren't familiar with her start with that one, Beau Travail, about a psychosexual obsession among French Legionnaires in Djibouti.

19. What part of filmmaking do you find most interesting (ie. sound design, costuming, set design, etc)?

I! Love! Filmmaking! I am always having spirited debates with one of my friends, a dramaturg and playwright, because she greatly prioritizes what a movie is About, and sometimes that is important to me, and other times, not at all! Because I can be so carried away by just How a movie is about something. Editing and sound/score end up being very important to me, things that are doing such work to create the rhythm and mood. Like if you think about The Fall, a movie I think is just so so magical, you're going to be thinking of those gorgeous and strange visuals, production design and costume design and all that kind of art direction, but I think sooo much of the enchantment of that movie is in how it will inter-cut and layer these visuals, or suddenly just Open Up on the most incredible image, or other times flow from one to another a way that feels like you're entering a dream or water. I love editing. Editing matters so much.

20. What movies do you have on your current to-watch list?

Oh my god, according to Letterboxd my watch list is at 97 and I know that's just a fraction of it, u are going to have to be more specific..

[wrestlethethistles]

It's the final countdown best-of: top ten films of 2023! I watched over 200 movies this year, so this was pretty wrenching, but I'm happy with my choices. As in past years, the list is unranked, because I can only push myself so far.

Aftersun (2022) - I started crying in this movie's third act and I maybe haven't stopped since. I don't know if I have the words for how much this film affected me. The performances, the visuals, the raw and bleeding heart at the center of it. Just overwhelming.

The Age of Innocence (1993) - If I'd known I was going to watch a ton of Scorsese films this year and had bet on which one would make my top ten, it would not have been this. (For the record, GoodFellas, Killers of the Flower Moon, and The Irishman all made the short list when I was deciding on my ten.) I'm not even sure I knew Scorsese directed this film before this year, I'm sad to say. But The Age of Innocence immediately crawled under my skin. The longing in it is unreal. I've been thinking about this one for months.

Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves (2023) - One of two films I watched twice this year, and honestly, putting this list together made me want to watch it again. An intensely charming blend of found family, heist tropes, and D&D Easter eggs. But, I think most critically for me, while it's funny, it's also totally sincere. I don't think I was aware of how sick I was of irony in action and adventure films until I got my hands on one basically free of it. It made me cry both times. A fantastic surprise of a film.

Frances Ha (2012) - Friend breakups aren't a wildly common subject in filmmaking: not unheard-of, but certainly not something you see frequently. But Frances Ha hit me directly in the feelings in a way I was unprepared for. Your mileage may vary, since this hits a lot of beats close to, or sometimes exactly like, my own mid-20s experience. But I suspect that even without that, the movie would have moved me. Also a truly great New York City film.

Ivan's Childhood (1962) - I came into this film already a Tarkovsky fan, but unreal to see how assured and effective he was in his first feature-length film. Those crane shots!! The entire effect is poem-like. Nikolay Burlyaev is also wildly good as Ivan; hinging an entire film on a child's loss of innocence really banks on the right child actor, and Burlyaev is terrific. Full-on tragedy.

My Dinner With Andre (1981) - I said it when I first watched it and I'll say it now: How does this movie work??? It should not be good! Wallace Shawn and Andre Gregory as versions of themselves, sitting in a restaurant for just under two hours and having a conversation. Yet somehow I was never bored, and I've been turning the film over and over in my mind since I saw it. Gregory and Shawn's talents as writers are on full display, but director Louis Malle pulls a deft magic trick in that it really does feel like a movie and not a recorded play. Wild.

Oppenheimer (2023) - I fully admit this is an imperfect film (parts of it are baggy; Nolan still has no idea what to do with women; etc.). But it still makes my list. First, the cast is terrific. Obviously Cillian Murphy, whose work I've always enjoyed, but also Robert Downey, Jr., Josh Hartnett (!), David Krumholtz, even the nasty little turn from James D'Arcy as Oppenheimer's professor: so many great moments. And second, the entire Los Alamos test sequence was maybe the most indelible experience I had in a movie theater this year. Overwhelming.

RRR (2022) - It's about the cones friendship! I watched this movie with friends, and we spent the entire runtime yelling in delight about its maximalist choices, from fight scenes to dance scenes to montages. But the central relationship at the heart of the film is what really made me go feral for it. I am glad I read a bit more afterward about the context (this is a good starting place, if you're interested), most of which I didn't have going in. But on the film's own merits, it's easy to see why RRR achieved such global success.

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (2023) - Into the Spider-Verse was one of the best superhero movies of all time, so the sequel was always going to have a heavy weight to lift. But while this really does feel like half a story to the predecessor's whole one, I was blown away by the sheer visual beauty of Across the Spider-Verse. It leveled up on the creativity and artistry, but always used them to enrich the story. A gift to all of us.

Yojimbo (1961) - Wow, Kurosawa never misses, huh? Mifune is, as always, incredible. But I was also dazzled by how ably Kurosawa navigates a variety of tones. Is this movie funny? For sure. Is it melancholy? Yes. Is it bleak? That too. From the score to the camerawork, everything about Yojimbo works beautifully.

HONORABLE MENTION:

I did my 2022 list, it turns out, slightly too early. I watched The Banshees of Inisherin (2022) on Dec. 30 last year, and it absolutely would have made the top ten if I hadn't already published it. So it gets a special shout-out here instead.

[larrytimelines]

Olivia's speech for ELLE Women in Hollywood - Oct 17 2022

Olivia Wilde would be the first to say her journey to becoming one of Hollywood’s leading actresses and female directors has been far different from any man’s. The Women in Hollywood nominee spoke at ELLE’s Getty Center celebration about just that: “the burning hellfire of the misogyny that defines this business.”

Her remarks came after Don't Worry Darling co-star Kate Berlant introduced her, noting how Wilde’s filmmaking style stands out in what is still a very male-dominated industry. “We need more voices like Olivia Wilde’s in Hollywood,” Berlant said. “She’s an artist and a visionary. And the women in her movies actually drive the action. They’re not just window dressing for men’s desires.”

Although Wilde only playfully alluded to the drama surrounding her film, she nevertheless used it as a jumping-off point, joking, “You are not a woman in Hollywood until you’ve begged to be placed into a medically induced coma until your press tour is finished.”

Read Wilde’s full speech below:

"Wow. I’ve learned so much from all of you tonight—mostly that there are apparently other covers with other women on them. Which is a real curveball. I was so honored and, frankly, shocked that you all showed up for my cover party, but this makes more sense. It tracks; it’s fine.

I’ve known some of you for a really, really long time, I believe it’s been 20 minutes. Some of you I could’ve even met when I was a casting assistant; I was the one who over-served you coffee for three hours and then told you we had no bathroom or parking validation. Sorry about that. You were great; we just went another direction. So, for those of you I’ve known forever, hi again. Still me. For those of you I haven’t met yet, it’s a pleasure. I am Olivia, member of the Sigourney sisterhood. I was an actress who started producing and then finally got the courage to start directing, and I wouldn’t have started any of it at all if I knew Twitter would be invented. But here I am. It’s a real thrill to have what is undeniably the greatest job on the planet.

I’m here tonight because the wonderful Nina Garcia did me the honor of adding me to a truly extraordinary list of women who have not only inspired me forever—forever—but who forged the very shape of this industry through their hard work, bold choices, and resilience. I am gobsmacked by this moment. I am deeply grateful for the support that it represents. These opportunities like tonight, to gather as women, are crucial. They’re extremely impactful. They offer us a chance to look into each other’s eyes and say, ‘Keep going.’ Because, let’s face it, it’s not always easy to keep going. In fact, sometimes it’s tempting to excuse ourselves from the burning hellfire of the misogyny that defines this business and say, ‘Good night, good luck, I’d rather eat glass for a living.’

But we won’t let each other give up. Recently, I’ve had several opportunities to personally experience this power of encouragement from other women in this business. It often takes the form of a tight grip of your shoulders and an intense stare into your eyes and a defiant ‘Do not let them fuck with you.’ And it’s always really tempting to reply, ‘Well, if I didn’t know things were bad before, I do now.’ Just kidding; it’s always very much appreciated.

But, you know, these moments are profound. Because they’re maybe our most honest acknowledgement of a constant battle we are all fighting, in which we are allies. Relying on each other not to fall back and stop advancing because we are up against a seriously massive force of opposition that has, for centuries, tried to rein us in. If one of us steps back, we all step back.

So, no matter how much the patriarchy relies on us to cut each other down in order to weaken our collective power, we have to resist the urge to play by their self-serving rules. Remind the world and specifically our daughters that we aren’t so easily manipulated. So this evening, here tonight, thanks to Nina and to everyone at ELLE, this is one of those moments. I feel energized by you all, and I feel motivated to keep fighting through the hellfire. In some ways, the challenges are all a part of it, right? Real badges of honor, par for the course. Let’s face it: You are not a woman in Hollywood until you’ve begged to be placed into a medically induced coma until your press tour is finished. Until then, you are just a woman residing in or around the Hollywood area.

I love my life. I love my job. What more could I ask for except to be the only cover, but that’s another conversation I’ll have with Nina privately. Thank you so much. I’m deeply honored.

-Full speech transcript, Oct 17 2022. Link

Watch it here