#if i had a cent for every character like this in hero maker... i would have two cents

[heromaker-if]

wizard men being absolutely madmen that possibly committed war crimes and are always one event from fully going batshit crazy

that's it. that's the post.

[salmankhanholics]

★ Salman Khan claims he's confident about Bharat: My stardom will fade away but that hasn't started yet!

Jun 04, 2019  It has been 31 years and counting. Salman Khan remains on top of the Bollywood game and at the peak of his stardom. As the critics and opinion makers try to unravel the mystery of his ever increasing popularity, the actor wears it light and appears baffled himself. Excerpts from his interview:

How difficult it is for a superstar like you to maintain his stardom?

It will fade away. It's a huge task to keep it going for such a long time. After a point, every superstar’s film does not perform as well and their collection comes down to 8-10 per cent. That will toh happen with me as well but I don’t think it has started yet (smiles).

But you still give the younger brigade of actors a run for their money whenever you appear on the silver screen.

I still don’t know what fans see in me. The kind of films I do are like those I have grown up watching. I used to react to those films the same way my fans react to my films. When my film plays on screens and fans enjoy, I feel I am watching with them and that I am watching what I would want to see myself.

Recently, Akshay Kumar said that he will be able to do action films maybe till he is 56-57 years of age. What about you?

Not too long I guess, another 30-35 years max (Grins).

Bharat will hit the screens in a few days. What is your feeling about the film?

The trailer and songs are good. It has a huge canvas. It’s been shot really well. Action, thrill, comedy, romance and all that stuff is there. But the main reason why this film was done is its plot. Here, a nine-year-old boy has been given the responsibility to take care of his mother and three siblings. There is a father, who promises to return. From the age of nine till 72, he has done everything to see that everyone stays together and his siblings get married and settle down. His journey shows it all.

It is being said that the character reflects your personality. You too have always supported your family and friends.

(Smiles) Actually, it is just the opposite. They always support me. I need the support.

Is Bharat your best film ever?

Every film is my best film.

Are you nervous?

If two-three films don’t do well, I may get nervous. So far, it’s been good. It was said that Race 3 did not do well, but it did Rs 170+ crores.

Heard that you narrated the story of Bharat to Sooraj Barjatya first?

Yes, I had narrated this subject to Sooraj Barjatya, and he made an amazing suggestion for the love story. I told Ali (Abbas Zafar, director) that he (Bharat) should not get married to her (Katrina Kaif’s Kumud). It just deviates everything. If he has his own family then what about his mother and siblings? Also, what about his focus on his father?

Which is your favourite Bharat look?

The character of the older one is awesome. He has humour, anger and swag.

Do you think your fans will accept it?

I have always been told that a hero has to have long hair. Whenever an actor’s hairline recedes, his career takes a backseat. In Tere Naam, I took my hair off and that look was accepted.

Ali says that you are a versatile and phenomenal actor but people do not look at you that way because you do not talk seriously or intellectualise your acting skills like others, who say, "I isolated myself.." or "I didn’t sleep for two days to prep for the role"

(Cuts in) But as it is I don’t sleep much, I sleep for just two to three hours and it is not because I work hard on my characters in the night. I paint, I write and I watch TV. I have this habit when I watch TV — if something is already going on it, I don’t change the channel. I get upset when somebody comes and changes the channel. Even if it is the Tata Sky homepage, I keep watching it. Then somebody comes and changes it. If cricket is going on, I watch it though I don’t understand much. If some South channel is on, like Raj TV, I watch it. The most dangerous thing nowadays is web shows. I finish four-four seasons in one go.

Which one are you watching these days?

I was watching Game Of Thrones but I stopped. I watched till the fourth season. Then there was a break, so I couldn’t see the whole thing. Then I watched Vikings. It’s outstanding. I finished Taboo. Then there was a show called Arrow. I like watching period stuff. I watched Peaky Blinders. Now I want to watch Money Heist. There are three-four more web shows that I would like to watch.

Do you take suggestions from your family?

Yeah, from my sisters! The day before yesterday, I heard the climax of Game Of Thrones from my sisters. They told me who killed whom and all of that.

You are producing something for the web space, right?

Yes, there is something in the pipeline. We are also producing a lot of content for television like The Kapil Sharma Show and Nach Baliye (Season 9).

Will you feature in any of the web shows you are producing?

No. But our Indian sensibilities are different, so we need to make web content keeping that in mind. I started TV because a lot of friends — with whom we cannot work in films — are big names on television. I started TV because of that, not to make money. We started to give more and more employment to directors, producers and actors.

Have you watched the Baahubali movies?

I watched Baahubali: The Beginning but could not watch Baahubali 2: The Conclusion. So I don’t know who killed Katappa (laughs). By the way, I won’t mind if you give me spoilers. Even if you tell me the whole story, I will still watch it.

How did Katrina take your comment about her winning the National Award for her performance in Bharat?

She thinks I am joking about it. She told me, "You have been saying National Award and everybody thinks it is a joke, and that I may not get it." I told her I was serious about it. But she says the way I have been saying it, people might think I am joking. I really think she truly deserves the National Award for Bharat.

Do you think Katrina was the right choice for Bharat, and not Priyanka Chopra?

Priyanka was very keen to do this film. Initially, Ali and we thought that it was Katrina Kaif's film. But she had just done Tiger Zinda Hai with me. Straight after Tiger Zinda Hai, doing another film with me did not make sense. Moreover, Ali said it was the role of a Hindustani girl. I said, ‘It’s strange. Katrina is your friend. You have worked with her on multiple projects.' I asked him if Katrina herself did not have the confidence to pull off a Hindustani role. I mean, she has been living in India for the last 20 years. I told him, ‘Don’t be ridiculous. She has done so many films like Raajneeti, Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani. Just because she has recently done films like Bang Bang, she won’t be able to play an Indian?’ It was ridiculous!

But then Ali said Priyanka had called him up and wanted to do this role. Priyanka and my sister, Arpita, are good friends. After that, the 'Nick story’ happened. She chose to get married, which is a very bold, brave and amazing step to take. She did what she wanted and Katrina got what she deserved.

Your films are panned by critics but loved by audiences. What do you have to say about critics and movie reviews?

These are the negative people. What to expect from them? It does not matter to me what they will say about me and my film. At times, they will give my film five stars, the other time minus five. They don’t understand anything. Even if their reviews affect 10-15 percent of the audience and people don’t go to watch it, that 10-15 percent less income makes a lot of difference to the poor producer. Films are not cheap to make. Films are not made in Rs 1 crore today. My film, Maine Pyar Kiya, was made with the budget of Rs 1.11 and it was the highest budgeted film at that point of time. The scenario is not the same anymore. Today, even the smallest film is made with Rs 25-30 crores. So you need to recover that money. Write reviews, but don’t be irresponsible. Don’t make fun of somebody’s work. Let the audience go and watch it. It may not make any difference in my life, but there are people who get affected by it.

When are you starting Inshallah?

Inshallah, Inshallah will start soon.

[shannaraisles]

In Marcher Fields - Chapter 16

Poppy Hawke was never the daughter her mother wanted, the sister her twin preferred, the hero Kirkwall desired. They do not see the woman who stands between them and the chaos that threatens. No one takes the time to look, until she crosses the path of a certain Knight-Captain with demons of his own to battle …

[Read on AO3]

9:41 Dragon, Late Kingsway

"Head's up, Curly, little Hawke's on a mission."

Cullen looked up from his desk, raising a brow at Varric's unusual greeting. Little Hawke ... damn, that brother of hers. He sighed, leaning his weight onto one hand against the cluttered surface in front of him.

"Why didn't you tell me you knew where she was?"

Varric actually seemed surprised by the question. And why shouldn't he be? The frustrated lover would have cornered him within a day of knowing he had sent word to Poppy of their predicament. The concerned commander should have demanded answers shortly after she'd arrived. But this man, this version of Cullen Rutherford, seemed entirely new to him, an unsuspected weariness and pain that had taken weeks to come to light. The dwarf shrugged.

"She asked me not to," he said simply. "Hawke's my friend. Before all this, you were just a suit of armor she stuck to when she needed you. After that changed, well ... it didn't seem right to open old wounds."

Cullen sighed, nodding slowly. "Thank you." He tapped his fingers on the desk. "I don't agree, but I appreciate your reasoning. Where is she now?"

Varric looked awkward for a moment. "Went straight on to the Approach with the Warden," he said swiftly. "Alex is picking up supplies here before he heads out to meet them ahead of Xena."

"She didn't come back with him?"

Cullen felt that like an icy pick in his heart. Was she avoiding him? Was his presence so abhorrent to her now that even being in the same fortress was a torture she could not tolerate? Was he the greatest mistake of her lifetime, a mistake she could not even pretend to be friendly with?

"You know Poppy," Varric was saying. "Duty first, even if it hurts. Kind of like you these days."

The knowing look in the dwarf's eyes was deeply irritating, urging a scowl to make itself known on Cullen's face. He straightened, raising a hand to point at the rogue.

"Don't even think about it, dwarf," he warned. "I do not need your input into my personal life."

"Yeah, you need it about as much as Bianca needs a sheath," was Varric's response, rolling his eyes at the scolding tone. "Look, the Seeker's right. Inquisition needs Hawke - not as a leader, but she's a force in the world whether she likes it or not. I'm thinking you need to sort out what the problem is here."

"There is no problem," Cullen said from between gritted teeth. The last thing he needed was to be lectured by a storyteller who had woven the tragedy of Poppy's life in Kirkwall into a bestselling novel that had lined his own pockets with pure gold. She was so much more than the hero described in those pages, that two-dimensional parody of the woman he loved and who now no longer wanted to be near him.

"She hurts. She thinks and remembers and it hurts so much to think that memory will never be repeated for her. Elderflower and oakmoss, leather and metal, the rough tug of curls through her fingers; peace and safety in his arms, a place to be herself and no one else, the warmth of being loved for no other reason. He doesn't want me here. He's moved on and I am all alone."

Cullen frowned, dragging his eyes from Varric to stare at Cole. The boy wasn't supposed to come into his office - he'd already spoken to Xena about making sure the boy stayed out. There was too much in his heart and mind that he did not want spoken aloud. But ... that hadn't been his heart or mind, had it? Was Cole reading Poppy for him, even from so far away?

"She never said goodbye," the boy said quietly. "She never stopped loving."

"She -" Cullen stopped himself. No, she never did say goodbye, did she? His heart flared with an old familiar pain, the pain of her absence all the more acute because she could have been here if she had wished it. He shook his head, clearing his throat. "Thank you, Cole. But ... no more, please."

"I want to help," Cole murmured, wandering over to stand near Varric. "Why won't they let me help?"

Varric smiled ruefully. "Some things people have to work out for themselves, kid," he told the spirit-boy. "Let it go, all right? This isn't something you can fix."

"He worries and frets and never lets her see it," the boy said then. "Years and years of watching and worrying. He wants to fix it, too."

"Then maybe he should be allowed to try," Varric told him gently, seeming to understand who Cole was talking about. "We probably shouldn't be here when he does."

"He's here."

Cullen looked up sharply. He'd been trying to ignore their presence, but that had a slightly ominous feel to it. Cole's eyes had turned toward the southern door of the office ... Which opened to admit Alex Hawke, stern-faced and pinched from the cold of the mountain air.

"Interrupting, am I?" Poppy's twin asked diffidently.

I really need to keep some of these doors locked, Cullen grumbled in the privacy of his own mind, straightening from his lean as Varric grinned and ambled out through a different door with Cole in tow, leaving him to the tender mercies of his former lover's brother. The brother who had scarred his face just for thinking about loving her, and never truly approved of the liaison in the first place. Not to mention the brother who had torn her apart in more ways than one over the years, in not tracking her down sooner, in reveling in their mother's limited affection, in blaming her for the deaths of their family. No, there was far more to dislike about Alex Hawke than could ever be negated by his few finer points.

"Apparently not," he said, rather proud of himself for not instantly moving from irritated to angry just at the sight of the man. "What do you want, Hawke?"

"Actually, I want you," Alex informed him, moving toward the desk. "Specifically, to stop being a bloody gentleman and shag Poppy until she's happy again. Think you can manage that?"

Cullen actually felt his mouth drop open. "Excuse me?"

"Right, now I have your attention ..."

Alex drew himself up, broad shoulders tense for a moment, and Cullen braced himself for the punch he was pretty sure was coming. But Alex let out a low sigh, and his expression changed. The stern arrogance faded, leaving behind the face of a man who had seen and experienced too much, who could not change the course of the world for so many millions of strangers, but could change it for the one person in this world he loved above all others.

"She loves you," he said simply, holding up a hand as Cullen's mouth opened to object. "No, just ... just listen. She tore herself apart, leaving Kirkwall. She cried every night for two months. She says your name in her sleep. When we ran, she stopped living. In the last two weeks, I have seen my sister again for the first time in four years - I've seen her laugh, I've seen her close to tears, I've seen her connecting with people the way she used to. Now you could say it's because of Varric, but that's not the truth. She's never been without Varric, not really. Letters are enough to keep a person alive in your heart and mind. Poppy's alive again because of you, and if you don't pull your head out of your arse and convince her she's what you want, I really will break your head."

"If she -"

Again, Alex's hand rose to cut him off. "She's not here right now because one of us had to go with Alistair, and I wanted to be the one who stopped in Skyhold," he said firmly. "Because I wanted to have this conversation with you. We've never liked each other, and I doubt we're going to start now. She needs you, Cullen."

"She never lost me." It took a moment to realize he had said that aloud. Cullen shook his head wearily. "I don't know how to set aside four years of distance, Alex. I want to ... Maker's breath, I never want to be apart from her again. But we have both changed in that time, grown, altered. How can you be so sure that she would thrive if I were back in her life?"

"Because you love her."

That was it. That was the entirety of Alex Hawke's argument. No waxing poetic about what Cullen could bring to his sister's life, or what she could bring to his. Just the truth as he saw it, plain and simple. A truth that was, amazingly, absolutely spot on without needing any fabricated detail.

Cullen sighed, wishing he had a solid chair in his office. He was feeling the definite need to sit down, the complexities of the situation weighing heavily on him.

"I do," he admitted quietly. "I never stopped loving her. But why would you tell me this?"

The silence in the tower seemed to grow oppressive as Alex glanced away.

"The world is changing," he said eventually. "We came out of Kirkwall without close loss, after losing so much while we were there. By rights, one of us should have died in that fight at the Gallows, but neither one of us did. But this fight that's looming ... it feels final. Poppy's given everything, time and time again, for complete strangers, people who only know her as a symbol or a character in a book. And the world needs her. But if she's going to keep going, she needs someone who will love her, care for her, be her calm in the storm. The time is coming when she'll have to make a decision, and I do not intend to let her make it. I need to know you'll be there to hold her together and get her through, because I don't think I'll be walking away from that decision."

Cullen held his gaze for a long moment. He couldn't argue, not really. He, too, could feel the tug of events, recognize that they were walking a very dark path. He knew as well as Alex did that friends would be lost along the way. The thought of Poppy becoming a casualty of this conflict, when she had survived so long and endured so much ... it was a physical pain that throbbed at the center of his being. The thought of her having to endure the loss of her brother without someone to be her shelter from the storm stung. He had been that shelter, more than once. He knew her at her most vulnerable, at her most hurt. He knew her. And despite all the worries in his mind, the doubts and insecurities, he knew she still loved him, just as he still loved her.

Alex was right - the world needed Poppy Hawke. Cullen needed Poppy Hawke. But Poppy Hawke needed to be loved, cared for, looked after. She needed someone who loved Poppy above all else. And just maybe that someone was him.

"Don't throw your life away," he said quietly, almost smiling at the shocked glance Alex shot his way. "We may never be friends, Alex, but Poppy loves you. Losing you would tear her apart."

"But you can put her back together again," Alex pointed out. "You've done it before. I've seen it, don't forget. I need your promise, Cullen. I need to know you're going to close the rift between the two of you sooner rather than later."

"I can't make any promises on her behalf." Cullen sighed, tilting his head back for just a moment before returning his gaze to Alex. "If she'll have me, I will never leave her side again."

Alex considered him for what seemed a long time, slowly nodding in solemn agreement. He held out his hand, which Cullen took with a relieved nod of his own.

"The usual conditions apply," Alex commented. "Pain and anguish if you hurt her, all that nonsense."

"Noted."

Alex pulled back, still nodding absently before he pulled himself together. "Right. Well ... things to do."

He left by the door he had entered through, letting it fall back more quietly than it often did, leaving Cullen with his thoughts.

Poppy.

She wasn't avoiding him. She would have been here if Alex had not insisted on it being otherwise. She was walking into danger yet again for the benefit of thousands who would never know her for the woman she was. The good woman who tore herself apart in a dozen small ways just to make the world a better place. The woman who had found her way into his heart and stitched herself there so tightly not even he knew where he began and she ended. He couldn't deny it now, even if he had wanted to. Cole had confirmed it; Alex was certain. Poppy still loved him. Poppy still needed him.

And this time, he wasn't going to let anything get in the way.

[hottytoddynews]

Delta Magazine has compiled a list of influencers — the history makers, the tastemakers and the movers and shakers out in the world as we know it shaping the way we think, what we see and what we talk about collectively as a nation. Take note: the breadth of these influences and the everlasting effects will blow your mind.

By Melissa Townsend, Addy McDaniel and Noel Workman with Luther Brown, Roger Stolle and Mark H. Stowers 

This story was republished with permission of Delta Magazine

1. Robert Johnson (1911-1938) The Man, The Myth

Elta Haze Corporation All Rights Reserved. Used By Permission

Has there ever been a bluesman more controversial and inspiring than Robert Leroy Johnson of Hazelhurst, Mississippi? The questions keep his name in the headlines. Did he really sell his soul to the Devil at The Crossroads? If so, where? And how did he die? (His running-buddy Honeyboy Edwards claimed it was a jealous man and some poisoned whiskey. The back of the death certificate theorized disease. And the latest book on the subject suggests bad moonshine.) In which of three possible cemeteries is his body buried? How many images exist of the enigmatic musician? And why have so many claimed to have “real” photos? Seventy-eight years, three headstones and multiple crossroads later, his legend still draws tourists to the Mississippi Delta from around the world every day—not to mention rock stars from Robert Plant to Ozzie Osbourne. Still, none of the controversies would matter if his musical talent and legacy didn’t back it all up. Simply put, Johnson was the Jimi Hendrix of his generation. He took what came before, made it something new, and we’re still trying to figure it out. For music fans and musicians in search of both story and inspiration, stops at his “graves” near Greenwood (especially the third, most likely, site that includes an official Mississippi Blues Trail marker) and the ceremonial (though definitely not definitive) “Crossroads” marker in Clarksdale are essential stops. – Roger Stolle

2. Jim Henson (1936-1990) Creator of the World’s Most Famous Frog

If you’re under 50, it’s probably hard to imagine television and movies before the Muppets. Many are still surprised that the inspiration for this life-shaping collection of puppets came from the Mississippi Delta. Greenville born Jim Henson spent his childhood on the banks of Deer Creek near his Stoneville home. Kermit, the original Muppet, sprang from Henson’s childhood and memories of playing along nearby Deer Creek with childhood friend T. K. (Theodore Kermit) Scott, the inspiration for the frog’s name. He first garnered fame in the 1970s when he joined Sesame Street, and helped develop characters for the series. He also appeared in the sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live. Henson won fame for his creations, particularly Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy, Rowlf the Dog, and Ernie, and was involved with Sesame Street for more than 20 years. Puppeteer, artist, cartoonist, inventor, screenwriter, songwriter, musician, actor, film director, and producer who changed the way children learned and created some of the most unforgettable characters in pop culture. – Noel Workman

3. Archie Manning America’s Football Family

“People ask me if I knew all this would happen…The short answer would be, Of course not. As proud as I am, I didn’t know. And I wouldn’t have dared to dream it. But I do know this. It wasn’t a fluke.” – Archie Manning, Manning: A Father, His Sons and a Football Legacy

The flat land of Drew’s athletic fields forged a living legend in Archie Manning. The three-sport phenom would go onto Rebel glory, marry the homecoming queen and produce three SEC football scholarshipped sons. Two would take their dad’s DNA and upbringing and spin NFL Super Bowl gold while a third would make his mark in the financial and entertainment world. His NFL days with the New Orleans Saints were marred with losing records and plenty of blooper reel material. But the humble Rebel kept taking snaps—and hits—and represented his home state (Mississippi) and adopted state (Louisiana) to the best of his ability. The hometown hero never got a ring, but his passion for the game and desire to be the best husband and dad gave him immeasurable rewards to reap off the field. Sons Cooper, Peyton and Eli as well as their mom, Olivia, know they’ve got an MVP and Hall of Famer that they wouldn’t trade for anything. In the business world, Manning has put his stamp on successful companies and he’s even helped provide stable success at his alma mater, vetting and recruiting coaches. Super Bowl success may now run in the family, but it’s all rooted in the Mississippi Delta. One would be hard-pressed to find a sports fan who doesn’t know of the Manning legacy. – Mark H. Stowers

4. B.B. King (1925-2015) Ambassador of The Blues

Barry Brecheisen Photography/Courtesy Of B.B. King Museum

Simply put, Riley “B.B.” King was the last universally-known bluesman the world will ever know. B.B. King or simply “B.B.”—no blues name will ever be as instantly recognized by kids and grandmas, kings and queens, presidents and rock stars. Period. He was born just east of Indianola, Mississippi, because he really couldn’t have come from anywhere other than the Delta and sounded like he did. Even after his blues went uptown—adding horns and enough band members to fill a bus—his music still “felt” like his native land. It was still connected to the cotton fields, church houses and juke joints he grew up in as a young man. It was fitting, then, that 89 years after his arrival on planet earth, his final request brought him back home to a small plot next to the world-class museum that bears his name, the B.B. King Museum and Delta Interpretive Center in Indianola. In case there is any doubt of his influence on rockers, after King’s passing last year, Rolling Stone magazine headlined an article: “10 Legendary Acts that Wouldn’t Exist without B.B. King.” The list included Jimi Hendrix, Cream, Santana, Allman Brothers…It’s a list that could go on and on, and probably will. Forever. – Roger Stolle

Getty Images

5. Joseph Biedenharn (1864-1952) Brilliant Bottler of Americana

Sooner or later, Coca-Cola would have been the world-wide symbol of classic Americana, but Vicksburg’s Joseph Biedenharn sure gave it a jump start. Like all other soda fountain sellers in the 1890s, he created the fountain drink with a squirt of Coke’s super-secret syrup plus a lot of carbonated water, a system used for rose, claret, grape, peach, orgeat, sasaparilla and peppermint. Biedenharn’s primary job was running a Vicksburg candy company, but wanted to supply out-of-town customers. In 1894 he sent one of the first cases of “bottled” Coca-Cola to Asa Candler in Atlanta, who at that time had complete control of Coca-Cola. Candler commented, “it was fine.” From that, the Biedenharn family’s interest in Coca-Cola grew to hold the bottling rights in Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas and Arkansas. Thanks to Joseph, the premier symbol of American culture was available to everyone who had a nickel—plus a two-cent deposit on the bottle. – Noel Workman

6. Holt Collier (1846-1952) The Legendary Bear Hunter and his Boon

Willa Johnson

What do Winnie the Pooh, political satire and the Mississippi Delta have in common? Holt Collier, of course, the famous Delta bear hunter whose legendary hunt with President Theodore Roosevelt resulted in the beginning of an industry that has produced untold numbers of soft bear toys. The name teddy bears originated from the 1902 Delta hunting trip to which Roosevelt was invited. Most of his fellow hunters had already killed an animal when Collier, the Delta’s legendary bear hunter, cornered, clubbed, and tied a bear to a tree for the President to shoot. The President refused to shoot the bear, deeming it unsportsmanlike. His decision famously became the topic of a Washington Post political cartoon. The President may have hated the nickname Teddy, but he permitted a toy maker to use his name. “Teddy’s bears” were an immediate success and forever became an iconic children’s toy. – Noel Workman

7. Morgan Freeman The Voice, The Face, the Living Legend

When Hollywood needed to put a voice and face on God, they came to Charleston, Mississippi, and asked for Morgan Freeman. Certainly his talent is on loan from the Big Man himself and his body of work has certainly been of biblical proportions. In the 1970s he taught us how to read on “Electric Company” on PBS and eventually found his way to the big screen where his talent showered the world with dramatic roles, though he also nailed characters that instantly tickled our funny bone with his comedic skills. His working buddies have included Paul Newman, Batman and Miss Daisy as every role he takes seems to spring from his Delta upbringing. His trophy collection includes a Golden Globe an Oscar and he’s continually nominated for each. Even with all of that Hollywood power and glory, the man stays grounded in the fertile Delta soil and even creates much of the digital voice over work from a North Mississippi studio built just for that. His “Lucius Fox” character creates Batman “toys” on the big screen but in real life, Freeman has used his Rock River Foundation to raise money for Hurricane Katrina victims and much more. He’s partnered with Clarksdale mayor and friend Bill Luckett to bring needed revitalization to the North Delta community through his Ground Zero Blues Club. His car wreck in Mississippi made international headlines a few years back, but it hasn’t slowed him down too much. His mocking narration of a Justin Bieber’s “Love Yourself” garnered millions of YouTube hits, originally published by Vanity Fair, his ubiquitous voice still heard in Visa commercials and other narrations. However controversial, when Morgan Freeman speaks, we hear about it. But “Red” learned long before he found success in life and before Dufresne put so aptly in words that he should “get busy living, or get busy dying.” – Mark H. Stowers

8. Craig Claiborne (1920-2000) King of the Culinary Arts

“Foodies now have more celebrity chefs to worship than spatulas, yet even the chefs themselves probably do not realize the debt they owe to Craig Claiborne (1920-2000),” his niece Marion Barnwell wrote in Delta Magazine’s 2009 tribute. “In his time he caused a food revolution.” Introducing the star-rating system, The New York Times restaurant critic could make or break a restaurant, and became a favorite figure in the New Yorker cartoons. The New York Times published 20 of his cookbooks, the first selling more than three million copies. When the Sunflower-born, Indianola reared Claiborne was asked by a Chicago reporter to name the best cook in the South, he famously answered, “My mother.” A two- page spread followed in a 1948 issue of Liberty magazine of Miss Kathleen “holding court” in her boarding house, where servants doted on the young Claiborne and he had his first taste of culinary artistry. Later, his own lavish dinners would make headlines and he would become an American culinary icon. – Delta Magazine

9. Tennessee Williams (1911-1983) That Baby Doll Man and Broadway

Cat on a Hot Tin Roof and Summer and Smoke didn’t just happen. They were Tennessee Williams’ up close, painful observations of life growing up in the Mississippi Delta. Set on a plantation, Cat examined the relationships between Big Daddy, his son Brick and Maggie, the “Cat,” All were thinly veiled Deltans, revealed to the world through the playwright’s amazing and tortured theatrical skills. And his Summer and Smoke includes references to Moon Lake Casino, a far cry from today’s gamblers’ magnets. As a boy Williams was dazzled by the lavish entertainments of Clarksdale’s Blanche and J.W. Cutrer. The playwright even used the Cutrer name in The Glass Menagerie and A Streetcar Named Desire. Williams may have been born in Columbus, but spent his early years the rectory of Clarksdale’s St. George Episcopal Church in Clarksdale, home of his grandfather. Those years helped shape the most influential American playwright of the 20th century. – Noel Workman

10. Muddy Waters (1913 or 1915-1983) Still Got His Mojo Working’

Waters: Delta Haze Corporation All Rights Reserved. Used By Permission

On one of the two markers that sits out on Stovall Plantation where McKinley “Muddy Waters” Morganfield grew up, no less than god (lowercase “g”) speaks volumes in one sentence. At the former home site on the outskirts of Clarksdale, British blues-rocker Eric Clapton declares, “Muddy Waters’ music changed my life, and whether you know it or not, and like it or not, it probably changed yours, too.” The Rolling Stones (the band) and Rolling Stone (the magazine) apparently agree. Both named themselves after one of his songs. Beyond the Muddy Waters importance to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and GRAMMY set, there is also the bluesman’s amazing and lasting influence on blues music itself. From the 1950s onward, he was a household name in blues circles with a veritable who’s who of “Chicago blues” greats flowing through this band, including Jimmie Rodgers, Otis Spann, Willie Dixon, James Cotton, Hubert Sumlin, Big Walter Horton, Pinetop Perkins and others—also born in Mississippi. More than three decades after his death, his hits are still played weekly at blues bars and rock clubs around the globe. Next time you hear the ubiquitous “Got My Mojo Workin’,” tip your hat to Mr. Muddy and the Great State of Mississippi. – Roger Stolle

“When I first heard The Best of Muddy Waters, it was the most powerful music I’d ever heard, the most expressive. I’d listed to Mozart, I’d listened to Beethoven. This is on par with the best music in the world.” – Keith Richards, “Keith Richards: Under the Influence”

11, 12 Larry Gordon & Chuck Gordon Hollywood Heavyweights

“If you build it, he will come.” – “Field of Dreams”

Larry and Chuck. Chuck and Larry. Belzonians love their native son brothers, the Gordon brothers, whose executive and producer credits in Hollywood (Lawrence Gordon and Charles Gordon) include blockbusters such as 1987’s “Predator,” 1988’s “Die Hard” and 1989’s “Field of Dreams.” Larry was president of 20th Century Fox and later formed his own entertainment company with his brother, Chuck. Their filmographies take moviegoers through decades of memorable flicks. When these two Californians need to get a fill of home, however (or rather of Winkie Allen’s caramel cake), Larry especially may jet into town without much notice or fanfare for a slice of both. Chuck once challenged me as DELTA Magazine editor to track down the recipe for the old Pig Stand barbecue, in hopes of surprising his brother with pulled pork sandwiches and ribs. “He’d think he’d died and gone to heaven!” In that exchange, Chuck shared, “I have so many fond memories of Belzoni and constantly give it and its lore and colorful characters credit for whatever success I’ve had in this business. Larry and I are so lucky to have grown up there.” – Melissa Townsend

13. William Alexander Percy (1885-1942) The Greenville Galvanizer

William Alexander Percy, a Greenville native who was seldom seen outside of Tralake plantation, provided the hothouse that produced a number of authors who writings helped explained the Delta to the world. Lanterns on the Levee, his 1941 bestselling autobiography, helped explain the Mississippi Delta of a century ago to the world. His leadership helped bring Hodding Carter, who created the Delta Democrat-Times, and helped Carter explain the Delta to a changing Mid-century America. Percy’s nephew Walker Percy explained the vagaries of the human heart to the world through his fiction. Walker’s childhood friend Shelby Foote helped explain the Civil War to Americans no longer interested in that conflict. And Will Percy’s sponsorship encouraged Greenville’s every growing collection of published authors: Hodding Carter III, his son W. Hodding Carter, Ellen Douglas, Bern Keating, Charles Bell, Gayden Metcalfe, Julia Reed. A generation ago, Greenville was famous for having “more published authors per capita than any other city in the nation.” Will Percy was the example and made writing an honorable, attainable job. – Noel Workman

14. Willie Morris (1934-1999) The Giver of Literary Gifts

We all loved Willie Morris, our beloved Mississippi author. He started shaping our imagination in the fifth grade, when teachers read Good Ole Boy: A Delta Boyhood aloud in classrooms. What child growing up in the Mississippi Delta would ever forget tales of the infamous Witch of Yazoo—and didn’t shiver every time the family traveled old 49 to and from Jackson at the sight of hills and kudzu? The ‘good ole boy’ from wrote about friendships, but the one he shared with his dog Skip would make the Mississippian a part of American film history, too. Willie died (too young) just before the major motion picture “My Dog Skip” debuted, starring Frankie Muniz, Diane Lane, Luke Wilson and Kevin Bacon. As a nation in the theatres, we laughed and we cried. Back home in Mississippi, we still read Willie stories and we still tell Willie stories. Conversations with Willie at a country club party, his practical jokes, the index cards to which he jotted down ideas and memories, his drink of choice at The Gin in Oxford, his love of Doe’s Eat Place, his booth and dish of choice at Lusco’s. Of course, we quote Willie too—in our own writings, on Twitter and instagram posts and, as it turns out, in that now ubiquitous Faulkner “quote.” The source of “To understand the world, you must first understand a place like Mississippi,” as best as any researcher can find, is Willie paraphrasing Faulkner in a 1996 New York Times book review. Yep, Willie’s mark on our culture and society will never wane. He touches our souls. As his epitaph reads, “even across the divide of death, friendship remains an echo forever in the heart.” – Melissa Townsend

15. Charlie Conerly (1921-1996) The Father of Football

A man’s man football player. The original Marlboro Man wore number 42 and Ole Miss red and blue during his college years. He would don the same colors and number for the fabled New York Giants. The tough quarterback made plenty of Southerners pay allegiance to the team above that played its home games in Yankee Stadium. With his cleats hung up after the 1961 season, he came home to Clarksdale, called an option and sold shoes across the Mississippi Delta through stores that bore his name. Conerly is a member of The College Hall of Fame and Ole Miss Team of the Century and his wife Perian supported him throughout his career while carving her own swath as an author (Backseat Quarterback), columnist and TV appearance on “What’s My Line?” His number has been retired and he held plenty of Giants records and he is reviled in his home state, Conerly may never be enshrined in the NFL Hall of Fame but in the Delta, there’s Charlie and there’s Archie—and that’s one heck of a Delta Hall of Fame. He may have left us in 1996, but the quarterback’s influence cuts deep in the Delta. – Mark H. Stowers

16. Charlaine Harris Bloody Good Writer

Vampires, from the Delta? Few could have predicted that Tunica native Charlaine Harris would dominate television’s “True Blood,” a dark fantasy series, based on her Southern vampire mystery novels set in a fictional small town in northwestern Louisiana. “True Blood” premiered on HBO in 2008 and its 80 episodes ran for seven seasons. NBC just picked up the supernatural drama “Midnight, Texas,” based on her three-book series, centering around a remote Texas town where “no one is who they seem.” From werewolves and witches to psychics and hit men, writer Charlaine horrifies us—and we’re so proud. – Noel Workman

17. Hoda Kotb The Princess of Pop Culture

Who doesn’t love Hoda? Americans are on a first-name basis with NBC’s “The Today Show” co-host Hoda Kotb, and guess where she got her big break? Greenville, Mississippi. To this day, Hoda Kotb still credits Stan Sandroni (her “game changer”), WXVT-TV and the Mississippi Delta for literally changing her life and steering her career. Noel Workman interviewed Hoda for DELTA Magazine many years ago and she couldn’t have been kinder or more grateful to the people of the Delta. One of her quotes from that interview about Delta storytellers would end up in The Delta: Landscapes, Legends and Legacies of Mississippi’s Storied Region. We’ll always claim her! Now Hoda has millions of viewers curled up on the couch with coffee, while Hoda and Kathie Lee sip their wine—in their pajamas—on national television. Of course we love her! With the off-the-wall stunts she and Kathie Lee pull, she just may have the coolest job in America. I mean, we go to work humming a new Meghan Trainor song none of your friends have even heard yet because Hoda said it was her fave. Next thing you know, it’s a hit! And how much fun has it been watching Delta girl Elizabeth Heiskell in the NBC kitchen enlightening Americans on Delta hospitality and holding court with Hoda on air? Hoda simply makes mornings, and life, more fun. Cheers! – Melissa Townsend

18. Bobbie Gentry The Mississippi Mystery Girl

The questions surrounding the mysteries behind the lyrics in Bobbie Gentry’s “Ode to Billie Joe,” the singer’s real name, its spelling, the aloofness and all but disappearance of the musician herself, still linger after all these years—since 1967 to be exact, when her single knocked “All You Need is Love” by the Beatles off the top of the charts. Every third of June, nostalgic music fans feel compelled to post a photo of some barren landscape or cotton field and quote the opening line in the song, “It was the third of June, another sleepy, dusty Delta day…” This year, we finally declared it: June 3rd, National Bobbie Gentry Day! Journalists still try to track her down, but if you want the answers to many of the aforementioned questions, we gave them to you in the cover story by Bill Ellis in the 12th anniversary collector’s edition of DELTA Magazine, the July/August 2015 issue. Oh, yeah, and the bridge! The Tallahatchie Bridge! Which one? Where is it? We addressed that too, yet there’s still debate. As to Bobbie Gentry’s whereabouts, well, we came mighty close on that one, and at press time, decided to respect her life as a private citizen. Her ties to Greenwood have not all been broken, however, which allows us to believe that she read it all, your letters that followed included. To Bobby Lee Streeter, we will always love your music as much as the thrill of the chase. – Delta Magazine

19. Newell Turner The Eyes of American Design

The last time Newell Turner graced the pages of DELTA Magazine, he was editor-in-chief of House Beautiful, a lofty position in the worlds of media and interior design. Now the Belzoni native oversees three shelter magazines for Hearst Design Group: Elle Décor, House Beautiful, Veranda and Metropolitan Home magazines. As one who brands content for the largest publisher of monthly magazines in the U.S., it’s Newell behind the cool collaborations with designers and posed questions on paint colors and next-big things. Designer and friend Charlotte Moss adds more. “Beyond design what makes Newell the ultimate influencer is his intelligence, his curiosity and his enthusiasm for all the layers in our business, making him a rare bird,” Charlotte says. “He’s also just a heck of a lot of fun to be around!” Newell’s father Tom Turner was mayor of Belzoni for more than two decades, his mother Rose Marie an English teacher. We also asked designer Bunny Williams about Newell’s national impact in the interior design industry. “There is no one who has a better pulse on the interior design community than Newell,” Bunny tells us. “He sees that we are all exposed to the most creative talent in our industry. And no one does it with more charm and style—a product I am sure, of his Delta upbringing!” – Melissa Townsend

20. Mary Wilson Supremely a Motown Mama

“Stop! In the name of love/before you break my heart…” Need we even cue a chorus by The Supremes, from any one of their 12 number-one Motown hits? Diana Ross didn’t do it alone; she had a Mississippi Delta girl, Mary Wilson, by her side. As biographies go, Wilson wasn’t just born in Greenville, but her family migrated north while she was still a toddler, leaving behind relatives she would return to visit time and time again. Playing on the levee as a child to picking up Delta hot tamales on the way back to the airport would be memories she would later recall as vividly as her life as a “Dreamgirl” in subsequent autobiographies. “We became famous at a time when black was not beautiful,” Wilson told Delta Magazine in a 2007 interview. “We were part of that social change.” To have a first hit record at age 19 or 20, and in 1964, was life changing for this performer, but for millions of Americans then as now, Mary Wilson set the stage that talent, beauty and grace know no boundaries. And when there’s a Motown band playing, we’ll never stop singing and snapping in sync on the dance floor. “Think it o’ oh’ vah…” – Delta Magazine

21. Thomas Harris Hannibal the Cannibal

“I do wish we could chat longer, but I’m having an old friend for dinner.” The year was 1991 when the nation met one of cinema’s most terrifying creations on the big screen. Dr. Hannibal Lecter, the cannibalizing serial killer as famously portrayed by Anthony Hopkins, was created by suspense writer Thomas Harris. The film adaptation of The Silence of the Lambs was one of that year’s most buzzed-about movies, and an Oscar sweep followed, but Harris’s 1988 novel also won its share of accolades for fiction and horror writing. Rarely has Harris granted interviews, even when his own mother, still living and residing in Cleveland at the time, gave Delta Magazine his home phone number. (He politely rejected our request many years ago. Where’s agent Clarice Starling when you need her?) Although his writing is “a kind of torment,” in Stephen King’s words, his literary agent has described Harris as having “a courtliness you associate with the South.” Shiver you may, but the work of this Southern gent in the psychological horror and thriller genres made an indelible, chilling mark on literary and film history. – Melissa Townsend

22. Muriel Wilkins (1936-1990) The Spiritual Presence

The legacy of Muriel Wilkins would have been limited to the hearts of Tunica County residents and those of us lucky enough to have heard her play piano at the old Hollywood Cafe, private parties or in her church. Just four years before she died, however, her fate in music history was sealed the night she met Marc Cohn visiting from New York at the Robinsonville restaurant. The angelic Delta gospel singer invited Marc to sit with her and echo her singing “Amazing Grace,” whispering words of wisdom to the torn and hindered songwriter. The lyrics to Marc Cohn’s hit song “Walking in Memphis” tell the rest of the incredible, spiritual story. Meeting Muriel in the Mississippi Delta made Cohn, winner of the 1991 Grammy for Best New Artist, a household name. She gave Cohn the most beautiful inspiration for one of the most unforgettable, uplifting pop songs in history. It’s on many a playlist, still reverberating throughout our culture—a song that still makes us choke every time we hear and sing it. – Delta Magazine

23. Fannie Lou Hamer (1917-1977) The Advocate

The Delta produced many great Civil Rights activists who worked tirelessly as “foot soldiers for freedom,” seeking the right to vote and improve their families’ lives. Among giants like Amzie Moore, Aaron Henry, Charles McLaurin, Sam Block, and many others, one name personifies the honesty, charisma, eloquence and selfless dedication of a true leader: Fannie Lou Hamer. Mrs. Hamer lived her adult life in Ruleville, Mississippi. She did not know that she could register to vote until she was 37, and when she tried to register and was refused, she lost her job as a sharecropper’s wife and was forced to leave her home. Instead of being intimidated she was empowered and dedicated her life to the oppressed. Her deep Christian faith sustained her through threats and a serious beating. She helped found the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party in 1963 and emotionally addressed the Democratic Convention in 1964. She ran for the Second Congressional District in the same year. Later in life, she turned her attention to human rights and founded Freedom Farm to aid the hungry. She is remembered for her impromptu speeches and her strong singing voice. She is memorialized with a life-sized bronze statue and a Mississippi Freedom Trail marker at her gravesite in Ruleville, on the grounds of the old Freedom Farm. Her headstone bears her signature phrase, “I’m sick and tired of being sick and tired.” – Luther Brown

24. Julia Reed The Delta Storyteller

Southern cuisine has been a national food trend, as seen in magazines such as Food & Wine and Bon Appétit for years, and on restaurant menus from California to Kalamazoo. Quite frankly, the Yankees, with their less than colorful cultures, are jealous. Luckily we have writer Julia Reed to enlighten Americans (explain?) on Southern food and Southern taste, which includes, of course, Mississippi Delta-style entertaining. Her underlying goal? To show non-Southerners how and “why we do have so much more superior fun.” Her words. Julia is a modern day storyteller, a Delta character to be sure. She’s telling our outlandish Delta stories to a national audience through magazine articles, essays, books and cookbooks. While her web of chefs and designers and writers from New York to New Orleans is wide, her entertaining style always leads her back to the Mississippi Delta. (Who could forget the spread in Vogue of her closet and designer shoe collection, and that was more than 15 years ago!) With her new Southern cookbook (see Food) published by a major New York publishing house, she’s doing just what she told us at a recent book signing. “I’m sharing the great blessing of having grown up in the Delta with people in and outside the place.” – Melissa Townsend

Pop Culture Catalysts: 3 Unsung Heros

25. Boo’s Literary Coup

“Thanks to Coach Ferriss,” a young John Grisham hung up his baseball cap and dreams of becoming a professional baseball player when he was cut from the team, and started a new career path. Grisham’s The Firm spent 47 weeks on The New York Times bestseller list, and he’s been batting a thousand ever since. More than 300 million John Grisham books are in print; nine titles have been turned into films. And to think we can owe it all to our beloved Delta State University baseball coach Boo Ferriss, who advised Grisham to “stick to the books.”

26. Frankly, My Dear…

It’s the work of writer Willie Morris that generations of DELTA Magazine readers will always remember, but another Yazoo City boy before Willie’s time can be credited as the impetus for the popularity of one of the most well-known pieces of Southern fiction. Herschel Brickell (1889-1952) was one of the country’s best-known book reviewers and is often credited with launching Margaret Mitchell’s career with his glowing review of Gone with the Wind. Mitchell won a Pulitzer for her only novel and quotes from the 1939 film adaptation are two of the most memorable of all time.

27. Ben and His Editing Pen

The Brodsky Collection

Believing he had written “the damnest best book you’ll look at this year,” William Faulkner’s manuscript of Flags in the Dust was rejected. Shocked and angered, he asked his Greenville friend Ben Wasson, a New York literary agent, to recommend it to his publishers. Eventually, Harcourt accepted it on the condition that Wasson himself cut it at least by a quarter. Wasson labored, Faulkner continued writing, and it was finally published as Sartoris, the first of Faulkner’s tales set in Yoknapatawpha County. According to Myself and the World (University Press of Mississippi), Faulkner had “discovered what would become a signature trademark of his later fiction: the interrelationship of the present with the past.”

Scott Coopwood, publisher of Delta Magazine.

Delta Magazine is considered one of the most unique regional lifestyle publications, which some even call “the most southern magazine on earth.” The Mississippi Delta is known for its literary, musical and culinary heritage, as well as for its legendary entertaining style and social traditions. The bi-monthly Delta Magazine embodies every aspect of the Mississippi Delta with its fresh content, cutting-edge photography and devoted readership. Learn more by visiting deltamagazine.com.

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