#rich schreiber

[dare-g]

The Guatemalan Handshake (2006)

[herb10]

Another really important part of a manager’s job is to protect their clients & their public images. I LMAO @ all the hysterics about Ashley sticking to Justin like glue during the Miami fishing thing. She was doing her job. It’s South Beach with lots of booze & parties & hot blondes in bikinis. Letting a good-looking, young, rich NFL QB run around loose would be asking for trouble plus there’s way too many unscrupulous people laying in wait to take advantage of these young, high profile athletes. About the only time Ashley seems to have let Justin out of her sight was when he was on the boat & couldn’t get into any trouble. LOL

There was a US TV show called “Ray Donovan” with Liev Schreiber. It was about a fixer whose job was to clean up messes celebrity actors & athletes got into. The character used some really brutal methods, too. When the show first came out, the LA Times did a piece about it being based on reality. Every big talent management company has people like that on retainer. I’m not saying Ashley or her company use people like that, but it does show the lengths a lot of managers will go to to protect their clients.

Very true. I would hazard a guess that Justin is more sensible than most athletes when it comes to women or whatever else, but certainly anyone can have lapses in judgement.

To me, her presence at these events isn't strange at all; they're all directly work-related or at least work adjacent (like the private jet pic).

[idv-thespians]

INTRO POST

Weeeelcome! This blog is run by our lovely director, mun fifi! When viewing a play, what is it you desire? Laughter? Grief? Or perhaps, walking away a little bemused? I am your lovely director, and I will certainly fulfil all your wishes! My darlings , sit tight, relax, and have fun! (credit: @cafekitsune for the banners)

EVENTS

There are currently no events~ check back later!

THE CAST

What’s a great show without its actors? Surely, you must learn of our quintet of mystery! Whether you thirst for revenge, aim for the stars, or deep within your heart, I hope, as the director of this comedic tragedy, that your desire resonates with theirs!

MAIN CHARACTERS:

Shiloh Monroe (Survivor, hunter switch available) Elaine Schreiber (Survivor, hunter switch available) Quinn Stewart (Survivor, hunter switch available) Hugo Drakenburg (Survivor, hunter switch available) Liam Hubert (Hunter, survivor switch available)

SIDE CHARACTERS:

Andrea Boulanger Aldrich Monroe Minerva Monroe ”Officer Orr” (also known as: Jonathan Orr)

RULES

This blog WILL cover dark topics including but not limited to: death, death of loved ones, alcoholism, gaslighting, manipulation, poisoning and violence. I tag all triggering content with “tw [content]”.

Mun is 18, but overly nsfw asks will be deleted. If an ask makes me uncomfortable, I will address it. If you want to ask about an ask you sent, feel free~

Mun will not always answer asks and/or rps quickly frequently due to real life, but if an ask and/or rp hasn’t been addressed in a week, feel free to drop a kind reminder.Mun will not always answer asks and/or rps quickly frequently due to real life, but if an ask and/or rp hasn’t been addressed in a week, feel free to drop a kind reminder.

I try to match my rp length to the length I receive. Keyword try. Do let me know if you find my rp length too long/short and I will try my best to adjust accordingly.

Try to limit god-modding, I’m not strict with this because the only issue is it ruins the fun, but sometimes it can be fun. I’m open about it, fret not. Also, magic anons are allowed!

SKIN TRIBUTE CORNER

A HUUGE thank you to you, my most adoring fans who made these amazing costumes for our participants !!! I am in tears every time you bless my eyes with thine divine creations! Our actors appreciate it as well~ feel free to ask them about their skins- or perhaps, these “skins” might be a little… more than so? — all skins that AREN’T mine will have the creator’s name next to it!

Shiloh Monroe

(SS) King of Lies

(S) Dolos (Nini)

(S) Ringmaster (Yami)

(S) That one Lady Bella skin (Joe)

(A) Devil’s Train (Yami)

(A) Ad Aspera Per Astra [ONCE]

(A) Mr Ripley [Deduction Star]

(B) Green Axolotl (Pins)

(B) Sapphire Blue (Pins)

Elaine Schreiber

(S) Marmoris

(S) Allay (Pins)

(S) That one firefly skin (Joe)

(A) Phoenix Ring (Pins)

(A) Blue Monarch (Pins)

(A) Belle [Deduction Star]

(B) Assistant of the Messenger (Sleepy)

(B) Orderly Poem (Yami)

(B) Envoy of Knowledge (Yami)

Quinn Stewart

(S) Graceful Swan (Pins)

(S) Found

(A) Voice of Reason (Yami)

(A) The Guiding Light (Yami)

Hugo Drakenburg

(A) The Dynamite Gentleman (Yami)

(A) London Merchant [Deduction Star]

(B) Trapped on the Carousel (Yami)

Liam Hubert

(SS) The Mourner

(S) Forlorn Groom

(S) B-52

(S) The Elder God of Winter (Yami)

(S) Harlequinn (Yami)

(A) Heart of the Night (Yami)

(A) Midnight Phantom (Yami)

(A) The Old Radio Host (Yami)

(A) Wise, Rich Groom (Yami)

(A) Glitched Guest (Yami)

(A) The Plague (Pins)

(A) Ivory Night (Pins)

(A) Enderman (Pins)

(A) Lumine Lunae Ductus [ONCE]

(A) The Raven [Deduction Star]

Andrea Boulanger

Kiana Dean (Yami) (Technically she counts LOLOL)

[theehorsepusssy]

Speaking of journalism movies did you see Spotlight, about Boston Globe reporters trying to expose catholick priests as being major pedophiles? It's good, and bleak, because the rich and powerful in Boston don't give a rat's ass about their priests being pedos.

I've watched that one like a hundred times. This has like the ultimate Stanley Tucci Bitchy Lil Man role. He just can't be bothered.! Just leave him alone people! It also has Liev Schreiber as the quietly sexy office boss man I really like that movie.

[writerchickmarie]

Elegant And Enchanted Evenings With John Lloyd Young At Cafe Carlyle

John Lloyd Young and Cafe Carlyle have a long, magical history together.

He is part of a storied group of artists and performers who have, and continue, to grace the Carlyle stage - a legendary and quintessential part of classic New  York.  

And this past week, JLY celebrated that history while bringing it into the future...elegant, creative, prolific...and more enchanting than ever.  

That future began with his new musical director, Jacquelyn Schreiber, taking her seat at the piano - preparing as JLY was introduced, with him walking from the bar area to the front, and beginning the set with his classic rendition of  “My Prayer”, commanding the stage from the first note. 

He then moved into some new material for this Carlyle residency, making each song his own with his brilliant interpretations. Roy Orbison’s “Love Hurts” is a perfect fit for him, rich and emotional.  And he told some of his wonderful Little Anthony stories as he took us on a journey with “I’m On The Outside Looking In”, which is one of several songs that continue to play in our minds long after the performance.

JLY has mentioned a few times about how much he loves history, so playing the Carlyle and sharing some of its incredible history with the audience is as enjoyable for him as it is for us. He motions around the room to various sections of the incredible murals by Oscar-winning French artist, Marcel Vertès, pointing out certain characteristics and techniques. Then he talks about the the first person to own an apartment/condo at the Carlyle, Richard Rodgers, while musing about the songs that may have been inspired here. It’s the perfect segue into his beautiful, romantic version of “I Have Dreamed” from The King And I.

He blows us away with Stevie Wonder’s “Knocks Me Off My Feet”, then comes around the room to greet and serenade us with “Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me”...which is always a thrill.  JLY has a special way of connecting with friends and fans, and new audience members, that puts him in a class by himself.  And we of course get to hear one of our favorites, “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You”, stronger than ever, and complete with audience participation.  

Next up is Nat King Cole’s “Let There Be Love”, featuring Jacquelyn’s extraordinary jazz piano skills and JLY’s luxurious baritone.  They play off each  other well, and the future is bright for this creative partnership.

We head back into Jersey Boys territory - but with a definite jazz influence.  After some of JLY’s entertaining stories about making the Jersey Boys movie, he performs a breathtaking “Moody’s Mood For Love” - forget Frankie and Bob for a minute...at this moment, the line “I need to write for this voice” pertains to JLY and JLY alone.  Creating anything for his wonderful, versatile vocal instrument is something any writer and/or musician would be honored to do.  This is followed up by the always beautiful “My Eyes Adored You”, fresh and new with Jacquelyn on harmony.

JLY explained next that sometimes when he and his fellow Broadway castmates were invited to perform for events, they weren’t given permission to sing the songs from the show - so Ron Melrose, the arranger and musical director for Jersey Boys, came up with a workaround...and one of the songs for this was “I Only Have Eyes For You”, which JLY performed to perfection in this set at Cafe Carlyle.

The next two songs were absolute standouts (even though every song in the set remains in my head at various times throughout the day) because of JLY’s ingenious vocals and interpretation of Jacquelyn’s inventive arrangements.  She might be new to being the musical director, but she completely owns it, and her creativity knows no bounds. “The Air That I Breathe” is so touchingly beautiful, and JLY’s voice both soothing and emotional - the perfect adult lullaby.  And he takes us on a full journey through “Both Sides Now”, giving even more meaning to Joni Mitchell’s lyrics and giving us more food for thought. 

On the final evening of JLY’s residency, former Ambassador to Finland, Robert Pence, and his wife Suzy, were there along with their friends.  Ambassador Pence had requested a special song for his friends, which JLY learned especially for this evening.  “One In A Million You” was outstanding, and I hope that he performs it again in the future.

JLY finished the evening with “Maybe I’m Amazed”,  and I still have a hard time listening to Sir Paul McCartney’s original because I prefer JLY’s even more.  Then we were all up on our feet for “Sherry”...I would say going out on a high note, but in reality, the entire set was filled with high notes.

John Lloyd Young and Cafe Carlyle go hand in hand...the perfect fit for past, present, and future.  With all of the new material and creative influences, I can’t wait to see what’s next. And I am so glad that we are all along on the journey with him!

[lustbitten]

mobile friendly muse page

all fcs on this page are also available for new charas * means not yet added to full muse page

males:

andrew rogers / sebastian stan fc / heterosexual / 31-36 yo / mob boss august cowan / pablo schreiber fc / heterosexual / 41-48 yo christian deleon / lewis tan fc / heterosexual / 33-42 yo / handyman darren pittman / dacre montgomery fc / heterosexual / 28-34 yo grant carpenter / andrew lincoln fc / heterosexual / 49-53 yo / rich divorcee jason griffin / henry cavill fc / heterosexual / 35-39 yo jude vega / jon bernthal fc / heterosexual / 42-51 yo nicholas vaughn / ben barnes fc / heterosexual / 34-39 yo samuel hart / frank grillo fc / heterosexual / 48-54 yo vincent jimenez / pedro pascal fc / heterosexual / 44-52 yo

females:

addison greer / anne hathaway fc / pansexual / 36-42 yo aida warren / alycia debnam carey fc / pansexual (prefers ladies) / 26-32 yo arden blackwell / jessie mei li fc / pansexual / 29-34 yo celine houston / alexis ren or lili reinhart fc / pansexual / 25-31 yo channing graves / elizabeth olsen fc / pansexual / 28-34 yo cherry bennett / natalia dyer fc / pansexual / 22-28 yo frankie benton / jessica chastain fc / pansexual / 38-46 yo hanna burgess / madelyn cline fc / pansexual / 23-29 yo heather galvan / alexa demie fc / pansexual / 28-34 yo ivanna marks / camila mendes fc / pansexual / 26-31 yo maria almasi / may calamawy fc / pansexual / 34-40 yo marie mcdaniels / famke janssen fc / pansexual / 41-47 yo mayson hayes / morena baccarin fc / pansexual / 38-42 yo rowan dunn / grace van dien fc / pansexual / 25-29 yo stella monroe / dianna agron fc / pansexual / 26-37 yo

faces i'm willing to play

lili reinhart madelaine petsch sydney sweeney dakota johnson ella purnell sophie nelisse camila morrone savannah smith liz gillies alexa demie natasha lyonne oscar isaac jensen ackles glen powell charlie cox andrew garfield john boyega + more, just ask!

[goddesspharo]

for the wip post: going to resist my deep and abiding curiosity about the spy au and ask about cat?

I'll give you two for the price of one since the spy AU is less a tangible thing and more like a collection of lines of dialogue and bits and pieces of plot that I didn't want to forget. There have been so many variations of abandoned spy AU docs over the years - the Veep one born of that green hued scene with Dan telling Amy in the parking lot that she needs to go to a church, find someone there that has some Valium, and take four of them; post Last Days on Mars when I wanted Romola Garai and Liev Schreiber to be spies in things because all of the screencaps from Ray Donovan, a show I never watched, felt spy-ish; spy Ex Machina; so many ideas for political thrillers by way of espionage; the list goes on and on and on. Name a thing and I'll tell you how and why it should be a spy AU.

As for cat, it's set post-The Batman after Selina leaves Gotham, but can anyone ever really leave Gotham? She steals from the rich, gives to the poor, reads think pieces about the prince of Gotham with a familiarity she can't quite place. (It was definitely going to go to a you can't hide your secret identify from someone you've made out with before place and her blowing back into town once she figured it out. Maybe some fake dating for the papers to cover up (his) crimefighting and (her) need for revenge. Possibly some When In Rome allusions. Definitely a charity auction where she almost lets him get snatched up by an elderly socialite because she can.)

[haroldgross]

New Post has been published on Harold Gross: The 5a.m. Critic

New Post has been published on https://literaryends.com/hgblog/halo-series-2/

Halo (series 2)

[3 stars]

I so want to like this show more than I do, but it hasn’t improved much over the first series. It is still packed with world-building and great fights and effects. However, the characters remain more puppets than people in many cases. And the story… well, let me back up.

I never played Halo. FPS is not my genre and while I tried I just wasn’t able to have fun dying every 3 seconds in the game and eventually walked away. So I have no grounding in the root story. That shouldn’t matter for the series. I can’t speak to how closely it is sticking to the game or books plot, but I know how rich that was and I suspect they’re too scared to stray from it given the size of the audience. My biggest clue is that at the end of this season there is a left turn that, well left me behind. I can make guesses as to what it all meant, but I was simply annoyed and confused. I’m sure the leap came directly from the game, but if you haven’t played the game you have only a glimmer of a thought as to what happened.

I’m sure they will explain more in the next season. I’m also sure there will be one unless the sale of Paramount goes through and that scuttles the plan. But from a viewer point of view, it was a radical shift that didn’t intrigue as much as annoy me. Not because it wasn’t explained, but because the characters in the show seemed to understand a good deal of the situation and I still didn’t understand.

On a more practical level, the addition of Cristina Rodlo was a nice expansion of the cast. Pablo Schreiber (First Man) continues to evolve in compelling ways, navigating his self-discovery and waking up to the twisted politics that rule his life. Similarly Kate Kennedy (Midsummer Night’s Dream) expands her character in interesting ways. But other characters, new like Joseph Morgan (Brave New World), and old from the prior season, became even less believable… portrayed as one-dimensional politicos with little nuance.

But if what you want are battles more than science and discussion, this season is probably for you. Plenty of carnage. Plenty of running and betrayal and triumph and failure. Aspects of all that play well, if a little cliche. But whatever’s coming seems to be a big shift, given the finale. And you can bet I’m interested in finding out what comes next and how this wraps up or continues. That is a credit more to Schreiber and the cast than it is to the writers, but that’s OK. Interesting characters create interesting plot, even when it is stock.

Where to watch

[jayther]

There are two types of smoke alarm. One of 'em ain't so good. Which one is better? Now that's a burning question. Also, don't start tearing apart smoke alarms and playing with the americium. It's mostly harmless when outside your body but if it gets in there can be trouble. Links 'n' stuff: The 60 minutes programme; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LT6pFzyAov8 Technology Connections on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TechConnectify The TC Subreddit https://ift.tt/9v0ETLH This channel is supported through viewer contributions on Patreon. Thanks to the generous support of people like you, Technology Connections has remained independent and possible. If you'd like to join the amazing people who've pledged their support, check out the link below. Thank you for your consideration! https://ift.tt/DVqUkPl Oh, and look at these wonderful patrons! Hargrimm , jay, Syber-Space, Todd Johnson, Nuki Chau, Chris & Anne Nash, Jordi Pakey-Rodriguez, Jim Moores, Ryan Wallmow, Roger Melo, AuroranFilms, RegalRegex, Michael Lehenbauer, James Manes, Mihaly Barasz, Potatoots, Mark Johansson, Lee Dedmon, Berwin Xie, Grey Hodge, Jim Kropa, Tony B, David Collins, Alex Carbone, Ben Golus, Tim Doering, Jonathan Grayum, Kodi , Colin Chan, Mark Komarinski, Jeff Groves, Ryan McLaughlin, J.P. Stewart, NADAV GERBER, Zac Schmitt, Bryce Swearingen, Nathan Fenner, Rittycat , Huub Heijnen, Joseph Dion, Jim Sells, Dustin Gilyard, KoolJBlack, nils m, Damione Moore, Jeremy Weeks, Carolyn Gerakines, Cameron Ross, samukaisan, Kyle Boreing, Ben Waxler, Jason Fortezzo, Andreas Neidlinger, Jason Stonehouse, Andy Warren, Rowan Parker, Steven Dubnoff, Keaton Mowery, Brett and Eric, Alexander Koch, Alipasha Sadri, Jimmy2Guys , Dash Buck, Christopher Schreiber, R. Anthony Lorensen, glw, Adam Zaner, Bob , Emil , Dad , Holden Higgins, Zach Orum, HJ, michael waddle, Tayler Heaney, Ryan, Nate Tangsurat, Jim Cavoli, Scott Waldron, Lars Naurath, Mike SoRelle, BabyET, Nick Blair, Richard Stephens, Ken Kasal, Bryce Chidester, Philip Buonadonna, BoneDepot, Barbara Ganschow, Amanda , Andy , Inkydink , Colin Mutter, Ray Everett, Connor Taffe, Nope, Todd Hawk, Rich Delgado, Brian Hamilton, Caius Worthen, Justin Byers, Falldog , Scott 'Funnyjk', David Guerrero, John Feldman, Ted Ledbetter, Tobias Putz, Caytlin Vilbrandt, Alex Rich, Geo (Overand), Nikhill Rao, Robert Fletcher, William PS, Douglas Geusz, Alexane Desbiens, Nick Kourpias, stateless.eth, Benhart, Sammy Newton, Lew Zealand, Shaitageth, Mason DeBord, Jarocks, Benjamin Richards, Chris Brosz, Stewart , Kyle Burton, Jonas, Woofy, Russell Grant, Dan Simon, cparks1000000 , Kyle, false, David Glover-Aoki, iPaq, Peter Murray, probnot, Mike West via YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DuAeaIcAXtg

[muppet-facts]

Muppet Fact #256

Gorgon Heap is one of the few monster Muppets that has appeared both as a live-hand Muppet and a full-bodied Muppet.

Sources:

The Muppet Show. Episode 103: Joel Grey.

The Muppet Show. Episode 116: Avery Schreiber.

The Muppet Show. Episode 119: Vincent Price.

The Muppet Show. Episode 201: Don Knotts.

The Muppet Show. Episode 204: Rich Little.

The Muppet Show. Episode 318: Leslie Uggams.

[cptrs]

[schreiberpablo]

Pablo Schreiber photographed by Rich Fury at the 2022 SXSW Conference on March 14, 2022

[writerchickmarie]

John Lloyd Young - To Vegas, With Love - From New York

What happens in Vegas...doesn’t always stay in Vegas. 

When it involves a John Lloyd Young show, those of us who are there in person at The Space share our thoughts and happiness on social media and other places.  And for those who couldn’t be there in the building, there was a  livestream so they could be part of the fun  - and enjoy this special set.

JLY and his musical director, Jacquelyn Schreiber, debuted this set at Cafe Carlyle in NYC, earning rave reviews across the board. So, they decided to bring it to Sin City to share with the other coast, and to livestream so more people could experience it. It was phenomenal at the Carlyle...and has gotten even better here.  That’s quite a feat  - to improve upon perfection.

JLY started strong right out of the gate with his always outstanding version  of “My Prayer”, then moved into Roy Orbison’s “Love Hurts”, wringing every bit of emotion from the song with the unique cry in his voice.

Then came the lush, beautiful “I Have Dreamed”, which is always a favorite. JLY is a master at connecting with the live audience in front of him along with the camera for the livestream audience, moving seamlessly between the two.  Next up was his wistful rendition of Little Anthony’s “I’m On The Outside Looking In”, followed by a knockout version of Stevie Wonder’s “Knocks My Off My Feet”, complete with audience participation.

Before the next song, JLY addressed the livestream audience, telling them what he was about to do was incentive for them to come to a performance in person.  He then worked his way around the room with “Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me”, which is a thrill for all of us every single time.  He followed that up with his iconic “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You”, better than ever and done to perfection.

The next section of songs was even more special, and each tune took your breath away as JLY performed it. “Let There Be Love”, first made popular by Nat King Cole, was rich and smooth, and also showcased Jacquelyn’s stellar jazz piano skills.  JLY’s stories added to the vibe, especially as he performed “Moody’s Mood For Love”, taking all of us back to that moment in the Jersey Boys movie - Bob Gaudio’s declaration that he really needed to write for that voice.  And it’s even more true for JLY’s voice. He also took us back to a serendipitous personal moment with this song, as a sign that he got the part in Jersey Boys.  And the rest is history!

“My Eyes Adored You” is stronger than ever, and enriched by Jacquelyn’s beautiful harmony vocals. And JLY’s haunting version of “I Only Have Eyes For You” pulls on the heartstrings on a higher level, staying in your mind long after the evening’s performance.

The two songs that followed were also on another level. This arrangement of “The Air That I Breathe” is beyond breathtaking, with truly out of this world vocals. “Both Sides Now” is unique and thoughtful, each verse building upon the one before in a different way.  JLY’s voice and Jaquelyn’s creative arrangements are stunning and pair so well together.

We completed the set with “Maybe I’m Amazed”, which is a personal favorite of mine, and better than the original. (Sorry, Sir Paul!)  And JLY, of course, closed out the performance with “Sherry”, with all of us on our feet, singing along, and feeling all of the joy of the evening.

I hope we continue to experience this set often, as every song is impeccably done and the perfect showcase of all of JLY’s talents.  The magic continues to grow, as we grow with him - from coast to coast and beyond.  I can’t wait to see where the journey leads next!

[betterdaysareatoenailaway]

RANDOM REVIEW #2: ANY GIVEN SUNDAY (1999)

“This game has got to be about more than winning. You’re part of something.”  Any Given Sunday (1999), directed by Oliver Stone and featuring Jamie Foxx, Dennis Quaid, Cameron Diaz, Al Pacino, LL Cool J, James Woods, and Matthew Modine, is my favourite sports movie of all time. Of all time.

I’m not betraying my favourite sport by saying this. The Mighty Ducks is a kid’s movie. It’s okay, but it’s not a timeless classic. I don’t like the Slap Shot series, Sudden Death is fun but silly, and the Goon movies were a missed opportunity. The only truly good scene in Goon is the diner scene where Liev Schreiber tells Seann William Scott: “Don’t go trying to be a hockey player. You’ll get your heart ripped out.”

  Such is the sad circumstance of the hockey enforcer. They all want to play, not just fight. Here’s a link to a video in which the most feared fighter in the history of the NHL, Bob Probert, explains that he wanted to be “an offensive threat...like Bobby Orr,” not a fighter: https://youtu.be/4sbxejbMH4g?t=118 Heartbreaking. But not unusual.

Donald Brashear, Marty McSorley, Tie Domi, Stu “The Grim Reaper” Grimson, Frazer McLaren: they all had hockey skills. But they were told they had to fight to remain on the roster, so they fought. As Schreiber says in the film: “You know they just want you to bleed, right?”  If the players don’t bleed, they don’t get to stay on the team. So they fight, and they pay dearly for it later. Many former fighters have CTE or other head injuries that make day-to-day life difficult. The makers of Goon should have taken that scene and run with it. I was so disappointed they didn’t, especially given what happened right around the time the film came out, with the tragic suicides of Wade Belak, Derek Boogaard, and Rick Rypien, all enforcers, all dead in a single summer. So Hollywood hasn’t even made a good hockey movie, let alone a great one. Baseball has a shitload of good films, probably because the slower pace of play makes it easier to film. Moneyball has a terrific home run scene, Rookie of the Year does too. Angels in the Outfield was a big favourite of mine when I was a kid, plus all the Major League films, and Bull Durham. 

Football has two good movies: The Program (1993) and Rudy (1993).    

And football has one masterpiece. The one I am writing about today.

A young Oliver Stone trying not to die in Vietnam. ^ Now, I know Stone is laughed at these days, given his nutty conspiracy theories and shitty behaviour and the marked decline in the quality of his films (although 2012’s Savages was underrated). I know Stone is about as subtle as a sledgehammer, but do you want a football movie to be subtle? Baseball, sure. It’s a game of fine distinctions, but football? Football is war. And war is about steamrolling the enemy, distinctions be damned, which is why Any Given Sunday is such an amazing sports film. I love the way it shows the dark side of football. In fact, the film is so dark that the NFL withdrew their support and cooperation, forcing Stone to create a fictitious league and team to portray what he wanted to portray.

This is not to say the movie is fresh or original. Quite the opposite. Any Given Sunday has every single sports film cliché you can think of. But precisely because it tries to stuff every single cliché into its runtime, the finished product is not a cliched mess so much as a rich tapestry, a dense cinema verite depiction of the dizzying highs and depressing lows of a professional sports team as it wins, loses, parties, and staggers its way through a difficult season.  Cliché #1: The aging quarterback playing his final year, trying to win one last championship. (Dennis Quaid) 

Sample dialog: Dennis Quaid (lying in a hospital bed severely injured): Don’t give up on me coach. Al Pacino: You’re like a son to me. I’ll never give up on you. ^ I know this sounds awful. But it’s actually fuckin’ great. Cliché #2: The arrogant upstart new player who likes hip hop and won’t respect the old regime. (Jamie Foxx) 

Cliché #3: The walking wounded veteran who could die if he gets hit one more time. Coincidentally, he needs just one more tackle to make his million-dollar bonus for the season. (Lawrence Taylor) 

Cliché #4: The female executive in a man’s world who must assert herself aggressively in order to win the grudging respect of her knuckle-dragging male colleagues (Cameron Diaz). Diaz is fantastic in the role, though she should have had more screen time, given that the main conflict in the film is very much about the new generation, as represented by her and Jamie Foxx, trying to replace the old generation, represented by Al Pacino, Dennis Quaid, Jim Brown, and Lawrence Taylor. Some people think Diaz’s character is too calculating, but here’s the thing: she’s right. Too many sports GMs shell out millions for the player an individual used to be, not the player he presently is. “I am not resigning a 39-year old QB, no matter how good he was,” she tells Pacino’s coach character, and you know what? She’s right. The Leafs’ David Clarkson signing is proof positive of the perils of signing a player based on past performance, not current capability. Diaz’s character is the living embodiment of the question: do you want to win, or do you want to be loyal? Cuz sometimes you can’t do both.

Cliché #5: The team doctor who won’t sacrifice his ethics for the good of the team (Matthew Modine).

Cliché #6: The team doctor who will sacrifice his ethics for the good of the team (James Woods) 

Cliché #7: The grizzled, thrice-divorced coach who has sacrificed everything for his football team, to the detriment of his social and familial life, who must give a stirring speech at some point in the film (Al Pacino…who goes out there and gives the all-time greatest sports movie “we must win this game” speech) 

Cliché #8: The assistant or associate coach who takes a parental interest in his players, playing the good cop to the head coach’s bad cop (former NFL star Jim Brown). 

Best quote: “Who wants to be thinking about blitzes and crossblocks when you’re holding your grandkids in your arms? That’s why I wanna coach high school. Kids don’t know nothing. They just wanna play.” 

Cliché #9: The player who can’t stop doing drugs (L.L. Cool J).

Okay, so the first thing that needs to be talked about is Al Pacino’s legendary locker room speech.  Now, it’s the coach’s job to rile up and inspire the players. But eloquence alone won’t do it. If you use certain big words, you lose them (remember Brian Burke being endlessly mocked by the Toronto media for using the word “truculent?”). The coach must deliver the message in a language the players understand, while still making victory sound lofty and aspirational. This is not an easy thing to accomplish. One of my favourite inspirational lines was spoken by “Iron” Mike Keenan to the New York Rangers before Game 7 against the Vancouver Canucks in 1994. “Win tonight, and we’ll walk together forever.” Oooh that’s gorgeous. But Pacino’s speech is right up there with it. 

“You know, when you get old in life…things get taken from you. That’s parta life. But you only learn that when you start losin’ stuff. You find out…life’s this game of inches. So’s football. In either game – life or football – the margin for error is so small. I mean…one half a step too late or too early and you don’t quite make it…one half second too slow, too fast, you don’t quite catch it. The inches we need are everywhere around us. They’re in every break of the game, every minute, every second. On this team, we fight for that inch. We claw with our fingernails for that inch. Because we know when we add up all those inches that’s gonna make the fuckin difference between winnin’ and losin’! Between livin’ and dyin’!” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m_iKg7nutNY  Somehow, against all odds, Any Given Sunday succeeds. It is the Cinderella run of sports movies. You root for the film as you watch it. The dressing room scenes are incredible…the Black players listen to the newest hip hop while a trio of lunkhead white dudes headbang and scream “Hetfield is God.” There is a shower scene where a linebacker, tired of being teased about the size of his penis, tosses his pet alligator into the showers where it terrorizes his tormentors. There is a scene where a halfback has horrible diarrhea, but he’s hooked up to an IV so the doctor (Matthew Modine) has to follow him into the toilet cubicle, crinkling his nose as the player evacuates his bowels. There is a scene where someone loses an eye (the only scene in the film where Stone’s over-the-top approach misses the mark). There are scenes that discuss concussions (which is why the NFL refused to cooperate for the film), where Lawrence Taylor has to sign a waiver absolving the team of responsibility if he is hurt or paralyzed or killed. I wonder how purists and old school football fans reacted to the news that Oliver Stone was making a football film. If they even knew who he was (not totally unlikely…Stone made a string of jingoistic war movies in the 1980s) they probably thought the heavy hands of Oliver would ruin the film, take the poetry out of every play. But the actual football is filmed perfectly. The camera gets nice and low for the tackles. It flies the arcs of perfect spiral passes. It shows the chaos of a defensive line barreling down the field. When Al Pacino asked quarterback Dan Marino (fresh off his own Hollywood experience acting in Ace Ventura: Pet Detective) what it was like to be an NFL QB, Marino said: “Imagine standing on a highway with traffic roaring at you while trying to read Hamlet.” A great explanation. Shoulda made the movie. So the football itself is fabulously done. Much better than what Cameron Crowe did in the few football scenes in Jerry Maguire. The Program had some great football, as did Rudy, but neither come close to the heights of Any Given Sunday. In one of the film’s best scenes, Jamie Foxx insists that his white coaches have routinely placed him in situations where he was doomed to fail or prone to injury, and we believe him because white coaches have been doing that to Black players for decades. Quarterback Doug Williams, who led his Washington Redskins team to a Superbowl victory in 1987, was frequently referred to by even liberal media outlets as a “Black quarterback,” instead of just “quarterback,” as if his skin colour necessitated a qualification. Even now, in 2021, the majority of quarterbacks are white, although the gap is gradually closing. The 2020 season saw the highest number of starting Black quarterbacks, with 10 out of a possible 32.  Quarterback is the most cerebral position on the field, and for a long time there was a racist belief that Black men couldn’t do the job. Foxx’s character is a composite of many of the different Black quarterbacks who came of age in the 1990s, fighting for playing time against white QBs beloved by their fan base, fawned over in hagiographic Sports Illustrated profiles, and protected by the good ol’ boys club of team executives and coaching staff. Foxx’s character isn’t demoted because he can’t play the game. He wins several crucial games for his team en route to the playoffs. He’s demoted because he listens to hip hop in the dressing room, because he recorded a rap song and shot a video for it, and because he’s cocky. Yes, the scene where he asks out Cameron Diaz is sexist, as if her power only comes from her sexuality, not her intelligence and business acumen, but it’s meant to show how overly confident Foxx is, not that he’s a sexist prick. Any Given Sunday isn’t a single issue film. It’s basically an omni-protest piece. It gleefully shows football’s dark side, and there is no director better than Oliver Stone for muck-raking. He’s in full-on investigative journalist mode in Any Given Sunday, showing how and why players play through serious brain injuries. How because they are given opiates, often leading to debilitating addictions (this happens in all contact sports...Colorado Avalanche player Marek Svatos overdosed on heroin a few years after retiring from injuries). As to why, Stone gives two reasons. One, team doctors are paid by the team, not the players, therefore their decisions will benefit the team, not the players. And two, the players themselves are encouraged to underreport injuries and play through them because stats are incentivized. James Woods unethical doctor argues with Modine’s idealistic one because an MRI the latter called for a player to have costs the team $20k. But the player in question, Lawrence Taylor, plays anyway because his contract is stat incentivized and if he makes on more tackle he gets a million dollars. Incentivizing stats leads to players playing hurt. And although I loathe this term, a lazy go-to for film critics, Stone really does give an unflinching account of how this shit happens and why. When Williams is inevitably hurt and lying prone on the field, he woozily warns the paramedics who are placing him on a stretcher to “be careful…I’m worth a million dollars.” It’s tragic, yet you’re happy for him. The film really makes you care about these guys.  Thanks to the smartly written script, the viewer knows that Williams has four kids, and you’re pleased he made his bonus because, in all likelihood, after he retires, his injuries will prevent him from any kind of gainful employment (naturally, they give the TV analyst jobs to retired white players, unless Williams can somehow land the coveted token Black guy gig). Stone is not above fan service, a populist at heart, and he stuffs the film with former and then-current NFL players, a miraculous stunt given the fact that the NFL revoked their cooperation. Personally, I think this was a good thing because it meant Stone didn’t have to compromise (the league wanted editorial say on all issues pertaining to the league…meaning they would have cut the best storyline, which is the playing hurt one). It also meant that they had to rename the team and the league. While I’m sure this took away from the realism for some fans, I’m cool with it. It also allowed the moviemakers to name the team the Sharks, a perfect name for this roving band of predatory capitalist sports executives. In another example of fan service, the call-girl Pacino’s quintessential lonely workaholic character rents a girlfriend experience from is none other than Elizabeth Berkley of Showgirls, who had been unfairly blacklisted after the titular Verhoven/Esterhaz venture, a movie my wife showed me one day while I was dopesick, which I became so transfixed and mesmerized by that I forgot I was. As mentioned above, the only misstep in the film is one of the offshoots of the Playing Hurt arc, where a player loses an eye on the field. Not because he gets poked, but because he gets hit so hard his eye simply falls out. A medic runs onto the field and puts the white globe on ice. Stone cast a player with a glass eye in order to achieve this effect. No CGI! Still, the scene is unconvincing, a tad too over-the-top. But this is Oliver Stone. At least Any Given Sunday’s sole over-the-top moment is a throwaway scene lasting all of thirty seconds. It easily could have been a secondary plot-line in which government officials try to sneak a Cuban football prodigy out of Castro’s communist stronghold but the player is brutally murdered the morning the officials arrive at his apartment to escort him to the private plane. Or else the team GM is revealed to be a massive international cocaine dealer. Or the tight end is one half of a serial killer couple. The film follows its own advice, focusing more on the players growth, particularly Beamon’s (Foxx). The anonymity of the title, Any Given Sunday, elevates the game, not the players. Thank God, the movie doesn’t force Beamon to assimilate into Pacino’s mold. He buys into the team-first philosophy without renouncing his idiosyncratic POV or his fierce individuality. This is a triumph. One of my biggest problems with sports is the flattening effect it can have on creative individuals. Players take media training in order to sound as alike as possible during media interviews, a long row of stoic giants spouting cliches. It’s boring. Which is why media latch onto a loudmouth, even while they scold him for it. All sports are dying for an intelligent mouthpiece who can explain his motivations in a succinct, sound-bite-friendly, manner. Sports are entertainment. As much as I love Sidney Crosby, in my heart I have to go with Alexander Ovechkin because Ovechkin is far more thrilling, both on and off the ice. Unlike almost every other NHL star before him, all of whom were forced to kneel and kiss Don Cherry’s Rock Em Sock Em ring, Ovechkin defiantly told the media he simply did not care about Cherry or Cherry’s disgusting parental reaction to one of Ovie’s more creative goal celebrations (called a “celly” in the biz). On the play in question, Ovechkin scored the goal, then dropped his stick and mimed warming his hands over it, as if his stick were on fire. As cheesy as the celebration appeared to the naked eye, it’s both a funny and accurate notion. Ovechkin was the hottest scorer in the league for many years and his stick was on fire, metaphorically speaking. The only celly I can think of that matches up in terms of creativity and entertainment value came from Teemu Selanne in 1993, who scored a beauty of a goal, threw one of his gloves straight up into the air, then pumped his stick like a shotgun while “shooting” his glove. Of course, Cherry took exception to it. Cherry’s favourite goal celebration features Bobby Orr putting his head down and refraining from raising his hands over his head. Cherry’s idea of an appropriate goal celly is no celly at all. This from a man who claims “we’ve got to sell our game.” But when an arrogant player shows up and he’s not white, he’s in for a shitload of bad press. Foxx’s Beamon illustrates this beautifully when he yells at Pacino after Pacino cuts him for an older QB who has lost four games this season. “Don’t play that racism card with me,” Pacino warns. “Okay…okay…” Foxx nods, “Maybe it’s not racism. Maybe it’s ‘placism’…as in…a brother got to know his place.”

Here is the original theatrical trailer, featuring Garbage’s classic “Push It.”

Above Lawrence Taylor begs Matthew Modine for Cortazone.  There’s also a great scene where Pacino is trying to figure out where he has gone wrong and Diaz just looks at him. “You got old,” she says simply. No enterprise is more cruel to an aging human being than sports. And this movie makes football a big giant corporate machine that chews players up and spits them out, injured and drug addicted, after four or five years. Those who play for a decade are lucky. This is still how the NFL works. And the NHL is increasingly becoming a young man’s game. Experience matters less and less.

When I started watching hockey in the 90s, players regularly competed into their late 30s. Not so anymore. Players peak at 23-24 now, and are often out of the league by age 35. Thornton and Chelois are exceptions, not the rule. After more than two hours, Any Given Sunday finally lurches across the finish line, bravely refusing to give its viewers a traditional happy ending, in the great tradition of underdog sports films like Rocky and Rudy. The bombshell dropped by Pacino’s character at the end feels less surprising than inevitable, but by now the movie has explored so much of professional sports' seedy underbelly that you're glad it's over. The film is great but exhausting. Stone seems to be advancing the notion that the sport itself is pure, but the people in it are corrupt. If money weren’t involved, the game would be played for its own sake.

I agree with this. People playing pond hockey are engaging in wholesome fun, not necessarily practicing to make a professional league. Commerce corrupts the purity of the game, and the extent to which it corrupts is directly proportional to how badly the individual in question needs the commerce. Of course, the sport is highly racialized, with people in positions of authority white, and those being told what to do with their bodies Black.

Any Given Sunday is an important film, but it never sacrifices entertainment for the sake of moralizing. That it pulls off such a strong moralistic stance is a testament to the actors, who are all incredible, and the material, which is among the strongest of Stone’s career.

He never really made a great movie after this one. So check it out sometime.

[haroldgross]

New Post has been published on Harold Gross: The 5a.m. Critic

New Post has been published on http://literaryends.com/hgblog/halo/

Halo

[3 stars]

Halo is based on decades of material. Though based on a game, it’s a rich and complicated universe full of emotion, fantastical settings, and action. And you can see all the effort and money on the screen of this adaptation…everywhere except in the writer’s room.

Despite all the effort by Pablo Schreiber (First Man), the script just isn’t there to support him.  And while Kate Kennedy (Midsummer Night’s Dream) builds a nice parallel for his efforts, it isn’t enough to create the tension needed.

This is in large part because so many other characters are overplayed. Natascha McElhone, for all her talent mostly chews scenery. Yerin Ha never quite gets beyond the hysteria of her pain to feel like she’s more than flailing. And Charlie Murphy tries to add layers to her kidnapped human character, but there isn’t quite enough to sell the various shifts she gamely tries to deliver. And far too many characters are forced to make choices “because it says so in the script” rather than because they were earned or made sense for people in those positions. And that mostly came down to the writing.

And that is squarely on co-creators Kyle Killen (Fear Street: Part One) and Steven Kane (The Closer). Their biggest issue is that they never let go of the game–an assumption verified from interviews I’ve read after the finale and the use of Jen Taylor for Cortana (not that she doesn’t do well reprising her part). They assumed that was their only audience rather than a starting point. There are short-cuts, assumptions, and, most unforgivably, cheap genre writing rather than treating the story as a fresh, full story.

The finale isn’t quite earned in this first season. It is compelling and has potential if the show knows how to pick it up and run with what was best in the series. But I can’t say I’m confident that they’ll be able to do it as I don’t know if they even recognize where the weaknesses are. If you loved the game (and there are a lot of you, admittedly) you’ll likely enjoy seeing it come alive like this a great deal. If you were a casual player or know nothing, you’re going to find a good portion of it cringe-worthy between the good bits. But if they can pull it together next season, it will have been worth squinting through this opening salvo.

[dreamingfanficsmasher]

Smart, Funny, Sexy or Cute? - Pablo Schreiber x Reader.

Warnings: Just a bit of fluff 💕

The two of you had been sitting on the couch watching ‘He’s Just Not That Into You’, you were both so exhausted from work that you didn’t care what you watched, you just needed to relax.

You sat with your legs resting on his lap, him gently stroking your leg. Every now and then sending shivers up your body just from the slight of touch. The scene came up where Scarlett Johansson and the boyfriend (you could never remember his name) were discussing whether cute, sexy, funny or smart.

Pablo then turned to look at you with a goofy smile on his face, “Am I cute, sexy, funny or smart? You can only pick one!” You gave out a loud laugh, “Okay, but you go first.”

He dramatically put his finger to his chin, acting like he was thinking really hard, “Hmm, I have to say you are VERY sexy and funny. Now you go.” You raised your eyebrow, “What are you saying I’m not smart?” You said in a serious tone.

His eyes suddenly shot wide open, “No, no, no, I didn’t mean it like that-” You then started giggling, where he realised you were kidding. “Just answer the question.” He laughed.

“Okay… I don’t know Pablo, am I allowed to say your everything, because you make me laugh, but your also fucking smart, your incredibly sexy and yet so incredibly cute at the same time.” You giggled.

He then gave you a huge smile and pulled you onto his lap, giving you a tender kiss. “Thank you, for making me look like a dick by only picking two.” You started to laugh, “But you are all those things Pablo.”

He raised an eyebrow, “So you’re in it for the looks and the personality. Huh?” You replied by passionately kissing him. When you eventually pulled away, you were looking deeply into his eyes, “I’m in it for you, not any specifics.”

He then started to get serious, “No, but seriously, sometimes I feel like I don’t deserve you, you are this perfect down to earth person, and I’m just this actor, that doesn’t feel good enough.” You then held your hand to his chest, where his heart would be, “Pablo, I fell in love with you for you. Not just one specific thing. I wouldn’t care if you rich or poor, fat or thin, attractive or unattractive. If you have this heart, then I am yours.”

He gave a soft smile, you then also realised that was the first time you ever said the ‘L’ word. “You’re in love with me?” He seemed to choke up a bit, “I love you too.”

He then pulled you into a deep kiss, it was one of those kisses where you knew where this was going, not leaving your lips he picked you up in one swift motion, leading you into the bedroom…

Tags: @fumbling-fanfics @crushed-pink-petals @madmedusa178 @schreiberpablo @schreibersource @j-elaine-hyde @pabloschreiberappreciation

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