#they literally cast this film in 2020

[chalamet-chalamet]

Timothée Chalamet as Bob Dylan and director James Mangold on the set of ‘A Complete Unknown’ on March 17, 2024. ✨✨✨

Twitter credit to cravemedia_

[hs-is-loml]

Still Love Him More. (t.b)

Pairing: Tom Blyth x Co-star!Reader, mention of Past!Charles Leclerc x Reader

Summary: some fans can't get over your past relationship with a certain famous ferrari driver while others are obsessed with your new boyfriend.

Type: Social Media AU! face claim is Rachel Zegler

Warnings: toxic fans? mentioned a slightly unhealthy past relationship with charles leclerc. (literally only mentioned and not pictured...), few grammar mistakes in the twitter threads. not a warning but tom blyth being the standard. UNEDITED

a/n: this was inspired by @sofs16 's jealousy, jealousy! + i'm deprived of charles since the f1 season being over rn so maybe i'm a little harsh with him in this... (written in 3am because why not)

masterlist

instagram

y/nupdates has posted

liked by y/nl/nsources, blindedbyblyth, 1ucygrayba1rd, and 26,936 others

y/nupdates y/n with rumored co-star boyfriend tom blyth at the knicks basketball game tonight!

tagged yourusername and tomblyth

view all 571 comments

y/nsidelove rumored? haven't they been dating since last year?

→ peetaspastry i think we all just assumed with the amount these two are together!

→ articarabella they are definitely dating! a few weeks ago y/n went on live and it was pretty much confirmed by them! they also mentioned how tom and her searching for a new place in new york

y/nforlifeee honestly, i don't know how people didn't figure it out sooner

thatonebakucorner who is this man and why is he with y/n😀

→ protectthewags it's her new love interest in tbosas

→ thatonebakucorner so what he's the her new love interest in her life too??!

twitter

instagram

blythandl/nnews has posted

liked by y/npleasegivemeachance, snowbairdsfall, fellforthebuzzcut, and 19,017 others

blythandl/nnews more pictures of y/n and tom during the tbosas

tagged yourusername and tomblyth

view all 236 comments

y/nintbosasera she found an european man with some height to him🙏🏼🙏🏼

→ finnicksspear not the shade to the vroom vroom ex😭

→ welovey/n people need to get over the fact y/n and charles have been broken up for over a year already...

blythfilms something about them just make sense

nevergettingoverthem i've never seen a photo of y/n looking so happy!

→ y/nineverymovie maybe it's because her ex's fans used to belittle her and criticized her on anything she did?

valntynemade i should've known that the f1 girlies would find this

→ staystrongy/n they never miss when y/n is spotted with someone

twitter

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tbosasmemories has posted

liked by y/nupdates, th3hungergam3s, and 32,658 others

tbosasmemories behind the scenes pictures of y/n l/n and tom blyth while filming tbosas!

tagged yourusername, tomblyth, and thehungergames

view all 459 comments

lovelyy/n the casting and sets of this movie are impeccable

unfairodair only tom blyth would make people attracted to a murderous man with a buzzcut

→ watchingforthem the same thing happened with drew starkey playing rafe cameron

soundofsnowlanding the more pictures are released of tom and y/n, the more it makes sense why they fell in love with each other!

→ y/nineverymovie she always seems to laugh more when he's around

livingfory/nreputationera the best thing that happened to y/n and her mental health was getting away from her ex. not to mention how she can actually focus on her career now

→ carlosconfusion i don't get why everyone hates charles so much? what happened between him and y/n?

→ wagsforlife charles and y/n were together from around late 2020 to early 2022. during the relationship, y/n was receiving a lot of hate from charles' fans and took a break from all social media and acting until the press tour of west side story started. many fans still love them but as separate people and not a couple!

→ oneforthewags exactly, that! even though y/n isn't a wag anymore, we still love her and support her work!

tomblyth has posted

liked by yourusername, hunterschafer, mrsamclaflin, and 985,973 others

tomblyth to my favorite person who breathed life into this movie. i will never be able to thank the world for sending you into my life. you are the light in the darkest scenes. i am truly the luckiest person for having you by my side every day. you are beautiful, angel.

tagged yourusername

view all 89,342 comments

yourusername i love you

→ liked by tomblyth and 510 others

→ tomblyth and i endlessly love you.

songbirdsandsnakes snowbaird lives with you two

hunterschafer you guys are too cute!

variety hollywood's favorite couple ❤️

lunasteeples gorgeous girl

thehungergames two incredible leads

jesperjones a cast made up of the loveliest people :)

yourusername has posted

liked by tomblyth, vaughan_reilly, tchalamet and 1,041,109 others

yourusername i cried to him last night about how proud i am of him. he is so wonderful in this film. you will all love him as much as i do. but i still love him more.

but i also wanted to say that i came to adore this man through long days, fun nights, in-depth talks, and silly inside jokes. i spent every day with him and got to know his heart, his sense of humor, his charm, and first and foremost, his immense talent.

my sweet tom, you are unbelievably wonderful in every way. goofy, sincere, and lovable in every moment we have. i love working with you, but beyond that, i love knowing you.

view all 121,054 comments

tomblyth you forgot to mention that i also cried with you last night.

→ tomblyth besides that. i have never met anyone else that is as perfect as every aspect of you. no one will ever have my heart the way you do.

→ liked by yourusername and 649 others

→ yourusername you have me forever.

lilymhe loved the movie! and the amazing chemistry between the two of you!

vogue favorite on and off-screen pair

alyciajasmin beautiful people 🤍

nickkbenson biggest smiles

→ yourusername always!

florencepugh adore you both

[a-substantial-trash-pile]

Studio TV Solutions presents Half Life VR but the AI are Self-Aware (2020) [not a real movie]. A movie with a totally improv’d script starring a moltey crew who are sure to give you a rip-roarin’ good time!

anyway hi new au just dropped. i’m calling it HLVRAIM. it’s HLVRAI but it’s a blockbuster movie and the science team are played by actors. i have many thought on backstories n stuff that i will stick under a “read more” here otherwise this post will be hella long on people’s dashes. 👇👍 pls care about this i thought so hard and much

Half Life VR but the AI are Self-Aware was put out by Studio TV Solutions in 2020 and destroyed the box office with how fun it was and how well the cast played off one another. The cast was given a general outline for the script with the goal for it to be mostly improv.

Gordon Freeman: Mannie Flores (Dominican American, age 28, he/him) - Popular Youtuber/Twitch streamer (“Radi0Mann”). Got offered the role in HLVRAI thanks to the creative things he’s done in his Youtube/Twitch career. This is his first “official” acting gig. He was pretty starstruck at first, but then as he got to know everyone, he realized they’re all a bunch of dorks (affectionate). - Started off as a gaming channel, but then started branching off into various creative endeavors as he got more popular. He still plays games too though. - One of the things Mannie did in his internet career that hit the mainstream was when he wrote, directed, starred in, and filmed his own movie in just 2 weeks because he failed a bet with his audience. Except the movie was actually really good and funny and heartfelt (i want to say it was about “a man who got left behind on earth after everyone else was raptured because god literally forgot about him”, but i think the concept might’ve been done already). - Met Benji through HLVRAI. They hit it off and now they’re dating. They tried to keep it secret for a while but Mannie had a slip-up during a stream that sort of blew it out of the water.

Benrey: Benji Song (Japanese/Chinese, age 30, he/they) - Started off as a film sound designer in the industry, then through a series of silly willy little events—possibly even shenanigans—got roped into a role in a passion indie film that became wildly acclaimed and flung him into the spotlight. Been an actor ever since, but isn’t the most proactive in taking jobs much to their agent’s annoyance. People never know where he’ll pop up next. Sometimes Benji will sneak in sound designer work behind their agent’s back. - Honestly likes background work more because everyone’s got these expectations of them as an actor that they feel pressured to meet. But he’s also afraid of disappointing people. He’s working on it. - Met their partner Mannie through HLVRAI. Totally was a fan of his streams/videos beforehand though. When they mention that, Mannie gets flustered. - Does music as a hobby. Electronic stuff mostly—enjoys mashing together all sorts of sounds and trying to make them work. After HLVRAI, Mannie’s streams gets cool new music that’s made by somebody going by “johnwicklover1994.” wink

Harold Coomer: Hau’oli “Hau” Kaleo-Kirchhoff (Hawaiian/Samoan, age 66, he/him) - Old musician who’s supposed to be retired but once in a while will release a song or even do a concert (but nothing crazy). - Hau’oli is pronounced [hh-ow-oh-lee], but he also goes by “Hau” for the haoles’ sake. :) Kaleo is [kah-leh-oh]. also Hau’oli sounds a little bit like the name Holly so that’s a fun coincidence i didn’t realize until later. - Most of his music is chill island tunes but he has been known to dabble in rock and jazz. - Married to Mose (been together for 30 years and counting).

Bubby: Mose Kaleo-Kirchhoff (German, age 69 [nice], xe/him) - Veteran actor—been in the acting industry for a long time. One of his more well-known roles was in a popular sci-fi series. - Married to Hau’oli (they got married the moment it was legal). - i went with a name that started with “M” cuz when Gordon first asks Bubby for his name, xe’s like, “mmm Bubby.” and i headcanon it’s because Mose was about to say xir own name and had to swerve last minute and the thing his brain resorted to was Bubby lol.

Tommy Coolatta: Luis Tanglao (Filipino, age 37, he/they) - Child star who dropped out of the industry when he hit his teens and then came back years later as a comedian. He has material about how fucked up being a child star was. Will only take acting roles if it interests them. - They don’t care about how the public/media sees him. He’ll speak his mind and call out BS when he sees it. Interviewing them can be a war zone. - Hosts a popular podcast with some buds they discuss things like video games, their lives, news, etc. Just shooting the shit. - Sunkist is their actual dog and she modeled for the png photo that was used. Her name is actually Biko. She is a very good girl. <3

Darnold Pepper: Sage Haven (African American, age 40, he/her/they) - Famous cooking show host who gets offered roles in movies. Got popular by how unconventional her meals and cooking methods are and how funny he is. - Has had multiple food/cooking/baking shows over the years. Every competition-based one they’ve had focused more on good vibes, fun, and encouraging one another rather than drama. One show involved people competing to see who could make the best full course meal with the catch being they could only cook everything in a microwave. Many microwaves perished. - Changed their name to Sage Haven during their transition. They chose it because it reflects his passion and also is a play on the phrase “safe haven”, which is what she wants to be to others. - He has an adoptive daughter named Kit. She helped them think up bits and jokes. She also had to help explain what Half-Life was.

haven’t gotten to gman and forzen’s actors yet unfortunately. thinking gman’s actor could be a talk show host? because that would be funny. anyway thanks for humoring me on my shenanigans. bye

[karttaylir-darasuum]

a resource page for all your clone related needs

some tips on how to unwhitewash the clones in your content: 1 2 3

a folder of literally, like, 100s of photos of tem for all your reference needs

avoid racist, ableist, & otherwise negative stereotypes when writing about wrecker: 1 2

types of clone troopers

trooper weapons

technical sw terms

every canon named clone up until 2020 (images and names only)

ever canon named clone up until 2021 (images, names, battalions, & jedi officers)

every canon named clone up until 2023 (names and battalions only, no images)

assorted clone lore: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

reader inclusivity (has fic resources + poc moodboard images)

some links + videos about māori culture you might find useful if it's relevant to your works: 1 2

disability inclusivity

māori, mando'a, and huttese dictionaries

star wars and clone specific fic dividers: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

some things to keep in mind as we're celebrating characters played by and modeled after a māori man:

you can find the full pdf these are sourced from + more information on the subject here

if you're like me and you want to see some māori films that have māori cast members from the star wars universe, here's a list with free watch links where available:

tem's māori-focused films: once were warriors, what becomes of the broken hearted?, river queen, rain of the children, mahana/the patriarch (i'm also fond of a tv show he did called adventurer)

whale rider (keisha castle-hughes, aka queen apailana & emerie karr)

hunt for the wilderpeople (julian dennison, aka clone cadets deke & stak in tbb s3)

[jimmy-dipthong]

How long will the japanese wikipedia article for goncharov last?

And how big is the internet, really?

I was in a wikipedia hole recently and I happened to notice that the Japanese article for Goncharov is the only language variant that is completely in-character.

Every other language specifies it as “Goncharov (meme)”. Japanese lists it as “Goncharov (1973 film)”, and formats the introduction as if it were a real movie:

Goncharov is a 1973 mafia film set in Naples, Italy. Produced by Martin Scorsese, the main cast includes Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, John Cazale, Gene Hackman, Cybill Shepherd, and Harvey Keitel.

— Wikipedia (my translation)

The rest of the article does go on to acknowledge Tumblr’s influence in Goncharov’s popularity, but every mention of this influence frames it as reviving the popularity of the supposedly real film. On two occasions the word 再燃 is used (the first kanji means “again” and the second kanji means “burn” - it means “rekindle” and can be similarly used in the metaphorical and literal sense, just like the english word “rekindle”).

Goncharov became particularly popularity on social media as a result of a reblog of a Tumblr post in August 2020. The post depicted shows the title of the film (Goncharov) in place of a brand logo on a shoe, which were described as “knockoff boots”. The image post and the comment attached to the reblog, mocking the fact that the original poster had not seen the film, became an internet meme. In November 2022, a poster made by a fan of Goncharov was uploaded to the internet, and the film’s popularity resurged. Various fan-made content about the story and production began to spread on Tumblr and other platforms. Goncharov has been widely covered in the media as an example of how fandom is born on the internet, with many prominent figures, including Scorsese himself, leaving comments.

— Wikipedia (my translation)

It’s clear the article is trying to adapt the real history of the meme and incorporate it as much as possible into the fictional history of the film. The rest follows quite similarly, and includes more analysis of how Tumblr culture created the “reignited” popularity, how Elon’s acquisition of Twitter resulted in an exodus of users to Tumblr which may have contributed to the increased awareness of the “movie”, etc. Though most of it is directly translated from the english, enough of it is original (such as the attempts to reconcile both real and fictional histories) that I suspect the article’s current state is intentional.

To get back to my initial question, how long will this article last like this?

Remember the whole Scots Wikipedia debacle? An american teenager had basically used simple word replacement to translate over 23,000 articles into Scots. Some people noticed this, but not many, and not loudly enough. It was only after a well researched reddit post pointed out the scale of the damage that people really took notice and action was taken. The wikipedia editor had apparently been doing this for 7 years before the reddit post was made.

If 20,000 articles could go largely unnoticed for 7 years, I imagine a single article could easily evade similar detection. Realistically, how many Japanese speakers are going to even hear about Goncharov and make it to the wikipedia article? Then, how many of them are going to do more googling and find out it’s all a hoax (or know already)? THEN, how many of them are going to tell a wikipedia admin that the article is a lie, or publicise it somehow in a way that forces the editors to update the article?

I think the reality is that although the internet may appear to be a massive open town square (or several), it also has side streets, and side streets of side streets. I feel like the number of active members in each online hobby or interest group are really quite small, and then they get divided between platforms, and even further divided into subgroups. I think if one decided it was something one wanted to do, it would be quite easy to become one of the most prevalent members of any online community you chose just by devoting the time and energy to it.

It’s also kind of shocking how much internet content is inaccessible on account of it being in a different language. English reigns supreme in terms of sheer volume, but there is original research and journalism and entertainment and art in every language, that hasn’t and might never be translated into english. For example, I found it very difficult to find any english sources or research for my post about the evolving conjugation of 違う, but I easily found several japanese papers and websites. In fact, if you google “違くない adjective or verb”, the first english result that doesn’t just handwave it as “informal” or “slang” is a tumblr blog with my post on it!

It’s a small internet indeed where my little hobby language blog is, according to google, the prevailing english source on what is quite a remarkable change in Japanese grammar that’s been happening since the 80s.

I think the Japanese unreality version of the Goncharov wikipedia article will stand for many years to come.

(below link shows the article at time of writing)

[thoughtspresso]

Theory: 【Oshi No Ko】 will be the title of Shima's movie for Kana

The reason why 【Oshi No Ko】's title never drops the lenticular brackets 【】 is because it will likely be the title for the movie that Arima Kana will star in, the "masterpiece" promised to her by Director Shima.

Most of us know by now that Arima Kana's character was based off of Ashida Mana, a famed child actor in Japan that international fans may know from Pacific Rim.

Anyone think Kana's berets are a parallel to Mana's red shoe?

After getting famous from the TV Drama "Mother" in 2010 at age 6, they tried capitalizing on her fame by getting her into music, to little success. Mana-chan says in an interview that she, "sings the songs my mother wants me to sing". In the years that followed, her acting gigs started drying up.

Until year 2020, when award-winning Director Tatsushi Omori cast her at 16yo in the lead role of the film 【Hoshi No Ko】. Literally translated, Child of the Stars or Star Child, but with the Western release title Under the Stars.

A Child Star in a film called Star Child, hmmm.

This move in her career was paramount as a springboard for her comeback, until she had recently been awarded as Newcomer of the Year in the 47th Elan d'Or Awards.

Note: This image is not taken during the awards

I just feel like I wanna see Kana in this dress too

Coming back to its parallels in the show, Akasaka-sensei and Yokoyari-sensei had an interview with Tsutaya, where they were asked this very question: Why does the title keep the double quotations 【 】 and what does it mean?

Many thanks to twitter @aldeberu for pointing this out

Just like how people have pointed out that Tokyo Blade had some parallelisms with the characters in Oshi no Ko, 【Oshi No Ko】 may actually become the title of the film that revives her career and regains her renown and respect in the industry.

I believe that this may be a hallmark event in the plot of the story. Or, at the very least, the reward in its resolution.

Either:

Kana's performance in 【Oshi no Ko】 causes Kamiki to pay attention to her, attempt to harm her, and Kana works together with Aqua and everyone else to thwart him. (In this case, instrumental to the plot's resolution.)

Or, 【Oshi no Ko】 will be the film where Arima Kana's acting is so honest and impactful that Aqua is so moved that he realizes he is allowed to enjoy acting and filmmaking in this life, that he is allowed to love Kana honestly, and that he has the right to move on and heal from his trauma. (That is to say, the emotional resolution of Aqua's arc as our main character.)

Option #1 continues to support the theory that Oshi No Ko the manga/anime is meant to be a story about Arima Kana.

But Option #2 supports Aka Akasaka's tweet "Kurokawa Akane is the child who will take me away. Arima Kana is the child who will bring me back."

A reminder that Oshi in the title is spelled as 推し, which literally means Favorite. Oshi No Ko's literal translation is Favorite Child. It is "Hoshi" that means Star, just like in Ashida's movie "Hoshi No Ko".

So why would a Japanese manga title literally named 【Favorite Child】 be given a Western release title as 【My Star】 if it wasn't about her?

[danepopfrippery]

Taika is the reason all those shows ended (rez dog had planned 3 seasons, he hasnt done much w wwdits since s1, for ofmd i believe david took a bad deal w a literal devil).

So i put this on another post but its buried lets redo it

Good reasons to hate Taika:

*hes a zionist and has been for years. Despite claims the only other ofmd cast who is maybe zionist is Rhys. His wife controls his social media and tweeted support for Israel. He must be ok with it hes never refuted it. Meanwhile no one has provided proof Con is zionist. He, Vico, Nathan, Samba, and David have all at least once (and some more than once) posted pro palestine stories on instagram. Vico is particularly passionate for free palestine

*his wife not only pretends to be black (shes white af) but thinks hes samoan...

*He said awful things about trans ppl in 2014 in his mid 30s. Went on to make Next Goal Wins in 2020 and it has a heavy transphobe laden plot line which is a dishonor to its queer actress. Hes never apologized for either even when called to do so

*He married film producer/director Chelsea Winstanley, brought her along, had two kids, got bored and dumped her for Rita Ora. There is no gap. So now she has no career and is raising his kids, he glass ceilinged her

*he did hire Kayvan for Nandor despite his extremely recent use of blackface on a show that Kayvan had almost complete control over (some of the black face was only a few years old when wwdits was in pilot mode).

*declares himself both a proud indigenous icon (see trophy wife) and a gay icon (despite hating trans ppl and claiming he is straight).

When i say claiming i mean the man acts like…not…but lets just take him at his word. How the fuck can u be a gay icon as a straight man who constantly belittles trans ppl? When criticized around Next Goal Wins he cited OFMD as proof hes not anti trans…despite not inventing the character of Jim and seemed to have nothing to do with Vico’s hiring. He uses them as a citation despite cast and writer interviews revealing most of the ofmd queerness we love came from the actors (and two writers were key to making Jim nonbinary with vico).

(Now w receipts)

[discountalien-pancake]

Do people not know that Tolkien never specified the length of elves’ hair in his writing?

Look. I need all of you to understand something when you say “xyz cosplayers could do better!” when talking about wigs. No. They could not. I love cosplayers and i have seen many an excellent cosplayer and some of them have fantastic wigs! For cosplay. They aren’t real hair, they don’t look like real hair, and they aren’t meant to.

More importantly, starting in 2020 there was literally a shortage high quality, human-hair wigs. Covid shutdowns disrupted supply chains in Asia and Europe, and made it difficult for workers to go to factories to actually make wigs. The lace needed to make them also sold out. Filming usually takes place starting 1-2 years before a show or movie is released, which means that there literally were no wigs for the production.

“But HOTD had wigs—“ and everyone thinks they look like trash, because they are synthetic. TROP took the route of having as many characters sport their own natural hair as possible, so we get things like most of the male elves having shorter hair because their actors didn’t have time to grow their hair out. The wigs got reserved for main cast characters:

And they look a million times better than what HOTD had going on. Would they have looked this good if they split the hair budget up to put every fucking elf in a plastic wig? I doubt it!

You know what was way more important than elves with long hair?

Valandil and other brown and Black characters with natural hair.

[alwaysahiccupandastrid]

Peter Pan & Wendy (2023) - Thoughts

A little bit of brief background here; I’m a huge Peter Pan fan. I grew up loving the Disney animated film but the 2003 live action has always been the superior Peter Pan adaptation to me; Peter Pan holds a special place in my heart as my late nan who I was close with used to take me to the panto every Christmas, and my favourite ones were always Peter Pan.

So without further ado: I watched the new Disney’s Peter Pan & Wendy that came out on Disney+ this weekend!

First, some live watching thoughts:

This movie is literally carried by Ever Anderson as Wendy, like no disrespect to the other cast but she literally carried this film in my opinion

By the way, anyone complaining about it being Wendy’s story is an idiot because the story has ALWAYS been Wendy’s story, ever since Barrie wrote the play and novels. Regardless of which version you watch, it always starts with her lamenting about not wanting to grow up and ends with her acceptance of the fact she must grow up - it’s HER journey, her development.

I have no idea why Disney/Lowery chose to cast two separate actors as Mr Darling and Captain Hook but I’m NOT a fan of that choice. Even in the animated film, they’re voiced by the same actor - it’s a part of Peter Pan tradition to have the actor play both roles, so it’s baffling that it’s not the case here.

I really wish this film had spent a little bit more time BEFORE Peter arrived to show us more of each of the children and also the relationship between the children and their parents. The film opens with a nice little scene of John and Michael sword-fighting whilst Wendy prepares to head off to boarding school, and then she joins them and their father scolds her for “this is how you choose to spend your last night in the nursery” and “you’re too old for this sort of fun”, which definitely works… but it’s very quick paced and it rushed by so quickly, like the film kind of just spends only a few minutes establishing “Wendy is being sent to boarding school the next morning; she doesn’t want to grow up; her parents want her to be a better role model to her brothers” and that’s it.

Also interesting to note that Wendy is not in a nightgown in this version but some kind of pyjama-ish undergarment outfit, plus a dressing gown

Wendy aggressively reading a book in her bed… same though

Nana appears but only in brief moments 😭 WE DESERVED MORE NANA! In this version she’s kind of more just a pet - they never mention that she’s the Darling family’s nursemaid and looks after the children, and there’s a brief flash where (I think) you see a young Wendy cuddling her as a puppy… like??? She’s not just a dog, she is not just a pet, she is the finest nursemaid on four paws because the Darlings can’t afford to hire one.

“I want things to stay the way they are.” “Perhaps I don’t want to grow up.” — same, Wendy, same

“Just imagine all of the things you would miss out on if you didn’t see where it took you… and all the things the world would miss if you weren’t there to do them.”

Mrs Darling’s lullaby was lovely by the way

Yara Shahidi as Tinkerbell is BEAUTIFUL. I love her facial expressions, and even though there’s less attitude and she’s not jealous in this version, I still love her

I know that the film was supposed to film in 2020 but Covid shut things down so they didn’t film until a whole year later, and obviously children grow very quickly… but Peter’s voice is so deep in this version, you can tell Alexander Molony hit puberty during lockdown. I feel bad for criticizing a kid about it because it’s not his fault, but it can’t be denied that he’s older than Peter is supposed to be. Ever Anderson was also 13-14 when filming actually happened, and while it’s slightly less glaringly obvious with her, she’s definitely a tiny bit older than most versions of Wendy. I think it’s more obvious with Alexander though because of the deep voice.

This version makes it seem like Mrs Darling is the storyteller and Wendy isn’t, which kind of bugs me to be honest but oh well

Let’s be honest, no adaptation will ever top the “Flying” scene from the 2003 version - that was a whole masterpiece in itself. This version does do a nice enough job though, all things considered, even if the CGI doesn’t always look quite right

I don’t want to slam how Neverland looks because I’m aware it was filmed in Newfoundland in Canada, which I don’t doubt is a beautiful place - what I will say is that I don’t know if there was some kind of ultra real gritty filter added on it if it’s something else, but to me it just wasn’t colourful enough. Neverland is supposed to be magical and vibrant and like a dream, not 100% rigidly realistic. They could have made Skull Rock shaped at least somewhat like a skull for God’s sake, just as an example

“Smee, make a note my cabin needs a new door.” “Yes… might I say, captain, that’ll be your third door this month-“ “and it won’t be the last.” — okay, I had a little giggle here, I won’t lie

Jude Law’s version of Hook has heterochromia which is definitely interesting - I wonder why it was included though, like what purpose does it serve the story

Wendy meeting the Lost Boys changed from Tink telling the boys to shoot her out of the sky and them nearly murdering her, to her washing up alone and running into them and Tiger Lily, which is definitely a choice

AHHHHH TIGER LILY SPEAKING CREE, SHE IS ALSO LITERALLY A PRINCESS IN EVERY SINGLE WAY LIKE HOW SHE SPEAKS AND CARRIES HERSELF

I am genuinely still on the fence about the Lost Boys including girls but at the end of the day… whatever. It’s not that big a deal in the grand scheme of things. I still find the “but you’re not all boys” “SO?!?” exchange cringey though, not gonna lie

Wendy’s response to the above being “well I guess it doesn’t really matter”, so true

I think it’s a good thing that the Lost Boys include non white and disabled kids (Slightly has Down syndrome) but also I really hope those kids stay off social media for a while because the absolute nastiness being flung around about them (especially Slightly) is disgusting

The Lost Boys being like “she’s too old” “she’s too grown up” 💀 that and Mrs Darling’s “darling, you barely fit in your bed” comment feel oddly meta and about the actors growing while filming was delayed

Wendy Moira Angela Darling realising her brothers have been captured by pirates: “…oh dear” 💀 the timing of it was perfect though lmao

Tell me that Smee did not just use the phrase “compatriots of you-know-who” in front of a man who played Dumbledore 💀

John: We don’t care about your rules, we came with Peter Pan! // the entire pirate crew eavesdropping outside: *groaning/gasping*

PIRATE SEA SHANTIES FTW

Peter Pan really disappears from this movie at about 20 minutes in (after appearing for the first time only 10 minutes beforehand) and doesn’t reappear until a whole 15 minutes later?!?

“I’ve found you guilty of being a child - and we can’t have children in Neverland” — IS HE FUCKING SERIOUS RIGHT NOW?!?!? (Hook was in fact deadly serious)

NOT TEDDY LOSING AN ARM 😭

Who the hell did Peter think he was tricking with that absolutely terrible disguise, it looks like stuck a mop on his chin for god’s sake?!?

Wendy being shocked that Peter is showing off as if that isn’t his whole personality summed up 😶

“Oh brother, Hook’s singing again” - I CACKLED IM SORRY

“Proud and insolent youth, have at me!” — I GASPED I TELL YOU, GASPED

PETER AND HOOK’S SHADOWS HAVING THEIR OWN SWORD FIGHT OH MY GOOOOODDDDDD

“Oh, Wendy… you’re still alive!” ASDFGHJKL

OH HOOK PLAYED DIRTY AND HE SAID HE LEARNED HIS BAD FORM FROM PETER DIXNDMALZPZOZL WHAT IS GOING ON

“For to die would be an awfully big adventure” - THAT’S THE MONEY LINE RIGHT THERE

“SHE’S A WENDY!!!”, and all that ran through my mind was the Barbie meme:

Wendy finishing Hook’s sentences and cutting him off each time ASDFGHJKL we love a know it all

AHHHH ITS TICK TOCK THE CROC, I was so scared they’d forget about the crocodile so I’m happy he’s here

THE SEQUENCE WITH THE MUSIC AS HOOK IS RUNNING AWAY FROM THE CROC ASDFGHJKL COMEDY GOLD

WENDY FUCKING SLAPPED PETER ACROSS THE FACE AND IT DID A MOVIE MAKER CIRCLE FADE OUT ARE YOU SERIOUS RIGHT NOW WTAF-

“It was an adventure, wasn’t that what you wanted?” “Yes but I didn’t think it meant being shot out of the sky by pirates” — yeah, that’s a valid point I guess

Poor Tinkerbell just twinkling and getting absolutely ignored :/

“You have a magical fairy that makes you fly! And a gaggle of children that do your bidding with a princess that cleans up your messes while you’re off gallivanting with pirates” — OOF, also Tinkerbell and Tiger Lily both smiling and nodding their agreement of Wendy’s words asdfghkl love to see girls supporting girls

Wendy throughout this whole movie is pretty much just the “I came out to have a good time and I’m honestly feeling so attacked right now” meme

You’re telling me the Lost Boys hideout is no longer hidden in a tree but a GIANT tower?!? Not exactly hidden now, is it?!?

Wendy and Tiger Lily together having one of the best scenes in this movie, you love to see it ❤️

So what I’m getting from this adaptation is that instead of the Lost Boys actually getting “lost” and not claimed, Peter waits for them to say “I don’t want to grow up” then whooshes in and brings them to Neverland…

Okay so Wendy is still kind of seen as the storyteller in this version…? The kids ask her for stories so…?

“Wendy can be our mother” “goodness no! I don’t even know if I want to be a mother!” — I have thoughts about this??? On the one hand, I’m a book purist and for me I’m like “she does agree to be their mother tho??? That’s why she was brought to Neverland???” (And also she canonically has a daughter called Jane) but on the other I’m like “fair enough” because a) she’s a child and b) you can’t force people to have children if they don’t want them. Idk

Im 90% sure Wendy’s hair changed from a side parting to a middle parting at some point but I don’t know where or when it happened

Wendy singing a lullaby, which is actually a nice callback to her singing “Your Mother and Mine” in the animated film

You’re telling me Hook and the pirates have never found their huge ass tower hideout and that Wendy’s gentle singing was loud enough to reach the pirates and alert them of their location?!?

JAMES?!? As in Hook?!?

“It’s a kiss - I made it for you” — ITS AN ACORN NECKLACE IM-

Peter and Hook used to be best friends?!? Hook was the first lost boy in this version?!? Lowery doing his own canon at this point, oh my god

This film really missed a trick, like it could have really heavily leaned into the dark side of Peter Pan with the whole “you must never leave” stuff he says 👀

This film really wanted to be the 2003 version so bad, like the moment where Peter walks away after their conversation about Neverland not being what she expected and Wendy calls “Peter!”… it wanted to be the Fairy Dance scene WAY too bad

Imagine walking down their stairs into a room, turning around and seeing your brothers/the whole gang of lost boys tied up and gagged 😳

Hook saying Wendy’s full name and later dragging his hook over the door was creepy ngl

HE JUST SLASHED PETER ACROSS THE CHEST

“Captain Hook… I don’t think I like this adventure” *falls down 20 feet* — EXCUSE ME???

You’re telling me Peter survived a) a slash to the chest and b) a 20 foot drop?!? I mean I know he’s magical and all but…?!?

Eyyy Tiger Lily to the rescue, the women truly run this film

“Then listen… *hums awkwardly*” - I genuinely can’t tell if this film is supposed to be this weirdly hilarious or not

Mr Smee was the one who found Hook and rescued him, I’m-

“This is what growing up looks like.” “No. This is what it looks like when you grow up wrong.” - OOF

HOOK SNAPPING WHEN SMEE CALLED HIM JAMES 😭

“Execute every last one of them” sounds so much worse than “become a pirate or walk the plank” like sir all they did was be kids who haven’t managed to hit puberty yet and you’ve got them all screaming like they’re about to be mass murdered (which they are) 💀

Wendy offering herself instead, “they’re only children, let them live!” - ma’am you are also a child?!?

“Let them live, they’ll be good pirates - especially those two” (meaning John and Michael)… I love Wendy stepping up and looking out for her brothers, especially given at the beginning of the film she full on blamed them for the whole mirror situation

Peter being super injured and unable to fly so Tiger Lily has to help him 🥹

Why does this pirate shanty as Wendy walks the plank actually slap hard though?!?

Tinkerbell lifting her little prison up and smashing Smee on the head so she can help Wendy, we love to see it

The fact that Wendy thinks happy thoughts stepping off the plank and it’s not just her childhood memories anymore (like in the flying to Neverland scene)??? She imagines growing up and the things she could do if allowing herself to grow up?!? 😭

The utter silence after she steps off the plank followed by Hook being like “… hang on, there was no splash?!?”

Tinkerbell damn near used every single bit of fairy dust in existence just to lift up the ship and play what is essentially a huge joke on the pirates is such legend behaviour lmao

“You have the boy’s magic.” “No, this magic belongs to no boy!” — HELL YEAH WENDY YOU ARE ALWAYS THE MAIN CHARACTER

I’ll be honest, for a film where Peter is billed first he has done VERY little besides a small duel, get stabbed and nearly die twice

The depressed pirate who goes “well wake me up before one of them kills the other… again” is such a mood lmfao same

It’s interesting that it’s Wendy with the flight skills as she fights and Peter without the flying I guess??

Wendy and Tiger Lily are literally saving every single other character’s asses at this point, like they’re the only reason anything has happened in this film

Rotating the entire ship was not something I thought I’d ever see and yet here we are

Peter falling off the upside down ship and Wendy catching him?!? And the fairy dust rubbing off onto him??? (Literally what even has Peter done in this film I feel bad for saying it but…)

I kind of like the idea that Peter and Hook intentionally don’t kill each other because both of them live for their battles and it’s almost like a game, a cycle, that Neverland lives off of? Idk if that makes sense lol

“Oh captain… Grow up.” - I CHOKED SHE GAGGED HIM

Peter grabbing Hook by the hook so he won’t fall and saying “I’ve got you James, just think happy thoughts”…???

“Peter… I haven’t got any…” AND THEN HE FALLS, DETATCHED FROM HIS HOOK?!? I KNEW HE DIDNT ASDFGHJKL BUT LIKE THIS?!?

I’ve literally only just realised that the Teddy has a fork as a prosthetic arm 💀

“It’s time to get these lost boys home” - what she REALLY means is “let’s take them back to my place and I’ll tell my parents I’ve adopted ten children on their behalf” 💀😂 that part always makes me laugh in any adaptation/version of the story, I won’t lie

So basically no time has passed in the real world while they’ve been in Neverland? No Mr and Mrs Darling keeping the window open for when their children return???

“Boy… why are you crying?” - IM SHAKING, CRYING, SCREAMING, THROWING UP I HAVE CHILLS

You’re telling me Peter lived in the exact same house as Wendy as her brothers???? That’s why he kept returning to that house, not because Wendy believed strongly in him or he liked her stories but because it was his old home?? 😶

“I’m just a story, told to any child who’ll listen” - oof true. Kids today don’t really know Peter Pan anymore, which is super sad - they know Tink but they’re not as familiar with Peter Pan these days

“You know, Peter… after all this… I think that to grow up… why, it might just be the biggest adventure of all. Just think of all of the things that could be right around the corner that you’re missing out on. Think of what the world is missing out on with you not being there to do them.” 👏👏👏

THE SHIP LITERALLY RIPPED THE CHIMNEY OFF GOOD LUCK PAYING FOR THAT GEORGE

Wendy crying as she says goodbye to Tink 😭 “and please don’t forget about me”

WENDY BEING ABLE TO HEAR TINKERBELL SPEAK ASDFGHJKL BEAUTIFUL… “thank you for hearing me” - I DONT CARE, THATS SO POETIC???

Wendy carving her name under Peter’s so now it says “Peter Pan + Wendy” 😭

Hook is still alive?!? I don’t know why I’m so shocked at this point lol

The way Hook and Pan smiled at each other when Peter returned, oh boy here we go again

The end credit animations are so pretty omg

So, overall… it’s not the worst Disney remake. It’s truly not that bad, at least not enough to warrant racist morons bombing it with one star reviews. It’s definitely not a patch on the 2003 version, at least not in my opinion - that one will always reign superior, at least to me.

Some things:

I definitely feel like this film was carried by Ever Anderson as Wendy, she literally did the most and seemed the most well suited for her part overall

Jude Law was actually better than I thought he would be as Hook, Jason Isaacs is still my favourite but Jude is alright

I think Alexander Molony had the right spirit, I just think that he wasn’t given all that much to do and also it was very noticeable that he was on the cusp of adulthood already. Had the film been filmed when intended and not delayed, I think his performance would have come across better

The other kids and the pirates were super fun too, but not really given a lot to do either, which is sad. Would have loved to see more of Jim Gaffigan as Smee though

Yara Shahidi as Tinkerbell and Alyssa Wapanatahk as Tiger Lily were also amazing and big standouts, shoutout to them both!

Mentioned this above but will mention it again: I don’t understand what the point of casting a separate actor to play Mr Darling was. Yes, as I mentioned, there’s the dual casting thing - but also Mr Darling was in this film so little that there was zero sense in hiring a whole other actor to do the part??? He’s literally got a total of like one and a half minutes screentime?!?

Putting the crocodile in just the one single time was a fucking crime, I tell you! Why was he only in one single scene?!? 🐊

The CGI wasn’t the worst I’ve seen but it definitely could have been a bit better

Here’s the thing: the original animation was 1h21 and this one is 1h46… and yet this one felt way more rushed for some reason? It’s like the film hits the basic plots, like ticking them off, but doesn’t actually embellish or explore them properly. It’s just so rushed and the film suffers for it

I truly think this film would have benefited from letting us get to know the Darling children even better at the beginning before Peter arrived, because the most developed of the three is Wendy and all we know about her is she’s going to boarding school and her parents want her to be a better role model/set a better example for her brothers. All we know about John and Michael is that they’re Wendy’s brothers and they like to play fight - they don’t really feel like proper characters, they’re literally just there

I’m still waiting for a Peter Pan adaptation to just bite the bullet and give us that flash forward of Peter visiting an older Wendy, meeting Jane and taking Jane to Neverland - the 2003 version did film it but it’s deleted and the special effects aren’t done on it (you can watch it online but still)

I want to know where in Barrie’s text it says Wendy wanted to become an airplane pilot or that she actually fulfilled that ambition… ?!?!

The soundtrack was good - not the masterpiece that James Newton Howard’s is but still pretty good

Overall, I’d give it a 6/10 maybe. It wasn’t the worst Pan movie or adaptation out there but it’s not the best either, at least in my opinion. It IS one of the better Disney remakes though, and if it had been a bit longer and had a better budget then I’d say it should have had a theatrical release because the cinematography is STUNNING. It’s just that it very much feels like they rushed the story and had a smaller budget than hoped for.

[spicybylerpolls]

In response to that anon about how sex couldn't possibly have always been heavily tied to and the natural narrative arc the Duffers had in mind for Mike and Will -

Well, for one (and correct me if I'm wrong), if the pandemic hadn't happened, they would've filmed S4 throughout 2020 and likely wrapped post-production sometime in spring/summer of 2021 (possibly later). This means we would've got a late summer or fall of 2021 S4 rather than summer of 2022.

This also means filming for S5 would have likely started in Spring of 2022, or even later if we consider the fact that S4 actually finished in July of 2022 and production PRIOR to the WGA strike was supposed to start in Spring of 2023 (IIRC) That's nearly a year gap. Not only that but if you go onto the wikipedia page for S5, you'll see that because of the pandemic the Duffers were able to completely outline and rework S5. So if the pandemic didn't happen, they would also have to do an outline as well as actually write S5 post S4's drop in the late summer/fall of 2021 (in this magical, theoretical timeline).

Honestly, with this in mind, I wouldn't see filming for S5 commencing until mid 2022, possibly even the early fall.

So basically the theoretical timeline without COVID and the WGA strike would be:

2020: Film S4

End of 2020 - Mid/Late 2021: Post production

Late 2021: S4 Drops

Summer/Early Fall 2022: S5 Filming begins

This would put Noah's age at 17, almost 18 and Finn at 19 almost 20. And presumably the hypothetical sex scene wouldn't happen until the later episodes so by then Noah would be 18 and Finn would be a full 20 years old, and likely almost 21.

Like, say the scene happens in Episode 7. This would be the very tail end of production, as we know they pretty much film in blocks. This would be June of 2023 or around there... Noah nearly 19 and Finn 6ish months away from being able to legally drink anywhere in the world. Lol.

Also, Finn literally has a scene in WYFSTW where his character masturbates, and he was just 18 when he portrayed that. Why are people so disgusted by the idea of him portraying something extremely similar to this but as Mike?! In my opinion this proves it's not just about the actors (and seeing them grow up) because I haven't seen anyone say it was weird for including that scene in that movie ...

BUT REGARDLESS, like spicybylerpolls said - there are a ton of examples, WELL RESPECTED examples at that, of underage actors portraying a storyline involving sex. I mean, look no further than Degrassi. Almost all of the actors are cast as teens (sometimes pre-teens) and almost all of the characters have a storyline to do with sex at some point, most of them when they're underage.

This is a perfect example because the point of these storylines are to educate teens on sex (the same thing Mike and Will's storyline would be doing for many queer kids btw) and also to represent their many, many confusing feelings about sex. And yes, all of the actual sex scenes in Degrassi are implied - which, although people have explained how an explicit scene would be important for Mike and Will's storyline, ultimately it's not absolutely necessary for them. (Although I don't think an implied sex scene in the same vein as Degrassi (or even Jancy) is going to work within the darker tone of S5 but I digress...)

Anyway, there's a ton more examples beyond just Degrassi [Skins is the first that pops to mind] but no I don't think it would be weird for a 17 year old to have a make out and then *implied* sex scene when it's already been done and accepted in the past with absolutely no issue (as long as the actors are comfortable of course).

But this isn't what's happening so who cares. And we have already heard the Duffers state that, although they have had a lot of it planned out, they do write for the actors too. I can even recall them saying how when they got back on set for either S3 or S4 they realized the kids ... weren't kids anymore and they were going to have to write to that.

So yeah, I think it's totally possibly the Duffers imagined that in the end, Mike and Will would overcome their shame about their sexuality by ... having sex together, however that looked on screen, since there are a myriad of ways to do this without showing sex at all.

[aspiringwriter1111]

Hallmark PSA

I know since it's coming on the holiday season, I'm going to start seeing a lot of Hallmark slander.

But here's a little known fact.

Hallmark is actually really really good.

WAIT WAIT DON'T LEAVE-

Let me explain!

The movies people usually associate Hallmark with are the "old" ones (2020 and back). I bet after seeing how cliche and unhealthy they were, you didn't see a reason to watch them again after that, am I right??

But you knew them well enough to know they weren't worth your time and sanity.

Girl in a high stress job goes to small town, learns the meaning of Christmas, and then cheats on her also stressed out boyfriend back in the city with a hot cocoa making stubbly kind of rude lumberjack man then quits her job and moves to Vermont or something.

Yeah, they don't do those anymore.

At all.

I'm serious.

A part of it is that there was a purge. A year or two ago, there was a new Christmas movie company in town. All the actors that didn't like the forward direction Hallmark wanted to go in, left and joined GAC.

(Great American Family, or as I like to call it GACK. The movies are exclusively awful old Hallmark style, but Republican, badly decorated, very white, and also much worse.)

GAC took all the problems away from Hallmark, and made movies out of them. Hallmark, now cleansed, is pumping out cinematic greats that I WILL be rewatching every Christmas.

The whole of Hallmark was Recast, save for the best of the best fan favorites (Like Lacey Chaubert-)

They have plus sized actors now and people of color, cast as main characters on a regular basis.

Half of the movies aren't even romance centric anymore, instead focused on life, and moving forward, but when they are, they're really well done, and actually healthy.

If you know me (which you don't), then you'll know I hate unhealthy relationships. Especially when they're treated like they're okay. I will pick apart ANYTHING over toxicity in a relationship, wherever that might come from.

I used to hate Hallmark movies, because they were predictable, unrealistic, flawed, and toxic.

But now the characters talk with each other, and they don't get in the others space without permission. If there's an accident and it does happen, it's not used as a plot device to move the relationship along. It's not treated in a "OMG hot guy is literally right in my face!!! I've only known him two minutes and I hate him, I'm in love!!"

It's more of an, "OMG I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to do that at all, im so sorry, I'm so sorry- *Immediately backs away*"

I can't even begin to explain how much better they are now.

To further prove my point, here are some gifs of Three Wise Men and a Baby, one of my favorite Christmas movies ever:

Just listen to this one.

It's about three brothers, one of which is a firefighter (this is important). A baby gets dropped off at the fire station, with a note. The firefighters name is on it, asking him to look after the baby until Christmas.

This is not his baby.

This IS a joke throughout the entire film.

They have no idea who dropped him off.

So they end up taking care of him for a week, and seriously bonding with him. The make his first Christmas ornament with clay, they do a holiday photo dressed to the nines.

They talk about how hard it is to actually take care of a baby, and how hard it must have been for their mom doing it alone.

Talking about how their own dad left, and finally processing that trauma together.

Their mom confesses that if she didn't have support, she may have done what the babies mother did. How she must be going through such a rough patch, and building empathy for her.

All three of the brothers go on complete cathartic emotional journeys about it, and all the other issues in their life.

I can't do it justice.

It's called Three Wise Men and A Baby. I'm begging you please go watch it, you will NOT regret it.

I CRIED SO MANY TIMES YOU HAVE NO IDEA.

I'm tearing up now just thinking about it oh my gOD-

The ending just sent it home for me, so I won't spoil anything.

Its amazing. I can't explain the whole thing, I seriously beg you please go watch it.

And, if you're more into comedy, I present to you Haul out The Holly:

A Christmas comedy starring your very own Gretchen Weiners!! Abso-fucking-lutley HILARIOUS.

It's about a woman, just broken up with her boyfriend, and coaxed into going home for the holidays. Here's where it gets interesting.

Her parents are the head of the Christmas neighborhood watch, something that has plagued her since childhood. Her childhood friend has now taken over the position, as her parent ditch her for retirement on a beach someplace, and she's left stuck, having to decorate against her will.

She wants a nap. The neighbors want her to carve ice sculptures. And her nutcracker apparently isn't up to code.

Includes: Girlboss and male wife power duo (madly in love), insane chainsaw man with way too much time on his hands, the ML an anxious wreck, and many, many, MANY MORE.

Another recent movie was built around a woman who is an astronaut (She's mixed) who was about to finally go to space (The goal shes been working on her entire life) She got into a car accident and her eyesight was impaired. She's currently grieving the loss of her dream (like, actually grieving, she took three months off-).

Her company asks her if she wants to do an exhibit in the planetarium for Christmas, that she doesn't have to, but she can if she wants to take her minds off of things. She says yes, and ends up working with the planetarium director on an exhibit about the sun and it's connection to Christmas through how people used to celebrate with the sun (I don't remember exactly, but it was explained thoroughly, and i think pagan???)

She and him don't constantly argue, or be angry at each other. They cooperate. They show genuine interest in each other. It's actually adorable, and it's also not just about them.

She meets his daughter, who is a wheelchair user. She asks why the Female lead isn't in space if she's an astronaut, and the FL tell her it's because of her eyes. The daughter tells her it's okay, because she'll never be able to go to space either, even if she wants to, but she can still enjoy it from Earth.

I'm not even doing it justice.

By the end of the movie, the FLs eye problem doesn't heal. Nothing is miraculously solved. But the ML and the FL are now dating (After the best, slow paced, healthy, communicative, collaborative bonding freaking ever-) ALL OF THE CHARACTERS HAVE FULL BLOWN EMOTIONAL JOURNEYS THAT ACTUALLY MATTER.

SHE GRIEVES.

HER BROTHER FINALLY FIGURES OUT ITS OKAY FOR HIM TO DO WHAT HE LOVES, AND THAT HE'S NOT A FAILURE FOR IT.

THE ML LET'S GO OF THINKING HES A BAD PARENT.

AND MORE.

There are soft bits, nothing is cliche, nothing is icky or gross.

It's healthy, it's cute, it's emotionally driven, I'm actually learning about things I didn't know before, and amazing.

And all the new ones are either like this or better than this. I could name over ten, but I can't even explain how good they are.

Some of the are still a little dark ages, but it's only every one out of six or seven.

Hallmark movies from 2022 and onwards are 5 star television, and you can't convince me otherwise.

[wen-kexing-apologist]

Bengiyo's Queer Cinema Syllabus

For those who are not aware, I have decided to run the gauntlet of @bengiyo’s Queer Cinema Syllabus and have officially started Unit 3: Faith and Religion. The films in Unit 3 are: But I’m a Cheerleader (2000), Prayers for Bobby (2009), Latter Days (2003), Blackbird (2014), The Wise Kids (2011), Henry Gamble’s Birthday Party (2015)

Today I will be writing about

But I’m a Cheerleader (2000) dir. Jamie Babbit

[Run Time: 1:30 , Available: tubi, amazon, google play, apple play, Lang: English] 

Summary: A cheerleading-obsessed teenager is sent to a strict summer camp when her parents suspect her of being a lesbian. 

Cast: * Natasha Lyonne as Megan * Clea DuVall as Graham, Megan's love interest

Note: I watched the 2020 Director’s Cut

__

Hello, I have entered The Danger Zone. For the next two units I expect to be absolutely and utterly dashed upon the rocks as I start Unit 3: Faith and Religion, and eventually wash it down with Unit 4: Heartbreak Alley. 

Ben is being nice by having the first film on the list be But I’m a Cheerleader, so at least we can ease our way in to the conversations around conversion therapy and religious trauma to the queer community with some dark humor and bright colors. 

While I decided to embark on this syllabus project because my experience with queer media has been severely limited, there is at least one movie in Units 1-6 that I have seen before. For Unit 3, it is this one. I love this movie. I love this movie because for all that it is dark, for all the pain you see being carried by these queer teenagers, for all the harm that has and could be done to them throughout their time at True Directions, the film wastes absolutely no time highlighting the absolute absurdity of programs like this. What do you expect to happen when you put a bunch of horny, queer teenagers in a room together? But I’m a Cheerleader does a phenomenal job at maintaining the fact that queerness is inherent, it is not learned, it is not chosen. 

And it does something else that I picked up on this watch through, that makes me appreciate it even more, which is that it kinda pokes fun at 12 step-programs.

I don’t know that I have really talked about this much on my tumblr, I know I have referenced it a couple times in like…comments and conversations with some of my mutuals on tumblr about my opinions on Alcoholics Anonymous. Before I dig in to it, I will preface that AA and NA works for who it works for, and that’s cool, but I have strong negative opinions on these 12-step programs as a harm reductionist because they hold abstinence as the ultimate goal of substance use recovery, they are super religious, and they generally espouse anti-harm reduction ideologies. So seeing True Directions have a five step program, where the first step is literally admitting you have a problem are a homosexual, and to see these steps be a) absolutely absurd, b) random, and c) ineffective made me so happy. 

[OKAY WAIT REST OF POST ON PAUSE BRIEFLY SO THAT I CAN SHOUT ABOUT THE DIRECTOR OF THIS FILM AND THE FACT THAT AS I WAS RESEARCHING FOR THE FOR/BY/ABOUT SECTION, THE DIRECTOR, JAMIE BABBIT’S MOTHER RAN A TREATMENT PROGRAM FOR TEENAGERS WITH DRUG AND ALCOHOL PROBLEMS THAT WAS NAMED NEW DIRECTIONS, AND THAT IS WHAT TRUE DIRECTIONS WAS BASED ON. HAHAHA! That is the most succinct confirmation of my read on a piece of media I have ever had] 

For real, this program did not work on a single one of the residents by the end of the film, and that is absolutely what needs to happen. 

I love that the kids sneak out to go to a gay bar, I love that when the kids fail the conversion therapy program they get taken in by survivors of True Directions and find safety in a queer-positive house, especially because (as we see with Megan) if the kids fail the program they do risk homelessness. Which is a very real and present threat to queer kids today, both conversion therapy and possible homelessness. 

I like that Megan’s parents picked up on the fact she was queer before Megan herself did (shout out to vegetarianism, I literally wrote ‘vegetarian’ in my notes as an observed potential indicator lol) and find it is absolutely an intentional point that Megan would very possibly not have realized she was queer if her parents hadn’t sent her to conversion therapy, because it was not until a fellow queer was like “not all girls think about what you are thinking about when you look at girls” 

And it always hurts my heart a little when I hear people say their parents make comments sometimes that are like “well, everyone thinks about kissing a girl sometimes” etc etc and are still existing under the belief that they are straight. Megan seemed completely oblivious to her own queerness until other people pointed it out, and her parents might have had the intended outcome of a “straight” child if they had just kept their mouths shut and minded their own goddamn business. 

Not that we want Megan to be straight, but more just that the film itself feels like it does make a point of calling out the fact that putting your queer kid in a room with other queer kids is going to help them understand themselves better. It’s why cishets are so terrified of trans people, because the more visible trans and/or queer people are, the more people are able to question their own identities, and the more the white supremacist society we have built in the United States starts to become undermined by the degradation of a pillar of patriarchal heteronormativity, etc etc. 

I love that on the boy’s side of True Directions all the little decorations of like…shop tools and soldiers look sexual. The soliders look like they are either getting fucked in the ass, or about to perform oral sex. The tools look like dicks, it’s very much indicative of the fact that even the adults who say they have been “cured” really have not been, because they are still creating scenery and teaching these boys how to be straight while subconsciously producing images of queerness. 

I love that But I’m a Cheerleader is also able to challenge our own perceptions of queerness and heterosexuality. I love that it is Jan, who looks the most butch/masc of all the girls who is revealed to be heterosexual, and I think it is vitally important to see this not only as commentary around judging people based on appearance, but also can be used as a discussion point about the masculinization of women of color, and in addition the fact that all the girls are turned on watching Jan vacuum the floor, demonstrating that masculine women can be seen as hot/sexy. 

Anyway, I love this movie a lot, I think the messaging is great, I think it can read a little more serious for a queer audience than a straight audience around the actual extent of the damage done to these characters during their time at True Directions, but I think there are all of these little things that make the funny moments funnier if you are queer. 

For/By/About 

For sure by and about queer people. Both the director, Jamie Babbit, and the screenwriter, Brian Wayne Peterson are queer. I will admit that for a bit during the film I struggled to decide whether or not this film was made for queer people, because in some regards I thought that perhaps the purpose of But I’m A Cheerleader was to show straight people how fucking stupid conversion therapy is. But, I have actually landed on The Gay Trifecta for this one. 

Jamie Babbit stated that part of her inspiration for making this film was because she wanted more representation for fem lesbians in media, and that she decided to make it a romcom because of how media has historically treated lesbians (if you have read some of my other posts, we know I have talked about that history multiple times). 

Favorite Moment

SEX SCENE! So, I am pretty certain that I watched But I’m A Cheerleader for the first time before 2020, and therefore I did not have access to the director’s cut. But, in 2020 Babbit released her own cut of the movie, which is 5 minutes longer and I think the only difference between the two films is the addition of a sex scene that had been cut out of the initial film. It is not a hardcore scene by any means, but it is absolutely gorgeous, and it has some very clever and important shots contained within it, the most memorable for me being the shot of the cross necklace Megan always wears as she is actively having sex with Graham. 

Favorite Quote

“You are who you are, the only trick is not getting caught” 

God is that just like a bullseye statement for queer people, especially the ones who have to stay closeted. Such a quick line, such an active acknowledgement of threat, because everyone that ended up at True Horizons either got caught or couldn’t hide.

Score

10/10

Next up, Prayers for Bobby, and uh, I have it on good authority that it may leave me looking like Graham in that gif directly above this sentence.

[stylespresleyhearted]

For Mccall (@blainesebastian ) the birthday angel today. ❤️🥳🎊💗 adore you dearly!

liked by selenagomez, tomholland, and 33563 others

enews Ladies and gentlemen, today we gather to celebrate the birth of this lovely gal! She first came into our lives after she began publicly dating Austin in 2020 during the filming of Elvis. Since then she has made her way to the hearts of America through her amazing story telling and kindness. Click the link in our bio for a throwback of our love story with the Pisces Queen

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jillian.mua QUEEN SHE IS 💗🎊 DAS MY BESTIE

coffeegirl you’re ridiculous and I love you 😘 loads of thanks to everyone at E!

liked by austinbutler, coffeegirl, ashleytisdale, and 14325 others

jillian.mua when people ask why elvis set will always be my favorite it is because it’s where I met my bestest friend. thank you for being as weird as me and always having a smile on your face 🎊🥳 and also, much love for cooking up luc for me i adore that child. love ya birthday girl!!! (drinks tonite?)

austinbutler You do know Luci isn’t yours right?

jillian.mua get out of my comment section

bazluhrmann I not only take credit for Austin and her, I take credit for this duo too. Happy birthday beautiful girl!

catherinemartindesigns Darling, you literally had nothing to do with it. 🙄

oliviadejonge happy birthday babe @coffeegirl! when’s our girls night?! 🌹 🎉

florencepugh two pretty best friends 🥰

chrisevans happiest of birthdays to the best leader a cast and crew could ask for 💙🎊

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abutlernews she’s so famous and loved now 😭 a chris evans birthday shout out!

chrislover12 why didn’t chris post that other picture huh … we all know what picture

austinelvisfan austin it’s your competition again

sydneystan her and austin are literally happily in love and have luci i’m sure austin trusts her

ccgupdates no drama on her birthday please! happy birthday to my comfort person!

liked by coffeegirl, chacecrawford, and 1,346,072 others

iamsebastianstan Fun Fact: she was our coffee girl first (sorry @austinbutler) way back when and now it is a delight to witness her dreams coming true! Happy birthday to you 🎂

dannylewis who the hell doesn’t love her?! she’s so popular !

ccgupdates WE STAY WINNING CCG NATION!!

coffeegirl I seem to remember you always needing Advil and water in the mornings not coffee …. Thank you Seb!!!

daisyedgarjones Happy birthday beautiful! 💗

liked by austinbutler, mccall, and 38256 others

livwholikestv happy birthday lovely girl! have a special day, hope @austinbutler is spoiling you rotten 🎂💗

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stylespresleyhearted my favorite duo ❤️

ccgupdates these girls have the loveliest friendship 🥺 liv is always so supportive!

liked by austinbutler, chrisevans, robertdowneyjr, and 50234 others

anthonymackie The Big Homie and the best leader on set! Happy birthday ❤️

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chrisevans But we all know I was the favorite

tomholland Happy birthday to you !!! 🎁🎉

liked by austinbutler, livwholikestv, jillian.mua and 30246 others

stylespresleyhearted happy birthday to the kindest friend a girl could have! stay gorgeous, the world is lucky to have ya 💗🎉

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liked by oliviadejonge, ashleybee, and 1,473,056 others

austinbutler Happy birthday to the best mother, the best wife, my best friend, and my favorite person all rolled into one. Me and Luc are lucky to have you. ❤️

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austinnews OMG HE BEOKE THE INTERNET!!

weloveluci HE IS SO IN LOVE AND HE SHARED A PICTURE OF LUCI !!!

tomhardy Happy birthday from the Hardy family love !

zendaya Happy birthday gorgeous girl 🎊😌

tchalamet I ship it so hard

ashleybee I always wanted a sister and then you came along 💗🎊 can’t wait to celebrate with you! And tell Luci her favorite auntie Ash is en route !

coffeegirl Thank you 😭 you’re the best sister anyone could hope for! Oh gosh commence Luci refusing to sleep until you land

austinbutler For the sake of sleep lets not inform lil dino until Ash arrives

jillian.mua love on her endlessly and spoil her rotten Butler she deserves nothing less

austinbutler Today and everyday.

coffeegirl You big sap. I love you so much.

ashleytisdale Happy birthday tenth removed cousin in law! ❤️ The French family loves you, so grateful you came into my best friend’s life!

liked by austinfan, luciandccgupdates, elvisbutler, and 1689 others

ccgupdates from @stylespresleyhearted instagram story 😭 looks like she and @livwholikestv planned a surprised party while @austinbutler distracted her with a dinner date. (HD photos to come.) I love this group so much !

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elvis4ever did you see jillian’s story?! luci blew out her mommy’s candles 😭

burninlove13 did you watch Ashley’s story first? Austin told Luci “those are for mommy baby” and she said “no thank you” 😭 her famous catch phrase

austinelvisfan was it our birthday today? we were fed

presleyupdates On top of making me love Elvis, Austin also made me fall in love with him, his wife, his child, and their entire friend group. I wish I was in their life so bad.

sharonbleu I pretend I know them. It gives me comfort.

As it was stated in the beginning, HAPPIEST OF HAPPIEST OF HAPPIEST BIRTHDAYS TO THE CREATOR OF OUR BELOVED CCG UNIVERSE, THE KINDEST SOUL, MY WELCOME COMMITTEE TO THE AUSTIN FANDOM, I FEEL LUCKY TO CONSIDER YOU A FRIEND EVEN IF ITS ONLY ONLINE ❤️🎊🎂🎉 You are extremely talented (as if you don’t know already) and bless us with greatness, I can never thank you enough for always replying to my messages and letting me fan girl hard over your writing pieces without a single complaint. You’re an amazing person Mccall and I hope you stick with us (as in this Austin fandom) for a long time because I’d be lost without you. My only regret is that I couldn’t make this post longer, I’m only allowed ten pictures per post. Also a huge thank you and shout to @livwholikestv who never shies away from sharing her ccg love and who allowed me to use her to send you a little birthday message. I love you, appreciate you, may 32 be even better 🥳

[destinyc1020]

My personal opinion on this is that after 2020 and the blm movement there was a regression with the tolerance of black stories and media with the white public. There was that sudden fake diversity and then back to normal. A lot of young people started to also join Standoms forcing the public’s attention and commanding the media. Look at Taylor swift, look at Ariana look at z, Selena, Tom, Timothy, even elordi (he literally just got here but his virality and quick stans he acquired in his short time), Jenna Ortega as well she is new but the fan base is strong. These people have big enough dedicated currency with the public. They are literally walking money to the studios. Now i know all the dark skinned people you mentioned are talented and even have more critical acclaim than the above but do they have a dedicated fan base? That is a no. So even if they are talented studios stopped taking risks. Which is why love him or hate him what Jamie Lloyd did with casting Fran is the type of move directors should be making. He could have casted a less talented white or mixed actress but he went with Fran and despite the racists harassing her and what kind of attention it brought he went for it. Most casting directors will not do that and are not willing to go there and take the risk if that makes sense. They are looking at the money and the awards that is all.

Hmm.... That's a very interesting take Anon.

I personally feel like the intolerance happened long before the pandemic, but I'll agree with you that the pandemic didn't help, neither did having tRump in office for 4 years help either. 🙄

But really, this has been going on long before then. It's been a steady decline if you ask me. 🤷🏾‍♀️

You're right though, that some of the newer actors out here have garnered HUGE massive fanbases in such a short period of time, even before ever leading a major motion picture film on the big screen. Some of it is due to social media, others is due to the "personality" of the actor and who the fans think they are, and for others, it might just be pure LUCK (either people like you, or they don't 🤷🏾‍♀️).

The sad part is that aside from Zendaya, who was able to gain a very huge fanbase from Disney starting a very young age, MOST black actors (even the famous ones) never come nearly as close to having a huge fanbase like their white counterparts. That's the problem! America doesn't support black actors like they do white actors. Just go on Instagram and look up 4 well-known, award winning, critically acclaimed actors. I guarantee you that they still don't have half as many followers as some of their white counterparts who have LESS fame, less talent, and less recognition. It's smthg I've noticed for years. 😔

Re: Fran....

While I def agree with you that Hollywood should def take more risks, at the same time, I'm not sure we can really compare theater to film. The film industry can be quite different from the theater industry.

With a film, a huge studio is usually financially backing up a filming project, so they definitely want to see their money put to good use and yield good results and a major PROFIT.

With theater, you don't have that type of pressure.

The reason why a lot of films are remakes, huge IPs, or reboots, is largely in part because studios know that those types of films are typically a sure thing, and will be more certain to yield a good profit.

[denimbex1986]

'Barbie and Oppenheimer are more than just an internet meme that exploded into such virality that even the British PM (read: Tory scum) took part—it’s a triumphant return for cinema in a post-pandemic world obsessed with inflated budgets and diminishing returns. It came off the back of the live-action Little Mermaid remake, the lukewarm Indiana Jones legacy sequel, another in a long line of awful Fast and Furious movies, a pseudo-Michael Bay Transformers, and insulting multiversal escapade The Flash, which resurrected the dead with CGI. Cinema has never felt so downtrodden and hopeless, but Barbenheimer brought a semblance of optimism back… until CEOs everywhere immediately stomped it out.

Barbie is a perfect standalone movie, with a feminist story expertly weaving its way through the garish shades of pink in what is otherwise a two-hour-long advert for dolls. It sees stereotypical Barbie grow beyond the purpose of her creation to embrace her own agency, stepping into the real world to conquer the challenges of unchecked patriarchy. It’s a poignant narrative, despite the clear limitations of being a company-mandated franchise starter, but that’s ultimately what it is. Director Greta Gerwig might not be interested in sequels, but Mattel is. Going beyond that, it wants a cinematic universe for all its toys, greenlighting a Polly Pocket film, a “grounded and gritty” Hot Wheels movie, and a Spike Jonze-inspired Barney helmed by Daniel Kaluuya. The MCU and superheroes as a whole might seem to be on their way out, but we’re just swapping a sandbox of action figures for literal toys. I’m not sure which is worse.

Many declared Barbenheimer as the ‘return of cinema’ after months of expensive box office bombs. But a movie based around a ‘50s toy making $380 million in only five days was never going to send the message to CEOs that original ideas told by talented directors are what people want. Their eyes lit up with IP and dollar signs instead, the prospect of digging through their box of intellectual property to whip out the next gem overwhelming them. This is the Iron Man of the 2020s, kickstarting the next generation of cinema, and while we enjoyed the MCU in its heyday, look at where we are now. Superheroes dominate screenings, drowning out original ideas, and routinely suck the joy out of filmmaking with an abundance of green screens, needless CGI, and an overwhelming number of releases.

Oppenheimer is another piece of this puzzle. On its own, it’s an ambitious biopic about the horrors of American ingenuity in World War 2. I can’t see CEOs foaming at the mouth regarding franchise potential here, but out of spite toward Christopher Nolan, Warner Bros. placed Barbie’s release on the same day, inadvertently creating cinema history. Now, Oppenheimer joins Barbie’s legacy as a trendsetter in all the worst ways. We’re already seeing the impact of this, as Saw X has moved its release date to coincide with Paw Patrol: The Mighty Movie, aiming to recreate the word-of-mouth marketing that saw Barbie and Oppenheimer thrive in a Summer where nothing else was. But again, this misses the point. It’s more akin to watching a meme get dragged out back on the Ellen show to be beaten with three baseball bats like a long-dead horse.

CEOs and companies are seeing Barbenheimer’s resounding social media-driven success and hoping to replicate it by launching their films on the same day as tonally opposite competitors. Saw X and Paw Patrol couldn’t be more different, aside from the likelihood of them both being awful. And that’s the stickler. Barbenheimer was so much more than ‘Haha look at two very different movies!’ It was two completely different films from award-winning, beloved directors with brilliant casts and something important to say. It wasn’t just bright pink vs black and white.

People would have been excited for Barbie and Oppenheimer independent of each other—sticking them together on the same date wasn’t what ignited the match. Yet that’s what the big corps are taking from the entire situation, so expect to see far more SawPatrols in the coming years, desperately trying to convince people to watch a double bill of two awful films. Sounds really appealing, eh?

Barbenheimer was a fun break from the bleak landscape of modern cinema, but it will go down as another blow to movies as a whole. Already Paramount has sworn off all non-IP properties for animation, only committing to churning out tried and tested formulas it considers safe films, while Mattel is busy scrambling to catch up with the MCU overnight. Only it’s doing so with a dollhouse full of tat. The coming years won’t see a renaissance of cinema thanks to Barbenheimer, it will see the next step in devolving franchise slop, the endgame being burnout on an unprecedented scale.'

[krissielee]

Hey! How did you get access to watch the March RW&RB screener? I want to sign up for that, if I can. :)

I got lucky--a friend of mine down in LA got the offer and immediately sent it to me. She didn't/doesn't care about it, but she knows I'm obsessed and had made sure to let all my Hollywood-connected friends know that if they saw anything come up, let me know IMMEDIATELY because I needed it like air to breathe.

But there are a lot of websites to sign up for early screeners (or even just "barely before opening but it's free and free things are awesome so yay" screeners)--note that these are in no particular order; just whatever ones I happened to think of first:

Preview Free Movies is the one I got RWRB through, as well as tickets for Rocketman way back in the day. These are ostensibly the hardest to get into because they're usually only held in very specific movie-centric places and often tickets are handed out literally in person at local malls. It takes luck to get a location you can get to, but if you can ... totally worth it. They do sometimes do early online screeners, too: I saw Spinning Gold back in 2020, unfinished, and it was awesome. Found out later that a friend's cousin wrote the movie about their uncle! Small world, there. Also, I now can't listen to Love to Love You Baby without wanting to kill myself, but they changed that for the final release lol. Everyone in that early screener was like PLEASE DON'T PLAY THAT FOR TEN MINUTES EVER AGAIN.

Gofobo does a lot of early ones as well, but those are more like press screenings just before wide release, not in production ones.

1iota sometimes has screeners, even though they usually do tickets to talk shows (I have seen Taron Egerton at a bunch of those, though, including for Jimmy Kimmel where my [clothed!!!] boobs are on display for an awkward amount of time because Jimmy was talking to the people sitting directly in front of me lol)

Advance Screenings offers a lot of press screenings, but also sometimes contests to see special movie screenings. I "won" passes to a special Hunger Games screening through this site.

Amazon Screenings is really neat because it also does a lot of early virtual screenings. I've seen so many movies sitting at home in my jammies this way. And often they'll have special things to go along with it, like talks with the cast and crew, or for their Halloween set a few years back, virtual dance parties with DJs. Jason Blum was in the chat with all of us and it was kind of epic.

Searchlight Screenings is for Fox films. Same as the others; you sign up and hope to get lucky with a screening in your area.

Lionsgate Screenings are for, well. Lionsgate films.

WB also does screenings sometimes.

iScreeningRoom is great for online indie films. I've seen some really great movies that I can't wait for them to get wide releases. Some of them are weird as hell, as expected from indie films, but I've never hated anything I've seen. I know Nomad is pushing for a release soon, and I can't wait to watch that one again.

Many of these are US-centric, for anyone who comes across this post. I don't know much about other countries 'cause, you know. 'Murica, or whatever.

The other thing to remember is, for any of these screenings that are in person, you have to get there early. Like, stupid early. Multiple hours early. They always overbook the theatre. Yeah, you have a ticket? So do 500 other people for that 100 seat theatre. There are no guarantees for early screenings. I was almost the last person in for RWRB, and about the only people in after me were Matthew Lopez and some other people in his group. I only got a good seat because @machtaholic got there earlier than I did and saved one for me, which, had I not made it in, would have gone to someone else. The workers were going to try to sneak me in regardless because I was freaking out about having driven 8 hours only for the movie and if I'd missed it I was gonna cry, lol. Also, the hotel next to the theatre is where the munchkins from the Wizard of Oz were housed during film, so. Learned something while there, ha.

But also, there was no notice on it. Like, I found out on Tuesday that the screener was on Wednesday and I had to get myself to LA immediately if I had any hope of making it. For the really early ones, if you don't live in the city it's held in, you have to be ready to get up and go. Immediately. Do not pass go, do not collect $200, and hope your boss is really cool with you just not coming in.

Caveat: a lot of those super early ones, they won't even advertise those films to you as you're "out of market" for their research purposes. If it hadn't been for my friend living in the proper market, I'd have never known. It's the same way I was invited to a crazy early screening of Argylle (but from a different friend), even though I couldn't make it to that one because the timing just didn't work. So if you live in Boise and the movie's screening in Seattle, you're not going to even know about it.

Also also, there are age and gender limits on some of these. The woman and her daughter behind me in line, mom couldn't get into RWRB because she was one year past the age cutoff. Conversely, some movies you need to have children of a certain age. Keep that in mind when signing up for the really early ones. The press screeners are rarely that picky, though they did actually ID check for Kingsman (no others, not even other R rated films).

The more you sign up for, the more you redeem, the more you get invited to others. There have been many times where I have to choose which screening I feel like seeing because I've got offers for two or three films on the same night. Conversely, there have been times where I'm a greedy brat and go see the same movie across multiple screeners, but that's only happened like ... twice, because it was Eddie the Eagle, and three of my friends wanted to go but never on the same night, so I took them different times lol, and then the other was for The Wedding Ringer, which was never full so it didn't matter.

And I know there are other sites out there, but these are the ones I'm signed up on that I can recall. I get a lot of emails from these ones, and thus more chances to see films early.

Also sorry if my links are broken. I'm pretty sure I did them right but who even knows anymore lol.