#Why all Hollywood movies seem the same | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

1shirt2shirtredshirtdeadshirt · 1 year

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Today on popping the corn and feeding the children, what do you folks think of this discussion? :)

I'm always curious to hear what other Trek fans, especially queer Trek fans, think about our place in Trek history and how we fare as the queer participants within our fandom. What have your experiences been like?

Overwhelmingly I've found a great reception and a welcoming attitude, but I admit that has increased considerably since the 90s. However, there are still some Trek fans who seem to be vehemently in denial about queer history in Star Trek, or the fact that anyone who has worked on Trek has pro-LGBT attitudes. This always surprises me considering some of the blatant queer content we have already seen in Star Trek such as the Jadzia Dax and Lenara Kahn kiss.

Anyway, I enjoyed the discussion that followed and seeing the overwhelming outpouring of support coming from Star Trek fans in response to this thread.

Here was my two cents contribution:

"No, what they said was factual.

Have you forgotten Nichelle Nichols was indeed an African American woman in the core seven bridge crew back in 1966?

Or the fact that Gene Roddenberry went out of his way to write The Motion Picture Novel, creating the term "T'hy'la: friend, brother, lover" so that fans could choose which interpretations of Kirk and Spock they saw fit? He also embraced K/S fans and hired a number of them to write the earliest Star Trek novels, including the very first official one (The New Voyages Vol. 1 & 2) which included slash fiction as well as Gene's approval/forward in the books.

In case anyone has forgotten, here's a little bit of background on Gene Roddenberry and his perspectives on queerness in Star Trek.

He admitted that in his early life he was very affected by how society and culture treated the LGBT community, and that he too found himself subjugating and judging others for that lifestyle because it was what people did at that time. As he got older and had more life experience, he began working with a number of queer artists in Hollywood -- and through TOS, a number of queer individuals began asking questions about Kirk and Spock.

Instead of vehemently shutting down this perspective, Roddenberry was intrigued, and saw potential to tap into a large audience (LGBT) that most others didn't want to go near or acknowledge publicity-wise. He saw it as an opportunity to expand the fanbase while also pushing yet another envelope.

But with the heat already on the show for what they'd already pushed, he found he was often stuck between what he'd like to do and what production would let him get away with. There are a number of Kirk and Spock scenes in scripts that got cut out for leaning a little too obviously romantic. Tiny trickles of that content still made it in were infamous moments like the backrub scene in Shore Leave. Even the 2009 movie had a K/S moment while Spock Prime and Kelvin Spock talked that was written and filmed that was cut out of the final product.

Queer subtext and coding has always been relentlessly weeded away at with an excuse ready to go for why they always try to cut us out, but we all know it's because they are scared of the homophobic backlash and ratings hits. Look how violently homophobes went after the gay romance episode of The Last of Us **just this year**. This has always been our reality, so for someone like Roddenberry to make efforts in the 70s? That was massive.

But Gene as well as the queer/slash Trek community managed to accomplish some things in the 70s which I'm surprised more folks don't talk about or give much credit.

In the same TMP novel which features "T'hy'la" and the famous footnote, Gene cleverly wrote Kirk with a bisexual/pansexual lens: Kirk describes himself as *preferring* women but being open to "physical love in **any** of its many Earthly, alien, and mixed forms." (Direct quote from Genes book). Basically, Captain Kirk was DTF with whoever if there was a connection, which was a very progressive take for a character in a novel written in 1979, but made sense for the future which would have a lot less hang ups about sex and love compared to our current rather puritan/conservative society.

I also prefer women, but I married a man. Shout out to Gene Roddenberry for giving us a seat at the table back in the 70's when folks *still* try to insist there is no place for K/S or queer concepts in Trek, because he made efforts -- however small -- to employ queer people and show queer perspectives. According to David Gerrold, LGBT+ representation was a big thing that Gene personally pushed for in TNG and wanted various depictions of love/couples in the Risa scenes, to name one example.

In the 70s, fanzines led to meetings and swapped fanmade magazines, which got so big that they needed hotel centers, then convention centers, then one day the TOS cast came to one and what we know as modern fan conventions were born -- inspiring even George Lucas who attended Trek conventions in the 70s and saw how popular Trek was in syndication; it was a great climate to launch his Space Opera. Star Wars then became so huge that we got TMP.

But none of that would have happened without the level of organization, passion, and creativity that those fans poured into Star Trek and their characters after it got cancelled and went into syndication.

Without queer folks we wouldn't have George Takei, Theodore Sturgeon who gave us Tribbles, Bill Theiss and his amazing TOS costumes, Mike Minor's art direction, Merritt Butrick, David Gerrold (writer for TOS, TAS, TNG) to name a few of many queer contributors to Trek that Roddenberry respected and tried to go to bat for wherever he could in a climate that was absolutely impossible to gain an inch in.

At a time during the 70s and 80s when so many people resented and feared the queer community and wanted us to disappear, especially in the 80s during the AIDS epidemic which many homophobes claimed was "God's punishment to the gay community" or "Gods's answer" to our "hedonism", thinking we'd gotten our just desserts and should just disappear . . .

During that time, Gene Roddenberry gave us queer folks a place to say: "You know what? Sure. Write your stories. TV says you guys shouldn't exist, they pull books with queer people off the shelves and burn them. Laws exist specifically to forbid you guys from loving each other, and call you mentally ill. You can't even hold hands in public. But I'm going to validate you guys and invite you to write novels or work for me, try to see what we can get by production, and allow you to see yourselves in my characters if you want to. There's a place for you in our fandom."

He gave us bi/pan Kirk, he gave us K/S is open to interpretation. In Phase 2 Kirk's surviving nephew Peter, son of his brother Sam from Operation: Annihilate!, was going to be written as gay and living on the Enterprise with his partner -- that also got chopped and reworked into a script that wouldn't get used until decades later. That was huge at a time that being queer was officially listed as a mental illness, and villainized due to the AIDS crisis.

So before you try to dismiss or tell K/S + queer Trek fans whether or not they deserve a seat at the table, remember that Gene Roddenberry was among the **first** to pull that seat out for us in a climate that was ruthlessly against LGBT+ folks." -- 1Shirt2ShirtRedShirtDeadShirt

P.S: Have some cute bisexual/pansexual K/S pride gifs. :) Pride month is a hop, skip and a jump away.

LLAP!🖖💚

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s0urw00lf · 1 year

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Stiles Stillinski: The Best friend

Stiles stillinski x fem!reader

Summary:

Stiles and stiles are the best friends.

Also just to be clear I know that the true meaning behind this song is, I just heard that one clip and got an idea.

(Stiles in a backwards cap>>>)

I’m just the best friend in Hollywood movies, who only exist to continue the story.

The pack had made plans to go bowling, and didn’t think to tell stiles and y/n who were sitting at home trying to solve one of their most recent supernatural problems. Y/n sighed “where the hell is Scott?” She asked impatiently. The pair had been waiting on him for about 45 minutes. Stiles shrugged and asked “should I call him again?”. Y/n shook her head “no, we’re gonna go over to his house and see what the hell is up” she said standing up. Stiles didn’t object following close behind her. when they arrived at Scott’s, stiles rang the door bell. Not 10 seconds later the door opened to show an out of breath Melissa. “Stiles, y/n? What are you doing here why aren’t you with the others?” She asked. The pair looked at each other then back at her in confusion “what do you mean Scott was supposed to meet us an hour ago to talk about the recent “drama”” stiles said. Melissa seemed taken aback “guys, the others are at the movies” she said. y/n looked at stiles shocked while he just stared at Melissa in seemingly stunned. “Okay, thanks” y/n said grabbing stiles and dragging him to the Jeep. Tears stung at y/ns eyes and stiles looked like he had just been betrayed. Y/n grabbed his hand making him look at her. She put a smile on as tears ran down her face “I’m sure it was a mistake” she said the words trying to cheer the boy up but not even believing them herself.

The girl gets the guy while I’m standing off screen

Y/n and stiles watched all of their friends fall in and out of love wondering if they’d ever find that kind of connection, They both found comfort in each other since in the same situation. It was especially bad when they both lost their crushes to people that weren’t them. They sat broken, crying together and eventually healed together.

So, ill wait for my cue to be comedic relief

“I don’t know how to help you to help me tell you something that would help you if I don’t know it” stiles said to Scott’s dad who was holding him and y/n hostage at this point. He looked to y/n “you seem to be the more sensible one here, help me out would ya?” Scotts dad asked. Y/n looked at stiles who just shrugged and back at the tall man in front of her “see I would help you but… I don’t know how to help you to help me tell you something that would help you if I don’t know it” she said making the man huff in anger, discreetly high giving stiles who had a proud look on his face.

Can’t be too loud

“SHHHHH” echoed across the room while everyone looked at stiles and y/n who were just goofing around during the game.

Can’t be too busy, if I don’t answer now are they still gonna need me?

Y/n had gotten a call from Allison who had asked if she and stiles could help find the new werewolf that they had discovered to which y/n politely declined for te=he first time ever as stiles had asked her on a date. After that it took a week and a half for either of them to be contacted

———

“Hey stiles” y/n spoke up from her place on his chest. She felt his hum vibrate through his body. “Do you think our friends would care if something were to happen to either of us?” She asked. Stiles stiffened as if caught off guard by the question. “Honestly I’m not sure, I think they’d fight to find or save us but not as hard as they would for each other.” He said sounding sad.

Not too long after that conversation void happened, Scott fought his hardest to get stiles back while y/n had sat with boiling anger towards the boy who had only just started caring for his “best friends” again.

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rhysdarbinizedarby · 5 months

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Couch surfer in his 30s. Oscar winner in his 40s. Why the whole world wants Taika

**Notes: This is very long post!**

Good Weekend

In his 30s, he was sleeping on couches. By his 40s, he’d directed a Kiwi classic, taken a Marvel movie to billion-dollar success, and won an Oscar. Meet Taika Waititi, king of the oddball – and one of New Zealand’s most original creative exports.

Taika Waititi: “Be a nice person and live a good life. And just don’t be an arsehole.”

The good news? Taika Waititi is still alive. I wasn’t sure. The screen we were speaking through jolted savagely a few minutes ago, with a cacophonous bang and a confused yelp, then radio silence. Now the Kiwi filmmaker is back, grinning like a loon: “I just broke the f---ing table, bro!”

Come again? “I just smashed this f---ing table and glass flew everywhere. It’s one of those old annoying colonial tables. It goes like this – see that?” Waititi says, holding up a folding furniture leg. “I hit the mechanism and it wasn’t locked. Anyway …”

I’m glad he’s fine. The stuff he’s been saying from his London hotel room could incur biblical wrath. We’re talking about his latest project, Next Goal Wins, a movie about the American Samoa soccer team’s quest to score a solitary goal, 10 years after suffering the worst loss in the game’s international history – a 31-0 ignominy to Australia – but our chat strays into spirituality, then faith, then religion.

“I don’t personally believe in a big guy sitting on a cloud judging everyone, but that’s just me,” Waititi says, deadpan. “Because I’m a grown-up.”

This is the way his interview answers often unfold. Waititi addresses your topic – dogma turns good people bad, he says, yet belief itself is worth lauding – but bookends every response with a conspiratorial nudge, wink, joke or poke. “Regardless of whether it’s some guy living on a cloud, or some other deity that you’ve made up – and they’re all made up – the message across the board is the same, and it’s important: Be a nice person, and live a good life. And just don’t be an arsehole!”

Not being an arsehole seems to have served Waititi, 48, well. Once a national treasure and indie darling (through the quirky tenderness of his breakout New Zealand films Boy in 2010 and Hunt for the Wilderpeople in 2016), Waititi then became a star of both the global box office (through his 2017 entry into the Marvel Universe, Thor: Ragnarok, which grossed more than $1.3 billion worldwide) and then the Academy Awards (winning the 2020 best adapted screenplay Oscar for his subversive Holocaust dramedy JoJo Rabbit, in which he played an imaginary Hitler).

Waititi playing Adolf Hitler in the 2019 movie JoJo Rabbit. (Alamy)

A handsome devil with undeniable roguish charm, Waititi also slid seamlessly into style-icon status (attending this year’s Met Gala shirtless, in a floor-length gunmetal-grey Atelier Prabal Gurung wrap coat, with pendulous pearl necklaces), as well as becoming his own brand (releasing an eponymous line of canned coffee drinks) and bona fide Hollywood A-lister (he was introduced to his second wife, British singer Rita Ora, by actor Robert Pattinson at a barbecue).

Putting that platform to use, Waititi is an Indigenous pioneer and mentor, too, co-creating the critically acclaimed TV series Reservation Dogs, while co-founding the Piki Films production company, committed to promoting the next generation of storytellers – a mission that might sound all weighty and worthy, yet Waititi’s new wave of First Nations work is never earnest, always mixing hurt with heart and howling humour.

Waititi with wife Rita Ora at the 2023 Met Gala in May. (Getty Images)

Makes sense. Waititi is a byproduct of “the weirdest coupling ever” – his late Maori father from the Te Whanau-a-Apanui tribe was an artist, farmer and “Satan’s Slaves” bikie gang founder, while his Wellington schoolteacher mum descended from Russian Jews, although he’s not devout about her faith. (“No, I don’t practise,” he confirms. “I’m just good at everything, straight away.”)

He’s remained loyally tethered to his origin story, too – and to a cadre of creative Kiwi mates, including actors Jemaine Clement and Rhys Darby – never forgetting that not long before the actor/writer/producer/director was an industry maven, he was a penniless painter/photographer/ musician/comedian.

With no set title and no fixed address, he’s seemingly happy to be everything, everywhere (to everyone) all at once. “‘The universe’ is bandied around a lot these days, but I do believe in the kind of connective tissue of the universe, and the energy that – scientifically – we are made up of a bunch of atoms that are bouncing around off each other, and some of the atoms are just squished together a bit tighter than others,” he says, smiling. “We’re all made of the same stardust, and that’s pretty special.”

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We’ve caught Waititi in a somewhat relaxed moment, right before the screen actors’ and media artists’ strike ends. He’s sensitive to the struggle but doesn’t deny enjoying the break. “I spent a lot of time thinking about writing, and not writing, and having a nice holiday,” he tells Good Weekend. “Honestly, it was a good chance just to recombobulate.”

Waititi, at right, with Hunt for the Wilderpeople actors, from left, Sam Neill, Rhys Darby and Julian Dennison. (Getty Images)

It’s mid-October, and he’s just headed to Paris to watch his beloved All Blacks in the Rugby World Cup. He’s deeply obsessed with the game, and sport in general. “Humans spend all of our time knowing what’s going to happen with our day. There’s no surprises any more. We’ve become quite stagnant. And I think that’s why people love sport, because of the air of unpredictability,” he says. “It’s the last great arena entertainment.”

The main filmic touchstone for Next Goal Wins (which premieres in Australian cinemas on New Year’s Day) would be Cool Runnings (1993), the unlikely true story of a Jamaican bobsled team, but Waititi also draws from genre classics such as Any Given Sunday and Rocky, sampling trusted tropes like the musical training montage. (His best one is set to Everybody Wants to Rule the World by Tears for Fears.)

Filming in Hawaii was an uplifting experience for the self-described Polynesian Jew. “It wasn’t about death, or people being cruel to each other. Thematically, it was this simple idea, of getting a small win, and winning the game wasn’t even their goal – their goal was to get a goal,” he says. “It was a really sweet backbone.”

Waititi understands this because, growing up, he was as much an athlete as a nerd, fooling around with softball and soccer before discovering rugby league, then union. “There’s something about doing exercise when you don’t know you’re doing exercise,” he enthuses. “It’s all about the fun of throwing a ball around and trying to achieve something together.” (Whenever Waititi is in Auckland he joins his mates in a long-running weekend game of touch rugby. “And then throughout the week I work out every day. Obviously. I mean, look at me.”)

Auckland is where his kids live, too, so he spends as much time there as possible. Waititi met his first wife, producer Chelsea Winstanley, on the set of Boy in 2010, and they had two daughters, Matewa Kiritapu, 8, and his firstborn, Te Kainga O’Te Hinekahu, 11. (The latter is a derivative of his grandmother’s name, but he jokes with American friends that it means “Resurrection of Tupac” or “Mazda RX7″) Waititi and Winstanley split in about 2018, and he married the pop star Ora in 2022.

He offers a novel method for balancing work with parenthood … “Look, you just abandon them, and know that the experience will make them harder individuals later on in life. And it’s their problem,” he says. “I’m going to give them all of the things that they need, and I’m going to leave behind a decent bank account for their therapy, and they will be just like me, and the cycle will continue.”

Jokes aside – I think he’s joking – school holidays are always his, and he brings the girls onto the set of every movie he makes. “They know enough not to get in the way or touch anything that looks like it could kill you, and they know to be respectful and quiet when they need to. But they’re just very comfortable around filmmakers, which I’m really happy about, because eventually I hope they will get into the industry. One more year,” he laughs, “then they can leave school and come work for Dad.”

Theirs is certainly a different childhood than his. Growing up, he was a product of two worlds. His given names, for instance, were based on his appearance at birth: “Taika David” if he looked Maori (after his Maori grandfather) and “David Taika” if he looked Pakeha (after his white grandfather). His parents split when he was five, so he bounced between his dad’s place in Waihau Bay, where he went by the surname Waititi, and his mum, eight hours drive away in Wellington, where he went by Cohen (the last name on his birth certificate and passport).

Waititi was precocious, even charismatic. His mother Robin once told Radio New Zealand that people always wanted to know him, even as an infant: “I’d be on a bus with him, and he was that kind of baby who smiled at people, and next thing you know they’re saying, ‘Can I hold your baby?’ He’s always been a charmer to the public eye.”

He describes himself as a cool, sporty, good-looking nerd, raised on whatever pop culture screened on the two TV channels New Zealand offered in the early 1980s, from M*A*S*H and Taxi to Eddie Murphy and Michael Jackson. He was well-read, too. When punished by his mum, he would likely be forced to analyse a set of William Blake poems.

He puts on a whimpering voice to describe their finances – “We didn’t have much monneeey” – explaining how his mum spent her days in the classroom but also worked in pubs, where he would sit sipping a raspberry lemonade, doodling drawings and writing stories. She took in ironing and cleaned houses; he would help out, learning valuable lessons he imparts to his kids. “And to random people who come to my house,” he says. “I’ll say, ‘Here’s a novel idea, wash this dish,’ but people don’t know how to do anything these days.”

“Every single character I’ve ever written has been based on someone I’ve known or met or a story I’ve stolen from someone.” - Taika Waititi

He loved entertaining others, clearly, but also himself, recording little improvised radio plays on a tape deck – his own offbeat versions of ET and Indiana Jones and Star Wars. “Great free stuff where you don’t have any idea what the story is as you’re doing it,” he says. “You’re just sort of making it up and enjoying the freedom of playing god in this world where you can make people and characters do whatever you want.”

His other sphere of influence lay in Raukokore, the tiny town where his father lived. Although Boy is not autobiographical, it’s deeply personal insofar as it’s filmed in the house where he grew up, and where he lived a life similar to that portrayed in the story, surrounded by his recurring archetypes: warm grandmothers and worldly kids; staunch, stoic mums; and silly, stunted men. “Every single character I’ve ever written has been based on someone I’ve known or met,” he says, “or a story I’ve stolen from someone.”

He grew to love drawing and painting, obsessed early on with reproducing the Sistine Chapel. During a 2011 TED Talk on creativity, Waititi describes his odd subject matter, from swastikas and fawns to a picture of an old lady going for a walk … upon a sword … with Robocop. “My father was an outsider artist, even though he wouldn’t know what that meant,” Waititi told the audience in Doha. “I love the naive. I love people who can see things through an innocent viewpoint. It’s inspiring.”

After winning Best Adapted Screenplay Academy Award for JoJo Rabbit in 2020. (Getty Images)

It was an interesting time in New Zealand, too – a coming-of-age decade in which the Maori were rediscovering their culture. His area was poor, “but only financially,” he says. “It’s very rich in terms of the people and the culture.” He learned kapa haka – the songs, dances and chants performed by competing tribes at cultural events, or to honour people at funerals and graduations – weddings, parties, anything. “Man, any excuse,” he explains. “A big part of doing them is to uplift your spirits.”

Photography was a passion, so I ask what he shot. “Just my penis. I sent them to people, but we didn’t have phones, so I would print them out, post them. One of the first dick pics,” he says. Actually, his lens was trained on regular people. He watches us still – in airports, restaurants. “Other times late at night, from a tree. Whatever it takes to get the story. You know that.”

He went to the Wellington state school Onslow College and did plays like Androcles and the Lion, A Midsummer Night’s Dream and The Crucible. His crew of arty students eventually ended up on stage at Bats Theatre in the city, where they would perform haphazard comedy shows for years.

“Taika was always rebellious and wild in his comedy, which I loved,” says his high school mate Jackie van Beek, who became a longtime collaborator, including working with Waititi on a Tourism New Zealand campaign this year. “I remember he went through a phase of turning up in bars around town wearing wigs, and you’d try and sit down and have a drink with him but he’d be doing some weird character that would invariably turn up in some show down the track.”

He met more like-minded peers at Victoria University, including Jemaine Clement (who’d later become co-creator of Flight of the Conchords). During a 2019 chat with actor Elijah Wood, Waititi describes he and Clement clocking one another from opposite sides of the library one day: a pair of Maoris experiencing hate at first sight, based on a mutual suspicion of cultural appropriation. (Clement was wearing a traditional tapa cloth Samoan shirt, and Waititi was like: “This motherf---er’s not Samoan.” Meanwhile, Waititi was wearing a Rastafarian beanie, and Clement was like, “This motherf---er’s not Jamaican.”)

With Jemaine Clement in 2014. (Getty Images)

But they eventually bonded over Blackadder and Fawlty Towers, and especially Kenny Everett, and did comedy shows together everywhere from Edinburgh to Melbourne. Waititi was almost itinerant, spending months at a time busking, or living in a commune in Berlin. He acted in a few small films, and then – while playing a stripper on a bad TV show – realised he wanted to try life behind the camera. “I became tired of being told what to do and ordered around,” he told Wellington’s Dominion Post in 2004. “I remember sitting around in the green room in my G-string thinking, ‘Why am I doing this? Just helping someone else to realise their dream.’ ”

He did two strong short films, then directed his first feature – Eagle vs Shark (2007) – when he was 32. He brought his mates along (Clement, starring with Waititi’s then-girlfriend Loren Horsley), setting something of a pattern in his career: hiring friends instead of constantly navigating new working relationships. “If you look at things I’m doing,” he tells me, “there’s always a few common denominators.”

Sam Neill says Waititi is the exemplar of a new New Zealand humour. “The basis of it is this: we’re just a little bit crap at things.”

This gang of collaborators shares a common Kiwi vibe, too, which his longtime friend, actor Rhys Darby, once coined “the comedy of the mundane”. Their new TV show, Our Flag Means Death, for example, leans heavily into the mundanity of pirate life – what happens on those long days at sea when the crew aren’t unsheathing swords from scabbards or burying treasure.

Waititi plays pirate captain Blackbeard, centre, in Our Flag Means Death, with Rhys Darby, left, and Rory Kinnear. (Google Images)

Sam Neill, who first met Waititi when starring in Hunt for the Wilderpeople, says Waititi is the exemplar of a new New Zealand humour. “And I think the basis of it is this,” says Neill. “We’re just a little bit crap at things, and that in itself is funny.” After all, Neill asks, what is What We Do in The Shadows (2014) if not a film (then later a TV show) about a bunch of vampires who are pretty crap at being vampires, living in a pretty crappy house, not quite getting busted by crappy local cops? “New Zealand often gets named as the least corrupt country in the world, and I think it’s just that we would be pretty crap at being corrupt,” Neill says. “We don’t have the capacity for it.”

Waititi’s whimsy also spurns the dominant on-screen oeuvre of his homeland – the so-called “cinema of unease” exemplified by the brutality of Once Were Warriors (1994) and the emotional peril of The Piano (1993). Waititi still explores pathos and pain, but through laughter and weirdness. “Taika feels to me like an antidote to that dark aspect, and a gift somehow,” Neill says. “And I’m grateful for that.”

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Something happened to Taika Waititi when he was about 11 – something he doesn’t go into with Good Weekend, but which he considered a betrayal by the adults in his life. He mentioned it only recently – not the moment itself, but the lesson he learnt: “That you cannot and must not rely on grown-ups to help you – you’re basically in the world alone, and you’re gonna die alone, and you’ve just gotta make it all for yourself,” he told Irish podcast host James Brown. “I basically never forgave people in positions of responsibility.”

What does that mean in his work? First, his finest films tend to reflect the clarity of mind possessed by children, and the unseen worlds they create – fantasies conjured up as a way to understand or overcome. (His mum once summed up the main message of Boy: “The unconditional love you get from your children, and how many of us waste that, and don’t know what we’ve got.”)

Second, he’s suited to movie-making – “Russian roulette with art” – because he’s drawn to disruptive force and chaos. And that in turn produces creative defiance: allowing him to reinvigorate the Marvel Universe by making superheroes fallible, or tell a Holocaust story by making fun of Hitler. “Whenever I have to deal with someone who’s a boss, or in charge, I challenge them,” he told Brown, “and I really do take whatever they say with a pinch of salt.”

It’s no surprise then that Waititi was comfortable leaping from independent films to the vast complexity of Hollywood blockbusters. He loves the challenge of coordinating a thousand interlocking parts, requiring an army of experts in vocations as diverse as construction, sound, art, performance and logistics. “I delegate a lot,” he says, “and share the load with a lot of people.”

“This is a cool concept, being able to afford whatever I want, as opposed to sleeping on couches until I was 35.” - Taika Waititi

But the buck stops with him. Time magazine named Waititi one of its Most Influential 100 People of 2022. “You can tell that a film was made by Taika Waititi the same way you can tell a piece was painted by Picasso,” wrote Sacha Baron Cohen. Compassionate but comic. Satirical but watchable. Rockstar but auteur. “Actually, sorry, but this guy’s really starting to piss me off,” Cohen concluded. “Can someone else write this piece?”

Directing Chris Hemsworth in 2017 in Thor: Ragnarok, which grossed more than $1.3 billion at the box office. (Alamy)

I’m curious to know how he stays grounded amid such adulation. Coming into the game late, he says, helped immensely. After all, Waititi was 40 by the time he left New Zealand to do Thor: Ragnarok. “If you let things go to your head, then it means you’ve struggled to find out who you are,” he says. “But I’ve always felt very comfortable with who I am.” Hollywood access and acclaim – and the pay cheques – don’t erase memories of poverty, either. “It’s more like, ‘Oh, this is a cool concept, being able to afford whatever I want, as opposed to sleeping on couches until I was 35.’ ” Small towns and strong tribes keep him in check, too. “You know you can’t piss around and be a fool, because you’re going to embarrass your family,” he says. “Hasn’t stopped me, though.”

Sam Neill says there was never any doubt Waititi would be able to steer a major movie with energy and imagination. “It’s no accident that the whole world wants Taika,” he says. “But his seductiveness comes with its own dangers. You can spread yourself a bit thin. The temptation will be to do more, more, more. That’ll be interesting to watch.”

Indeed, I find myself vicariously stressed out over the list of potential projects in Waititi’s future. A Roald Dahl animated series for Netflix. An Apple TV show based on the 1981 film Time Bandits. A sequel to What We Do In The Shadows. A reboot of Flash Gordon. A gonzo horror comedy, The Auteur, starring Jude Law. Adapting a cult graphic novel, The Incal, as a feature. A streaming series based on the novel Interior Chinatown. A film based on a Kazuo Ishiguro bestseller. Plus bringing to life the wildly popular Akira comic books. Oh, and for good measure, a new instalment of Star Wars, which he’s already warned the world will be … different.

“It’s going to change things,” he told Good Morning America. “It’s going to change what you guys know and expect.”

Did I say I was stressed for Waititi? I meant physically sick.

“Well…” he qualifies, “some of those things I’m just producing, so I come up with an idea or someone comes to me with an idea, and I shape how ‘it’s this kind of show’ and ‘here’s how we can get it made.’ It’s easier for me to have a part in those things and feel like I’ve had a meaningful role in the creative process, but also not having to do what I’ve always done, which is trying to control everything.”

In the 2014 mockumentary horror film What We Do in the Shadows, which he co-directed with Jemaine Clement. (Alamy)

What about moving away from the niche New Zealand settings he represented so well in his early work? How does he stay connected to his roots? “I think you just need to know where you’re from,” he says, “and just don’t forget that.”

They certainly haven’t forgotten him.

Jasmin McSweeney sits in her office at the New Zealand Film Commission in Wellington, surrounded by promotional posters Waititi signed for her two decades ago, when she was tasked with promoting his nascent talent. Now the organisation’s marketing chief, she talks to me after visiting the heart of thriving “Wellywood”, overseeing the traditional karakia prayer on the set of a new movie starring Geoffrey Rush.

Waititi isn’t the first great Kiwi filmmaker – dual Oscar-winner Jane Campion and blockbuster king Peter Jackson come to mind – yet his particular ascendance, she says, has spurred unparalleled enthusiasm. “Taika gave everyone here confidence. He always says, ‘Don’t sit around waiting for people to say, you can do this.’ Just do it, because he just did it. That’s the Taika effect.”

-----------------------------------------------

Taika David Waititi is known for wearing everything from technicolour dreamcoats to pineapple print rompers, and today he’s wearing a roomy teal and white Isabel Marant jumper. The mohair garment has the same wispy frizz as his hair, which curls like a wave of grey steel wool, and connects with a shorn salty beard.

A stylish silver fox, it wouldn’t surprise anyone if he suddenly announced he was launching a fashion label. He’s definitely a commercial animal, to the point of directing television commercials for Coke and Amazon, along with a fabulous 2023 spot for Belvedere vodka starring Daniel Craig. He also joined forces with a beverage company in Finland (where “taika” means “magic”) to release his coffee drinks. Announcing the partnership on social media, he flagged that he would be doing more of this kind of stuff, too (“Soz not soz”).

Waititi has long been sick of reverent portrayals of Indigenous people talking to spirits.

There’s substance behind the swank. Fashion is a creative outlet but he’s also bought sewing machines in the past with the intention of designing and making clothes, and comes from a family of tailors. “I learnt how to sew a button on when I was very young,” he says. “I learnt how to fix holes or patches in your clothes, and darn things.”

And while he gallivants around the globe watching Wimbledon or modelling for Hermès at New York Fashion Week, all that glamour belies a depth of purpose, particularly when it comes to Indigenous representation.

There’s a moment in his new movie where a Samoan player realises that their Dutch coach, played by Michael Fassbender, is emotionally struggling, and he offers a lament for white people: “They need us.” I can’t help but think Waititi meant something more by that line – maybe that First Nations people have wisdom to offer if others will just listen?

“Weeelllll, a little bit …” he says – but from his intonation, and what he says next, I’m dead wrong. Waititi has long been sick of reverent portrayals of Indigenous people talking to kehua (spirits), or riding a ghost waka (phantom canoe), or playing a flute on a mountain. “Always the boring characters,” he says. “They’ve got no real contemporary relationship with the world, because they’re always living in the past in their spiritual ways.”

A scene from Next Goal Wins, filmed earlier this year. (Alamy)

He’s part of a vanguard consciously poking fun at those stereotypes. Another is the Navajo writer and director Billy Luther, who met Waititi at Sundance Film Festival back in 2003, along with Reservation Dogs co-creator Sterlin Harjo. “We were this group of outsiders trying to make films, when nobody was really biting,” says Luther. “It was a different time. The really cool thing about it now is we’re all working. We persevered. We didn’t give up. We slept on each other’s couches and hung out. It’s like family.”

Waititi has power now, and is known for using Indigenous interns wherever possible (“because there weren’t those opportunities when I was growing up”), making important introductions, offering feedback on scripts, and lending his name to projects through executive producer credits, too, which he did for Luther’s new feature film, Frybread Face and Me (2023).

He called Luther back from the set of Thor: Love and Thunder (2022) to offer advice on working with child actors – “Don’t box them into the characters you’ve created,” he said, “let them naturally figure it out on their own” – but it’s definitely harder to get Waititi on the phone these days. “He’s a little bitch,” Luther says, laughing. “Nah, there’s nothing like him. He’s a genius. You just knew he was going to be something. I just knew it. He’s my brother.“

I’ve been asked to explicitly avoid political questions in this interview, probably because Waititi tends to back so many causes, from child poverty and teenage suicide to a campaign protesting offshore gas and oil exploration near his tribal lands. But it’s hard to ignore his recent Instagram post, sharing a viral video about the Voice to Parliament referendum starring Indigenous Aussie rapper Adam Briggs. After all, we speak only two days after the proposal is defeated. “Yeah, sad to say but, Australia, you really shat the bed on that one,” Waititi says, pausing. “But go see my movie!”

About that movie – the early reviews aren’t great. IndieWire called it a misfire, too wrapped in its quirks to develop its arcs, with Waititi’s directorial voice drowning out his characters, while The Guardian called it “a shoddily made and strikingly unfunny attempt to tell an interesting story in an uninteresting way”. I want to know how he moves past that kind of criticism. “For a start, I never read reviews,” he says, concerned only with the opinion of people who paid for admission, never professional appraisals. “It’s not important to me. I know I’m good at what I do.”

Criticism that Indigenous concepts weren’t sufficiently explained in Next Goal Wins gets his back up a little, though. The film’s protagonist, Jaiyah Saelua, the first transgender football player in a FIFA World Cup qualifying match, is fa’afafine – an American Samoan identifier for someone with fluid genders – but there wasn’t much exposition of this concept in the film. “That’s not my job,” Waititi says. “It’s not a movie where I have to explain every facet of Samoan culture to an audience. Our job is to retain our culture, and present a story that’s inherently Polynesian, and if you don’t like it, you can go and watch any number of those other movies out there, 99 per cent of which are terrible.”

*notes: (there is video clip in the article)

Waititi sounds momentarily cranky, but he’s mostly unflappable and hilarious. He’s the kind of guy who prefers “Correctumundo bro!” to “Yes”. When our video connection is too laggy, he plays up to it by periodically pretending to be frozen, sitting perfectly still, mouth open, his big shifting eyeballs the only giveaway.

He’s at his best on set. Saelua sat next to him in Honolulu while filming the joyous soccer sequences. “He’s so chill. He just let the actors do their thing, giving them creative freedom, barely interjecting unless it was something important. His style matches the vibe of the Pacific people. We’re a very funny people. We like to laugh. He just fit perfectly.”

People do seem to love working alongside him, citing his ability to make productions fresh and unpredictable and funny. Chris Hemsworth once said that Waititi’s favourite gag is to “forget” that his microphone is switched on, so he can go on a pantomime rant for all to hear – usually about his disastrous Australian lead actor – only to “remember” that he’s wired and the whole crew is listening.

“I wouldn’t know about that, because I don’t listen to what other people say about anything – I’ve told you this,” Waititi says. “I just try to have fun when there’s time to have fun. And when you do that, and you bring people together, they’re more willing to go the extra mile for you, and they’re more willing to believe in the thing that you’re trying to do.”

Yes, he plays music between takes, and dances out of his director’s chair, but it’s really all about relaxing amid the immense pressure and intense privilege of making movies. “Do you know how hard it is just to get anything financed or green-lit, then getting a crew, getting producers to put all the pieces together, and then making it to set?” Waititi asks. “It’s a real gift, even to be working, and I feel like I have to remind people of that: enjoy this moment.”

Source: The Age

By: Konrad Marshall (December 1, 2023)

#rhys darby #taika waititi #next goal wins #our flag means death #hunt for the wilderpeople #interview

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vampgal202 · 9 months

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Lights, Camera, Action (James Franco x Female reader)

summary: James Franco and Y/n always hated each other on set. But everyone could feel the undeniable tension between the two. One day when the pair have to film a sex scene for their new movie, the scene becomes a little too real.

Warnings: smut, unprotected sex, public sex, lap grinding, degrading kink, slapping.

"No please I'm fine!" I say to my manager, bickering at me through the phone. "Today you are shooting a few small scenes and the sex scene, honestly Y/n if you're not comfortable-" My manager responds back to me breathlessly. "I'm fine! I got to go, I have to get to the hair and makeup trailer, I'll meet you on set." I say, hanging up the phone, annoyance laced in my voice.

I was definitely not enthralled by the fact I had to shoot a very nude, intimate scene with James, but that's what actors do! James and I never got along, but we have been in more movies together than I could count. Our on-screen chemistry seems to be the main thing that keeps the money flowing in our pockets. I hate James, and since we have spent so much time with each other working on projects, he knows exactly what to say to push my buttons.

***

"It looks amazing, thank you..." I say under my breath to the hairdresser doing my hair. She smiles at me and exits my trailer. My hair was let down, flowing down the back of my robe. As my hairdresser exited, James entered. I turn in my chair to face him, giving him a bored expression. He was wearing the same white robe as me, and his hair was all-natural, revealing the small curls in his hair.

"What?" I say to him, standing up to grab a cigarette out of my purse. "why are you always such a moody bitch?" He says to me scrunching up his eyebrows, a look of confusion and disgust all over his face. I pause my movement, pulling the now-lit cigarette away from between my teeth. "What the fuck is your problem, I'm sorry that I'm not crawling up your ass every second like everyone else on set," I say to him, walking closer to him. He laughs, looking down at me like I'm some idiot.

"Who the fuck do you think you are?" He says to me, only a couple inches away from my body, looking down at me with so much hatred. I look at him for a second, scanning his face. "This is my trailer, you brought your sorry ass here to come to bug me because clearly, you got nothing better to do," I say to him, finding myself raising my voice. "My sorry ass? Good luck making your way around Hollywood without me, you self-righteous cunt." He spits back at me, now only an inch away from my face.

I slap him across the face making his head turn. He looks back at me, grabbing my jaw hard with his hand and slamming my back against the wall behind me. Before I know it his lips are on mine, forcefully kissing me, still tightly holding my jaw. My hand grabs the back of his hair pulling and tugging as he hungrily kisses me.

His tongue aggressively moves around my mouth, his body now fully pressed against mine. I can already feel the pool between my legs. Until he pulled off of me, letting go of my jaw and stepping back, looking at my body flush against the wall. He brings his fingers up to his now red, swollen lips, and drags his fingers against them, smiling, and walking out of my trailer.

***

"AND, ACTION." The director yells, and the camera starts rolling. I look into James's eyes as he's on top of me. I could feel his genital guard digging into mine, protecting us from actually having sex. I watched as he flicked his eyes down to stare at my unclothed tits. His large hands rubbed up the side of my body, grazing his thumb over my nipple. Although this is a scene, I can't help but feel aroused and I don't know why.

A sheet covers both of our lower halves, only exposing our naked torsos. James pushes his hand under the sheet, touching my genital guard. My eyes flick up at him, knowing that's not a part of the script, but I play into it. He removes my genital guard, looking up at me. My cheeks got hot at the thought of the whole cast watching, thinking this is just us 'acting.'

He removed his and looked at me, I nodded my head. I could see some confused stares from the people on set, knowing my head nod of approval was not in the script. I look away, trying to remember my line but hesitating as he slides himself inside of me. I say my line, trying to keep the sheet from slipping off of us. I tried to keep my moans minimal as to the script, but I couldn't help it.

His cock is thick and big, fucking me so good. I didn't care anymore, I pulled him down kissing his lips, completely moving off the script. The directors didn't stop us, because the acting looked too real to intervene. He swirled his tongue around my mouth, fucking me harder. I could feel the feeling building up in my stomach indicating I was gonna finish soon.

My moans become louder and the scene becomes more heated as I grab onto him, ready to finish, right here. "AND CUT." The director yells and James pulls out of me, putting his genital guard back on, leaving me under the sheets. "This is not done." He whispers in my ear as he gets up. "That was the most amazing sex scene of my life, I could've sworn you guys were really making love under there!" The director says to me and James making us both awkwardly laugh.

Getting up quickly, I walk past the amazed looks from my 'performance' and walk back to my trailer. What the fuck did I just do. I can feel my cheeks get flushed at the embarrassed thoughts. In one swift motion, my hand gets pulled from behind me, spinning me around and making my back slam flat onto the side of James's trailer. He stands in front of me, his eyes dark, filled with desire.

I grab his face and pull him down towards me inclosing his lips within mine. He pulls away, grabbing my wrist and pulling me into his trailer, closing the door behind him. His hands are quickly on my body, pulling off my robe and genital guard, cupping my tits. He discards his robe and genital guard, pulling me against him, and walking backward until the backs of his legs hit the couch, sitting down. Placing me right on his cock, I straddle his lap, kissing up his neck and jaw making him let out low moans of satisfaction.

I start grinding against the base of his dick, spreading my juices up his cock. "Yeah, you wanna ride it?" He says to me, licking his lips and smirking. I nod my head, giving him a devilish smile. His hands caressed my thighs and hips, guiding me as I grinded on his hard cock. He grabbed his cock, dragging it through my slit and rubbing circles on my clit with his tip, making me throw my head back in pleasure. "Fuck me." I let out breathlessly.

He brings his dick to my entrance and I slam my hips down making him let out a low groan. I start riding him fast and hard, my tits bouncing in his face. "yeah you fucking dirty whore, take it." He says to me between moans, digging his fingers into my hips, making me whimper. He grabs my jaw, turning my head. "Look at me. Look at me as you ride my fucking cock." He says to me, squeezing my jaw with his large hand. I lean in closer, smashing my lips against his.

He kisses me forcefully, biting my bottom lip as he pulls away from me. "Yes, James ah." I start moaning, loudly, wanting to close my eyes in pleasure but keeping eye contact. His eyes were half-lidded, his mouth releasing moans and cuss words. "Fuck I'm coming close," I say to him, becoming tired and sloppier as I ride him. He grabs my lower back and flips my back onto the couch. Now he's on top of me, fucking me with so much force.

I was practically screaming in pleasure. He leans in closer, making his body flush against mine and pulling my hair. I whimper loudly, cumming all over his cock at the time as he finishes inside of me. He quickly pulls out of me, grabbing the box of tissues and cleaning up. He looks me in my eyes for a second as he's cleaning me and see a moment of sincerity in there.

"Sorry for yelling at you," I say to him quietly."Which time?" He says to me, smiling. "Shut up" I smile back covering my hands with my face. "Sorry for calling you a cunt." He says in a serious tone. "You're just saying that because you were just inside of me." I start laughing to myself making him start laughing too. Maybe James isn't so bad after all?

#james franco #smut #james franco gif #james franco x reader #james franco imagine #ultraviolence #james franco icons

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toddxhavez · 6 months

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Love In The Dark

Pairing(s): Jenna Ortega x reader, mentions of Victoria Pedretti x reader

Summary: A nice night out at a movie premiere doesn’t go as planned for Jenna when she runs into her ex-girlfriend there.

Warning(s): Female reader, angst, mentions of drinking and past drug use, that’s all I think but feel free to correct me!

Word count: 1.7k

A/N: This takes place sometime in the future, reader is the same age as Jenna in this story which is 29. I’ll probably give more background on their relationship in part two but the song I had in mind for the reader in this story is Love In The Dark by Adele you’ll know what I mean after you read it. Sorry for disappearing but I was having trouble feeling confident and comfortable about my writing! Not proofread there might be some mistakes. (Gif is not mine, the credits belong to the user right below it!)

The biggest problem with working as an actress in Hollywood definitely had to do with the public, when they loved you they loved you sure but climbing the ladder of popularity came with consequences, all it takes is one interaction taken out of context to make them angry.

The interaction in question took place at a movie premiere. Jenna’s agent Owen received her formal invitation and asked her if she’d been interested in attending, she agreed since it was for a horror film.

If only she said no, she wishes she said no.

When Jenna arrived to walk on the red carpet, a staple feature that came with just about every movie premiere, she’d gotten there only minutes before you did. One of the many purposes of a movie premiere is to generate excitement and raise awareness about the film but right now one of the only things the media outlets are focusing on about last week was Jenna’s interaction with you, her ex-girlfriend of five years.

You’d think growing up as an actress your entire life would mean that it’s easy to walk the red carpet, Jenna wants to say that she’s used to it but she’s not.

Thankfully nobody would be able to tell the difference.

She takes a deep breathe and tries to push away that this walk in particular is turning into another stinging reminder that you’d always been here with her the times she’s felt truly at ease and comfortable, slowly but surely these resurfacing thoughts of you would fade away right?

Jenna continues walking past the numerous shouts and flashing lights, offering them a kind smile and occasionally stopping where one of the coordinators of the red carpet asks her to. There’s one photographer in particular that has a camera that could light up a whole town on his own that momentarily blinds her, while the coordinator reprimands the man she takes five steps forward and hopes for the best but ends up crashing into somebody anyways.

“Are you alright?” The person says and they grab her elbow lightly as a way to steady her from falling, but all she can do is blink rapidly as your face slowly comes into view.

“Yeah I’m fine.” Jenna says trying to grasp the fact that she ran into the one person she’d been dwelling on about less than five minutes ago.

What kinda’ve game did the universe plan on playing today?

“Are you sure? You still look a little dazed.” Victoria questions with a look of worry, you’d unintentionally shielded her from Jenna’s view and now she’s realized that you’d come to the movie premiere with her as your plus one after catching a glimpse of the other woman’s arm interlocked comfortably with your own.

A harsh game it seems. But why?

“Oh wait I know why,” you say and it spooks Jenna, how’d you know what she was thinking? If you could still read her as easily as you once did- would you really be diabolical enough to showcase her concerns in front of others? She wills herself to calm down with the reminder that you’ve never been the type and that’s really only worst case scenario.

“It was because of that photographer huh! I thought I died and saw god when he took some pictures of us.” You continue with a laugh unintentially dispensing out another grueling thought to replace the other because the only thing that stands out to Jenna in that statement is your use of the word “us”.

“I think I need glasses now.” Jenna says making Victoria and you laugh, she knows that it’s because of her joke but seeing you do it with Victoria rubs her the wrong way.

“It’s been so long, how are you?” Victoria asks excitedly reaching out to hug her, Jenna internally scolds herself for feeling this way about someone who’s without a doubt happy to have run into her.

“I’m doing really good… what about you guys?” Jenna lies copying Victoria’s movements and reaching out for a hug too.

Before either of you can answer and continue the conversation a coordinator steps forward to apologize for interrupting but mentions that you’re all required to move along because of the influx of people arriving on the red carpet.

“It’s alright I’m sorry about that sir,” you say before focusing on Jenna once more with a smile that’s warm and gentle enough to drown out the rest of the world around her, “we’re doing good too, it’s really nice seeing you again.”

And with that you’d left her.

The breakup happened about a year and a half ago, but whatever the both of you did apart from each other was still talked about widespread and analyzed through the lenses of “In separation, what and how are they doing now?” Or “Why’d it happen? And whose fault is it?”

The latter one being the worser of two evils because it overpowered fact with fiction of how it really ended.

Jenna broke up with you but a year ago the popular release of your hit song made the people think otherwise, the reality of this was that they actually painted you in a bad light because of it.

‘It happened because Y/N didn’t love Jenna anymore, so it’s her fault.’ But that was the furthest thing from the truth, and yet this belief diminished your reputation, Jenna felt guilty about it. She didn’t know what to expect when she’d heard you’d both been going viral after you released a song, but after listening to it she realized you wrote it from her perspective during the breakup, not yours.

The media crucified you because of these speculations, any mistakes that you’d made in the past were brought up and used to pick your image apart.

The worst one being that drug use played a part in the breakup.

You’d grown up as a child actress same as Jenna, but unlike her you were never given the choice to quit. You were forced into this life by greedy parents and discouraged from doing anything else. You were miserable and there’d been a time where you used drugs as a coping mechanism.

So of course, they accused you of falling off the wagon.

“Are you sure about this?” Owen says carefully pulling Jenna out of her thoughts.

“Have you seen the headlines? I’m sure.”

“And you’ve talked to her about it?” Owen questions offering her a sympathetic smile, but it only confuses her.

“Why would I talk to her about it? It’s the truth and it’ll help her with these assholes.” Jenna asks narrowing her eyes at Owen.

‘Help her but hurt you.’ Owen wants to say but he bites back the comment, he knows Jenna’s making this announcement to stop the public from condemning you but there’s a reason you’d never done it yourself.

“Nothing, I was just wondering.” Owen responds turning around and away from view to organize the mountain of papers on his desk, Jenna wants to press him for information but she already knows he won’t give her any.

“Did you like the film?” Owen asks walking towards the bar in his office to fix himself a drink, when Jenna doesn’t answer he takes a quick glance at her and sees that she’s back in her own little world again.

“Yeah it was… good.” Jenna trails off not wanting to admit that she missed about half of it because she’d been focused on you, well you and Victoria Pedretti.

The premiere didn’t have assigned seating but she’d gotten there a bit late- and not that long before Victoria and you did, that unfortunately meant you both were seated about three rows ahead of Jenna. At the beginning of the film you kept whispering things to one another and quietly laughing, the half that Jenna missed happened to be after Victoria rested her head on your shoulder. Jenna couldn’t stop thinking about close she was to you, the way your body softly shook with laughter whenever she said something to you, her bright smile merely inches away from your neck.

“For what’s it’s worth, I don’t think the rumors are true.” Owen comes back with two glasses of his expensive tequila, setting one of them right in front of Jenna and taking his own with him to his seat across from her.

“I know she’s sober.” Jenna thanks him with a nod, appreciative for the man who’s been akin to a protective father to her and you alike.

“Without a doubt, but I’m not talking about that.” Owen says with a pointed look, of course he’d know.

“That’s none of my business.” Jenna responds but the way she picks up the glass of tequila and downs it in one go says otherwise.

“You’re still in love with her.” Owen says and Jenna’s about to deny it but Owen’s one of the few people who knows her well enough to see through her lies.

“It’s not a crime to still feel some type of way about a person you share history with,” he continues getting up from the comfort of his chair to refill her glass once more “you never did actually tell me why you broke up.”

“Can you just have Emilia make the announcement already?” Jenna quips at him trying to change the subject, he merely hums immediately doing what’s been asked of him.

“It’s… complicated.” She finally admits when he hangs up his phone after calling her PR agent. Since she’d the one to break up with you, she felt as if she was in the wrong for being upset about the idea that you’ve already moved on and now here she was accidentally snapping at Owen for something that’s not his fault.

“We’ve got time.” He shrugs passively setting her freshly poured drink down in front her.

“You’ve got any limes?” Jenna asks downing the glass, Owen laughs going to cut up some limes and deciding it’d be better to just bring the bottle of tequila for the rest of this conversation.

#jenna ortega x fem!reader #jenna ortega x reader #jenna ortega x y/n

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hobiebrownismygod · 5 months

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Let's talk about Desi representation again!!

I don't talk about this stuff often but when I do, I have some strong ass opinions

and yes I'm gonna be talking about none other than Pavitr Prabhakar at the end cuz he's just special to me <3

Hollywood is lagging behind on Desi representation

You'd think one of the biggest film industries in the world would be able to represent us properly, considering the fact that we make up the largest group of South-Asian Americans and the second largest group of Asian-Americans in the US, but instead-

Western Television forces Indians to conform to harmful stereotypes

Some of the most popular Desi characters on screen are Raj Koothrappali from the Big Bang Theory, Devi Vishwakumar from Never Have I Ever and Kelly Kapoor from the Office.

Indian men are almost always portrayed as robotics engineers and computer whizzes, but with terrible social intellect, making them seem like awkward nerds.

Indian women are almost always portrayed as "whitewashed", or wanting to appear more western, with zero understanding of their own culture or language along with an unrelenting need for attention from white friends/colleagues.

These are both based on stereotypes that Indian culture is "toxic" and "too traditional" and that Indians are only interested in studies.

Most Desi characters in western media have stories that are solely based around their ethnicity and/or racial stereotypes.

British television actually showcases a lot more representation than Hollywood does

I was watching Polite Society, a movie starring two Pakistani characters as the main leads, and there was a dance scene where both the leads are wearing traditional desi attire. My mom turned over, looked at me, and asked, "Is this Hollywood? It can't be."

And she was right. It's a British movie with British-Pakistani actors.

The reason she didn't believe that it could've been Hollywood was because the dresses the two leads were wearing were traditional and beautiful and the song playing in the background was authentic Hindi music, not some random westernized DJ version of it.

A Hollywood movie would've never dressed up their Desi actors in actually flattering attire (*cough cough the Patel twins from Harry Potter) or have used real, popular Desi music in the background.

You see my point?

It is so uncommon to see well-thought-out Desi representation in TV nowadays, where to see real diversity we have to watch movies made by the same country that colonized us.

Ironic.

British movies/shows with desi leads have far better South Asian representation than anything I've seen in Hollywood recently.

The Hollywood movies starring Indian leads, like Slumdog Millionaire or Bend it like Beckham were filmed in the UK, and because they were filmed in the UK, they had fantastic South Asian representation.

Not only does Hollywood refuse to create shows and movies about real problems that South Asians face, but they also don't cast South Asian actors in good roles.

When's the last time you saw a South Asian actor playing a character that wasn't a walking stereotype? When's the last time you saw a South Asian actor playing a character that was a genuine part of the story rather than just comedic relief or a random smart kid in the classroom?

Not often, right?

Me, personally, I didn't grow up with a lot of South Asian characters or actors in shows/movies that I watched. In fact, every time someone even close to my skin color showed up on TV, I was on the edge of my seat because it was just so rare to see it.

This is why representation matters.

You've heard about all the young girls with braids being so excited when the new little mermaid with Halle Bailey came out. Well, us desi kids wanted that too.

I wanted to see a Telugu speaking girl with wavy hair and dark skin who would wear traditional clothing to Desi get-togethers and parties, go to the temple with her family, eat vegetarian Indian meals, etc...

I wanted to see a character who was a representation of me and my experiences as an Indian-American. I wanted to see a character that was at least a representation of Indians or just South Asians in general.

Instead, we were given characters that ridiculed their own culture, were extreme stereotypes and furthered the existence of casual racism in western society today. So many Desi kids experience small acts of racism on a daily basis because people have been so desensitized to the existence of these stereotypes.

Telling South Asians that their culture is a joke and feeding non-asian children media which pokes fun at other cultures is harmful, not only to us South Asians but also communities that could end up being targeted next.

Pavitr Prabhakar; Representation Matters

If you've been following me or if we're mutuals, you probably know I have a tiny obsession with Pavitr Prabhakar. But why?

Because of all the reasons I just listed.

There are few South Asian characters us Desis can look up to these days, and Pavitr Prabhakar is one of the maybe two or three characters who have great writing, magnificent representation, and overall a fun vibe.

He's likable, funny, smart and best of all, unapologetically Desi.

He's just like all the other side characters, with a little bit of his own culture mixed in. He's not being shoved down our throats to further an agenda about fake diversity, he's not a walking stereotype and best of all, he was designed by Indian creators.

He's refreshing and exciting to follow in a world full of a demand for half-hearted representations and the people who created him were obviously putting their hearts and souls into it.

He's awoken a love for Indian culture amongst, not only Desi children themselves but also among westerners who, prior to this, had thought of India as a "3rd world" country, because that's the agenda that Hollywood pushes onto many South Asian countries today.

WE LOVE PAVITR PRABHAKAR!!

This was kinda all over the place but I just had to get this off my chest <3

Sources:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2021/06/10/discrimination-against-indian-americans-happens-more-than-you-might-think/

#for all the brown kids that never got to see a character that looked like them growing up #desi representation #desi writers #desiblr #desi tumblr #desi tag #desi culture #indian representation #pavitr #pavitr prabhakar #atsv pavitr #spiderverse pavitr #pavitr my beloved #astv #across the spider verse #across the spiderverse #spiderman atsv #pavitr Prabhakar

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amulet-or-not · 9 months

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Ok so I watched rise of the titans and it was... An experience...

The things I loved/liked:

Children of the sun summoning the amulet sequence. It was pretty cool. But it's funny this is one of the things in this category since it was basically ripped straight out of the scene in 1x12. But I don't mind a little self plagiarism if it's satisfying

Toby actually being smart and having a part in the defeat of bellroc

Toby's last moments with Jim. Not to say I liked Toby dying that was fucking horrible but seeing Toby and Jim be close again was something that had been desperately absent for a few seasons. And the idea that Jim even after winning would sacrifice the entire world and take on the burden of going back into the past himself, just to save Toby is kinda sweet even if this movie didn't go in that direction. Cuz it just proves this boy would give up anything for his friends and that's one of his core qualities and why we all love him

The opening sequence on the subway. That was pretty excellent and raised the hype and allowed everyone an equal chance to shine

Aarrrgghh going batshit when Toby dies cuz mood

The taco truck with the little tune entering arcadia and all the government are like 'remove the barricades, let them through!!'

Jlaire was pretty cute in this movie, not the best it's ever been but y'know.

Douxie was pretty good throughout

The things I was ok/unsure about:

Ajas characterisation. I know a lot of people hated it in this movie but it wasn't the worst. She acted like a leader trying to protect two worlds of people, and that's entirely fair tbh. I didn't like how she doubted Jim but as she didn't know him that well especially as neither of them remember the events of d'aja vu it was kinda understandable. And I agreed that they did need a contingency evacuation plan

Krel. He was consistently good in this movie as usual but didn't get enough time to shine individually, same goes for blinky and aarrrgghh

Stricklake getting married was cute, however I didn't like how Barbara was used as a mouthpiece to mediate all of Jim's relationships with the older men in his life, i.e. when her and Jim talked it was either about strickler or James SR. and honestly that's just a disservice to Barbara's own character (and makes me realize that I doubt this movie passes the bechdel test)

The things I disliked:

Eli basically doing nothing all movie and being useless

Having Eli come back after a glow up for the sole purpose of having a moment where Steve is jealous and distrusting of his girlfriend. Actually no this can go in the hate category too ❤️

Jim saying 'i always wondered about dad' to his mom. The only reason this isn't in the hate category is bc it meant we actually spent time on the relationship between Jim and Barbara which is something that was sorely lacking in wizards tbh, and something that really made trollhunters shine. But what happened to 1x17's 'you know I don't care about my father'? Like what is this bfr

Toby being used as comic relief didn't bother me in this as much as in wizards cuz at least he got that important moment at the end but him saying 'moral support is the lamest superpower' what happened to the Toby that cherished supporting his friends and knew that his support was the greatest gift he could give to Jim and Claire just as their support was his greatest gift. Cuz that seemed like a key factor in earlier seasons imo. Also what happened to the Toby that started becoming confident in his abilities in earlier seasons of trollhunters?

The blatant Hollywood stereotyping. The kids kicking the football in Brazil and the fishermen in the South China sea, and then the bright neon lights of anywhere in east Asia at nighttime visual. It's not the worst but I'm tired tbh

The things that I absolutely fucking hated:

This shouldn't matter to me so much, but why when Jim went back into the past, did he wake up at 8.00 instead of 6.00? You could claim it was because it was cuz he was disoriented, but the time of his alarm should never have changed. If I remember that it said 6.00 on the alarm, and I haven't watched the first episode since probably 2018, the screenwriters should've too. It's just lazy. Or maybe it's symbolic of the fact that Jim only used to wake up at 6.00 to make his mom breakfast and all of them lunch, something which was a key part of his characterisation and clearly showed how much he cared for and loved the people around him - something which is very obviously no longer a part of his character since he allowed Steve to bully Eli and manipulated Toby into becoming the trollhunter. But idk. You choose

Nomura's characterisation?? First of all she just seemed ooc, like a stereotype version of herself for some reason. Secondly, her death. She died. In the sun. She's a changeling. The sloppiness of the writing team in keeping their facts straight is fucking astounding.

Stricklers death. Just for shock value and a play on emotions cuz it contributed nothing to the story. Same with nomuras. All it showed me is that the writing team were sitting around a table and someone goes 'you know we should kill off a few characters early on in the movie just to show this is a serious level threat'.

Pregnancy being used as a fucking joke. I wouldn't have necessarily minded the mpreg concept happening but the execution was just. Ugh. Steve being pregnant was treated as a joke and gross and just something to fill in time as comic relief, rather than what pregnancy actually is which is fucking hard work. It just seems like another extended misogyny-as-comic-relief trope again and Steve's character and everything was thrown down the drain

Toby Jim and Claire not having a group moment together. There was a scene somewhere in the movie where Claire was comforting Jim and I was wishing Toby was there too. If they're going to play the moral support joke with him at least have him be there when morals are at the lowest

Toby being stuck to the van. The treatment of his character in general throughout the last half of the franchise, he should've been given proper development as a character since trollhunters ended but fuck that I guess

Getting human Jim back was WASTED. Utterly wasted on this poor excuse for a movie. The peak of Jim's character arc was accepting himself in every form even when his humanity was stolen from him. The 'am I a hero without the amulet' in this and even the corruption storyline in wizards were both forced, particularly the former, as we'd already gone through that part of his arc in s2 (and it was one of the best arcs this franchise has produced frankly). It was really really apparent they couldn't think of anywhere to go with his character but still wanted to use him bc he remained the most popular. Fanfiction writers can and have done better. Fuck this movie

The lack of emotional maturity and depth between a lot of the characters honestly?? I really don't know how to explain this other than anytime this movie paused to have an emotional conversation or moment between two characters it seemed hollow and worthless because none of them were going through true important character arcs

I'm sure I have more things in this category but for now this is all I can think of. Might rb later with more if I can think of more things that really annoyed me :)) time to rewatch trollhunters s1 and remember how good this franchise used to be :))

#trollhunters #toa #tales of arcadia #jim lake jr #3 below #3below #wizards #trollhunters rise of the titans #rise of the titans #toby domzalski #claire nuñez #aja tarron #krel tarron #douxie casperan

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eternal-love · 3 months

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Austin and Me

“Wife to the ‘king’. Icon to the world. Destined for more.”

Summary: At 18 years old, she fell in love with Austin, at 20 years old, she became his wife, by 22, she was his doll. In which Cynthia’s life changed drastically after falling head over heels with a man that promised her the moon and the stars. She takes us down the memory lane of what could’ve been— the perfect marriage.

Inspired by the book: Elvis and Me by Priscilla Presley.

I do not condemn any of the portrayals I decide to do about certain people, it’s just fanfiction. And it would be divided in parts.

English isn’t my first language so I’m trying my best!

It was one hot day in California, June 13th, 2023. I was packing my stuff while he slept peacefully, as if nothing was happening around him. I had to wake him up, if not then he’d resent me for the rest of his life. I opened the blind right beside our bed, letting the sunlight enter aggressively and making him slowly open his eyes and speak groggily.

“Baby— what’re you doing?” He spoke as he was still lying in bed, I sat besides him and started putting some small stuff from my nightstand inside my velvet box.

I dreaded to say this for a long time, I wasn’t an insensitive or cruel woman, if I could I would like to take pain away from the world but we had reached my breaking point and not any kind of reconciliation would work now. I took a deep breath and turned my head harshly towards him and said the words that would torture me forever.

“I’m leaving.”

——————————————————

All my life I’ve been going back and forth between México and L.A, it’s been my two homes since I can remember. I was born to a new formed family, my mother met my dad when she already had a baby which was my sister, and since then my parents had two more kids.

I’ve always dreamt of being an actress, ever since my father forced me to watch ‘Viva Las Vegas!’ and ‘King Creole’ with him. For two years, my innocent little me actually believed Elvis was still alive and somehow young, so my dream was to act besides him. I cried hours when my older sister told me Elvis had died decades ago.

My parents always told me that acting was a waste of time and that I wouldn’t make it, not because I wasn’t talented but because out there, there were people that were the same or even more talented than me.

But somehow, I was making it, I had my debut when I was 14 years old and since then I was constantly booked— I adored doing any sort of horror movies, I was a scream queen if you know what I mean.

Once I turned 18 years old, my career was stable, I wasn’t no A-Lister but people at least recognized me, that’s when I was invited to a party, which obviously— my parents didn’t want me to go, they were very strict when it came to permissions, specially when those permissions involved other actors.

“You want us to let you go to a party with other actors?” My mom asked rhetorically as we were setting the table for dinner.

“Absolutely not.” My father interrupted firmly, he was quite strict.

“It’s the weekend, why can’t I go? I’ll be with Elle and her sister.” Hollywood was separated from my family life, my parents didn’t like hearing about actors or nothing, just me and my movies.

“Who are those people, we don’t know them. So no.” My mother was harsh whenever she wanted to, and I get now their distress of being adamant to not let me go to that party, I wish I had listened to them.

I was a girl that was sheltered all her life, so with a sigh and pout I walked to my room, mumbling some cuss words as I knew it would be difficult to convince them.

Surprisingly, Elle and Dakota convinced them, Dakota was older, she had been an adult for quite some time and she knew how Hollywood worked. Freaking out I waited for the day and picked up something from my closet, which now seemed to be all wrong in the eyes of an excited me.

Vintage clothing, go-go boots, Mary Jane heels. I chose something I could work with. I chose a 60s baby blue dress, it only reached mid my thighs so I knew it was good, I grabbed some blue heels too and for my hair I went all out as always, I liked the 60s, my fashion icons were women from that era so I teased my hair to the high heavens, creating a bouffant, my makeup was also heavy around the eyes, black eyeliner and two pairs of falsies, I liked it. I smiled once I saw myself in the mirror, this was me.

The party was surprisingly chill, nothing like the parties I heard about so I was comfortable but I stuck out like a sore thumb, I started to regret going all in on my own style until I saw him. Long blond hair, tall, blue eyes, perfect nose and he was wearing black pants and a white tee. I recognized him immediately, not only was he Hudgens’ ex but he was also the guy that was on one of my favorite movies: Sharpay’s Fabulous Adventure.

We stared at each other for some long minutes, until he finally got closer to me.

“Hey— I know ya. You’re the girl from that movie about the psychotic grandparents.” He said playfully, he pushed his hair back.

“I am. Cynthia.” I extended my hand shyly and he accepted it, shaking it and squeezing it a little bit. I was not a fan of the long hair but he looked handsome enough.

Austin knew my age but there’s no problem on asking, once he knew I was legal enough, he hit it off right away. Austin couldn’t help but eye my whole look which made me think he was judging me.

“I like your dress.” Austin laughed. Feeling embarrassed, I snapped at him.

“I don’t even even know why I decided to wear this stupid dress and stupid hair today!” I snapped harshly, which only made him laugh.

“Little girl has some spunk.” He joked which made me feel even more embarrassed after snapping at him.

“Thanks.” I rolled my eyes playfully. He was 7 years older, for some reason he acted as if he was 20 years my senior.

Since that night, we both started seeing each other. He was my first real boyfriend— I think he liked that, he liked the idea of teaching me what love was, he felt that responsibility.

My parents weren’t at all okay with my relationship, for some reason they said that no relationship with an actor could ever turn right. Once again I wish I had listened to them. He trusted me enough to talk about his late mom with me, when we were in his room after an hour of being intimate or whatever we were doing.

“I wish my mom could’ve met you. She would’ve really liked you.” Austin whispered to me in full confidence, he felt like I was the kind of gal his mother always wanted for him, not someone like Vanessa.

“I wish I could’ve met her too.” I whispered back to him softly, I hated seeing him with tears in his eyes while he talked about his mom because I didn’t know how to comfort him.

“She was my whole world… my mama.” Austin rubbed his eyes and sniffed some tears, I tried cuddling closer to him.

Take my advice here: never date a mama’s boy.

“Why you? Why can’t he go back to dating women older than him? You’re only 18.” My mom nagged me, sometimes I felt bad because not only did she have to worry about me but also for my younger sibling, who were barely even teenagers.

“He’s not like you imagine, mami.” I tried excuses for my relationship, they didn’t even know him that well to judge him.

“Oh really? He’s just another damn white actor. Tu crees que tu papá va a dejar que te cases con alguien cómo Austin? (Do you think your father will allow you to marry someone like Austin?)”

I stayed silent, marriage had not been discussed by Austin and I, we were still in the honeymoon phase of the relationship. I was happy— we were happy. Out first Valentine Day’s was amazing and it made things finally official to everyone. Austin gave me this beautiful locket with his picture inside, great gift.

I think he also liked that things were pretty much private between us, I barely posted him on my Instagram since he barely posted me on his, he liked that I wasn’t loud, bitching and moaning about our relationship.

“Should I marry her?” Austin asked his older sister, Ashley, who was engaged herself.

“I don’t know, Aus. She’s not your type.” Ashley never really liked me, she was weirdly a Trump supporter and well— it’s not like Trump was the most inclusive person.

“She’s exactly my type, she’s not bossy or loud. She’s a brunette— well I would rather her being more natural and drop the jet black hair. But she’s exactly what I want.” Austin said.

“You do whatever you want, just remember that marriage ties you down. Don’t let her cut your wings.”

I was 19 years old— marriage was the last thing on my mind. I was happy with my career and surely acting in more stuff gave me more fame and people started to recognize me more. But every action has its consequences and not wrapping it before tapping it caught up to us.

Have you guys heard of shotgun weddings? Well us was in some way. But the wedding should be another part of this.

So, this is the beginning. Austin will be kind of an asshole just cause his behavior is kinda inspired by Elvis.

#Spotify #austin butler imagine #austin butler #austinbutler #austin butler fic #austin butler fanfiction #austin butler x reader #elvis presley #priscilla presley #elvis and me

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astoundingbeyondbelief · 5 months

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Kaiju Week in Review (December 3-9, 2023)

I made a frame from this shot Wikizilla's Image of the Week. No regrets. Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, I love ya. When I was a teenager, explicit queerness was anathema to most big-name franchises. Those dominoes have been slowly falling, often in lower-profile tie-ins first, and to me this is a huge one: 69 years without a queer live-action Godzilla character are over. And Cate's the main protagonist of the show! I'm not under the delusion that media representation will cure all society's ills, but it sure doesn't hurt. Now, the non-Tumblr parts of the fandom are being completely normal about this, right? Right? Whatever, that's why you'll never get rid of me here. Cate had a couple more sweet moments with May in this episode, and Mariko Tamaki wrote episode 7, so don't expect her to stop kissing girls. Hopefully she's learned a valuable lesson about cheating though.

"The Way Out" is also another gift to those of us who have always wanted to see more of the ramifications of a world where Godzilla exists, from underground towns for the super-rich to ruined cities where federal troops shoot looters and harass people experiencing homelessness. And the show continues to find ways to use kaiju to talk about COVID, from Cate and Kentaro's exchange about San Francisco truthers ("It's easier than waking up every day and thinking, at any moment, the same could happen to you") to the blink-of-an-eye speed at which the threat went from on the news to her front door in the flashbacks.

youtube

As I foretold, we got a Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire trailer, an amusing contrast to the weighty Toho flick and Apple show already fore of mind. It's Adam Wingard unbound, that's for sure. The human cast seems pared back, a longstanding Monsterverse problem, and the kaiju fights were far and away the best part of Godzilla vs. Kong, so hopefully this approach will play to his strengths. But that movie also had excellent VFX, and some of the shots in here are rough. There's time to fix them, at least... which probably can't be said of Godzilla's design. I like that he's pink (did some Warner Bros. executive take the wrong message away from Barbie?) and sporting a thagomizer on his tail, but his proportions are uncanny. And I see Kong found the Infinity Gauntlet; good for him.

I am, of course, not done talking about Godzilla Minus One. It added over 200 screens and made $8.3 million in its second weekend in the U.S., a minuscule drop considering that its $11.4 million opening "weekend" spanned five days. Almost a third of all tickets sold this weekend were for Godzilla or Hayao Miyazaki's The Boy and the Heron, remarkable in a market so allergic to foreign imports. That brings its total to $25.3 million (more by the time you read this). With an avalanche of Christmas blockbusters on the way, its grip on premium-format screens is about to slip. Still, I see it hanging around theaters for a while. I have never seen the fandom so united in praise for a film before, and it's making plenty of new fans.

Some of those fans are in high places. Variety leaked that it's on the 20-film shortlist for Best Visual Effects at the Oscars (to be narrowed to five nominees), something I, again, never expected to read about a Toho Godzilla film. Alas, it's locked out of this year's Best International Film category due to the quirky nomination period.

Much has been made of how great the film looks on a $15 million budget. I have two caveats, one in each direction. No one is quite sure where the $15 million figure came from; Yamazaki said at a recent con appearance that he only wished he had that much to play with. (He has yet to divulge the actual budget, just that it was above ¥1 billion.) Now, unions in the Japanese film industry are much weaker than in Hollywood, so a given production budget goes a lot further in Japan. All the same, I doubt that alone explains Minus One looking better than most superhero movies made for twenty times the cost. I'll offer a couple more reasons: Yamazaki has extensive visual effects experience (he's been the VFX supervisor of all but one of the live-action films he's directed), and the film's big effects scenes aren't as busy or lengthy as many of the Hollywood counterparts. I don't know if Disney will ask Yamazaki to direct the next Star Wars movie (that would require there to be a next Star Wars movie), but the studios here should be taking notes.

the sphinx, a blog with a ton of American Godzilla rarities to share, has outdone itself—behold a continuity and dialogue script for the U.S. version of King Kong vs. Godzilla! Included in the download is a detailed comparison with the film. No huge differences, apart from the script giving the secretary added to the U.S. version a name, but a fascinating piece of history all the same.

The Minus One incarnation of Godzilla (MaiGoji?) has joined Godzilla Battle Line, accompanied by [SPOILER]. To be honest, my enthusiasm for this game has been flagging, and I'm not caught up on the strategies developing around these two, so I'll just refer you to Sir Melee's channel as usual. This Godzilla's also doing a collaboration with the Japanese mobile game Fleet of Blue Flame.

Tiffany Grant, Asuka's original voice actress, will narrate the audiobooks for the Neon Genesis Evangelion: ANIMA light novels which explore an Instrumentality-free path for the show. Seven Seas Entertainment published them in English from 2019 to 2021, which, to be honest, was also news to me.

This one's for my fellow library workers: the obscenely popular Who HQ nonfiction series for children is publishing a book about Godzilla next June. I don't know if this will have quite the same impact on today's young Godzilla fans as the Ian Thorne tome had on Gen Xers and Millennials, what with the Internet and all, but it's certain to be more factual. Expect illustrations instead of licensed photos, and not just because of Toho.

I can finally talk more about the Godzilla x Kong: Titan Chasers mobile game without fearing a DMCA. Not that there's much to talk about; it's freemium through and through and I'm not sure I know a single person who's excited for it. Interesting to see some critters from the comics break into another medium, at least. Here's the trailer.

#kaiju week in review #godzilla minus one #monarch legacy of monsters #godzilla x kong the new empire #kaiju #godzilla

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blackgirlcinephiles · 6 days

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Incoming: Long post! Black media discourse! Zendaya think piece!

Two years ago I wrote this post about Zendaya, Keke Palmer, and how colorism shapes the career trajectories of Black actresses.

This past weekend Challengers released in theaters, sparking a round of online discussion about Zendaya, her star power, her talent as an actor, and how a raunchy film like Challengers fits into a cultural landscape that’s less enthusiastic about on-screen depictions of sex.

Early reviews of the film lauded Zendaya’s performance, and even after it’s release, the general consensus remains overwhelmingly positive, with quiet buzzing of a potential Oscar nomination for Zendaya. Kudos to her!

I’m not here, however, to discuss or analyze Zendaya’s acting chops. (To some ppl, she’s outstanding, to others she’s overhyped. Personally, I think Zendaya is talented. Her work in Euphoria was no small feat and she’s proved herself capable.)

The reason I’m writing this now is that an excerpt from this article about Zendaya and Challengers got me thinking again about what it takes for Black actors to become “stars” in this day and age. I’ll insert screenshots here.

Now I’m sure the reviewer’s tone in these excerpts will be off-putting to some, esp those who identify as a part of the Zendaya standom. It’s clear that Ms. Angelica Jade Bastien has yet to buy into the fanfare about Zendaya’s acting abilities.

But she touches on something very interesting to me. Zendaya is THE most prominent Black actress of the younger generation and I’d argue her degree of star power is unmatched by even her non-Black peers, some of them having comparatively longer (& more impressive) resumes. Zendaya is incredibly well liked. People want to see her and she’s been so visible these past 6 years that it’s hard to believe Challengers is her first leading role in a big release.

So…why her? Why has Zendaya been able to garner this level of star power and leverage behind the scenes while other equally talented Black actors fight for adequate roles and visibility? After reading several opinions, I’ve come to some conclusions.

I think colorism, racial identity, and desirability politics all play a role (as was discussed in the colorism post). But I also think Zendaya has been very smart about managing her online presence and overall brand. She’s maintained Beyonce level privacy about her personal life (virtually scandal free since her teens) and has managed to exude poise while still being seen as delightfully down-to-earth. That in itself is praiseworthy b/c it’s a delicate balancing act and many have faltered.

I also think that as AJB states, there’s an indictment on Hollywood to be made here. I think since Zendaya’s exit from Disney, the projects she’s taken on have used her likeness to stoke public interest in the films. (Similar to the way ppl watched Selena’s film choices post- Wizards of Waverly: “What’s this beloved disney kid up to next?”)

And this is noteworthy b/c the significance of Zendaya’s roles in the early films of the Spiderman and Dune franchises have been disproportionate to her visibility in promotional materials. Zendaya’s screentime in the first Dune couldn’t have amounted to more than 10 minutes, but she was prominently featured on the press tour and red carpets. The same goes for the first Spiderman. She’s clearly been used to sell tickets to these movies, even when she doesn’t have a lot to do in them.

And Zendaya, to her credit, has made the most of these opportunities (earlier this year she received high praise for her performance as Chani in Dune 2). She once stated in a vogue interview that she started going out for roles initially written as white to see if she’d be able to change the casting team’s mind. And it seems that she’s succeeded, as evidenced by her presence in several huge releases over the past 6 years. But these were often small, supporting roles where her identity as a biracial Black woman didn’t impact her character’s arc within the overall story. (This is not necessarily a bad thing in itself, but stay with me)

This then begs the question, “What does it mean for a star like Zendaya to take up roles originally reserved for white actresses?”

The conclusion I’ve come to is that it means providing a film with enough racial diversity to give the impression that Hollywood cares about being inclusive, while not being so different that certain audiences are unable to “connect” to the character. I think that “Hollywood’s acceptable Black girl” has to be Black enough to fulfill a diversity quota, but not so Black that audiences are reminded the character has a different lived experience from them and feel uncomfortable.

Like AJB said, I don’t believe mainstream audiences are actually interested in Black female rage. It makes them uncomfortable and lately certain factions of the population have been extremely vocal about being “tired of woke.”

I find it strange that Justin Kuritzkes (the Challengers screenwriter) stated it only made sense to write Tashi as a Black woman bc of the visibility and dominance of Black women in tennis, but didn’t think it’d be important to explore any of the challenges that come with that in the film. And for this to be followed by the decision to cast a light skinned, biracial actress in the role? It doesn’t make any sense.

We’re shown that Tashi Duncan is a fierce, unapologetically competitive athlete. And yet, these are not qualities that Black female athletes are usually applauded for having. Just look at the narratives that have swirled around athletes like Serena Williams and Sha’Carri Richardson since their debuts. There’s always a barely concealed desire to humble high achieving Black women who are confident in their abilities. The press coverage around Serena & Naomi’s infamous match (which Justin Kuritzkes said inspired Challengers) is a perfect example of that. It’s strange to model a character after these figures and give no mention of these struggles and how they’d influence character motivations.

IMO, this reads as another case of not wanting to be critized for lack of diversity in your film, while also not wanting to do the work that goes into making your diverse cast authentic. (like getting input from or writing alongside other BIPOC screenwriters. That “little white boys” line is truly meaningless without any context or backstory. And it doesn’t sound like they’ve given Tashi much.) The result is an Black female lead character who is under-written and whose importance has been overstated in the promos in contrast to the actual story. (Which seems to fit right on trend for films Zendaya’s been a part of.)

Zendaya seems to have become the go-to Black actress for when big budget films want to “go ethnic.” She’s mixed race, conventionally beautiful, near universally well-liked w/ a loyal fanbase, and has been recognized as talented enough (Two Emmys! Count ‘em. Two!) to get the job done. She’s a safe bet that allows them to kill two birds with one stone. By adding Zendaya to the mix, the studio gets to check a diversity box for their cast and gets leading star guaranteed to get them sales.

I really don’t want anyone to misconstrue this as downplaying Zendaya’s achievements or her talent, b/c it’s not. But no part of the society we live in is a true meritocracy. As I discussed in the original post re: colorism, there are always structural and social forces at work shaping our ability to advance. Like Beyonce, Zendaya is an incredibly privileged Black woman who is talented, has worked hard, and has made the most of the advantages she’s been afforded. And I don’t think Zendaya has any control over the way she’s been used to advertise the films she’s done over the past 6 years.

I just think this conversation is another opportunity to adjust our perspectives and examine the limitations of representation in Hollywood. I’m reluctant to acknowledge Zendaya’s current success as a marker of progress or even see it as a win for Black female representation.

“Zendaya is officially Gen Z’s Hollywood star. Gen Z’s first true Hollywood star is a Black woman!”

What does it say about the stage of progress we’re in if our generation’s chosen Black leading lady has to have such close proximity to whiteness that people can choose to overlook her Blackness, if they so desire? Is the mere presence of a Black face in a high place progress? Or is it what that person’s power allows them to do for others who are also marginalized? As AJB asked, how meaningful is Zendaya’s position as a Black female producer if everything about the projects she’s involved in is white except for her? (Just throwing out food for thought: How different would Challengers have been if a MoC was casted as one of the male leads instead of the two “white twinks” everyone can’t stop talking about? No shade to Mike Faist or Josh O’Connor, but would it still have gotten buzz? Would the marketing team have known how to advertise the film if there were two main actors of color instead of one?)

I think it’s amazing to see Zendaya’s growth and success as a biracial Black female entertainer, but I won’t attach any meaning to her success that isn’t there.

This is actually a really shitty time for Black art and Black actors in Hollywood. Last year, so many wonderful Black shows were cancelled. DEI rollbacks are hitting all parts of society, but especially entertainment and the trend doesn’t seem to be reversing any time soon.

It’s not comforting to see Zendaya reach the heights she’s soared to, while other equally talented yet less privileged Black actors fall into obscurity waiting years before they get another role that showcases their abilities. Black actors continue to suffer from lack access to opportunities/roles. Their projects are not marketed and given time to grow. And even when the support is there, the shows will still be cancelled. What does it say that the one Black actress who has had consistent enough access to these opportunites to achieve “star” status is the one with the closest proximity to whiteness?

Things are actually very bleak.

#blackgirlcinephiles #black girls on tumblr #discourse #black actresses #black actresses in hollywood #zendaya #challengers #what does it mean to be a star in this day and age #what is the true importance of having a Black hollywood star?#should it mean anything?#black representation #black representation in media

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alpaca-clouds · 1 year

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The Rise of Platonic Movies

Honestly, I am right now super happy to see more and more movies showing the value of platonic relationships and found family, rather than romantic relationships and traditional families.

I always was super annoyed with a lot of romantic relationships in movies, because often they seem to be based on anything, rather than "a hot male character and a hot female character breathed the same air, now they are in love" and often enough "the male main character deserves the girl, because he has saved the world". Which is just annoying, hetero- and amatonormative and also quite demeaning for the female characters. After all in many cases we get shown only the male perspective and why the guy is in love with her - but why she would even like him? Not answered.

So, yeah. As an aromantic queer person, I just love to see that we get away from this.

Recently especially enjoyed it in Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, where the platonic relationship of Ed and Holga was so wonderful to see and valued as much as the former romantic relationship between Ed and Zia.

And now also in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, where, no, Peter does not get the girl and has to learn that Gamora is not the old Gamora and a different person and he has no right to her, but he has his friends and found family and that is just as valuable.

Also in a lot of Guy Ritchie's recent stuff also had that, with no central romance. Not even a "guy gets girl for saving the world".

Really, Hollywood, give me more of that!

#platonic relationships #platonic #found family #family of choice #hollywood #dungeons & dragons honor among thieves #dungeons and dragons #dungeons and dragons honor among thieves #guardians of the galaxy #guardians of the galaxy vol 3 #queerplatonic relationships #lgbtq

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valkyrieromanoff · 1 year

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Michael B Jordan x actress!reader

I fell in love with Killmonger again thanks to Wakanda Forever 💖😍 After rewatching my favourite Michael B Jordan movies, I couldn't help but disassociate a little bit. So, hope you enjoy it! 💘✨

│CASTING

Y/N always knew she wanted to be an actress. Since she was a little girl and watched with her grandmother some novelas, trying to memorize the lines so she could recite it late at night in her bed. She dreamed to one day star in one of the Hollywood films she had grown up watching; one day she would meet her favorite actors and, if she was lucky, perform alongside them.

At eighteen, with a scholarship for a theater course and her dreams, she moved to LA. The first few weeks were magical; everything was new, and she found herself walking through the locations of her favorite movies. The fantasies quickly ran out of steam; the scholarship was full but didn’t cover her expenses, and with her savings dwindling and the money running out like water, Y/N needed a job.

Luckily, a Mexican restaurant was hiring, so Y/N put her Spanish skills to use and got the job with a little persistence and kindness. Although it was a part-time position, she occasionally put in extra time to make up for going out to auditions.

It was her 100th casting test when her nineteenth birthday arrived. Her roommates sung "happy birthday" and bought her a cupcake. Wishing she had lucky, Y/N blew the candle.

◦ ◦ ◦

"They're looking for a Latina actress between the ages of 18 and 24." Julie, one of her roommates, said while grabbing a flyer. "They left it at the college; I thought you may give it a try."

“I guess; It won't harm to give it a shot.” Y/N muttered.

That's how she ended up in a chair, dangling her feet nervously, waiting her turn. Each girl returning from the test had a mixture of delight and disappointment on their faces, leaving her confused. Y/N reread the script for the fiftyth time when her name was called. Before stepping into the room, she took a big breath.

“So when you're ready, Y/LN.” As he sat down next to three other people, the producer spoke.

Y/N inhaled deeply, closed her eyes to get into character, and started reciting her lines.

"The real monsters don’t hide in the dark, under your bed, or in the woods." While speaking, she slowly raised her gaze. “They live with us; we pass them on the streets daily."

"The truly terrifying monsters are the ones who smile at you before stabbing your back."

Y/N clenched her jaw and took a moment to reflect.

"The real monsters are the ones we call family. The ones we trust with our darkest secrets and fears. Those who should be protecting us are the first to twist a knife in the face of our faults when we least expect it." As she spoke, tears started to form in her eyes.

Y/N expressed gratitude and waited for the producer's debate with his assistants. She wrung her hands nervously, doing a breathing exercise to keep calm.

"Well, we appreciate your performance, but we need to see if you get along with the cast." The producer spoke up, pulling out a piece of paper and holding out his hand. "Memorize these lines and return in about ten minutes.”

◦ ◦ ◦

When Y/N returned, someone was already standing in the center of the room. It was a tall man dressed in a sweatshirt ensemble, his face was tilted as he held the script in his hands.

"Ready, Y/LN?" The man turned around in response to the producer's question.

Y/N gasped as she realized that the person she would be acting with was Michael B. fucking Jordan. She brought her hand to her mouth to pull herself together, nodding her head for them to begin.

"You can't believe what they say; it's all just lies. They want to play with your mind, manipulate you so you won't be able to escape their sick game." Michael stated incisively.

"It's funny because they said the same thing about you." Y/N replied while focusing on his eyes. "Why should I believe you are telling the truth?"

"I’d never lie to you." When she turned away, he assured her.

“Well, it seems that they were right. You cannot prove your point.” Y/N said as she started to leave.

Michael held her arm, pulling her back into place and lessening the previous distance.

"And how did they prove it to you? What was the excuse, huh? that they are your family?"

Y/N anxiously bit her lip.

"I can't force you to believe what I say; that is your own choice to decide which course you will take.” Michael spoke while resting his hand on her chest's left side.

While struggling to hold his eyes, Y/N gasped, her heart beating and her cheeks flushed.

"Your heart will tell you what to do; follow your instincts, and if it decides to go beside me,” He held her chin with his other hand. “I'll be waiting for you."

The intensity of his words gave Y/N shivers, and she had to use all her self-control to keep from fainting in his arms.

“How can I tell if I'm making the right decision? “ As his palm touched her cheek, Y/N asked while tightly closing her eyes.

"You can't, but you've to believe in yourself." Her eyes opened as Michael ended the scene; they stared at each other for a few seconds before the producer exclaimed ‘cut’.

"Congratulations, then! You have the part. You’ll get an email with the information in two to three days.” After standing up to greet her, the producer spoke.

“Oh my goodness, thank you.” Y/N cheered enthusiastically. “Thank you so much, I won't disappoint."

The producer simply nodded his head in agreement and left. Y/N shouted enthusiastically while using a few brazilian swear words to express her happiness.

“I don't know what you said, but I hope it was cheerful.” Michael B. Jordan commented behind her, causing her to leap forward. “Oh my bad. I didn't mean to scare you."

"That's okay. I had my head in the clouds. It’s just hard to believe that this is actually happening.” Y/N admitted while grinning.

"Try to believe it; you did a great job and deserved that role." With a hand on her shoulder, Michael reassured her. "Catch you at the recording.”

Y/N shook her head, too stunned to speak. When she confirmed that she was the only one in the room, she whispered a hushed ‘porra’.

#michael b jordan #michael b. jordan #killmonger #michael b jordan x reader #imagine #actress!reader #latina

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geeerage · 1 year

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♡ How you met // blue lock pt.2 ♡

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───⋆⋅☆⋅⋆─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆

Synopsis- exactly the title

pt. 1 // pt.2

;; Characters- Shidou, Nagi, Reo, Kaiser, Barou and Aiku

;; Gender- neutral reader

;; Genre – headcanons

Warnings- semi-colons in weird spots, cliché little scenarios, somewhat ooc for Barou’s part ??

A/N- Here’s part two !! I decided to add a few canon elements from the official character book bc why not :) Hope you enjoy <3

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Shidou- You had gone to the same school as Shidou although, because of his erratic personality and tendency to beat people up who pissed him off, you chose to keep your distance. When it was time to choose your electives, you ended up having the same elective with Shidou, art. It actually wasn’t as bad as you expected, he even complimented your work a few times, and every time you could feel your face getting hot.

Nagi- You decided to take a late-night walk to your favourite park one evening to get some fresh air and clear your head. After you arrived at your destination you decided to sit on the grass and gaze at the stars when all of a sudden you heard sounds as if someone had just woken up. You look to your right and to your surprise you see a tall boy with white hair who looked like he just woke up from a nap; who you hadn’t noticed since it was so dark outside. He looks at you with sleepy eyes and says a simple greeting while you respond in the same way:

“Hi”

Reo- You went to go see a play at a fancy theatre for your friend’s birthday. You excused yourself from your group as you had to use the restroom but almost immediately after you left you found yourself lost in the complex design of the building. A young-looking guy with purple hair and eyes had asked you if you were okay, which was bound to happen since you must have looked incredibly lost at that moment. After you explained your situation to him, he was able to give you really specific details about the exact location of the bathrooms; you thanked him and left immediately to the bathrooms in awe of such a cliché Hollywood movie encounter. When you had gotten back, you quickly recited your encounter with a cute guy to your friends and they were almost as shocked as you when you found out that the guy you ran into is the son of one of the most successful entrepreneurs in the world, who also owns the theatre and probably the whole world.

Kaiser- You had just landed in France as you were on a vacation with your family, as soon as you landed, your family (including you) took a taxi to the hotel you had reserved. When you walked in the hotel's doors you were not expecting the hotel to be so packed, turned out the entire Bastard Munchen soccer team had booked the hotel for their anticipated match against PXG; it didn’t make matters any better that you were arriving at the same time as them. While the rest of your family was waiting in line to get their keycards, you decided to branch off and sit on the couch in the spacious lounge. Turns out there were even more people in the lounge than in the foyer so, you went to go sit in the corner away from most people. After a few minutes, Michael Kaiser approached you and asked if he could sit beside you. You had heard of him from social media and your friends seem to bend over every time his name is mentioned so, when he asked to sit beside you of course you said yes.

“Can I sit?”

“Sure”

“Not like you could ever say no to a king anyway.”

Maybe it was a better idea to say no?

Barou- After a long day of working, you decided to go to the nearest vending machine in hopes of finding your favourite pudding. From a distance, you could see the pudding and practically taste it as you picked up your pace to get closer to the vending machine. To your dismay, a tall stranger with black hair and red eyes reached for the exact same button which caused you to look directly into the stranger's eyes as he reciprocated the same actions. Awestruck at your beauty and also intimated at the look you were giving him he decided to let you have the final pudding. You thanked him as you walked happily down the block as he glared at you mad by his past actions and also a little bit proud.

Aiku- You had been offered a Job to part-time manage the Japan U-20 team but weren’t sure if you were going to accept it so, you decided that it would be a good idea to visit the training building to get to know the players, the coach and the overall environment. You could say they definitely left a strong impression on you after the star defender, Oliver Aiku flirted with you most of the time you were there.

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───⋆⋅☆⋅⋆─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆

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redsparrow2117 · 19 days

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"The End of the World is a Product".

I don't normally make....any posts, but the Fallout show, and some of the response to it has me wanting to actually put some words down here. There will be spoilers for the Fallout show if you want to avoid that.

Several people whose opinion I respect a lot have their own thoughts on the show, Amazon making it, and general disappointment with where Fallout as an IP has gone in the several decades it has existed. I agree with a lot of these statements and think that Fallout peaked with New Vegas, and Bethesda's ownership and usage of the IP has been uninspired at best.

That said, I did watch the show. And generally, I liked it. I have some complaints (like, wtf if the Brotherhood even doing? Who is really in charge? The writers *blew up* the NCR, just like that? For....some reason?) The main thing I have an issue with, is the dissonance between the message of the show, and the company that made it.

I think the parts that really made the show were Coop's flashbacks to before the war. I love his character, so much. And from Coop, The Ghoul, I get my dissonance.

We see him interacting with general Hollywood. It's basically the same as ours. Despite what Some People(tm) will say, Hollywood is a tool of the United States Machine. An extension of the country's will. Coop is making a cowboy movie, one of many he has made. He expresses being uncomfortable with his new movie's seeming obsession with killing, not wanting his character to kill the villain when he is begging for his life. The director tells him "people want to see a good man pushed too far." We see later, after the war, Coop made the movie the way the director wanted.

Coop's wife works in marketing, or something like it, for Vault-Tec. Coop likes the idea of the Vaults at first. Save people from the end of the world. Good stuff, thinks Coop. He was in the Marines, fought at Anchorage. He believes in protecting people and his country. So when his wife asks him to do an ad for Vault-Tec, he says yes.

Very quickly, he leaves making movies, and basically now works for Vault-Tec. Has a big party, invites a bunch of his friends, and only one of his acting friends shows up. Says everyone else declined on moral grounds, because they don't like Vault-Tec, and all the other mega corporations working with them or around the world. Coop's friend mentions he sold his voice/a character he created to the company that makes Mr. Handy's, and how everyone and everything is a product now, and embracing that is the only way to make money anymore. "You're a product, I'm a product, the end of the world is a product."

Coop later meets one of his acting friends, Charles Whiteknife, to talk about the party and why he didn't go. Charles brings up Vault-Tec, the mega corporations, and "Fiduciary Responsibility". I never, ever, in my mind would think a Fallout show, executive produced by "Thanks" Todd Howard, would bring that up.

Charles lays it out for Coop: Vault-Tec makes money selling Vaults. If they want to make money, then everyone's fear of the end of the world is really what is for sale. The end of the world is the product.

So no peace talks to calm down the war between the US and China. No safe feeling. They need fear. They want to make money, so you cannot feel safe. We see a prelude at Coop's earlier party: two Vault-Tec executives are talking about heading off those exact peace talks before anything definite is done so quarterly profits go up. Even the president is mentioned as missing, but that could be a kidnapping or a reference to the Enclave.

Coop doesn't want to believe that. Why would his wife work there if that was the case?

We see, as the flashbacks go on, how much she knows, but won't give away. She needs her job so her family can get into "one of the good Vaults". Coop ends up spying on a meeting between his wife, a Vault-Tec exec, and a bunch of major corporations and private entities. A nice cameo set up for big fans. We see West-Tek, Big MT, ROBCO, all of them. Vault-Tec wants them to buy into the Vaults, so they can make money.

So they can control the end of the world.

They think a total monopoly in the post-apocalypse will save the world from war.

Then the real reveal: Vault-Tec, in order to make guarantees on their experimental Vaults, and to make guarantees to the investors, is going to drop the bomb. Maybe not all of them, but definitely start the Great War.

Because it will make them money now, and when the world is over, they can rule over the ashes with a gaggle of experimented-on, traumatized survivors, brainwashed to do what they want, and led by the preserved executives that helped end the world.

"Well, thanks for the spoilers, RedSparrow, but what is the point?"

Well, when people write about the future, like George Orwell did in 1984, or Ray Bradbury in Fahrenheit 451, or even Suzanne Collins in Hunger Games, they weren't really writing about the future. They were writing about the problems they dealt with in their present, exaggerated to make them stand out.

"What happens when the cattle ranchers own half the town?" Charlie Whiteknife asks Coop when they meet at the bar.

"The town burns down."

"Exactly. The ranchers are in charge now."

This isn't really new stuff for Fallout, if you have played any of the games beyond 3,4, or 76. (Hell, 76 tries to act like Vault-Tec are the good guys for some stupid ass reason.)

We now live in that moment. Maybe we didn't when Fallout 1 came out, or maybe it was easier to hide then. At this point, it's nearly impossible to really ignore, and anyone saying that is incorrect or a good thing is just burying their head in the sand to avoid the truth.

Maybe we don't have Vaults, or Vault-Tec, but we have Amazon, selling us everything and grinding employees to dust on vague promises of earning a living.

We have our own ROBCO, and the CEO of our version of ROBCO bought Twitter because his ex left him for a trans woman and is currently trying to sell losers online his idea of a sex bot and shitty cars that rust and explode.

We have social media monopolies that live off of hate-engagement and spreading fear. Hell, the US government is banning social media platforms they can't control, and privatizing things like internet access through Starlink. Elongated Muskrat tried to cut off Ukraine's access to it after one of their generals told him to shut up and stop sucking up to Russia.

None of this is new. I'm probably sounding like your weird boomer uncle online right now.

But your weird boomer uncle doesn't think they will end the world.

But they will.

So here's the dissonance I struggle with: why is Amazon, one of the many companies enshitti-fying everything right now, making a show that tells you the plan?

It's easier to imagine the end of the world, than it is to imagine the end of capitalism, so the saying goes.

But the end of the world is the plan of capitalism. That's the end goal.

And it's wild to me that the Fallout show, made by Amazon, is the one telling us this.

#fallout #fallout spoilers #the ghoul

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