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intoxicatingimmediacy · 2 years

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Daveed Diggs and Emmy Raver-Lampman's Relationship Timeline

The Blindspotting actor and The Umbrella Academy actress first met on Broadway's Hamilton in 2015...

Daveed Diggs and Emmy Raver-Lampman have Hamilton to thank for their sweet romance. The couple first met in 2015 as part of Hamilton's first Broadway cast — in which Diggs portrayed Marquis de Lafayette and Thomas Jefferson and Raver-Lampman was part of the ensemble — and eventually sparked a relationship off stage a few years later. Though the duo keeps their romance fairly low-key, they have given us several sweet glimpses of their love from time to time. In addition to walking the red carpet together at various awards shows, they are also super supportive of each other on social media, with Diggs often hyping up Raver-Lampman's Netflix series The Umbrella Academy on Instagram. From their Hamilton beginnings to their public appearances together, learn more about the couple's relationship timeline ahead.

2015: Emmy Raver-Lampman and Daveed Diggs meet in Broadway's Hamilton

The actors first met in 2015 when they both starred in the Tony-winning musical Hamilton, with Diggs playing Marquis de Lafayette and Thomas Jefferson and Raver-Lampman as part of the ensemble cast. Despite growing close with the cast off stage, the two didn't spark a romance until years later, as Diggs was still dating actress Jalene Goodwin at the time.

Aug. 7, 2016: Emmy Raver-Lampman posts about the anniversary of Hamilton's opening night

After leaving the Broadway production of Hamilton in April 2016, Raver-Lampman posted about the show's 1-year anniversary on Instagram, sharing a group photo with her former castmates, including Diggs, Sasha Hutchings, Okieriete Onaodowan, and Morgan Marcell.

Jan. 7, 2017: Emmy Raver-Lampman and Daveed Diggs show off their matching shoes

Although it's unclear when exactly Raver-Lampman and Diggs started dating, one of the Snowpiercer actor's first Instagram posts of him and Raver-Lampman together was in January 2017. At the time, he shared a photo of them sporting matching shoes during his trip to Chicago, where Raver-Lampman was starring in a production of Hamilton.

March 24, 2017: Daveed Diggs supports Emmy Raver-Lampman in Hamilton tour

After seeing Raver-Lampman in the Chicago production of Hamilton, Diggs went to see her in the show's first national tour as she took on the role of Angelica.

"The #hamiltour is open! The show is amazing," Diggs wrote alongside a photo of Raver-Lampman, Solea Pfeiffer, and Amber Iman. "@emmyraver @_solaylay and @amberskyez are a revelation as your Schuyler Sisters. I am so proud that this brilliant production has come to the Bay Area. I can't wait for Y'all to see it!"

April 10, 2017: Emmy Raver-Lampman and Daveed Diggs attend a baseball game with the Hamilton cast

In April 2017, Raver-Lampman and Diggs reunited with a handful of Hamilton costars as they attended a baseball game at Oracle Park in San Francisco, California, where Raver-Lampman was doing performances for the show's national tour.

APRIL 18, 2017: Emmy Raver-Lampman and Daveed Diggs hang out with their Hamilton costars

A few days after attending a baseball game together, Raver-Lampman shared another group photo with her Hamilton costars at Avenue New York simply titling it, "FAM."

That same night, she shared another photo with Diggs and his Blindspotting collaborator Rafael Casal, writing, "THE. HOMIES."

May 6, 2017: Emmy Raver-Lampman and Daveed Diggs attend a wedding together

A month later, Raver-Lampman and Diggs hung out with their "Ham fam" as they attended a wedding together, which the actress captioned, "TO. THE. BRIDE," in reference to the lyrics from the Hamilton song "Satisfied."

Jan. 18, 2018: Emmy Raver-Lampman and Daveed Diggs attend Sundance Film Festival

In January 2018, Raver-Lampman and Diggs made one of their first public appearances together as they attended the premiere of Diggs' Blindspotting movie during Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah.

May 21, 2018: Emmy Raver-Lampman and Daveed Diggs have brunch together

In May 2018, Raver-Lampman and Diggs got together with Hamilton alums Morgan Marcell and Voltaire Wade-Greene for brunch in New York City.

May 22, 2018: Emmy Raver-Lampman and Daveed Diggs attend a basketball game together

The next day, the duo jetted off to cheer on the Golden State Warriors in the 2018 NBA Finals. Once again, they were joined by Diggs' Blindspotting co-creator Rafael Casal.

Sept. 3, 2018: Emmy Raver-Lampman and Daveed Diggs see School Girls

In September 2018, Diggs shared a group selfie of him with Raver-Lampman as they attended a performance of School Girls at Kirk Douglas Theatre in Culver City, California.

Oct. 5, 2018: Daveed Diggs congratulates Emmy Raver-Lampman on The Umbrella Academy

In October 2018, Diggs showed his support for Raver-Lampman ahead of the release of her new series The Umbrella Academy, in which she plays Allison Hargreeves. "SUPER. FAMOUS." he wrote alongside a promo photo of her from the show.

He continued to hype Raver-Lampman and the show ahead of the release, writing, "I'm so ready for this show!" alongside a teaser trailer and "I can't wait for y'all to see how brilliant @emmyraver is in this show." alongside a clip of Raver-Lampman.

Nov. 25, 2018: Emmy Raver-Lampman and Daveed Diggs celebrate Friendsgiving together

The duo celebrated Thanksgiving with friends and family in 2018, with Raver-Lampman sharing a happy group photo of everyone with the caption, "FRIENDSGIVING."

Feb. 23, 2019: Emmy Raver-Lampman and Daveed Diggs attend the Film Independent Spirit Awards

The pair made their red carpet debut as they attended the 2019 Film Independent Spirit Awards together; Diggs was nominated for best male lead for his role in Blindspotting. Ahead of the event, they were spotted posing together alongside Diggs' Blindspotting costar Janina Gavankar.

March 21, 2019: Emmy Raver-Lampman and Daveed Diggs reunite with Lin-Manuel Miranda

The Hamilton alums had a fun reunion with the show's creator Lin-Manuel Miranda at The Public Theater in 2019. Raver-Lampman captioned the cute selfie, "THESE. GENTLEMEN."

April 2, 2019: Daveed Diggs congratulates Emmy Raver-Lampman on The Umbrella Academy season 2 renewal

Diggs continued to show Raver-Lampman support for The Umbrella Academy as the show was picked up for season 2 in April 2019. "So proud of @emmyraver and congratulations to the entire @umbrellaacad squad! I can't wait!" he wrote on Instagram.

June 10, 2020: Daveed Diggs briefly opens up about his girlfriend

Though Diggs didn't refer to Raver-Lampman by name, the actor briefly mentioned his girlfriend in a profile with Los Angeles Times as he talked about the difference between him and his Snowpiercer character Andre Layton.

"Layton is hyperobservant. I am not. I have not ever figured out where all the things in our kitchen are because my girlfriend put them where they are, and I still don't know. I would not make a good detective," he told the publication, noting that he and his girlfriend have lived in their home for the past two years.

June 24, 2020: Emmy Raver-Lampman and Daveed Diggs attend aTypical Wednesday premiere

The duo made another rare appearance together as they attended the Los Angeles premiere of Raver-Lampman's film aTypical Wednesday while sporting matching masks on the red carpet.

July 2020: Emmy Raver-Lampman quarantines with Daveed Diggs

In a profile with Refinery29, the publication referred to Diggs as Raver-Lampman's boyfriend as she talked about quarantining in her Los Angeles home, marking one of the first official confirmations of their relationship.

March 11, 2021: Emmy Raver-Lampman and Daveed Diggs' home appears in Architectural Digest

Raver-Lampman and Diggs went even more public with their romance in March 2021 as they appeared on the cover of Architectural Digest together to talk about their Southern California home designed by Mandy Cheng.

"This may be our first house together, but I already see us and our families and our community and our passions everywhere I look," Raver-Lampman told the publication.

Diggs added, "Having a home like this definitely makes it harder to be away. Now I really understand what it means to miss home; because there is really no other place I want to be."

Sept. 5, 2021: Daveed Diggs celebrates Emmy Raver-Lampman's birthday with a trip to Italy

In honor of Raver-Lampman's 33rd birthday on Sept. 5, the two had a romantic vacation in Italy together. "Happy. Birthday. II II To. My. II II Favorite. Human," Diggs captioned a smiley photo of him and Raver-Lampman in front of a Venetian view. Raver-Lampman shared the same photo on her Instagram, writing, "MY. FAVORITE."

Sept. 19, 2021: Emmy Raver-Lampman and Daveed Diggs attend the Emmys

The duo looked sharp as they attended the 2021 Emmys together, where the Disney+ recording of Hamilton was up for several awards, including a nod for Diggs for outstanding supporting actor in a limited or anthology series or movie.

Feb. 27, 2022: Emmy Raver-Lampman and Daveed Diggs attend the Screen Actors Guild Awards

The pair kept the award show appearances coming as they attended the Screen Actors Guild Awards together in coordinating black outfits.

March 6, 2022: Emmy Raver-Lampman and Daveed Diggs attend the 2022 Film Independent Spirit Awards

After making their red carpet debut as a couple at the 2019 Film Independent Spirit Awards, the duo returned to the award show in March 2022, where Diggs' Blindspotting series was up for several awards.

April 2022: Emmy Raver-Lampman and Daveed Diggs buy another home

In April 2022, it was reported that Raver-Lampman and Diggs had bought a second home together, a Studio City space previously owned by Grey's Anatomy actor Kevin McKidd. A few months later in June, Architectural Digest reported that they had put their first home — which appeared on the cover of the publication back in 2021 — up for sale.

#*coos*#emmy raver lampman #daveed diggs #rafael casal #lin manuel miranda #completely disregarding all the times daveed visited emmy in chicago in the fall of 2016 with much posting on instagram #let alone the epic week of recording '7 Nights' in december and the floods of footage from that and the 'throuple' dates with sam pollino #could she BE any more glorious?#could THEY?? has anybody EVER pulled off extreme colours of better??

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jonathankatwhatever · 10 months

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Totally unsure where I am later on 7 July 2023. I feel unsettled, up in the air, which is literally true for you, and I wonder what the connection is even though I see it every day, like the way I hear your lyrics to certain melodies which aren’t even the ones you set them to, like I’m hearing you writing the same as I write now.

I am drawn to this topic because I’m caught in an oscillation, a Coordinate Rotation, which has put thoughts of death in my head exactly in relation to my realizing that not only can we link gravity to quantum through grid squares, but that I had this all correct the first time through, but couldn’t prove it was correct in sufficient detail. This makes me wonder if I could have taken another, less self-critical path, but I don’t see how that would have worked because the work I do on this side is way off the charts creative mathematics. I’ve understood that at some levels before, but it’s never made sense to me because I have to wonder if I’m crazy, and then prove that I’m not. The question I continually ask myself is whether this is enough. Can I truly say it is proved? What would I like to know better? I’d like to be able to translate the ideas of modular forms better because I see it is a very technical field connected to elliptical forms and I need to get deeper there.

As I remember, we treated elliptics as a gs space and I think it was a cubic space, which is why it becomes a hole, that it’s putting an edge to that space which it generates. So they’re trying to connect that to a modular form, which is a group connected to IC, meaning 2x2 matrices. You can string these together to make LC, and so on. Yes, I need to accept that this means fCM occurs, which you already know because IC invokes fCM, which gets at the local-global issues. What’s the disconnect? What can’t I accept? We have grid squares and that makes grid boxes, which are cubes. That’s the real linkage between the forms, right? I mean now they’re versions of gs, which of course makes complete sense because we’re constructing a D3 Space when we look at x^3. I think that’s a hangup, meaning a place where the 1Space understanding isn’t efficient and thus doesn’t spark accurately across. There’s a lot in that sentence, including pain. So accepting this could be really useful.

Oh, I see: the issue is the divergence of x^n and 2^n, where the former counts multiples of itself and the latter doubles with each iteration. That conception is Halving. And we generate that out of Triangular, using the midpoint line, with that then occurring in various forms in higher dimensions, but the same folding conception in which an End is split into 2 Ends and a 3rd End is the Observer and Halving occurs over the midpoint line. This enables folding and folding and folding, both within an object and using it with other objects or in relation to them. It’s identity: SBE where S and E foldover to make the 1 they are except for the existence of B, which forms Triangular and gs. Should we note here that this means an ordered process in certain spaces, meaning Noetherian, if I spelled Emmie’s name right. I’ve been thinking about Hilbert more lately.

I get the idea of 0’s of polynomials because 0’s are where you match 1’s, which means a potential universe of 1’s in the contexts which demand and fit. I mean from 1 to gs primes as 1’s, to Irreducibles as 1, to Things as 1, which means a lot of Things within a 1, and so on. These all require a lot of 0’s to exist.

I just realized I’m not kidding. Any object, any tangible Object or tObject, is surrounded by 0’s or it lacks a Boundary, at least within our perception. An electron occupies a certain amount of D3-4 Space, which means there are grid squares. If I’m not mistaken, the mass of an electron is a 16 of some small size, which indicates it is a cloud because it represents different states which represent Irreducibles, but I haven’t put any thought into it because mass represents stuff like quarks, which we can conceptually explain as being equivalent to, thus manifesting f1-3. I assume that this mass accumulates to this very fCM looking value because this is a fundamental particle and it isn’t massless like a photon, so it fits to the simple form. I doubt I’ve put 5 minutes of thought into this in 20 years.

But of course, apart from physics, the conceptual arrangement is necessary: we need 1’s and 0’s because the 0Space has to connect to the 1Space. That’s one of the lessons I learned in the Family Storyline: the more I struggled, the more completely the wall, the barrier, the net entangled me.

————-

Continuing. I hope. Yes, I want this to be unassailable. It needs to be. And I know I’m not entirely there, but it’s inexorable. And full of pain for me. I don’t like that part.

Just had an interesting realization that didn’t lead anywhere at all. So I’m dropping it. Not even bothering to erase the words to make it look like I didn’t make a mistake. A mistake of this kind is different from a result mistake, meaning the calculations return a wrong value directly. This kind is indirect, so there’s a 1-0 flip occurring. I hope I can explain that.

So, imagine there’s a tape machine and you put data in and run one of the basic operations you can run and you get an answer at each step. I can see wrong answers emerge as the non-choices among roots. It sounds a lot like the old idea, which I think I picked up from Latin, that you would read an entire sentence only for the meaning to flip at the end when you reach the verb with the subject made clear, when the action which has pended over the construction of the sentence takes an unexpected form by the choice of how the verb and subject meld. How can you get the wrong answer? A misreading or miscount. Or maybe because of rounding. A miscount can occur like counting chickens before they hatch, which isn’t actually bad unless you do it naively, because you should estimate yield. But the idea is counting at the wrong time. How many soldiers do we have? Look at the paper strength of units or look at their actual strength? That’s counting at the wrong level, which is a form of wrong time, meaning you count before the depth you need to reach. Having everything become gs process is extremely clarifying.

I’m leaving out the melancholy about not seeing you.

See how intimately connected the work is to you? I’d love to be able to fit groups in my head to this better. That would be a big help. I often find myself puzzling: how do they do that? I understand there are permutations and thus ones that work, ones that form symmetries, which to me means a transit and thus transitive.

———————-

Forgot to keep thinking about errors. I worry about them a lot. And I make plenty. An indirect error would be a correct process but the value is not the fit. That’s again about a layer enclosing the prior layers, which constructs using CR

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lovelywingsart · 2 years

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IronWorks Smut Dabble - Bored Ties

-- Werewolf!Heisenberg(Lycanberg) X OC (AFAB, She/They) X OC (Trans, He/They) --

Since I was demande-asked...

This was quick and sloppy(heh...) but here ya go, my insatiable Cogs. But when I mean quick, I mean QUICK... I just kinda wrote this out so its not as good as my normal stuff but I hope yall enjoy anyway?? 😂😅 Here's hoping there's not many errors...

Anyway have my first little Dabble on here, and first writing for IronWorks, which is the group of Lycanberg, King, and Emelia. Might do more of these in the meantime in between main story works if people like them.... They won't be as 'refined' and will be majorly unedited, so... :'D

Have fun 👍

---

Warnings?: NSFW single round smut fest. Literally. Monsterfucking(also literally, two werewolves and a mutant), knotting, Daddy kink, praise /kink/ and encouragement, leaves more to the imagination at the end, partial trio, lil bit of oral, pet names, am I doing this right???

Summary: When the beasts get bored, it's time for a new game!

"I'm bored..." King grumbled, lazily dragging the tip of the pencil along the scrap paper he was given. His ears lowered as he heard a large huff of agreement from the resting wolf behind him, though the mutant next to him stood with a grunt. He glanced over, watching as she drew near.

"I have an idea then." Emelia said, lifting her head as King stared at her.

"... You're not gonna do what I think you're gonna do." He said cautiously, lowering his pencil and tapping hisnclaws against the metal table. His ears flattened as the muscle mutant grinned, suddenly moving too quick for him to register. He let out a surprised yelp as she suddenly picked him up, holding him up chest-to-chest.

"Fuck- PUT ME DOWN-!!!!" He nearly yelled, instantly attempting to wiggle away and push against her shoulders. He was simply met with a trilling chuckle.

Heisenberg eyed his partners, watching the small wolf squirm in the playful grip. The large wolf let out another huff, though suddenly smirked as he rose from his spot on the large bunch of blankets and cushions.

"I have an idea..." he grumbled, causing the two to pause their movements and look at him.

"Does it involve putting me the fuck down?!" King growled, continuing to squirm. A low, dangerous chuckle made him stop.

"Not at all." The large wolf spoke, his eyes darting to the mutant. Emelia stared at him for a moment before there was a spark of realization in her eye, and she lowered on her haunches while still keeping King in her grip. His paws touched the floor, but he still squirmed.

"Bloody hell, already?" She asked, a curious tone in her voice. The small wolf paused once more, his eyes flicking back and fourth between the two with a frown.

"What do you mean 'already'...?"

"She means having a go at you again." Heisenberg snorted, sitting where he was. King stared.

"Having a..." he started, his voice trailing off before he felt his face heat up. "But I-"

"Up to you, Pup." The large wolf smirked. "The mood comes and goes, you know."

"If you don't want to, I could-" Emelia started, trailing off as she glanced at the small wolfs face. They were silent before she tightened her grip. "You're really thinking about it??"

King swallowed, his eyes glued to the larger male.

"Uhm... Maybe..." he nearly whispered.

"Yes or no." Heisenberg said, tilting his head.

Oh, fuck...

"I... Uhm... Sure...?" He said quietly. "Not the first time, I guess..."

He was met with silence until Heisenberg began to laugh, though it quickly morphed into a mischievous cackle.

"Flip 'em." He said simply, nodding to the mutant who currently tilted her own head with a curious trill. But she listened, casually turning King in her arms. The small wolf let out a surprised squeak, and the large one smirked.

"I think it's about time we try something..." he said. Both creatures tilted their heads now, and he grinned, leaning forward. "Emmy shouldn't be the only one getting tied, hm?"

The small wolf frowned suddenly, embarrassment flooding its way into his face as Emelia caught on.

"... You mean..." he tried, his voice jumping slightly in pitch. He then let out an unintentional whine as the mutant tightened her hold, both keeping their eyes on Heisenberg as nostrils flared.

"I think its your turn, Pup." He grumbled, a tone that sent sparks down Kings spine. The large wolf started moving again, his eyes nearly glowing. Emelia looked between the two, though let out a soft, trilling purr.

"You're doing it then?" She asked lightly pressing her muzzle against the wolfs shoulder. He didn't move fully, though managed to nod.

"I've been curious..." he mumbled.

"'Curious' meaning 'getting off every time she gets fucked'." The large wolf growled, and Emelia shrugged lightly.

"I do too, vice versa." She said casually, though glanced at the one she held. King gave a huff.

"You know damn well what I'm in to, Karl..." he mumbled, his ears lowering. Heisenberg chuckled again.

"Good. We'll both enjoy this, then."

"All three of us will." The mutant responded, patting the small wolfs thigh. He gave a quiet whimper, though kept his eyes forward. Heisenbergs tail twitched, the metal claws of his left leg digging into the floor.

"Scared, Pup?" He asked, nearing the two slowly. The smaller wolf swallowed before clearing his throat.

"A little, I guess..."

"Only a little?" The mutant behind him responded, her claws digging into his thighs before suddenly pulling them apart. The small wolf jumped, immediately trying to close them- but to no avail. He held onto the mutants for arms with an embarassed whimper as he squirmed. She knew he didn't like that... She knew DAMN well he didn't like that. But maybe he could get over it just this once...

The larger wolf stopped infront of them, his eyes drifting hungrily along the small ones body that was currently presented by the muscular creature. But his eyes locked on the area of his interest, and his tongue swiped along his teeth.

"Be a good boy now, Pup. Don't move." He grumbled, leaning down to press his muzzle against the others neck. King froze, his body shivering from the heat the other gave. He glanced back at the mutant, and she nodded.

"I've got you." She said quietly, her warped voice oddly soothing. He only gave another huff as the larger wolf chuckled.

"It won't be so bad. Doll takes it like a champ, you'll be fine."

"Says you..." King muttered, his ears flattening as the large wolf lowered his head to the thicker tuft of fur around his neck. He went silent as the other carefully nibbled, his own large paws grabbing at his thighs and pulling onto his own.

"You shouldn't be a smart ass right now..." Heisenberg muttered, tightening his grip instantly as he lowered his head more, his tongue drifting over the soft fur of the smaller wolfs chest. He hummed as he pressed his muzzle into a breast.

"Too bad you're not human right now, Pup..." he grumbled, inhaling deeply as the smaller male squirmed slightly.

"Maybe... Maybe after..." he muttered, letting out another whine as Heisenbergs muzzle went lower. He held onto Emelias arms as he adjusted them, pushing out his hips for the larger wolf as his tongue quickly met the growing warmth between his thighs.

The smaller wolf suddenly squirmed with a whimpering gasp, the muscles in his thighs tensing and trembling instantly

"S-Shit-" He whined, his paws tensing. The mutant behind him chuckled.

"If there's any good thing about having one..." she joked lightly, earning a small growl from the male. The large wolf chuckled, his tongue delving deep into the warmth as if he were starving.

King squirmed in Emelias grasp, the mutant holding him tightly. Her claws dug into his thighs, as she moved her head, carefully nibbling at the wolfs shoulder. She felt his tail twitch, before Heisenberg pulled away from him, giving her a look.

"Let's make this easy, Pup." He said, licking his muzzle as the small wolf whined. He nodded to the mutant. "Turn."

She gave a huff, carefully nudging King to the side, nearly chuckling as Heisenberg nudged his shoulder almost impatiently.

"And you say I have trouble waiting..." she commented, smirking as he glared at her.

"Shut up." He grumbled, his own ears flattening as King snorted.

"Y-... You fight like an old couple..." he muttered, managing to flip over with the mutants assistance. But he was rendered silent as the back of his neck was taken into the large males jaws, pulling him back before he was rubbed against.

"You shut up too." Heisenberg growled, instantly wrapping an arm around his waist. Emelia huffed, reaching forward to grip at the small wolfs hips. She pressed her muzzle to his with a trilling purr.

"Ready?" She purred, her tongue darting out to curl against his chin while she nipped at his jaw. The wolf nodded slightly, though didn't have to wait long before the larger male growled.

He pushed inside the smaller male easily, instantly setting a fast pace. King let out a whining moan, his breaths coming as pants quickly after. He felt the mutants claws against his fur, moving and gripping along his hips and thighs as he lowered his head to her shoulder. His panting was met with low grunts and growls, each thrust from the larger wolf sending sparks up his spine and making his muscles tremble.

"F-Fuck, H-Heis-" he whimpered, reaching to hold on to Emelias shoulders. The mutant chuckled.

"Bloody hell, look at you...~" she said, pressing her teeth against his neck. "You want Metalhead just as bad as he wants you, don't you?"

"And goddamn do I want you, Pup-" Heisenberg growled, increasing his pace. King shuddered, his claws digging into the muscle of the mutants shoulders with a long, moaning whine. He kept his head down, clinging to her as if his life had depended on it.

"M-.... M-More....." he managed quietly, his back arching as the large wolf growled.

"What's that?" The other spoke gruffly, and the mutant growled lowly.

"I think he said he wants more." She replied, carefully tightening her grip. "Think you can do that?"

"With- fuck- With pleasure...~" he grunted, making his thrusts rougher as he pulled the smaller male to him repeatedly.

King began to squirm with pants and moans, his voice jumping every now and then as he kept his face to Emelias shoulder. He had no choice but to look at the mutant as she suddenly grabbed his chin with her other claws, meeting the mischievous glint in her eye. His vision wavered with whimpers and whines as she gave a sly grin, her other hand holding him steady as he was rutted against.

"Ah, shit-" The large wolf groaned. Fuck, he was close already, and they had barely even begun... He knew he was pent up, but damn... The small wolf whined, and the mutant held him tighter with a growling chuckle.

"Steady, King." She purred, her mutated voice ending in a soft trill to offset the growling grunts from the larger wolf in his ear. "You can handle it... That's a good boy."

"C-C'mon, Pup...~" Heisenberg managed with a groan, keeping his arm locked around his waist. "You're gonna t-take this as well as Emmy does, aren't you?"

"S-... S-Shut... Shut...-" the small wolf tried, though his voice was lost as she mutant pushed his hips back against the other. He failed to notice the spark in her eye as she had an idea, focusing on him entirely.

"What is it you call him?" She asked, watching his face twist even as he attempted to hide it. "'Daddy', is it?"

Kings ears flattened.

No. Oh NO. She did NOT-

"S-... D-Don't-" he tried again, though his voice was cut off by a whining moan as the larger wolfs thrusts became quicker and rougher with the mention of the name.

A joke- The name was a fucking JOKE, why would she-

"I think he liked that...!" the large wolf let out grumbling chuckle of amusement, baring his teeth with a strained smirk and pressing himself closer. Just a little more... He pressed his muzzle to the smaller wolfs with a low, aroused snarl.

"You gonna take Daddies tie like a good boy?" he purred, and the other nearly squirmed out of his grip.

"N-No talk, no tALK, NO TALK-" he said rapidly, his voice raising in pitch just slightly. His squirming was halted quickly by the mutant, her claws reaching and gripping the back of his thighs to hold and spread them as far as possible while bringing him forward to be trapped against the muscle.

He was rendered speechless and near drooling as the large wolf moved closer, his own breaths coming as low, growling grunts and groans.

"FUCK, Pup-" he grumbled again, managing to glance at the mutant holding the other in place. She caught his eye, letting out her own low, trilling growl.

She opened her mouth, her tongue darting out to curl against the small wolfs neck fur before her jaw closed around it. She tugged forward with a growl, keeping the small wolf in place as the large one groaned. He wrapped his arms fully around his waist, his thrusts turning near brutal in pace as he felt the smaller malentighten around him.

"Take Daddy like a GOOD PUP-" he snarled, only to suddenly sink his teeth into the other shoulder.

The sound that escaped Kings throat had been a mix of a high pitched cry and a howl as Heisenberg took a sudden step forward, simultaneously pressing the two smaller creatures together while shoving the now engorged muscle as deep into the smaller wolf as he could. Both orgasms hit at once, the large wolf giving extra thrusts to draw them out longer despite being tied almost tighter than he would have been with the mutant under them.

"Th-That's it, give me more, Pup, come on-" he groaned, grinding against the other and pressing the tie deeper. The smaller wolf squirmed and trembled with whines and moans, his claws digging into the mutants arms.

"M-MORE- MOREMOREMORE-" he managed , finally settling as he felt warmth fill the pit of his stomach. The mixture of the warmth and pressing grinding sent unimaginable sparks up his spine, driving his senses into a numb overload of stimulation. The mutant removed her own teeth from his neck, her grip on his thighs tightening to allow the large wolf closer.

"Hear that, Metalhead?" She purred, her voice thick with amusement. "I believe he still wants a bit more."

"T-Trying-" the large wolf grumbled, keeping up the small, tied thrusts. He only stopped as his own thighs trembled with a near excessive release, panting as he held King tightly to him.

"Take it all, Pup... Stay full like a good boy... You like that, don't you?" he managed a purring tone, receiving whines and whimpers in return. He let out a low growl as the small wolf nodded. "Use your words."

"Y-... Y-yes... yes sir-" the small wolf tried, his voice wavering. Heisenbergs ears perked, and he couldn't help but give a panting smirk.

"Thought so..." he grumbled, glancing at the mutant. She met his eye, and he chuckled. "Think he could take a little more, or do you want a turn?"

Emelia watched him before letting out a trilling purr, pressing her face into the small wolfs neck fur as he trembled and relaxed against her. She pressed her palm just under the wolfs belly, earning a quiet whine and a grunt from the larger of the two.

"Your choice, Metalhead. I admit, I enjoy watching him fall apart from you."

"Hm." He hummed, resting his head on Kings other shoulder. "Give me a few minutes to decide, Doll... He's smaller than you."

"N-... N-Not... that small..." King muttered, his eyes remaining closed. A small twitch of his leg made the larger wolf chuckle.

"Compared to me you are..."

"Alright, boys... No arguing. You'll ruin the mood." the mutant purred, dragging her claws lightly down the small wolfs thighs. "A small break, then, I suppose... Either way, I want a turn eventually."

"No shit." Heisenberg snorted, nudging his muzzle into Kings. "Relax for now, Pup. You've got a long night ahead."

The smaller wolf only nodded, nearly cuddling to the mutant with a happy tail twitch.

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tcm · 3 years

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In Memory of Brian, Fred and Jerry by Susan King

I mourn the loss of Hollywood legends, especially those I have interviewed over the years. I broke into tears when Debbie Reynolds died four years ago, recalling our last chat together in 2016 when we did a duet of “Moses Supposes.” And I still haven’t watched TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD (’62) since Gregory Peck died in 2003. I had the opportunity to interview the handsome Oscar-winner at his now torn down home in 1997 and 1999. He was everything you’d hope he would be – sweet, intelligent and funny. He also loved Bob Dylan. His last words to me as he walked me to my car were: “You are a most interesting young lady.”

In 2020 alone, I lost over 20 former interviewees including Kirk Douglas, whom I interviewed eight times between 1986-2017, and my beloved Olivia de Havilland, who I found to be delightful and a bit ribald in the two interviews I did with her. I got more than a little misty when Brian Dennehy, Fred Willard and Jerry Stiller died this year. They were supremely talented and made our lives a little brighter with their performances. And, they all were great guys and fun interviews.

Brian Dennehy

I interviewed Brian Dennehy, who died in April at the age of 81, several times in the early 1990s when I was at the L.A. Times. The former U.S. Marine and football player was intimidating at first sight. He was tall, burly and barrel-chested. He had a no-nonsense quality about him, and he spoke his mind. But he also was funny.

In 1991, discussing how hard it was for some actors to land parts after starring in a TV series, he noted “coming off a TV series is a tough deal, and you go into limbo land for a while, if not forever. Most actors go immediately to the ‘Island of Lost Actors’ and stay there. Troy Donahue is the mayor.” Dennehy never went to that island. Not with the complex and often memorable performances he gave in such films as FIRST BLOOD (’82), SILVERADO (’85), COCOON (’85), PRESUMED INNOCENT (’90) and as Big Tom in the comedy TOMMY BOY (’95).

He was nominated for five Emmys, including one for his chilling turn as serial killer John Wayne Gacy in the miniseries To Catch a Killer (’92).

I had one of the most extraordinary evenings at the theater in 2000 when Dennehy reprised his Tony Award-winning role as the tragic Willy Loman at the Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles in the lauded revival of Arthur Miller’s masterpiece Death of a Salesman. It was a gut-wrenching performance that left me emotionally exhausted. He earned another Tony in 2003 as James Tyrone in the revival of Eugene O’Neill’s superb Long Day’s Journey into Night. And he never stopped working.

Shortly after his death, the drama DRIVEWAYS (2020) was released on streaming platforms. And it could be Dennehy’s greatest performance. He plays Del, an elderly widower and Korean War vet who sparks a warm friendship with Cody, the young boy next door. The reviews for the film (it’s at 100% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes) and Dennehy have been glowing. The L.A. Times’ Justin Chang wrote that Dennehy’s Del is as “forceful and tender a creation as any in this great actor’s body of work.” And Jeannette Catsoulis of The New York Times stated: “What we might remember most, perhaps appropriately, are Dennehy’s warm, weary features and rich line readings. In a lovely final monologue, Del advises Cody to avoid rushing past the experiences in life that matter, as they pass so quickly on their own. Much like the careers of beloved actors.”

Fred Willard

I first encountered Fred Willard as the clueless sidekick of sleazy talk show host Barth Gimble (Martin Mull) in the late 1970s on the syndicated comedy series Fernwood Tonight and its continuation America 2-Night. I quickly became a fan, and that admiration grew when he became a member of Christopher Guest’s stock company of zanies in such comedies as WAITING FOR GUFFMAN (’96) and BEST IN SHOW (2000). In the latter, he played the equally clueless dog show announcer Buck Laughlin who quipped in his color commentary, “And to think that in some counties these dogs are eaten.”

Willard told me in a 2012 L.A. Times interview that he didn’t think he was funny until he was an adult. “I always loved comedy growing up – Bob Hope, Red Skelton and Danny Kaye,” said Willard, who died in May at the age of 86.

Willard got a serious part in Tennessee Williams’ one-act in a summer theater group when he was in his 20s. “I was getting laughs on all the lines,” he noted. “The director got upset because the audiences were always laughing. I didn’t try to do it deliberately. Then I realized I would say things around people, and they would laugh. I didn’t mean to be funny. I have always been relaxed around comedy.”

Just as Dennehy, Willard kept working. In fact, he received an Emmy nomination posthumously for his hilarious turn as Ty Burrell’s goofball dad on ABC’s Modern Family. He told me he wished he could try to do more dramatic fare like in Clint Eastwood’s World War II drama Flags of Our Fathers (2006). Willard even called his agent to see if he could get a role in the movie. “Clint Eastwood’s people called back and said, ‘We love Fred, but we are afraid if he appeared on the screen, they might start to laugh.’’’

Jerry Stiller

Jerry Stiller was a real sweetie and also very thoughtful. He sent me a lovely thank you note when I interviewed him and his wife, Anne Meara, in the early 1990s. When I talked to him for his son Ben Stiller’s remake of THE HEARTBREAK KID (2007), Stiller sent me a lovely bouquet of flowers. Ditto in 2010 when I interviewed the couple for a Yahoo! Web series Stiller & Meara: A Show About Everything. I also received Christmas cards until Meara died in 2015.

Baby boomers remember Stiller, who died at 92 in May, and Meara for their smart and sophisticated comedy act, in which the majority of the humor came from the fact that he was Jewish and she was born Irish Catholic. They recorded albums, were popular on the nightclub circuit and did The Ed Sullivan Show three dozen times. They split up their act when musical variety series went away.

Both were terrific dramatic actors. In fact, I saw Stiller in the 1984 Broadway production of Hurlyburly, David Rabe’s scathing look at Hollywood, and he did a 1997 production of Chekhov’s The Three Sisters. Of course, Stiller garnered even more success in his Emmy-nominated role as Frank Costanza, the caustic father of George (Jason Alexander) on NBC’s Seinfeld (1993-98) and was the best reason to watch CBS’ sitcom The King of Queens (1998-2007) as Kevin James’ acerbic father-in-law

But I most remember that 2010 interview where Stiller and Meara bantered back and forth much to my enjoyment. Here they talk about Ed Sullivan:

Anne: I never liked him.

Jerry: You are out of your mind. You never liked him?

Anne: He scared stuff out of me. I am talking about Mr. Sullivan himself. I wasn’t the only one. There were international favorites throwing up in the wings—singers and tenors and guys who spin plates. It was live. We were scared.

Jerry: Ed Sullivan brought us up to the level that we knew we never could get to – him standing there on the right side of the wings laughing, tears coming out of his eyes and then calling us over and saying, ‘You know, we got a lot of mail on that last show you did.’ I said, ‘From Catholic or Jewish people?’ He said, ‘The Lutherans.’”

#Jerry Stiller #brian dennehy #in memoriam #Fred Williard #Ben Stiller #TCM Classic Film Festival #LA Times #Susan King #TCM #Turner Classic Movies #comedians #actors

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akindofmagictoo · 2 years

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manuscript search tag game

I found an open tag by @josephinegerardywriter :D

my words are tilt, touch, topple, tap

tilt (Dragonsong) (dad Henry RETURNS)

She didn’t manage to pay a lot of attention as the group made their way back down to the main hall. She hardly remembered walking down the flights of stairs, though she must have done. It seemed like something out of a dream.

Just before they entered the main hall, someone behind her muttered something about needing to sleep for a week. She’d have agreed, but it was taking a good deal of her concentration to keep her feet moving. So she said nothing. One foot in front of the other.

The world blurred and tilted around her. Someone grabbed her arm. In the distance, a long way away, she heard Henry’s voice. “You need a medic and some sleep.”

Now she was lying down, cradled in someone’s arms, too tired to object. She tried to force her eyes back open; she caught a glimpse of Henry’s face above her, but her eyelids were heavy. They slid closed again.

touch (Dragonsong) (tw for a nonhuman corpse, but nothing graphic)

The dragon’s cave was exactly as empty as Isi expected. One untouched nest, now starting to rot. One pink dragon corpse. Nothing else.

The nest and the corpse made her stomach turn over. She was glad she’d told Robin and Enya to stay outside. She hadn’t really expected to find another dragon in here; there were none on the continent, hadn’t been for a thousand years. Deep down, she supposed, she’d hoped some other dragon had come from wherever they were now, come to check in on Enya. Waited here for them to find.

But really, she’d have known. Someone would have seen or heard it. She would have seen or heard it. And it was becoming painfully clear that any hope she’d had of bringing Enya back to her own species had been wishful thinking at best.

topple (Hurricane)

Emmy glanced over at [redacted]. “He doesn’t look happy.”

“It’s probably the knife in his wrist. I’m leaving him to stew,” said Tempest.

“At some point, he’ll decide it’s better to cooperate, surely,” Marisa said.

“Even if he doesn’t, we’re no worse off than before. We just have to sail down Serpent Run and see what we find.” Tempest nudged a piece of wood into what she thought was a better position, but fumbled it and sent two other logs toppling. The entire pile almost collapsed around it, but Emmy caught it just in time, propping it up so Marisa could re-stack the dropped logs.

“Get some sleep, jefe,” said Marisa. “He can wait.” A spark caught in her flint. The growing flames cast long shadows on the ground behind the wood pile.

tap (Hurricane) (cheeky parrots my beloveds)

Charly squawked overhead. Aella held up one arm. “Charly, come here!” No response. She wondered where Nina was as she wandered over to the parrots’ perches. Once there, she turned and called again, tapping the metal bars with her fingernail.

Nina swooped in to land on the perch, barely missing Aella’s head.

“Naughty,” Aella said. “Stay here, alright?”

Nina went to take off. Aella went to catch her, but Marisa, out of nowhere, got both hands around Nina’s body.

“Good catch,” said Aella.

As if to show Nina how it was done, Charly fluttered down and landed on her own perch. Aella sighed.

“Now,” said Marisa, “Nina, you too. Stay.”

This time, Nina seemed content to perch quietly beside Charly.

“Cheeky bastards,” said Marisa.

I shall tag @chaotic-queer-disaster @ashen-crest @diphthongsfordays @scarvenartist and @teriwrites, along with anyone else who wants to play! your words are young, yellow, stuff, stare

#tag game #manuscript search tag #wip dragonsong #dragonsong excerpt #wip hurricane #hurricane excerpt

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aman58 · 4 years

Text

Morty: (sobbing on his director seat immediately) UWAHHAHAHAHAHHAHA!

Morty: (wails even harder tears hit his little bro umbrella as the tears cleared up) M M MY M M MEG MEGAPHONE UHAHAHAHHAHAAHA! (Blows his nose by a tissue melts/morphs into a bucket as the tissue fell in it causing Morty to inflate then he returned to normal) T THANKS BUT IT ZE NO USE I AM NOW WHAT YOU SAY? WASHED OUT!

Morty: ZHE TRAGEDY OH HO HO HO IS ZHIS MY END IS ZHIS I MORTY DIRECTOR OF IT FINATS FILMS HOW COULD I LOSE IT? I AM A PUNY WORTHLESS MOVIE DIRECTOR ZHAT ALL EVEN ZHE GLOW FROM ZHIS BEAUTIFUL BUTTON IS NOW NOTHING BUT A DULL HUES AHHHHHHH MY BRIGHT RED MEGAPHONE WHERE ART THOU?! I WOULD GIVE ANYTHING TO BE ABLE TO HOLD MY DEAR SWEET MEGAPHONE AGAIN DO NOT LOOK AT ME I AM NOW WHAT YOU SAY HIDEOUS! (Morphs into a poorly drawn version of himself) MY ART OHHH HOW MY ART STUFFERS DO NOT SLANDER ME DIRECTOR WITHOUT APPLYING IT TO MOI ME WITHOUT MY MEGAPHONE I AM UNWORTHY OF BEING CALLED SUCH A NAME! (Turns into a sad clown toots his horn gloomy turns into a artist with a blank canvas without a brush or paint turns into a chef without a knife to cut his food morphs into a moping dog without a bag of trash to dig/eat out of) WHAT AN ARTIST WITHOUT A BRUSH HUH? A CHEF WITHOUT A KNIFE A DOG WITHOUT A BAG OF ZRASH? (Shapeshift to himself on paper being stomped on by the word rejected) NOTHING WITHOUT MY MEGAPHONE I AM NOTHING TOO NO I AM LESS ZHAN NOTHING! (Turns back to normal puts hand on face and sobs some more)

Morty: (gasps happily) HAHA! MY MEGAPHONE! ZHANK YOU VERY MUCH AH HAHAHA! (hugging it pauses looks at grabs them both) YOU TWO DEUX WAIT A SECOND HOLD IT RIGHT THERE I DID NOT NOTICE UNTIL NOW BUT YOU BOTH HAVE SOME EXCELLENT FEATURES AND YOUR BUILDS NOT BAD NOT BAD AT ALL (makes pictures poses with his fingers) AHH YES I SEE A MAKING OF A STAR YES MY CREATIVE MIND IS SHAKING OFF ZHE DUST AND IS SPRINGING BACK TO LIFE! (Puts his arms around the two) AHA I CAN SEE IT NOW WILL GO AGAINST THE RAMPAGING KAIJU GHOST AND IT ALL ENDS WITH A KISS SCENE

Morty: WHERE DO YOU THINK YOU ARE GOING PUNK?!

Morty: (as a police officer) OH HO HO HO TASK TASK I AM AFRAID I AM GOING TO HAVE TO GIVE YOU A TICKET FOR LEAVING THE FILM AND THAT INCLUDING ROMANES

Another Morty: (as George floyed) OK TELL ME WHAT IS ON YOUR MIND RIGHT NOW?

Yet another Morty: (as a medical doctor) OK NOW SAY AHHH

Yet another Morty: OK IT TIME FOR THE OLD TICKER COUGH PLEASE

Yet another Morty: WHAT THIS WELL (x rays) OH WOW HEART BEATING AS TWOMP SWEATS COMING DOWN YOUR FACE I GUESS YOU HAVE A BAD CASE OF LOVESICKNESS (song song) AND I DO NOT MEAN TO BOTHER BUT YOU ARE IN LOVE WITH THAT WOMAN IS IT (nudged him)

Morty: (snaps his decoys away and snaps back to his French accent) AHA! THERE IS MY STAR COME AND TELL HER HOW YOU FEEL RATHER THAN SHOWING IT I KNOW YOU WILL MAKE YOUR BROTHER MARIO POUD WHAT DO SAY MY FRIEND I AM NOT JUST MAKING THESE MOVIES FOR EVERYONE TO ENJOY THIS MOVIE IN PARTICULAR I WANT DJ PHANTASMAGORIA TO SEE OH HA OH! (Smithers in thoughts)

Morty: DJ PHANTASMAGORIA RESIDES ON ZHE 14th FLOOR OF THE HOTEL SHE IS A GREAT MUSICIAN RIGHT NEXT TO AMADEUS GLORIA IS MY MUSE (turns into multi violins as heart shaped notes fly off the strings) SHE HAS BEEN AMAZING THOUGH A ZHOUSAND OF VIOLINS (sighs shows a CD remix that pg has given him) SHE GAVE ME THIS TO KEEP TRACK WITH MY FILMS SHE ALSO HELPS ME WITH MY FILMS IN WITCH SHE COMPOSED AND REMIXED FOR ME BUT ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!

Morty: COME COME LETS START SHOOTING WHERE MY CREW PLACES EVERYONE TAKE YOUR PLACES AND ACTION! GREAT GREAT KEEP IT KEEP IT UP EXCELLENT WORK YOU TWO MY GUTS TELLS ME ZHIS GOING TO BE A MASTERPIECE TIME TO ACTIVATE STARDOM!

Morty: NOW ZHIS OHHH ZHIS IS ART CUE KISS SCENE

Morty: AND CUT! HEY!

Morty: HERE IS YOUR EMMY AS PROMISED (gives the ninth elevator button)

Morty: NOW I AM GOING TO EDIT ZHIS MWAH BEAUTIFUL MASTERPIECE YOU HELP CREATE!

Morty: WHAT ZHE EVIL WHOA HA HO! HELP ME! (His tail sudden gets stuck in the rolling film tape as electric sparks starts flying as a blast of static sends steward flying towards the wall as he shook it off)

(FLEE STACH BOOM!)

Morty: AHHHH RAHHHHH (the shadow on the wall detects him turning into a KAJIU turns into mortilza) MORTILZA IS ZE MORE LIKE IT (looks at live cam places on his head) RWAH COME IT STEMS ZHAT WE SHOULD GO AND HELP THEM OUT

Mortilza: ZHIS IS NO TIME TO MANGLE WITH US GHOST WITH ZHE MOST HERE OK I AM THE READY FOR BASHER KITTY COMBET

Mortilza: (nabs the evil cat by the tails and swings her by the tv feels ozzy reverts to normal) OHHHH (shakes head) QUICKLY EVERYONE HOLD HANDS WE ARE GOING LIVE!

Morty: ZHAT IS BECAUSE WE ARE IN ZHE FILM I MADE IT NOW (as a blue version of darkwing duck) LET'S GET DANGEROUS! (They chased after the cat along the way the poor Director was zapped and injured as his friends were trying their best to save him from dying)

(SKEE THUD!)

Morty: WAIT I HAVE GOT A MOTION TO STOP ZHAT PESKY CAT! (Turns into a mouse) COME ON FOLLOW ME INTO THIS LITTLE MOUSY HOLE THAT IS MOI (goes into the hole with the cat following him ) NOW FELLAS CREM HER!

Morty: I WILL STAY PUT HERE WITH MY STAGE CREW AND I WILL LET YOU KNOW WHEN ZHE FILM IS READY TO VIEW HA HA!

Morty: MY FILM IS FINALLY COMPLETE

Morty: WHAT! ZHE 14TH FLOOR (morphs into a GameCube) I AM GAME!

Morty: WHERE IS DJ PHANTASMAGORIA? (Starts shaking but stops him) ZHANKS

DJ Phantasmagloria: WHO IS THAT COMING ON MY DANCE FLOOR?

Morty: (crazy French babbling feeling all lovestruck as he melts and turns into a flower and then reverts to normal) H HI PG ZHANKS FOR THAT CD YOU GAVE ME!!!

Morty: oh yes just give moi a second (rushes out of the dance floor)

DJ Phantasmagoria: WHAT CD?

Morty: HEE HEE ZHIS ONE! (Shows pg the cd) ZHIS ONE!

Morty: NO NO SNAP OUT OF IT STOP (morphs into one of the groobs dancers) TAKE ZHIS OHHH

Morty: (crying) O O OH PLEASE PHANTASMAGORIA PLEASE FALL IN LOVE WITH ME!

Morty: (looks at the films) HEY WAIT I HAVE AN IDEA! (Puts film up) WATCH THIS!

Morty: HAHA I FINALLY DID IT! (hops on DJ Phantasmagloria lap as he smiles) I LOVE YOU SWEETHEART!

DJ Phantasmagloria: (gasps) OH MORTY I AM SO SORRY I ACTED SO BADLY IN FACT I AM ABOUT TO SING A SONG WANT TO HEAR IT?

Morty: (gasps melts on pg lap but reverts to normal) SORRY I MEAN YES!

Morty: (bawls) Z ZHAT W WAS B BEAUTIFUL (blows his nose) ZHANKS FOR EVERYTHING!

Morty: YEAH BYE!

They group left with pg following them as they went through many pages of the Luigi Mansion 3 levels

The end

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a-man-for-hire-and-his-archives · 5 years

Text

Ready for lift-off

Espionage thriller Summer of Rockets is the first screen work from acclaimed writer/director Stephen Poliakoff to draw on his own life, set in 1958 at the height of the Cold War. He and executive producer Helen Flint talk to DQ about merging fact and fiction.

As a writer and director for the screen over the past four decades, Stephen Poliakoff has been behind work that has amassed numerous Bafta, Emmy, Golden Globe and Peabody awards. The playwright, who learned his craft in the theatre, counts series and films such as Perfect Strangers, The Lost Prince, Friends & Crocodiles, Gideon’s Daughter, Joe’s Palace and Capturing Mary, as well as recent dramas Dancing on the Edge and Close to the Enemy, among his extensive credits.

Yet for all his fascination with the past – among many examples, Dancing on the Edge trails a black jazz group in 1930s London and Close to the Enemy is set in the aftermath of the Second World War – his latest series is the first to draw on his own family and life experiences.

Written and directed by Poliakoff, Summer of Rockets is a semi-autobiographical drama set during 1958, a year that marked the height of the Cold War as fear and suspicion clashed with the start of the mobile revolution and the Space Race. It was also the last time debutants were presented to the Queen at Buckingham Palace and the year of the Notting Hill riots in West London.

Stephen Poliakoff, writer and director of Summer of Rockets, pictured during filming

Poliakoff says the fact it is partly based on his own life marks Summer of Rockets out as “significantly different” from anything he’s done for the screen before.

“My first real memories are from this time – I was five in 1958 – so I could feel, even as a small child, the apprehension in the air, the feel of nuclear war,” he says. “The Russians were the enemy and yet I was half-Russian, so that made me feel an extraordinary sense isolation as a child. I was also sent to boarding school, as we see in the story, and was the only Jewish boy there. That was why I was drawn to this time.

“There’s a lot of resonance for us now, as Russia again seems to be our enemy and there is also unfortunately, tragically, anti-Semitism in Europe and it’s coming back to the UK. Well, it never goes away. But above all, it was a sense of the absolute epicentre of the Cold War; the fact nobody could be trusted, especially if they were foreigners.”

Another parallel between that period and today, he notes, is the “humiliation” of the Suez Crisis in 1958, which left Britain “a laughing stock” on the world stage. “Things have happened since I’ve written the piece and we’ve become a laughing stock for very different reasons, with people harking back to a sense of our past glories, which also plays a part in the story,” Poliakoff says. “This is not a story about Brexit or a metaphor for it, but nevertheless there are resonances in the piece.”

Toby Stephens (Black Sails) stars as Samuel Petrukhin, a Russian Jewish émigré modelled on Poliakoff’s father Alexander, an inventor and designer of hearing aids, whose clients include former UK prime minister Winston Churchill. The series also focuses on Samuel’s wife, Miriam (Lucy Cohu), and their children, Hannah (Lily Sacofsky) and Sasha (Toby Woolf). In the show, having developed a new paging system for hospitals, Samuel is is approached by the UK’s domestic intelligence agency MI5 to demonstrate his work.

Set in 1958, the series stars Toby Stephens as Samuel, who is based on Poliakoff’s father

However, it’s not his inventions the agency (led by Mark Bonnar’s mysterious Field) is interested in but his fledging friendship with MP Richard Shaw (Linus Roache) and his wife Kathleen (Keeley Hawes), who also introduce him to Lord Arthur Wellington (Timothy Spall). As Samuel’s life becomes intertwined with his mission, he is left to question how far he is willing to let things unravel for his cause and who he can trust.

It was Poliakoff’s discovery that his father had been suspected of bugging Churchill’s hearing aid, a revelation he first heard when a journalist contacted him about newly released government papers in 2007, that sparked the story behind Summer of Rockets,

“It took me a long time to think about writing it because it meant revisiting my youth and a very traumatic time at boarding school,” he says. “I also tend to write slightly away from my immediate family experience because I find it easier to invent like that. But, after quite a considerable while, because the story kept haunting me, I broached it to the BBC.”

His father’s work, he explains, is truthfully reflected in the story by his hearing aids business, the deaf workers he employs in the factory and his invention of the paging system, which he created for St Thomas’ Hospital in London.

“But I always saw that as a jumping-off point for Keeley’s side of the story,” Poliakoff continues. “My father was besotted with everything English; he was a real anglophile. He was a Russian Jew but he wanted to be an English gentleman, so there’s the story of him being involved in this English upper-class family who have their own darkness and trauma hidden away in a magnificent house. They have charm and grace, they entertain people, but this covers a deep unhappiness.

“My father would have loved to have been entertained in such a house, so that was what led me from that jumping-off point for the fictitious side of the story, but it’s based on the sort of things my father loved and was attracted to by English life and aspired to. The story curve shows Samuel learning that he doesn’t want to be the perfect English gentleman.”

Bodyguard and The Durrells star Keeley Hawes plays Samuel’s wife, Miriam Richard’s wife, Kathleen

Through the first episode, the story is laid bare against the backdrop of rockets being launched and rising anxiety over what might lie ahead, coupled with the symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder that stem from the still-raw fallout of the Second World War. Samuel’s technological achievements also shine a light on how industry was set to move forward rapidly over the next decade.

“When you have six hours of television drama, it’s a big canvas. The joy of longform is that you can build a complex world and you can delve deeper into character than you can in a two-hour movie,” Poliakoff says. “It’s great to try to be ambitious when you’re given that length of screen time.”

Helen Flint, MD of Little Island Productions and Poliakoff’s long-time producing partner, admits the writer’s outlines need very little development as they are often fully formed, “very detailed and very ambitious” by the time she becomes involved.

“The thing is to identify where and how you’re actually going to make it happen,” she says. “Both of us have been around far too long. Therefore, between us and the heads of department, we can work out how to put this on the screen, which is our craft.”

With all of Poliakoff’s work filmed on location, the first task on Summer of Rockets was to find the house belonging to Richard and Kathleen Shaw, which is a constant presence during all six episodes. They eventually settled on Benington Lordship, a grand setting close to Stevenage, 35 miles north of London, which is notable for the Norman keep adjoining the 17th century house and expansive gardens.

Catastrophe’s Mark Bonnar plays the head of MI5

“The other important thing was when to film it, because getting lucky with sunshine in this country is not a given – so the schedule is everything,” Flint says.

Finding London streets that could double for the time period also proved problematic, with the slums of Notting Hill in 1958 far removed from the affluent neighbourhood it is today. Another set piece saw a queue of 1950s cars lined up along The Mall, leading to Buckingham Palace, which was filmed early in the morning to avoid the crowds of tourists usually occupying the area.

“It takes a huge amount of work, more work than anybody would imagine, weeks and weeks, and then huge amounts in post-production just to paint out silly lines and stuff like that,” Flint says of filming in London. “After that, it’s all of the countryside, the driving [scenes] and the minutiae. But because we’ve got a cast that is working all the time, we have to try to jigsaw them all in, which is very complicated at certain points. Once you have those actors, the schedule is dictated by that. Then other problems come to the fore because if they’re not available, you can’t do the locations. London exteriors are the hardest, and then piecing it together is a massive jigsaw.”

In some cases, however, the reality on which some of the series is based was too extreme to be dramatised. Poliakoff decided to tone down scenes where Sasha is at boarding school, as his own experiences at school were too “draconian” to be depicted exactly as he remembered.

Summer of Rockets debuts on BBC2 tomorrow

“When I started writing it, I realised it had to be more interesting and more inventive than the actual thing I experienced, which in reality was relentlessly grim,” he says. “A little bit of that was fine, but I didn’t think an audience would stand for that being repeated in each scene. So, oddly enough, the bit that was closest to reality was the most difficult to write.”

The series sees Poliakoff reunited with Stephens, who starred in his 2001 family reunion drama Perfect Strangers, while this was his first time working with Hawes despite having known her since she was just 19. “She starred in my wife Sandy Welch’s adaptation of Our Mutual Friend 20 years ago,” he recalls of the actor, who has recently starred in Line of Duty, The Durrells and Bodyguard. “I’ve known her for some time and we’ve always wanted to work together. She’s phenomenal in her role, which is a really very juicy role, so I’m thrilled. I think she gives one of her greatest performances.”

Following Summer of Rockets’ launch on UK pubcaster BBC2 tomorrow, all six episodes will be made available on the pubcaster’s VoD platform iPlayer. The drama is distributed internationally by BBC Studios. “‘Bingeable’ is not the prettiest word but, actually, I think my work was born to be binged,” Poliakoff notes. “People over the years have always told me they’ve sat down to watch something like Perfect Strangers, which is only four hours long. They tend to watch the first part and then they’re there four hours later.

“So I very much hope the story has that effect. It does have quite a powerful story that gathers and evolves and changes. It’s great for people to watch it in a linear way or in an immersive way. Either way, I hope people will really get into it.” - Michael Pickard (Drama Quarterly)

#toby stephens #this writer got wrong with kelsey's name #it is kathleen not miriam lol #jeez #summer of rockets #interview

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d-criss-news · 5 years

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In a brilliant moment of serendipity, Darren Criss discovered he had been Emmy-nominated as Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or Movie for The Assassination of Gianni Versace at an airport branch of Planet Hollywood. “We were sitting there looking at the most Hollywood thing we could. That just tickled me to no end,” regales the former Glee star, who played Kurt Hummel’s love interest, Blaine Anderson, in the musical comedy television show.

At the time, Darren was on his way to a gig in Aspen, Colorado. “The Emmy nominations were coming out at 8.30am and the flight was leaving at 9.45am and we – me, my fiancée, my manager, publicist, basically the work family – all wanted to go and watch it together, somewhere I would be close enough so that when it was announced I could run over to the gate.”

The punchline came while sitting there waiting for the nominations to be revealed: his Glee version of Katy Perry’s “Teenage Dream” also started to play on the speakers. Looking around to see if perhaps one of the servers had clocked him and was being “cute”, because it was quite a bizarre coincidence, he realised that nope, “this is 8.30am in the international terminal and nobody gives a shit about my version of ‘Teenage Dream’,” he laughs. “But we just couldn’t fucking believe it, like what a crazy auspicious moment! But it was a nice little story.”

By now, it’s one that will have its ending fully wrapped up: the Emmys took place on September 17 in LA, which is where Darren is now on the other end of the phone. For context, it’s one of those intensely hot end-of-July days that everyone in London is complaining about. For Darren it’s a day of playing “Mr Octopus” as he puts it. “Today is insane. When you have ‘free time’, it’s actually more hectic because in the absence of stuff that you’re obligated to do you immediately see everything you’ve neglected a lot more clearly.”

In his perky twang, he gives me “the shorthand” of this: Elsie Fest to organise for autumn, the New York show-tune themed festival he founded; music to work on for Computer Games, the band he started with his brother; marketing for the new piano bar he and his fiancée, Mia Swier, have opened; projects he can’t talk about but is excited about; a wedding to plan “at some point” next year; work on the house; and that general life admin that creeps up on all of us. “Hey, we all got stuff,” he chimes.

And among all of this, he casually slips in: “I’m also reading scripts and trying to get another acting job if I can get one.” Which can’t help but make me laugh. If he can get one? Because, let’s be honest, regardless of the Emmys outcome (a big congratulations if you bagged it and if not, you were robbed!), his portrayal of Andrew Cunanan, as well as a stellar career to date (he replaced Daniel Radcliffe in How To Succeed in Business Without Really Trying on Broadway to great success, is the mind behind A Very Potter Musicaland has starred in Hedwig and the Angry Inch), shouldn’t make that too hard. But it’s “cute” – as he would say – to know he doesn’t rest on his laurels.

Darren was terrifying and intriguing in his role as Cunanan, the serial killer who murdered four men before ending his violent spree with fashion designer Gianni Versace in FX’s American Crime Story retelling of the real-life event in Miami in 1997. When it aired earlier this year, I didn’t know anyone who wasn’t watching it. If you weren’t binge-streaming it, you were glued to BBC2 desperate for next week’s instalment to watch the unfolding plot of a story that in many ways is little known, certainly on the Cunanan front.

“A lot of it is pretty shrouded in mystery. There are two groups of people who have been particularly aware of the Cunanan story. Filipinos in my life all know someone who knew him,” says Darren, who, hailing from San Francisco, is also half Filipino, as was Cunanan. “And true crime addicts.” “The story itself, which is endlessly fascinating, is not only interesting but has significant social weight and things to be discussed and topics that I think are important. It goes on and on and on,” he enthuses. “The role is incredibly nuanced and varied and complex, which is something that actors wake up in the morning for.”

Where the first series spotlights The People v. OJ Simpson, a trial that arguably most people in the world – certainly in the US – are familiar with, the Versace murder, while shocking and awful (the designer himself being a significant cultural icon and his death a huge loss to the fashion industry) lent itself to more questions than answers. Which from Darren’s point of view gave him a certain amount of free rein. “You’re not stacked against people’s expectations of an impersonation of somebody. I think that helped audiences; it really gave me and our story a blank slate.”

It’s true. As a viewer, I couldn’t help but find my feelings and point of view change as the narrative revealed Cunanan’s own backstory. “That, to me, is the most heartening thing; that’s the most encouraging thing you could say – that’s the goal.”

His performance has been described as career-defining but it’s not the first time he’s had such an accolade aimed in his direction. Yet you can’t help but think that this one, Emmy nomination aside, might just be the one to carry a little more weight, such was the grit and darkness that came with it and played out by someone we’re more used to associating with the tween spark of Glee.

It seems, therefore, an apt time to ask what his fantasy role would be. “Oh man. I have a pretty wild imagination but I’d like to think that my brain isn’t good enough to imagine the part I’d want,” he says. “And, also, fantasies evolve throughout your life based on whatever situation you find yourself in.” American Crime Story, certainly, he says is the kind of role he’d been working and waiting his whole life to play – which is not to say he dreamt of being a serial killer! “Let’s keep turning left, turning hard rights and hard lefts as much as possible, as long as the story is good. The name of the game for me is variety and versatility. If every time I do a role we have people say that’s a real departure from the last thing that would be awesome.”

Darren got the acting bug – or “storytelling” bug as he prefers to call it – at a young age. He was a child at the heart of the Disney Renaissance era and Robin Williams lived locally in his native San Francisco. One day, when seeing Aladdin at the cinema (“I can’t even tell you how many times I went to go see it,”) and realising that the Genie was voiced by Williams, his eureka moment came.

“You know when you’re a kid and you have dreams of being something and they seem kind of far off from you unless there’s somebody you can see do it?” he offers. “I remember very distinctly watching this Genie bring so much joy to the people around me… and I wanted in on that, I wanted to be the Genie. But once you realise you can’t necessarily do that and I found out the voice of the genie was Robin Williams, I was like that’s the guy, that’s the famous guy that lives in our city! I can do that and so he was really a massive inspiration for me.”

So, too, was Peter Coyote, another San Francisco-based actor, whom Darren in fact cold-called to find out what he should do to be an actor. He subsequently enrolled at the American Conservatory Theater’s Young Conservatory Programme before studying drama at college. A keen violinist, music and acting had always worked in constant tandem. “So that’s why it’s so hilarious to me that by the time I got Glee I’d already been doing this my whole life,” he says.

At the time of the Gianni Versace murder, Darren was 10 years old. “I did [remember it] in a sort of vague sense of pop cultural event. Obviously, Versace is a massive international figure so I was aware that he was murdered.” It wasn’t until much later in 2011, when his Hollywood lifestyle led him to the world of high fashion, that the dots joined.

“We were on tour for Glee and I popped down to Milan to go to this Versace fashion show, which was an amazing event and you’re there with Donatella and there in the house, the estate of the Versace family.” On a tour of it, Darren recalls seeing beautiful home pieces and fashion works. “There were a lot of things from his personal collection and [the steward] of course was saying ‘Well this was made after Gianni’s murder in 1997.’ It codified in my brain. He was taken away a little too early.”

For ACS producer Ryan Murphy, it was Darren who codified in the brain. The Glee co-creator had long had him in mind for the part. “People like Ryan have had their eye on the Cunanan story for a long time and we had worked closely in a few capacities.” Darren just had to play the waiting game. “I honestly said just let me know when you want to do this because obviously it would be a huge opportunity for me and I think it would be an incredible story but I don’t really have the keys for that car, man. You’re the driver, let me know when you want to pick me up!” Three years later and that proverbial beep came.

In real life, Darren has to be one of the most modest and upbeat people, armed with an always-look-on-the-bright-side-of-life attitude. You imagine he’s not all that good at sitting still, hence his potentially self-inflicted to-do list, which you also get the feeling is built from passion not pain. “I just feel so grateful at every turn of my career; if you’re able to do anything and that there’s any definition at all is a huge win so I’ll take it where I can get it,” he says referring to the praise he’s received in playing Cunanan, one he’s also quick to bring back down to earth with a very grounding analogy. “Every moment of your life is defining. The fact that I decided to have granola this morning defines the rest of the way my digestive system works…” he laughs. He has quite the way with words.

This too is helpful in a Hollywood landscape right now that, post-Weinstein and post-Trump, has found itself in troubling times. “What a big, big topic,” he begins. “It’s the Wild West right now, truly, there are so many things that I think it’s not necessarily Hollywood figuring itself out, it’s our whole society figuring it out as represented by Hollywood. It kind of gets the brunt of it because of its exposure and its influence,” he explains. “There are a lot of good things happening in it for people who have been marginalised and we’re setting new standards for ourselves that we should have set a long time ago, and in that sense it’s really good. But there are unfortunately other things that are happening where it’s hard to draw the line of what’s right and wrong and a lot of questions are being asked that we’ve never asked ourselves before about what’s appropriate.”

Social media, too, he thinks plays a significant role, moving faster than we are able to keep up with. “There’s a lot of things that are falling by the wayside as a result of that. I’m making very vague comments but yeah it’s very tricky,” he concludes before diplomatically topic-shifting to his own lack of social media usage. Firstly, because he’s a private person. And secondly, unlike so many people, he does realise the responsibility that comes with publishing a post. “Even when Twitter started and people would post joke-stuff and I would say ‘Woah, woah, that’s out there forever, are you sure? I think you think only I’m seeing this,’.” He says he’s always been uneasy with the idea of this kind of ‘stuff’ existing in perpetuity.

Which means that the answer to the next question requires some serious thought. Who would make for his fantasy dinner party guests? British comedian Eddie Izzard (because Darren is a big Anglophile); if we could roll back time, Sammy Davis Jr, “who the world knows as a great entertainer but he was also an insane dancer and musician”; Nat King Cole for the same reasons; and, his number one choice, Howard Ashman, the lyricist and dramaturge behind the previously mentioned Disney renaissance (aka Aladdin, The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast). “I’ve always admired his craftsmanship and he’s someone I’ve always thought, if I had a dinner, I’d really like to have a chat with. All of my heroes are the people who were hyphenates,” says Darren, which makes sense because he’s just the same. One small suggestion: hold the fantasy dinner party at Planet Hollywood. That would make a nice story.

#darren criss #hunger magazine #acs versace #press #nov 2018

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mina-van1104 · 3 years

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Happy Good Friday! Just want to say haters are losers & I’m clearly not a loser. My newer neighbor of 2 something years always has to make a rude comment to us when we’re outside. I’m clearly not slow & not a loser like they are.

They live in 2266 green house named Zimmermans on Rockdale Dr. They have been the ones harassing us since they moved in September 2018. They are not originally from Nevada & I’m FROM Nevada. Zimmermans should shut up & who do they think they are?!

Yeah I have a Bachelors degree, 2 college degrees, & 2 extra medical licenses. I was number 33 GPA out of 500 five hundred something people in my class. I was also an Honors/Advanced student with scholarships including athletic scholarships & other awards-earned. Was always in the advanced good choirs up to college UNR Chamber Chorale.

My older sister Catherine Van Schwartz (30) a former News Reporter on KOLO 8 News Now & Post Gonzaga University Grad 2012 Summa Cum Laude (highest degree) and top 20 valedictorians number 11 out of 500 (five hundred something people in her class). She was also Honors/Advanced student. My older sister very well known In Sparks/Reno because my sister has always been popular before she was a news reporter. My older sister had a lot scholarships & awards-earned! Catherine was also president of Intermezzo (Show Choir) in 2008 and Captain of her tennis team & elected Treasurer in Student Council. My sister also got nominated for an Emmy in Oregon as a News Reporter 7 years as a News Reporter.

Yeah, we are definitely NOT slow like the Zimmerman family. Zimmerman family; shut up! We are obviously better than you. We will always be above you & you know it. Sorry you Zimmermans life sucks that you have to belittle us and caught on my camera several times. How stupid can you Zimmermans get?! Such low lives they are. Zimmermans harassments stress have caused me to faint in the past & have seizures, rushed in ambulance 3 different times hospitalized for days & a few weeks these past few months & since 2018. You guys almost made me literally die & you guys should pay or SHUT UP!

I’m not a person who causes any drama or trouble but I will always defend myself & my family. My parents and my big family of Asians/Caucasians white people who don’t all live in my household are all intelligent/talented people.

My parents know more than 5 different languages fluently. Don’t ever talk to me, my family, or to anyone like that. Whatever you Zimmermans or haters say, you will always be below me & that is the truth. You Zimmermans are the “SLOW” ones and you know it! And all the racist things they said in the past to us caught on my cameras.

I’ve been living in the same house literally since I was born. Our same yellow house (with white picket fence now) was bought when these houses were first built in 1990 before I was even born. We had the best next door neighbors. Good neighbor friends who were white kids we hungout with in our neighborhood as kids. Giving presents to eachother every Christmas (not even joking).

Now we still have good neighbor friends who are white who lived in our neighborhood for more than ten (10) years who don’t live next door to us. Couple houses away. We still have good neighbors-they just don’t live next door to us.

I hope everyone remembers that whether you believe in GOD or Karma or not believe in it, Karma is very real & I don’t have to do anything. Don’t ever mess with me or my family & don’t mess with anyone else!

Watch what you say Zimmermans because Zimmermans are the TRUE idiots & everyone who’s smart enough knows it. Their lies, their hatred- good people will never believe you Zimmermans & never believe any racist people. I’m glad I’m not racist & was born into a successful, authentic, genuine family.

Haters are losers & they will NEVER go far in life. Zimmermans should get a brain & when I say get a brain I meant someone who knows when to be respectful to ALL people. You could have a college degree & still be an idiot like the Zimmermans. I have 2 college degrees & am respectful to all groups of people & actually have a real brain. I’m glad I’m not fake like some people.

So Zimmermans I hope you know when to shut up because everyone knows that you guys will always be below us no matter what you guys say. I just want peace but their family is too dumb & don’t know when to quit. I’m glad My family & I are not a losers like they are.

Also another different family who has moved in 1 year ago July 2019. 2265 grey colored house diagonally across street, Clarks (From California) I noticed they put their mailbox open because they know I walk my dogs early in the morning.

They (Clarks) were purposely trying to frame me & make it seem like I’m doing something suspicious. Because their mailbox has been open these past few days but today while I was walking my dogs their mailbox closed. An hour later I witnessed their jealous/racist kids opened the mailbox & started yelling to make it seem like I did something when I did not.

Do NOT frame me because you Clarks have no life. They only installed cameras a couple months ago. Luckily I’m a Scorpio & more Psychic than other people & stick with my instincts usually.

In the past they’re four year old children & their family yelling at us being insulting to us & Jessica Clark, John Clark, Lonnie mocked & harassed my Facebook/Social Media. Clarks are such idiots still makes me furious how dumb they are. Good thing I’m smart & me & my family will always be above you Clarks.

Their boys caught on my camera Insulting us caught on my camera a few months ago & still yelling today- they also shot toy foam nerf gun pellets directed at our house in the past but told police a long time ago- they don’t do it anymore. While our car was shot by a REAL gun twice in January 2020 & November 2020.

I hope people will be aware of my neighbors the Zimmermans 2266 (green house) & Clarks 2265 & how evil they have been to us over the years some caught on my camera with their kids. They have NO RIGHT!! Those racist neighbors are originally from California while I was born here in Nevada. Who do they think they are?! Stop ruining my city!

They Zimmermans, Clarks will always be below my family & me & that is the truth no matter what they say! Do not try to frame me because GOOD people know the TRUTH, you’re lies will not go anywhere. Only IDIOTS will believe them. I tell nothing but the truth. God is real. Don’t mess with me or my family or anyone! Violating my civil rights. They need to get arrested & those neighbors clearly have no life. Nevada is MY city either shut up or get out of my city! How dare they move into my city & be like that to us?! You guys have NO RIGHT! Grrr! So furious! 🔥

Also it’s always out of staters giving me trouble in life mostly Californians or Texas & NOT saying all Californians or Texas & out of Staters just MOST of them. Please do not cause problems to us as life is already hard eventhough I love my life. Stop ruining it.

Eventhough I enjoy my life & love my life. I’m sorry those haters’ lives are not great that you have to put your anger out on me & my family. Sorry their kids are uneducated, jealous racist people. I hope they know when to keep things peaceful & not start up drama again because they clearly have no life & that good/smart people will never believe them. Stop disturbing our peace! Sorry you evil newer neighbors don’t know when to shutup. We’re smarter than you guys & you know it! Please newer neighbors, keep it peaceful because I don’t want unnecessary drama because I have a life & apparently the newer neighbors don’t.

I was Nevada born & raised. Family living in Nevada since 1979 (42 forty-two years). Still & will always be proud of my 2 college degrees, Bachelors Degree, & my 2 extra medical licenses. I am a family member Asians of doctors (all blood-related), veterans (blood related), dentists (blood related), Physical therapist (blood related), Acupuncturists(blood related) , News Reporter (blood related) , family of caucasian white people (some blood related to us). Don’t mess with my awesome, successful, big family. Be kind to one another. 💕✨Stop Asian Hate! Hope y’all have a fantastic day!

# Selfie # StopAsianHate # Vaccinated # NativeNevadan # PositiveVibes # MarchMadness # Gonzaga🏀 # LoveDrivesOutFear # dogs # running # coach # Nurse # NevadaBornAndRaised # NevadaNative # athletic 🐾🏃🏻‍♀️💪🏼# RenoNevadaBornSparksRaised # HomeMeansNevada # Nevada # UNRnevadaAlumnaMay2016🎓 🐾 # PostUniversityGraduate 🎓 # Overachiever # WolfPackAlumna 🐾 # BachelorsHealthSciences # PublicHealth 🐺 # 2CollegeDegrees # 2ExtraMedicalLicenses # AlreadyAllAchieved # TrueAccomplishments # integrity # RenoBornSparksNative 🐾🐶 🤙🏼 ✨🌻

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thebestplltheories · 6 years

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My TOP 10 episodes in all of television - spoiler free!

1. How To Get Away With Murder: Season 4, Episode 8 - Live. Live. Live

On the edge of my seat from start to end, this episode was extremely satisfying as we finally learnt what happened that night. One “what the actual fuck?” moment after the other, there is no better adjective to describe the story than ‘exciting’. Having just spent a season trying to prove that they are good people trying to move on from tangled murders, it was beyond juicy to see their lives unintentionally take a U-turn down Old Habits Road, even when their intentions were good. The writing needs to be commended in this episode not just for the witty and snappy dialogue, but for the actual intellect of the writers to think of stories of this caliber. The way the events unfolded that night were insanely satisfying and beyond my theory-brain’s ability to have ever imagined, yet, still managed to make me say “of course!” once revealed. Topped with EMMY-worthy acting from more than just the sensational lead Viola, the pure creativity and ingenuity of this episode left me feeling like these television writers could get away with murder.

2. How To Get Away With Murder: Season 4, Episode 9 - He’s Dead.

The perfect follow up to the perfect finale. This episode flowed from the previous so well that if we eliminated the “previously on”, the two episodes can stand alone as a mini movie revolving around one never-ending messed up night. The roller coaster doesn’t slow down, actually, it speeds up, which was a shock as I thought it was already going full speed. Seeing the characters fall deeper into the rabbit hole of their old habits, and then trying to dig themselves out, was entertainment at its best. Just because there were not as many “what the actual fuck?” moments as the previous episode, there were still plenty sighs of relief, grunts of anger, and throwing of the hands in the hair. The episode was very fast paced with lots of complicated stories occurring simultaneously, and successfully keeping up with them all felt like a reward in itself.

3. Pretty Little Liars: Season 7, Episode 20 - Til Death Do Us Part

Although this episode was generally not well received by most PLL veterans, I can only love this episode as it was essentially an on-screen adaptation of my written theories I made leading up to the episode. It was beyond satisfying to see that I had successfully theorised, almost to a tee, the series ending to a show that will forever be in my heart. The execution lacked, specifically in intensity and any sense of danger, however the overall story being told was very detailed and mostly clever - certainly free of plot holes, which was impressive given the convoluted state of the series at the time. The story was by no means flawless as the writers certainly missed easy opportunities to go out with a louder bang, however, after the difficult mental task of setting aside all the thoughts of what could have been, the episode can be perfectly summarised as satisfying and bittersweet. I think I will forever remember this day. June 27, 2017. It was an unforgettable experience.

4. How To Get Away With Murder: Season 2, Episode 9 - What Did We Do?

This episode elevated the show to a level I never knew it was reaching for. Other finales of this show had me screaming WTF out of pure disbelief and shock, however this finale had me screaming WTF out of disturbance - I was genuinely bothered, and made to feel uncomfortable, at the methods they used to get away with murder. This episode features one of the most iconic scenes of the entire series to date, which, if this episode had aired prior to the EMMYs, would have made Viola Davis the no-brainer winner (if she wasn’t at the time). As if the finale wasn’t gripping enough, it ended with a scene that was like a superfluous yet delicious cherry on top. The final scene redefined everything we thought we knew about two major characters and the episode overall was twisted and exciting to say the least.

5. Pretty Little Liars: Season 7, Episode 19 - Farewell, My Lovely.

The penultimate episode to the loveable series can be summarised with one word: satisfying. Unusual for this show, so much action and plot progression was perfectly fit into one episode. Further, the show finally reached my desirable ratio of mystery to romance: all mystery and no romance. An impressive amount of story was wrapped up, answering enough questions to begin the series finale without an immensely overwhelming amount of content to sort through. Whilst the answers themselves weren’t overly shocking, actually, some fan theories were more exciting than what the writers delivered, the story that was provided was undebatably logical and cohesive which made it tough to argue with. Unfortunately the writers missed a great opportunity to name-drop the show. “You’re not criminals. Not really.” Insert here: “You’re just a bunch of pretty little liars”. Whilst it would appear corny in that moment of first viewing, those feelings undoubtedly would pass with time and it would have been iconic in Pretty Little Liars history. Nonetheless, the penultimate episode served its purpose very well: it set up the series finale by answering questions that were not worth dwindling on for one more second.

6. The Fosters: Season 5, Episode 1 - Resist

Bone chilling. My goosebumps had goosebumps as I watch a mother race to find her daughter who is being held captive by a group of rapists - an action packed, nail biting story I would’ve never envisioned back at the show’s conception five years ago. Watching Callie value her friend’s lives more than her own, is upsetting but admirable, and the passion of the students protesting against the privatisation of their school that they are so proud of, is nothing short of beautiful. Leave it to The Fosters to make you feel what the characters feel, even when the character’s experiences are un-relatable. I for one, have never faced the problem of school privatisation, or, touch wood, rape. But the emotions are so raw and expertly crafted through the lens of the camera that it’s actually impossible to not feel for the characters.

7. The Fosters: Season 5, Episode 10 - Sanctuary

I’m not easy to crack, but this episode marked the first time I actually shed a tear or two of pure happiness at a television show. Trust The Fosters to pull on your heart strings. The episode deals with an immigrant who is wanted because her DACA status is pending, and the lengths that her friends go to to help her stay in the country she was raised in and calls home. It was somewhat surreal to reflect on what the show had now become: no longer is this show about a girl who wants to be adopted by a family. This is about a girl who constantly walks on fire for her friends and expects nothing in return. Police are involved, and stakes are higher than ever. The episode preached a message that isn’t said loud enough, and is one that any television-lover can watch regardless of their history (or non-existent history) with The Fosters. Whilst the juicy parts of the episode co-existed amongst a lot of romance filler which I do not care too much for, the story was so important to tell, and was told so damn well, that on this rare occasion, I was able to forgive and oversee the filler.

8. Riverdale: Season 1, Episode 12 - Anatomy of a Murder

Bombshell after bombshell, this episode surprised me not just in terms of the story’s reveals, but also the reveal that the writers want this to be a twisted thriller series. So much happened in a short time span yet it never felt overly condensed. It moved at an impressive pace that comfortably told the story in enough depth. This had everything a mystery show needs in its big important episodes: family drama, a death, alternative suspects gained or freed, the reveal of the true killer’s identity, impressive acting, another death, and a cliff hanger (literally, wink wink). It’s clear the writers gave this everything. All of this occurred in a visually stunning episode; beautiful and grand sets, vibrant and punchy colours, and powerful camera perspectives. This episode definitely could’ve proudly served as the season finale and actually, is my benchmark I use to compare all other Riverdale episodes, whereby this is what a ten out of ten looks like.

9. Supergirl: Season 2, Episode 22 - Nevertheless, She Persisted.

Excuse the cliche, but never judge a book by its cover. I never would’ve thought, ever, that a superhero show will make me feel more than just excitement at the action-packed dangerous story lines: this episode made me feel heartbreak, sorrow, shock, fear, disbelief and joy. Ruling out superhero shows because you’re not into fantasy and super-powers, is a silly move, since this episode proved yet again that Supergirl is grounded in reality, and the powers and super villains are just extra for the sake of fun. The emotions Kara goes through are human and relatable, and the emotions Supergirl goes through are still relatable, but you must dig to find the underlying meaning rather than take the red cape for face value. This episode flows so perfectly from the previous episode, Resist, that they could both pass as a two-hour movie. I struggled to decide which episode to place on this list however I ultimately decided to place this one because of its slightly higher stakes.

10. The Fosters: Season 4, Episode 1 - Potential Energy

Here The Fosters tackles the prominent issue of school shootings. It was captured in a way that sent chills down my spine, and I thanked God that I never experienced anything like that, and, honest to God, said a prayer that night that this madness stops. The brilliance of the episode is that it emphasised the shooter’s perspective too in a way that obviously didn’t justify the decision to bring a gun to school, but instead showed a range of variables that can lead someone to do this - therefore sparking conversations to potentially avoid such horror and danger. As with every single episode of The Fosters, it is simply a joy to watch Stef and Lena show their love for their kids and this episode in particular, when their lives are at risk, was heightened for the show and a damn joy to watch.

#top 10 TV episodes #top 10 #personal to me #I watch a lot more shows than listed here!!!#but these are the ones that are closest to me of the numerous episodes ive ever seen #this took a lot longer than i thought to put together #TV #television

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news4dzhozhar · 7 years

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**Long but a very interesting read with alot of new info** Was Tamerlan Tsarnaev a federal informant? On April 15, 2013, Tamerlan and his younger brother, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, attacked the Boston Marathon. It was one of the worst terrorist attacks on U.S. soil since 9/11. In all, the Tsarnaevs killed four people and injured hundreds more. One of the most intense manhunts in recent history culminated in a violent shootout with police in Watertown, on April 19. Tamerlan was killed in that shootout. Dzhokhar was arrested. Two years later, Dzhokhar was tried on federal terrorism charges. He was found guilty of the bombing and formally sentenced to death. However, four years after the bombing, after a high-profile federal terrorism trial and multiple government investigations, there are still many unanswered questions, particularly about Tamerlan. In this special report, we'll investigate some of the most controversial unanswered questions about Tamerlan Tsarnaev: - Was he a federal informant? - How does the federal informant program work? - How do federal agencies recruit Muslims and other immigrants to become informants? - Did Tamerlan Tsarnaev receive special treatment through this program for his application to become a U.S. citizen? Part 1: The Theory In 2014, as Dzhokhar Tsarnaev prepared his defense, his lawyers filed a motion seeking all documents relating to FBI contact with Tamerlan. Why? They believed Tamerlan had been a federal informant. They wrote: "We base this on information from our client’s family and other sources that the FBI made more than one visit to talk with ... Tamerlan ... and asked him to be an informant, reporting on the Chechen and Muslim community." It was the first time that claim had entered the official record. The government denied then, as it does today, that Tamerlan was ever a federal informant. An FBI spokesperson referred us back to an Oct. 18, 2013 statement the FBI issued along with Boston police and Massachusetts state police. The statement says law enforcement officials did not know the identities of the Tsarnaev brothers before the Watertown shootout, and that they "were never sources for the FBI nor did the FBI attempt to recruit them as sources." The theory was most recently picked up by investigative reporter Michele McPhee in her new book, "Maximum Harm: The Tsarnaev Brothers, The FBI, and the Road to the Marathon Bombing." "Tamerlan Tsarnaev was the perfect recruit," says McPhee. "He had tentacles in the drug world. He spoke multiple languages. He could mix in anywhere. He was tall and handsome. He had an American wife. Here was a guy that really was the perfect recruit." McPhee is an Emmy-nominated investigative journalist for ABC News. She’s also a former AM talk radio host and to some, a controversial columnist. But McPhee also has deep sources within local law enforcement, a network she’s developed after years of working at the Boston Herald and as police bureau chief for the New York Daily News. In "Maximum Harm," McPhee gathers a constellation of law enforcement sources and new evidence that lead her to a startling allegation: She believes federal authorities offered to help Tsarnaev become a U.S. citizen in exchange for being an informant. "'You help us, we help you,' " McPhee tells Radio Boston. Tsarnaev desperately wanted citizenship. In 2010 he was featured in a magazine article titled, “Will Box for Passport: An Olympic Drive to Become a United States Citizen.” Younger brother Dzhokhar was naturalized in 2012, something that could have intensified Tamerlan's desire for citizenship. "I mean, his little brother was doing better than he was," says McPhee. And in Dzhokhar's trial, a Tsarnaev relative testified that "it is better to be a dog than the younger son." "Tamerlan was more than motivated to become a citizen," McPhee says. Our investigation begins with a journey. On Jan. 21, 2012, Tsarnaev flew to Russia, 15 months before the Marathon bombing. U.S. Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) agents allowed Tsarnaev to board his flight without any additional screening, even though a year earlier Russian intelligence services had issued specific warnings about Tsarnaev to both the FBI and CIA. "Those warnings were: Tamerlan is going to come to Russia and join the jihad," McPhee says. "Well, Tamerlan did indeed go to Russia to join the jihad, was there for six months, came back, and breezed through customs despite the fact he was on multiple terror watch lists on this very day." Tsarnaev was indeed on U.S. terror watch lists. But what exactly was Tsarnaev doing in the Northern Caucasus region of Dagestan from January to July 2012? McPhee alleges that Tsarnaev was sent there to aid counter-terrorism operations against Russian Islamic radicals. There is no definitive evidence to back this claim. But there are curious coincidences, such as the fact that Tsarnaev was recording conversations he had with family members while in Dagestan. Why would he do that, McPhee wonders. There was also a flurry of counter-terrorism operations in the region during the same six-month period Tsarnaev was there. "There were seven high level terror targets who were killed by the Russian Interior Ministry, after meeting with Tamerlan Tsarnaev," she says. "Coincidence? Maybe." When pressed if she is certain Tsarnaev met with radicals, McPhee says, "There are reports of Tamerlan going to this radical mosque in Dagestan. He had met with this man [who] was a recruiter for a roadside bombing that killed a number of first responders and civilians." Mahmoud Nidal was reportedly a recruiter for Islamist insurgents in Dagestan. "They were looking for this recruiter," she says. "The recruiter met with Tamerlan at this mosque, and days later he was tracked at his hideout and killed." Nidal was killed by Russian forces on May 19, 2012, while Tsarnaev was in Dagestan. However, it is unclear if the two men ever actually met. In 2014, the U.S. House Homeland Security Committee put out a report, "The Road to Boston: Counterterrorism Challenges and Lessons from the Marathon Bombings." It cites a former Russian investigator who says that Nidal would not have been afraid to emerge from hiding to meet with Tsarnaev. But the report also states that American investigators stationed in Moscow uncovered no evidence of a relationship between Nidal and Tsarnaev, nor did they discover proof that Tsarnaev had made any attempts to join Chechen rebel groups. Russian investigative journalists disagree. They told Massachusetts U.S. Rep. William Keating in 2014 that their sources say Tsarnaev did try to join Chechen fighters, but that he was rejected in part because of his "conspicuously Western style." Russian forces also killed a second man while Tsarnaev was in Dagestan: William Plotnikov. "Plotnikov was a Canadian who sparked the warnings that the FSB [Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation], the Russian counterintelligence agencies, had given to both the Boston FBI and to the CIA in 2011," says McPhee. She adds: "Plotnikov was picked up, intercepted, by the Russian FSB in 2010. They demand his phone and they intercept text messages between William Plotnikov and Tamerlan Tsarnaev." The 2014 House Homeland Security report says it is unlikely that Tsarnaev and Plotnikov met face-to-face while Tsarnaev was in Dagestan. But it also says FBI officials in Moscow did indicate "that electronic communication between the two may have been collected." Less than a month after the Marathon bombing, Keating sent staff to Russia to investigate alleged ties between Tsarnaev, Plotnikov and Nidal. "[Plotnikov] was a boxer in Canada. Tamerlan was a boxer. And somehow they had known each other before," Keating said in May 2013. Plotnikov died in a shootout with Russian security services on July 14, 2012. Three days later Tamerlan Tsarnaev flew back to the United States. Why then? We don’t know. It could simply be that Tsarnaev had been in Russia for almost six months and being outside of the U.S. for that long may have jeopardized his immigration status. Keating posited a less benign reason during a Homeland Security Committee hearing in July 2013: Keating: "We had reports that our office was able to get that he was meeting with a known terrorist, insurgent Mahmoud Nidal. Someone already on their radar screen in Russia, had they known this. Yet there was another gap where that could have been closed. Now he came back to the U.S. after the person he met with, reportedly, was killed, and the other person that was known to him, was killed. So he sort of beat feet and went home, I think." The Ticket McPhee sees entirely different forces at work. "The ticket that allowed him to return to Boston, well it was paid in cash, which is another huge red flag that's not supposed to happen," she says. "Somebody paid 2050 euro for this ticket. Now remember, Tamerlan was unemployed. So who paid for the ticket? How is it in cash? And a receipt which I have as part of the court record. Somebody wanted him right out of the country and they wanted him out fast." McPhee refers to an airline receipt that investigators found in the bedroom of Tsarnaev’s Cambridge apartment after the Marathon bombing. A photograph of the receipt was entered into evidence during Dzhokhar’s trial. According to trial transcripts, attorneys and an FBI witness refer to it as looking like a receipt for "an old fashioned plane ticket" on Aeroflot, the Russian carrier. We asked travel experts familiar with the Russian airline to examine the photograph of the receipt. They confirm that it is from Aeroflot, and that it was issued to Tamerlan in relation to travel on July 17, 2012. However, it is not a receipt for a 2050 euro airline ticket, as McPhee says. It is only a receipt for excess baggage, not the entire cost of travel. The receipt is in rubles, not euros. Someone paid 2050 rubles, or about $37, so that Tsarnaev could haul extra luggage onto the plane. 'He Did Not Have A Passport' Tamerlan flew from Moscow to JFK International Airport in New York, and then to Boston. He was on multiple terror watch lists. McPhee says Tsarnaev should have never been let back into the country. And yet he was. Easily. In 2016, following Freedom of Information requests from multiple organizations, the Department of Homeland Security released a redacted version of Tsarnaev’s entire immigration file, also known as an A-file. In the file: the Customs and Border Protection record that was created when Tamerlan stepped up to the immigration desk at JFK. "This is really interesting document," McPhee says, "because what it is, is every single time we reenter the county, all of us, you me, you have a DHS Customs Border Patrol Air Entry. So you know, you can do it yourself, or they take the picture at customs. This is a photo of Tamerlan Tsarnaev when he returned on July 17, 2012." Tsarnaev stares directly into the camera. His face is round and he has a full beard. His hair is slightly disheveled. His name and date of birth are both correct. He was fingerprinted. Under "Docs Associated with this Encounter," one document is listed as "Issuing Country: USA." McPhee says, "That's his green card ... the Legal Permanent Resident card. He did not have a passport." McPhee says Tsarnaev had told his family that he had lost his Kyrgyzstan-issued passport. He applied for a new Russian passport while in Dagestan, but left Russia without picking it up. U.S. Customs and Border Protection rules explicitly state that legal permanent residents are not required to have a passport to reenter the U.S. They simply need to present their green cards. However, Tsarnaev had been outside the U.S. for 178 continuous days in a region known for terrorist activity. He was just short of the 180-day absence that would have automatically triggered additional screening. Tsarnaev was also on two terror watch lists. Given these factors in combination, McPhee says Tsarnaev should not have been able to breeze through immigration at JFK Airport. McPhee: “Think about it. He was still on these terror watch lists. The fact that he had been gone so long should have triggered a secondary alarm, several sources say. In and of itself. The fact they didn't have a passport. The fact that his travel documentations were essentially the green card he was issued because he claimed if he ever went back to Russia he'd be killed. All of it just smacks of either incredible incompetence or a blatant cover-up.” Chakrabarti: “You’re saying that those coincidences could only have happened if he had some — if he was getting some special attention from the government.” McPhee: “Someone was pulling the strings. 1,000 percent.” 'Disturbing That Such A Detailed Lookout Could Be Missed' To McPhee, the constellation of evidence indicates that Tsarnaev had been getting special assistance from the government. There is a more mundane explanation. In 2011, Russian intelligence services had warned both the FBI and the CIA of their concerns about Tsarnaev, and his potential travel to Russia. In March 2011, the FBI, through the Boston Joint Terrorism Task Force, opened an investigation into Tsarnaev. As part of the investigation, a CBP officer put him in the TECS system, one of the government’s terror watch lists. In October 2011, after receiving another warning from Russia, the CIA placed Tsarnaev in a different terror database, known as TIDE. Did the system alert Customs and Border Protection agents when Tsarnaev flew to Russia in January 2012? That was what Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa wanted to know when then-Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee in April 2013, just days after the Watertown shootout. Grassley: "Is it true that his identity document did not match his airline ticket, and if so, why did TSA miss the discrepancy?" Napolitano: "There was a mismatch there ... but, even with the misspelling, under our current system there are redundancies, um uh, and so the system did ping when he was leaving the United States." Grassley pressed further. Napolitano answered. Napolitano: "... On the, um, misspelling of Tamerlan's name and what that meant ... I think it would be better if we could discuss those with you in a classified setting." Two government reports published in 2014 reveal what actually happened. The TECS database did "ping" when Tsarnaev flew out of JFK on Jan. 21, 2012. His name was put on a list of "passengers of concern" that was sent to Customs and Border Protection in Boston and New York. There were 22 CBP officers assigned to examine passengers on the list that day at JFK. CBP officers determined Tsarnaev was a low priority compared to other passengers on the list. The reports state that "there is no indication that CBP officials at the John F. Kennedy International Airport reviewed the record related Tamerlan Tsarnaev." It’s a stunning oversight. The March 2014 House Homeland Security report on the Marathon bombings concluded that Tsarnaev should have been a high-priority target because, "[The] TECS alert was unambiguous in its requests ... that officials encountering Tamerlan Tsarnaev 'Escort [him] to CBP secondary and detain is mandatory whether or not the office believes there is an exact match.' It is disturbing that such a detailed lookout could be missed." On July 17, 2012, Tsarnaev flew back to JFK. Again, he was not pulled aside at immigration. Sen. Lindsey Graham, a Republican from South Carolina, asked Napolitano why: Graham: "When he left to go back to Russia in 2012, the system picked up his departure but did not pick up him coming back, is that correct?" Napolitano: "That’s my understanding and I can give you the detail in a classified setting. But I think the salient fact there, senator, is that the FBI TECS alert on him at that point was more than a year old and had expired." That turns out not to be true. The alert had not expired. Tsarnaev was still on the watch list. All that had changed was how the TECS database alerted border agents, according to a subsequent government report. The initial alert on Tsarnaev instructed CBP officers to conduct more extensive inspection of Tsarnaev, known as secondary inspection, whenever he attempted to reenter the United States. In March 2012, that alert was set to no longer display on the computer screens of border protection agents working at JFK immigration counters. Therefore, on July 17, 2012, all Tamerlan Tsarnaev had to do was hand the immigration officer his green card, take a picture, and get fingerprinted, and he was back in the United States. There was no secondary inspection. Graham observed one more disturbing fact about Tsarnaev’s travel back and forth to Russia: Graham: "The point I’m trying to make … the FBI ... they had no knowledge of him leaving or coming back." How is this possible? The TECS database did in fact send alerts to the Joint Terrorism Task Force in Boston, specifically the CBP officer who first put Tsarnaev on the watch list. The 2014 House Homeland Security report states that "it is not clear that this information was shared with others on the Boston JTTF." The April 2014 report published by the inspectors general of the intelligence community, CIA, Department of Homeland Security and Justice Department goes even further. It says the CBP officer followed normal procedures in communicating with Tsarnaev’s FBI case officer. He passed along the information about the terror watch list alerts via "email, orally, or by passing a 'sticky note.' " "This is where we are in the war on terror," says McPhee, "that border patrol is putting a sticky note on an FBI counter-terrorism officer’s desk ... give me a break." The 2014 House Homeland Security report offers an even more withering assessment: "This lack of communication represents a failure to proactively share information that could potentially save lives." Part 2: Immigration Vulnerabilities And Informants Despite these clear bureaucratic reasons that explain why Tsarnaev so easily passed in and out of the United States, McPhee still believes there’s more to the story. She believes that the federal government offered Tsarnaev a chance to become a U.S. citizen in exchange for being an informant, and that’s why he walked through immigration without a second look. Boston has unique experience with the FBI informant program. There is precedent for the government protecting criminal activity of its own informants. James "Whitey" Bulger was a murderous criminal mobster. In 1975, he began cooperating with the government and became a "Top Echelon Informant." "The FBI gave the exact same denials about Whitey Bulger for decades," says McPhee, "and we all know now that there is evidence. And I sat through the Whitey Bulger trial every single day; the summer of Whitey. I was there. I mean, it was staggering." Bulger murdered people while he was an informant. The FBI protected him. In 1995, Bulger was finally indicted. But before he could be arrested, Bulger ran; his FBI handler had tipped him off. Bulger successfully evaded capture for 16 years before he was finally arrested in June 2011. After the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, law enforcement shifted its focus from the mob to counter-terrorism. McPhee says the new focus also made its way into the federal informant program. "After 9/11, there was a huge push to recruit Muslims to inform on other Muslims in mosques," says McPhee. "They call it 'mosque crawling' — raking." The program was pioneered by the New York City Police Department. McPhee watched the program up close in her work as police bureau chief for the New York Daily News. "I worked out of One Police Plaza for decades," she says, a reference to the NYPD headquarters. "I know a lot about the terrorist interdiction unit. And what they did, which was genius, was they recruited Muslims who had taken the civil service just to come up become police officers. And they went to [CIA headquarters in] Langley and they were trained just like CIA agents. And the program was wildly successful." One measure of that success: Nearly half of more than 500 recent federal terrorism convictions came from informant-based cases. 'The Perfect Terrorist' The use of informants in counter-terrorism cases is also highly controversial. Federal informants have been directly involved in several high-profile attempted and successful terrorist attacks. The most spectacular of these cases involves David Headley. In 2010, he pleaded guilty to masterminding the 2008 Mumbai terrorist attack that killed more than 160 people. Headley is Pakistani-American. In the mid-1990s, he was arrested for drug trafficking. He became an informant for the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), in exchange for a reduced sentence. After 9/11, the DEA turned its attention to counter-terrorism and told Headley to gather intelligence on extremists in New York and Pakistan. But Headley did not abandon his own extremist views. He told friends he celebrated al-Qaida's attack on New York, which lead the FBI to open the first of several investigations into Headley. The PBS series "Frontline" covered the case in its documentary, "A Perfect Terrorist." The DEA sent Headley to Pakistan as an American intelligence operative, but off the books, according to U.S. officials who spoke with "Frontline." While there, Headley began training with a Pakistani terrorist group, a fact he did not hide from his family. His wife grew so concerned, she went to the U.S. Embassy in Lahore to report her husband. The FBI made inquiries into Headley’s activities at least six times before the Mumbai attack, but they interviewed Headley only once. They never took action against him. Why? The government would not respond to "Frontline’s" inquiries, and vast portions of Headley’s trial remain under seal. Headley's case is extreme, but there are thousands of federal informants whose activities are difficult for Congress to monitor. In 2016, an audit of the DEA's confidential informant program found the agency itself "did not appropriately track all confidential source activity." Massachusetts U.S. Rep. Stephen Lynch is calling for greater oversight of informant programs. In April 2017, he filed the Confidential Informant Accountability Act, citing crimes committed by other federal informants, including one who had been arrested in 43 states. Lynch: "Good luck to him on the remaining seven states. But if a guy’s been arrested in 43 states, he should not be eligible as a confidential informant, especially one highly paid. Zero credibility. That’s disgraceful ... The bill would also require law enforcement agencies to report, just report, all serious crimes committed by their confidential informants. Including an accounting of the total number of each type and category of crime." 'The FBI Began To View The Entire Muslim Community As Suspect' There are currently 18,000 informants working for the DEA. At the FBI, there could be more than 15,000. "That number 15,000 gets thrown around, but I would actually find that number to be fairly small," says Michael German, a national security expert with the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University. German is also a former FBI special agent and worked undercover on domestic terrorism cases for 16 years from 1988 to 2004. "Every FBI agent is required to participate in the informant program, and to have actively producing informants," he says. "There are roughly 13,000 FBI agents. Do the math. The fact that you would have two per agent wouldn’t be very surprising to me." German says no one else should be surprised either. German: "Informants are the bread and butter of law enforcement — always have been, always will be. The problem after 9/11 is the FBI began to view the entire Muslim community as suspect. So the idea was FBI agents, we need to have better information about what's going on. But because the entire Muslim community was viewed as suspect, basically any Muslim that the government had some leverage over could be coerced into becoming an informant." However, German says it's unlikely that Tamerlan Tsarnaev was a federal informant. He takes a law enforcement veteran’s measured approach, pointing to the fact that the CIA and FBI put Tsarnaev on terrorist watch lists in 2011, not something they would usually do for one of their own "assets." But he also adds, "The idea that the FBI would approach an individual who is in the immigration process to encourage them to become an FBI informant with the — not the promise of — but at least dangling the idea that that might be beneficial to their interests, certainly wouldn't be out of the realm of possibilities and would probably be likely." In 2013, German authored a report for the American Civil Liberties Union titled, "Unleashed and Unaccountable: The FBI’s Unchecked Abuse of Authority." The report claims that "the FBI has aggressively pressured members of the American Muslim community to become informants for the FBI, particularly on immigrants who rely on the government to process their ... citizenship applications in a fair and timely manner." The ACLU points to an FBI training presentation — a PowerPoint the group obtained under a Freedom of Information Act request. The 2012 document contains sections that teach FBI agents to recruit Muslim informants by exploiting "immigration vulnerabilities," and that agents should have a "firm grasp on immigration law." "Immigrants who need assistance by the government to process their immigration papers — that's an opportunity to try to put pressure on somebody to convince them that it's in their best interest and might assist in acquiring their immigration benefits if they participate in becoming an informant," says German. The FBI is not allowed to make explicit offers of citizenship to potential informants. In 2006, then-U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales issued guidelines on confidential human sources that said, "No promises or commitments can be made, except by the United States Department of Homeland Security, regarding the alien status of any person or the right of any person to enter or remain in the United States." However, German says, "The implication is often that they can, right? The FBI is trying to give that person the impression that they can help them. And whether that's true or not, the FBI is allowed to lie to somebody." This is where things get even murkier. While the FBI is not allowed to use explicit offers of citizenship to entice potential informants, German says law enforcement agencies in fact do have significant sway on an immigrant’s citizenship application. "It's often a very fuzzy line," he says. "And there is a program called CARRP where the FBI can put a delay on the provision of immigration benefits." CARRP, or the Controlled Application Review and Resolution Process, was first implemented covertly by United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) in 2008. Its goal is to "ensure that immigration benefits are not granted to individuals and organizations that pose a threat to national security." CARRP casts a wide net. Immigration officials will not say exactly how many people fall under the program, but last year Buzzfeed reported that between 2008 to 2012, the case files of over 19,000 people from 18 Muslim-majority countries were rerouted through CARRP. More importantly, CARRP gives law enforcement agencies significant say in the immigration proceedings for any person of national security concern. Through a process known as "deconfliction," CARRP allows the FBI to request that USCIS "grant, deny or place in abeyance" an immigrant’s citizenship application. The ACLU concluded that, "Under CARRP, USCIS officers are instructed to follow FBI direction. ... As a result, CARRP has effectively turned the immigration benefits adjudication process over to the FBI." The ACLU also claims that the FBI uses its authority under CARRP to recruit immigrant informants. "Clearly under the current program, the FBI could delay or halt the immigration proceedings," says German. "It's certainly possible that the FBI would look at somebody who is processing to obtain citizenship and attempt to use that leverage to gain cooperation." We sent a detailed list of questions to the FBI, USCIS, and the Department of Homeland Security seeking more information. The FBI would not respond and instead referred all CARRP-related questions to Homeland Security. DHS and USCIS did not answer our inquiries. Part 3: The A-File In August 2012, following his six month trip to Russia, Tamerlan Tsarnaev submitted his application for U.S. citizenship. DHS released a heavily redacted version of Tsarnaev’s entire immigration file, also known as an A-File, in February 2016, following years of Freedom of Information requests from multiple media organizations. Documents and routing slips in the file indicate that Tsarnaev's naturalization application was processed through CARRP. "There are specific officers that are deemed CARRP officers and they get the file before a person is even interviewed by immigration," says Susan Church, former chair of the New England chapter of the American Immigration Lawyers Association. Immigration attorneys say those specially trained CARRP officers should have noted multiple red flags in Tsarnaev’s naturalization application. For example, his six-month trip to Russia in 2012. Tsarnaev reported that trip on his naturalization form, but back in 2003, Tsarnaev was first allowed into the United States as the son of an asylum seeker. "No asylum seeker should be going back to their own country without raising concern and red flags on the part of the U.S. government," says Ellen Kief, an immigration attorney in Boston. Kief says USCIS looks harshly upon such trips. "USCIS's position is that, if somebody travels abroad back to their home country, it suggests that they may no longer be in need of protection in the U.S.," Kief says. USCIS considers such travel as evidence of immigration fraud. People can get deported even if they hold a green card. Yet in Tsarnaev’s case, his six-month trip to Dagestan appeared to raise no flags at all. In fact, immigration experts tell us that Tsarnaev’s application was processed with unusual speed. He appeared for his final naturalization interview and civics tests in January 2013, just five months after he began the application process. "Absolutely, I would say that's definitely fast for what we believe is the norm," Church says. She also says applicants caught up in CARRP usually wait much longer. "I would say in the last five years, they are taking at a bare minimum a year. I haven't seen any gone through in less than a year, and sometimes I've seen them take two years." In Tsarnaev’s case, immigration officials did make direct inquires to counter-terrorism agents. They contacted the FBI and the Boston Joint Terrorism Task Force multiple times in October and November 2012, asking whether Tsarnaev was a national security concern. McPhee: "The USCIS officer repeatedly went back to the FBI and said, 'This guy is on a terror watch list. Why would I give him citizenship?' The FBI would say, 'We found nothing wrong with him. He is wonderful. Give him citizenship.' This went back and forth for months." Following each request, law enforcement officials sent back replies to USCIS stating, "There is no national security concern related to [Tamerlan Tsarnaev]." Immigration officials even once met directly with the FBI counter-terrorism agent assigned to Tsarnaev. They discussed intelligence on Tsarnaev that Russian security services had provided the FBI in 2011. The FBI agent told the immigration officer that he had no "derogatory information” about Tsarnaev and that he had “no opposition to [his] naturalization." "How many times have you heard the ACLU talk about how Muslims are not getting citizenship even if they are here — they don't have a criminal record, they're employed, they've been sponsored by a major company, they can't get citizenship," she says. "But you have an unemployed Muslim who's on multiple terror watch lists, who is connected to drug dealers, and this guy is the perfect candidate that the FBI is pushing him through? It makes no sense." It’s another one of those unanswered questions whose answer could be sensational, or mundane. A mundane explanation: The Boston FBI had no objection to Tsarnaev becoming a citizen because it had closed its assessment of him on June 24, 2011. They had found nothing at the time to connect Tsarnaev to any "nexus of terrorism." However, the FBI’s legal attache in Moscow kept its case file on him open. More Puzzling Inconsistencies In April 2014, inspectors general of the U.S. Intelligence Community, the CIA, the Justice Department and the Department of Homeland Security released an unclassified summary of their report on federal information handling prior to the Boston Marathon bombing. The report concludes that Tamerlan was given his final naturalization interview on Jan. 23, 2013. It says no decision about his citizenship was made at that time because USCIS was waiting for court records related to a prior assault and battery charge. In 2009, Tsarnaev had been arrested in Cambridge for slapping his girlfriend. The charges were dropped. The inspectors general report contains this remarkable passage: "The USCIS officer told the [Homeland Security inspector general] that had the court records been processed before [January] ... he would have had no grounds to deny the application." Why would the inspectors general of the U.S. intelligence community, who presumably had access to Tsarnaev’s complete, unredacted immigration file, conclude that his criminal court records were not in his application prior to the Marathon bombings, when in fact, they were? We asked Homeland Security and USCIS. Neither agency answered our inquiry. Who Is This Other Person? There are two other documents in Tamerlan’s immigration file that beg explanation. One page contains what looks like the screenshot of a computer window. Written across the top of the window: "Oath Ceremony Schedule for TAMERLAN TSARNAEV." The window also contains oath ceremony location information, and a time and date: Oct. 16, 2012, 8 a.m. Tsarnaev did not complete naturalization interview until Jan. 23, 2013, so what is this document that seems to indicate a final oath ceremony was scheduled two months before his interview? Again, neither DHS nor USCIS responded to our requests for more information. Finally, there are two copies of a medical examination form dated July 10, 2003. The exam was required prior to Tsarnaev’s first arrival in America on asylum in 2003. The forms are virtually identical -- names, signatures, even the shape of check marks and stamps. They resemble exact color photocopies of each other, except for one thing. The forms contain photographs of two different people! On one form, the picture of a young Tamerlan Tsarnaev. On the other, a photograph of a different person. His eyes are different, his eyebrows are lighter, his nose is a different shape. And yet, he’s wearing the exact same patterned shirt and dark collar as Tsarnaev is. The passport number near the picture of the unidentified person is not redacted. That number matches the one on Tamerlan’s Kyrgyzstan passport. There may be a straightforward explanation, but USCIS is not providing it. Instead, the agency sent us the same statement it made in 2016: "While USCIS found no errors in the processing of Tamerlan Tsarnaev’s ... application, we are always seeking to strengthen our very intensive screening processes." On Jan. 23, 2013, an immigration officer interviewed Tsarnaev at the JFK federal building in Boston. He passed the English and U.S. history tests. The officer recommended the government grant Tsarnaev citizenship. All that remained was one final approval from a higher level supervisor, due to his 2009 assault and battery charge. Investigative reporter McPhee says there’s no way Tsarnaev could have known that. All he was told by the immigration officer that day was that a decision could not be made at that time. "He stormed out and 12 days later, he’s at Phantom Fireworks buying the biggest and loudest pyrotechnics in the store," she says, referring to the store in Seabrook, New Hampshire. Less than three months later, Tamerlan and his brother bombed the Marathon. Part 4: 'Maybe The Answers Will Emerge Over Time' McPhee spent three years investigating these questions. She too recognizes that the truth about Tsarnaev remains elusive. Meghna Chakrabarti: "But you see what I’m getting at? There's a lot of interesting pieces and all this documentation that you've come up with -- I mean, heck of a lot of smoke --but some people are going to say there's no fire here because no one has been, you know, we don't have the piece of paper that puts Tamerlan Tsarnaev on the list of FBI informants." McPhee: "People say it's not a smoking gun. But what I've created is a map and the road to the end of this map leads to the fact that somebody was helping Tamerlan Tsarnaev. Somebody with a lot of power and that's somebody I believe was in the federal government. Now can you definitively say he was an FBI informant? Well, I mean the government is masterful at semantics. So perhaps, he was listed under a different agency. Perhaps he was an informant on loan. I mean the Department of Homeland Security has multiple units that would have used Tamerlan successfully including the Drug Enforcement Unit. So there are a lot of unanswered questions and yet you say it, there's smoke everywhere. Well look, if a building is billowing with black smoke it is very likely that there is a fire somewhere within the walls." Chakrabarti: "I mean Michele, what you're saying — people are going to hear — and I mean — because another way of interpreting what you're saying is that the FBI made him. Or that if he became radicalized by doing work as an informant on behalf of the United States government and then because he wasn't allowed to become a citizen at the end, that that radicalization tipped him over into bombing the Boston Marathon." McPhee: "It wouldn't be the first time. I mean Tamerlan, believe me, I believe he's a sociopath. You can't put a backpack behind a row of children like he did, like his brother did, without being sick in the head to begin with. I don't think it's malfeasance. I don't believe anyone in any federal capacity knew that they were going to blow up the marathon. I think it’s just bureaucratic incompetence." On this point, former FBI special agent German agrees. "Hindsight is 20-20," he says. "When the FBI swears in a new agent, they gave him a gun and a badge, but they don't give him a crystal ball." Question, after question, after unanswered question — many asked by other reporters over the years — and mostly met with official denial or silence. Ultimately, the story about all that we do not know about Tamerlan Tsarnaev is really a story about what we, the public, will accept as truth. There are many ways to process the theory that the government offered Tamerlan help with citizenship in exchange for being a federal informant. You can believe all of it. Or, you can dismiss it all as wild conspiracy theory. Or, you can acknowledge something in between. Why aren’t federal authorities more eager to answer these questions? Especially when the government has asked one of the biggest questions itself. Who Built The Bombs? In 2014, one year before Dzhokhar’s death penalty trial began, prosecutors filed a pretrial motion that stated the bombs were sophisticated devices that "... would have been difficult for the Tsarnaevs to fabricate successfully without training or assistance from others ... searches of the Tsarnaevs' residences, three vehicles, and other locations associated with them yielded virtually no traces of black powder, again strongly suggesting that others had built, or at least helped the Tsarnaevs build, the bombs, and thus might have built more." The motion was signed by the lead prosecutor in the case, then-Assistant U.S. Attorney William Weinreb, now acting U.S. attorney for Massachusetts. WBUR asked Weinreb in February 2017 if the government still believes other bomb-makers may be out there. Weinreb: "I've prosecuted a lot of cases. The Boston Marathon bombing case was one of the most thoroughly investigated cases that I have ever come across. There were many, many, many investigators. And they looked under every rock and left nothing unexamined. Despite all of that investigation, I think it is fair to say that there are still a number of questions unanswered about that case. Maybe the answers will emerge over time." The government itself can pursue the answer to that question. We do not know if there is an ongoing investigation into who made the Marathon bombs. Part 5: Should We Want To Know? How much secrecy should Boston accept in the name of security? We put the question to McPhee. "That's why [the book, "Maximum Harm"] was so important to me," she says. "I do not blame anyone for what happened at the Boston Marathon. It's a horrible set of circumstances but I think that we are owed the truth at the very least." And McPhee adds, "Now, again, there are so many hardworking agents all over the nation who are quite literally giving up their entire lives to protect us from terrorism. I recognize that all day. But at the same time when things go wrong there has to be some sunshine and there has to be some questions that has to make sure that that doesn't happen again." German, the former FBI special agent, agrees. "I see a huge problem with the government not being more forthcoming," he says. "And I think the FBI is its own worst enemy in this situation where we know that the absence of evidence or gaps in information are playgrounds for conspiracy theorists." German does not believe Tamerlan was a federal informant, but he says something even more important is at stake. German is now at the NYU Brennan Center for Justice. He says a full accounting is still possible through the justice system, because the truth about the government’s relationship with terrorists comes out in the course of their criminal trials. German: "Ultimately, the FBI and the intelligence community survive because the public trust them. And when when you have these gaps in the story it makes it harder for the public to trust them and easier to trust theories that suggest that it's the government itself that is the problem. And I think that's very dangerous to our national security. Whether it's the Fort Hood attacks, the Mumbai attacks that I mentioned, the Boston Marathon bombing. What happens after an attack is we tend to find the government knew a lot more and didn't properly manage that information and address all the leads." But in Boston's case, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was put on trial. Not Tamerlan. To be clear, Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev are guilty of attacking a beloved Boston event. They are guilty of killing and maiming innocent people. Dzhokhar’s own lawyers said he did it. No one doubts that. Dzhokhar was convicted on federal terrorism charges on April 8, 2015. A judge formally sentenced him to death on June 24, 2015. Immediately before the sentencing, Dzhokhar addressed his victims for the first time saying, "I am sorry for the lives that I’ve taken, for the suffering that I’ve caused you, for the damage that I’ve done. Irreparable damage." There is still a tight shroud of secrecy wrapped around much of this case. Major portions of the trial remain under seal. Tsarnaev’s defense team is currently preparing his appeal. In January 2017, they filed a motion requesting access to 13 documents that prosecutors never disclosed to the defense during Tsarnaev’s original trial. The government will not even disclose the subject area of the documents to the defense. Prosecutors opposed the defense motion, and bolstered their argument to keep the trial documents secret by submitting even more secret information to the court. German, the former FBI special agent, concludes with a somber caution. "Instead of doing a full accounting for what happened, there is a knee jerk reaction to shut the lid on it," he says. "But that causes more problems than it solves and just ensures that we're going to have future catastrophes like this that that could have been prevented."

#tamerlan tsarnaev #jahar tsarnaev #dzhokhar tsarnaev #michele mcphee

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The Weekend Warrior 6/18/2021 - THE HITMAN’S WIFE’S BODYGUARD, THE SPARKS BROTHERS, LUCA, 12 MIGHTY ORPHANS, FATHERHOOD, RITA MORENO and More!

Well, it’s another week and another column and now I’m not only trying to stay on top of Emmy stuff for Below the Line, but I’m also desperately trying to see stuff for the 20th Tribeca Festival AND still having time to watch stuff for the column. As Nancy Meyers might say, “Something’s Gotta Give.” (Well, maybe she said it when someone asked her the title of her next movie in 2002. Shut up.)

But first, this week’s “The Chosen One” and how could it be anything but Edgar Wright’s THE SPARKS BROTHERS (Focus Features), which I’ve now seen three times maybe?

To talk about Sparks, you almost have to remember the first time you heard of Sparks, and for me, it was in the early ‘80s when I was getting hipper into music and record collecting, and I’d see the covers of their records with their punny titles and be like, “What is this?” But those covers also scared me in some ways. Oddly, the “alternative rock” station WLIR should have been playing the hell out of Sparks in the ‘80s but other than “Cool Places,” their duet with the Go-Go’s Jane Wiedlin, they went mostly ignored.

It wasn’t until I saw them on Saturday Night Live performing “Mickey Mouse,” and I was immediately fascinated by keyboard player Ron Mael’s stage presence, standing completely still and stoic while his brother Russell pranced around the stage like a true rock star. Over the years, I heard covers by bands like the Dirtbombs and the Dresden Dolls, but it wasn’t until I watched the movie did I realize the influence they had on early new wave bands like Duran Duran, Erasure and Depeche Mode.

In many ways, there’s no one more perfect to direct this documentary other than Wright, since the Maels have been so influenced by cinema and their work with auteur filmmakers, some endeavors more successful than others. And then of course, Wright, has this amazing encyclopedic knowledge of music, as well as being so connected to that world that he can get the likes of Beck and Flea and others to go on camera to talk about the band. This is one case where the veritable Who’s Who *IS* a veritable Who’s Who. The number of actors and artists who come forward to share their stories about Sparks is quite amazing to the point where there’s almost a “Holy shit!” moment every couple minutes. “There’s two of New Order! And two of Duran Duran!” (Is there ANYONE Edgar DOESN’T know?)

More importantly, he gets Ron and Russ to talk at length about their entire career, almost album by album -- and they’ve made 25 of them! -- and it even covers the band’s leaner years in the 90s

All the interviews are done in black and white, almost as the perfect contrast to the colorful stories they tell and the similarly colorful music videos that punctuate those stories.

I mean, if Wright was writing a thesis paper on the influence and reach of Sparks, then he’d get an “A.” But then that still bodes the question: Are Sparks loved because their songs can be weird or have such a strange sense of humor? Well, They Might Be Giants, probably one of the most obvious influences, has never mentioned Sparks’ influence before, as far as I know, although, they, too, win over fans with the charm of their humorous songs. Even when you think of other groups of two members like the Black Keys, Sparks were doing that first, as well.

I couldn’t tell you if The Sparks Brothers will turn the brothers Mael into the global superstars selling out stadiums they’ve deserved to be for many years, but I know it’s going to be a LOT tougher to get tickets to see them the next time they tour between this and Leos Carax’s Spark-written musical Annette later this summer. Wright’s documentary is the definition of comprehensive.

I’m honestly not 100% sure how wide Focus Features is releasing this movie, but I figure it will be in 500 or 600 theaters, which would be a great way to get word out about the band. I’d love to see Wright’s fans go out to see it and for it to make a million or two this weekend, as that wouldn’t be bad for any documentary, especially with so many going straight to streaming these days.

Let’s get to the single wide release of the week, which opened on Wednesday (something I completely forgot), and it’s THE HITMAN’S WIFE’S BODYGUARD (Lionsgate), the reunion of Samuel L. Jackson (as the hitman), Ryan Reynolds (as the bodyguard) and Salma Hayek (as the hitman’s wife). See how all of that works? The action-comedy sequel hopes to capitalize on the success of the first movie, which was #1 for an amazing three weeks in the late summer of 2017, grossing $75 million in North America alone.

The sequel opens at a very different time when a $21.4 million opening (like the original movie) wouldn’t be bad, but can THWB make that much at a time when people are being very precious about what they see in theaters? At least this one, unlike last week’s In the Heights -- which made less than half what I predicted -- is not debuting on streamers so if anyone wants to see it, they will have to go out to theaters, but why would they want to see it?

I already reviewed this at Below the Line, and I guess I liked it more than a lot of critics, because it’s currently at 30% on Rotten Tomatoes, which is very, VERY bad. That’s an even lower rating than Samuel L. Jackson’s last movie with Lionsgate, the horror sequel Spiral: From the Book of Saw, which bombed last month, opening with less than $9 million. So yeah, people may not rush out to see it for Jackson, but it’s been a very long time since there was a movie from Ryan Reynolds, and he’s definitely more of an A-lister thanks to the Deadpool movies. In fact, it’s been two full years since Reynolds was in Detective Pikachu, which grossed $144 million domestically, mostly with his voice role. Reynolds also provided a voice in The Croods: A New Age, one of the first movies to open theatrically during the pandemic that grossed $58 million.

It’s really hard to gauge how THWB will do under pandemic rules, even as places like New York City have thrown off all COVID limitations, so that theaters should be allowed to be full again? Will that matter? After the last few weeks, I feel like I should go lower on this one, closer to $15 to 17 million. I’m not sure if most people will even realize this opened Wednesday, but people are still figuring things out, and I’m not sure the original movie is as beloved as three times at #1 might convey.

Also expanding nationwide into about 800 theaters is 12 MIGHTY ORPHANS (Sony Pictures Classics), which I wrote a little about last week when it opened in 120 Texas theaters, although I hadn’t actually seen it at that time. Well, I’ve seen it, and I have to say that it’s a perfectly pleasant period underdog story that I actually enjoyed more than George Clooney’s wacky Leatherheads, which is set around the same period.

Again, it’s not a particularly groundbreaking story, showing how Luke Wilson’s Rusty Russell takes a rag-tag group of orphans from the Masonic Home orphanage in Fort Worth, Texas, and not only teaches them how to read and do math but also how to play football in the early days when very few of the current plays existed. If you’ve seen any of these types of movies before, then you probably already know how it plays out, and though I try not to be cynical, especially with the over-the-top villainy of Wayne Knight’s cricket-bat wielding abuser, I do think this offers one of Wilson’s better performances, and I enjoyed seeing Martin Sheen in a strong supporting role as well.

Even knowing full well that most of the conflicts the team faces will probably be the kind of “5-minute drama” that will be resolved soon enough, it’s still enjoyable to watch such an inspirational story that one can probably forgive some of the cliches of the genre that keeps the film’s last act from elevating itself above the obviousness last act. (When it decides to show what happened to every single person in the movie during the end credits, you could hear the sound of my eyes rolling.) This might appeal to those looking for something a little less snarky or cynical at a time when that’s the norm, but true cinephiles will rightfully snub their nose at those cliches, because this feels like one of those sports movies that tries to win audiences over by not veering too far from what has worked previously.

Even expanding into 800 theaters this Friday, I’m not sure 12 Mighty Orphans will make more than a half million this weekend.

Pixar Animation Studios releases its latest offering LUCA (Disney/Pixar) onto Disney+ and into one single L.A. theater. It’s the first feature film from Enrico Casarosa, who directed the Oscar-nominated short, La Luna, and I wish I liked it more than I did. It centers around a young sea monster named Luca (voiced by Jacob Tremblay), who discovers that he can pass off as human when he surfaces from his deep-sea home. He makes a friend with another sea monster named Antonio (Jack Dylan Grazer) and the two of them go off on a quest to find a Vespa, because that is their obsession. Along the way, they meet a spunky redhead girl named Giulia (Emma Berman), and they decide to take part in a race that can win them the money they need for that Vespa. That’s it. That’s the plot.

Honestly, I have no idea what my fellow critics and other movie enthusiasts are seeing in this movie, because it reminded me of a very bad Roberto Benigni movie with these American actors breaking out into bad Italian accents or phony Italian every few minutes. It’s obvious the movie’s director is from Italy and some have even called this movie a “love letter to Italy,” which makes you wonder why he would want to have these kid actors doing inappropriate takes on Italians by throwing in random Italian words but mostly speaking in English. It was really hard to get past, and it distracted me from enjoying it. I just didn’t really care for any of the characters at all. Giulia, while fun at first, just gets annoying, because she’s such a spaz.

The animation also wasn’t particularly impressive, seeming very cartoonish -- yes, I know it’s a cartoon -- but it just shows how hard it is to have humans star in an animated movie, because you really have to work harder on the characterization than what has clearly been done here. Because of this, Luca lacks much of what made Soul and other Pixar movies so special, as it’s just a kids’ adventure movie with the flimsiest literal fish-out-of-water premise with very little in terms of jokes, so it relies on physical humor and the idea that the boys need to hide their seamonster-ness from the naties. Even the presence of the genuinely funny Maya Rudolph and Jim Gaffigan voicing Luca’s parents do very little to save the movie. It just seems to be throwing everything but the kitchen sink at the viewer to make up for the weak characters.

This is one of the first true disappointments from Pixar, maybe my least favorite movie the company has made since Coco, which won the Oscar and had people falling over each other to praise it. Casarosa’s short was really wonderful, but this is just not a very good feature, and I honestly don’t know who this was meant for. It’s not particularly funny or moving or anything. It’s just a very basic watered-down premise that goes nowhere. Skip this and get your kids to watch a Fellini movie instead.

Streaming on Netflix Friday is Kevin Hart’s new comedy, FATHERHOOD (Netflix), which was originally produced by Sony PIctures, but then like so many other movies, it got sold off to Netflix for streaming. It kind of makes sense, since Hart has been a regular brand on the streamer. Adapted from Matthew Logelin’s book, Two Kisses for Maddy: A Memoir of Love & Love, the movie is co-written and directed by the great Paul Weitz, and it co-stars Alfre Woodard, Lil Rel Howery, DeWanda Wise, Anthony Carrigan, Melody Hurd and Paul Reiser. Basically, Hart plays Matt, whose wife dies in childbirth leaving him with a baby girl, Maddy, that he swears to raise even without a wife, even though his mother (Woodard) doesn’t think he can handle fatherhood.

This is a very different movie for Hart, one that allows him to use some of his dramatic acting muscles that we’ve rarely seen from him, although the movie comes more into its own as it goes along. At first, we’re basically watching him trying to care for a baby in a way that doesn’t really break much new ground from the constant talk about babies crying and shitting. (That is what they do, after all.)

Once Maddy grows up, there’s a new dynamic, and Hart is great playing the role of a single father trying to date again, and when he meets a new woman named Swan (DeWanda Wise), he isn’t sure how to introduce her to his daughter. Melody Hurd, the young actress playing the slightly older Maddy is quite good and able to really help drive the second act of the movie, which is far more dramatic and real. She not only holds her own against Hart but also with Woodard!

Even though this is more dramatic than Hart’s normal fare, there are still some great low-key laughs including some great scenes between Hart and Howery as his friend. I genuinely enjoyed Fatherhood, since it’s sweet and a very different kind of movie for Hart, maybe due to Weitz’s able direction. Fatherhood probably won’t be for everyone and to some, seeing Hart in this role won’t be quite like when Adam Sandler makes his occasional foray into films like Punch Drunk Love or Uncut Gems -- that’s just the hypocrisy of film criticism -- but I’m sure this will do just fine on Netflix with Father’s Day being on Sunday.

A movie I saw at SXSW earlier this year was Jaco Bouwer’s GAIA (Decal), which reminded me a bit of Ben Wheatley’s In the Earth. It stars Monique Rockman as an injured forest ranger who is saved by two survivalists, a rescue that becomes increasingly more suspicious as the son and his father have a cultish devotion to the forest, and she soon learns there’s a far great threat in the wilderness.It will hit theaters on Friday and then On Demand June 25. I just didn’t have the bandwidth to rewatch this to write a full review but it was fine, but just not quite on par with Wheatley’s movie, although it sure is pretty.

A doc that’s being released theatrically Friday after its own festival run is Mariem Pérez Riera’s RITA MORENO: JUST A GIRL WHO DECIDED TO GO FOR IT (Roadside Attractions), which as you can tell from the title, looks at the amazing life and career of the EGOT-winning singer/actress who is such an inspiration for LatinX performers that she was able to get the likes of Héctor Elizondo, Gloria Estefan, Tom Fontana, Morgan Freeman, Mitzi Gaynor, Whoopi Goldberg, Norman Lear, Eva Longoria, Justina Machado, Terrence McNally, Lin-Manuel Miranda and Karen Olivo on camera to talk about her.

I really kind of enjoyed this movie, which just played at the Tribeca Film Festival, because I learned so much about Moreno that I really didn’t know before, but also it’s such an inspirational story as we hear her talk about what some of the scenes in West Side Story meant to her sixty years after winning the Oscar for the role, even though she’s still on record as giving one of the shortest Oscar speeches ever: “I don’t believe it!”

She also talks about really personal things like being raped by her agent, who she kept on as her agent after the incident, but that adds to her political activism in recent years, and she’s still a spry and lively disruptor at the age of 87. This is just a brilliant documentary that’s a long time coming.

Another doc worth checking out is Nancy Buirski’s A CRIME ON THE BAYOU, exec. Produced by John Legend’s company, Get Lifted Film Co. It revisits the case of Gary Duncan, a young fisherman in a Louisiana parish who tried to break up a fight at an integrated school in 1966, but when he puts his hand on a white boy’s arm, he’s prosecuted for assault on a minor. Duncan’s case was taken all the way to the Supreme Court to make sure he got a fair trial. This is a decent doc, but I don’t have a ton to say about it, nor the time for a full review.

Francois Ozon returns with SUMMER OF 85 (Music Box Films), which stars Félix Lefebvre as Alexis, whose boat capsizes off the coast of Normandy, Benjamin Voisin’s David comes to his rescue and opens the younger boy’s eyes to friendship, art and sexual bliss. Adapted from Aidan Chambers’ LGBT young adult novel Dance on my Grave, the film explores the relationship between the two boys and the challenges, including Philippine Velge’s sexual rival. The movie will open in New York at the Angelika Film Center, Village East, and Film at Lincoln Center, in Los Angeles at Laemmle’s Royal, Laemmle Playhouse 7 in Pasadena and Laemmle Town Center in Encino, and San Francisco (Embarcadero and Shattuck Cinema) followed by key markets across the US, including I’m assuming the Music Box home in Chicago.

Also opening as part of the Metrograph’s Live Screenings this week is THE AMERICAN SECTOR (Grasshopper Films), Courtney Stephens and Pacho Velez’s doc about the panels of the Berlin Wall that have been installed as monuments all across the United States, as they talk to people in those locations to find out what they mean to them.

Premiering on Apple TV+ this week is the new series PHYSICAL, starring the wonderful Rose Byrne (also in theaters in Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway), but a few more movies I just didn’t have time to get to…

LES NOTROS (Oscilloscope)

THE BIRTHDAY CAKE (ScreenMedia)

STALKER (Vertical Entertainment)

Wait, is it possible? Is next week really FINALLY the release of Universal PIctures’ F9 in North America?

#movies #reviews #hitmanswifesbodyguard #sparksbrothers #12 Mighty Orphans #Fatherhood #Streaming

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