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meownye · 2 years
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▒⃨ ﹙📄﹚⠀moodboard !⠀ː⠀takara, busters ࿐
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inspiringimarah · 10 months
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update** all mods should be good now 🥰
I am keeping an eye on the Scarlet's Realm list so I will continue to update the list and with any new mods I add to my game 💕💕
overrides
Refreshed Main Menu - mine is Glade
Urban Erotica (functional books)
No Tune After Loading
Nap Replacement Mod
Restaurant Default Menu
MyxDoll Fenty Beauty Override 
HighSchool Years Textbook Override
Toothbrush override by dsco
Paintbrush Override
The Ultimate Default Underwear Collection by vixonspixels
Paired Selfie (in game photo overrides)
iPhone 12 Override OR H&B Smartphone Override (ONLY CHOOSE ONE)
UNO Card Replacement
 Photo replacements (in game)
Pink Build Buy UI 
Black Sitcom TV Overrides 
San Sequoia Bridge Override
Realistic TV Mod (Reality TV)
Realistic Phone Icons (multiple available on CoCo Games patreon)
Phone Wallpaper Kit OR Phone Wallpaper Override (only pick one)
Control Any Sim
San Myshuno Billboards
PC Game Overrides 
CocoGames Video Game Bundle
Starbucks on Campus
My Wedding Stories Engagement Ring Recolours 
Stand Still in CAS Poses
Hidden Highlight 
Functional Airpods
Hello Kitty Infant Seat
The Missing Plumbob
No zzz (when sim is sleeping)
Towel After Shower
Functional PS5
Black Art Painting Mod
The Sims 2 Font or Life is Strange Font (only pick one)
Gallery Poses (female)
Gallery Poses (male)
Gallery Poses (couple or duo) 
Take Off Shoes With Animation
Stop Random Accessories on Townies
Parenthood Recolour - link is at the bottom of the thread
lighting
I recently switched back to Reshade and this tutorial by MissLollypopSims helped me install it. 
For my preset I use Radiance by MissLollypopSims && angelic by elaina 🤍
Better-In-Game Lighting (mine is Extra Dark Saturated)
Out of The Dark
Gentle CAS Lighting
Gentle CAS Lighting for pets 
Ghibil Clouds Override
Pink Mode UI 
Background Building Replacements
cas & loading screen
Loading Screen Plumbob Replacement 
Minimalist CC Wrench Override
More CAS Columns (I use 5)
Map Replacements Overhaul
I alternate my CAS backgrounds so see below for my fave creators:
- MeekGames
- Ellcrze  
- LadySimmer
- SlimmazSimz
- Essemelle 
- BougieChloe
- SierraTheSimmer
- Xurelia
- DonavinGames
- NeriSims
food
Somik & Severinka (I use the Realistic Cooking Mod & all others they have)
ONI Custom Food
QMBIBI Stirring the Pot
QMBIBI Thee Kitchen Tablet
Functional Breakfast Cereals
Airfryer
Waffle Maker
Pressure Cooker
gameplay
misc
Computer Side Gigs
Kuttoe Mini Mods: Small Additions
Bed Cuddle
Carry & Kiss
Longer Parties & More Guests
Functional Magazines
Better Social Media Sponsorships
Higher Lifestyle Brand Payouts 
QMBIBI Skincare Mod
QMBIBI Express Delivery
QMBIBI BabyCare Overhaul
Online Skills 
It’s Movie Time 
BabyCare Mod
Basemental Drugs
Basemental Gangs
Celebrate Adoption
Sip & Paint Event
Luxury Real Estate Career
Recipe Notebook
Functional Selfcare Set
Sulani Events Calendar and Flyer
Functional Personal Care Products
Go For A Jog... Together
Morning Routine
Everyone Can Sleep Together
Spa Day Face Masks From Mirrors
Pole Dance Mod
Online Apprenticeships 
Turn the TV on
Ask For Money 
UI Cheats
MC Command Center
Self Manicure & Pedicure
Make Functional Perfumes
Shear Brilliance - Active Hairstylist Career
Cute Romance
LOT 51
- Ring Doorbell 
- Dust Buster 
- Plumbros (heating, plumbing & cooling)
- Alarm Clock 
- Simlink (wifi)
High School Years
Fashion Authority   KimbaSprite has a tutorial on this mod here
More Classmates
Adeepinigo
I have many mods by this creator, check out their website here
Lumpinou
There is an index on Lumpinou’s Patreon with all the below mods listed, see here
- LGBTQIA+
- Memory Panel Mod 
- Open Love Life
- RPO Collection “Realistic & Pregancy Overhaul”
- Science Baby Tweak
PandaSama Childbirth 
SimRealist 
- Mortem 
- Real Estate
- Private Practice
- Sim National Bank 
- Sim National Bank Bills
- Sim National Bank Financial Center
SimWithShan
- Cyber Teacher Career
- Homebody Prefences
- Housewife Aspiration
pose player mods (for in game photos)
- Andrew Poseplayer 
- Teleport Any Sim 
Go to creators for poses & animations: 
- KatVerse 
- King Black Cinema 
- Frxsk0sims
- helgatisha
- AfroSimtricSims 
- Gawdly Games
- Hardswae
- Maysbat
- TS4 Poses (tumblr blog)
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demifiendrsa · 4 months
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youtube
FINAL FANTASY XVI DLC Trailer
youtube
Japanese version
“Echoes of the Fallen” DLC for Final Fantasy XVI is available now for $9.99. “The Rising Tide” DLC will launch in Spring 2024. An Expansion Pass including both add-ons can also be purchased for $24.99.
Overview
About
As the sun sets over the land of Valisthea, strange, dark crystals begin to circulate on the black market. Could they be the sinister fruit of a long-slumbering Mothercrystal—one the world never knew existed?
Setting out in search of answers, Clive and company encounter a group of suspicious traders. Their trail leads them to a long-abandoned Fallen tower known as the Sagespire and the terrible secrets that await within…
New Story Quest Unlock Conditions
The new quest will become available after unlocking Origin as a destination on the world map and completing the quests “Where There’s a Will” and “Priceless.”
Special Bonuses
Buster Sword – Wield Cloud Strife’s iconic weapon from Final Fantasy VII.
“Away (1987) Orchestrion Roll” – Liven up the hideaway with a new background music track.
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archetypeoftheday · 4 months
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Dark Magician
Today we have an archetype based on what might possibly be the most well-known monster in the game, the Dark Magician. In the anime, the Dark Magician was representative of the Ka of Mahad, a servant of the Pharaoh Atem whose loyalty would transcend even death. This loyalty would save the world from myriad threats, from Pegasus to Zorc.
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Various Dark Magician Fusions would appear throughout the anime, like the eminently powerful Dark Paladin, a which would give Dark Magician the dragon-slaying powers of Buster Blader, and Dark Flare Knight, which would be emblematic of the friendship shared between Yugi and Joey, alongside Black Skull Dragon. The most powerful fusion of Yugi and Joey's monsters, however, would not appear in the anime, but be exclusive to the TCG, and would be the card in the archetype that possibly saw the most use.
Red-Eyes Dark Dragoon (the icon of this blog) would see a significant amount of play as a target for Predaplant Verte Anaconda before the release of Destiny HERO - Destroyer Phoenix Enforcer. It's huge ATK, which it can buff through its negate effect, and protection, on top of it being able to be summoned using only cards still in the deck, made it incredibly powerful and easy to summon, something appealing to many competitive players.
Dragoon wouldn't be the only Dark Magician card to see competitive success, but it would be part of a very select club, being joined only by Magicians' Souls and Illusion of Chaos in high level competitive play, though Illusion of Chaos was really only played to search Magicians' Souls. Even then, Souls was played most heavily in SPYRAL decks, as Master Plan was the perfect combination of typing and Level to be enabled by Magicians' Souls, something that would propel the deck back into the competitive meta long after it had been power-crept out.
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The Dark Magician is a fan-favorite card and is the card with the second most artworks in the game, being only surpassed by the Blue-Eyes White Dragon, but fell flat in the competitive metagame, being used only to enable other strategies. The archetype's control style strategy would not be powerful enough to counter the strength of top decks, and was too slow to get up and running. This, in combination with its own built in Self-Destruct Button in the form of Eternal Soul, nonetheless a necessity in the deck, would keep the deck out of the spotlight, much to the chagrin of DM enthusiasts everywhere.
Notable cards include:
Eternal Soul protects the Dark Magician from the opponent's effects, but, when removed from the field, it nukes all the monsters on the player's field. It being able to Special Summon Dark Magician for free every turn is essential for the deck, as many cards require Dark Magician on the field to work.
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Dark Magician of Chaos is technically a retrain of Magician of Black Chaos, but was a powerhouse of its time. Before its errata, it could potentially recycle an infinite number of Spells in a turn. Given that cards were only ever limited to one when it was released, this would allow it to recycle powerful staples such as Raigeki and Pot of Greed.
Dark Flare Knight is notable for being one of the few Fusion Monsters with less ATK/DEF than a named material, as they are lower than Dark Magician's. Before the release of Eye of Timaeus, this was a very difficult card to summon, as it needed Flame Swordsman, itself a hard to summon Fusion Monster, as material, and was one level to high for Instant Fusion.
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Dark Magician the Dragon Knight could potentially put a lock on the opponent, as it protected the player's Spell/Traps. Its name also became Dark Magician while on the field, meaning that it would be protected by Eternal Soul. With each protecting the other, the player's Spell/Traps would be incredibly hard to remove from the board.
Dark Magic Curtain had the potential to be incredibly powerful. Despite having to pay half of their LP, the ability to Special Summon a monster directly from the deck would entice players to no end (which is also why A Hero Lives would be on the banlist in some capacity for 10 years). However, the complete lock on any other Summons, with the only reward being a Normal Monster, and itself being a Normal Spell, meaning that the player could only use Curtain on their own turn, would be too restrictive to let the card see play.
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thebearemoji · 7 months
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I had some thoughts today about why I still gravitate to children's media as an adult. Why i still have opinions on them. And why they still maintain at least a small plot of real estate in my heart to this day. I realized that many of the cartoons I consider to be classics from my childhood (avatar the last Airbender, Danny phantom, teen titans, and later in life, star wars clone wars as a few noteworthy mentions) are a coincidental combination of the things I seek most when searching for media.
Much of a medias first impression can be tied to aesthetics. The appearance/tone/setting of a show can determine whether someone stops watching halfway through the first episode, or remembers the content for life. So what was it about those shows that stuck with me?
The least helpful description I can give of my aesthetic preferences is "escapism". I want to engage with a universe that is so compelling that it distracts me from the reality of day to day life. It can be enormous fantasy, fascinating sci fi, or just a place more fun than reality.
In addition to that, I like character designs and scenery that are colorful. There are so many drab live action shows that you can take a still image, and it would be completely indistinguishable from a thousand other shows. Good cartoons don't have that problem, they are loud to the point of iconic. It makes sense, designs from children's media are meant to sell toys. But it turns out that designs that are marketable are also often memorable. If only shows like succession were pitched with the intention to sell a line of action figures with different vibrantly colored suits /s
Looks alone don't make a series memorable. I assume I'm not alone in knowing I've watched a few GORGEOUS anime or other properties because I liked the art style, and yet when I reflect on them, I remember few if any details of the actual content. What the shows I listed above do is two-fold. Both retaining my goldfish level attention span with their visuals and entertaining me with the stories they tell.
As I said previously, I engage with media to forget my troubles. And as a result, I don't enjoy watching properties that take themselves too seriously. I need time to breathe, relax, and sometimes laugh when watching content. And cartoons have humor baked into their DNA. A bunch of silly lil guys doing animated things very naturally becomes amusing. So funny (or at the very least light-hearted), and colorful. That can describe plenty of cartoons, but the final trait is what makes my favorite truly exceptional to me.
Nothing invests me in a media like in depth character examination. I want to see those little shits emotions on full display as they face impossible odds. I want to see them scream and cry and struggle, in a way the toxic masculinity that has infested Hollywood won't allow a lot of popular properties to do. I want to take a break from marvel one liners and block buster explosions and silent dark brooding that fills every movie and every show to LOUDLY FEEL SOMETHING!
I often see people imply that continuing to hold affection for cartoons as an adult is immature. And you know what? If that's what I have to be to enjoy what I enjoy, then that's alright. There's worse things I can be then immature.
I wanna laugh and cry and forget for a little while. That's all. I mentioned clone wars above specifically because I didn't watch that show until i was in my 20's, but during its best episodes it made me feel the same way i did watching the cartoons from my youth. There's also the spiderverse movies, which are in a league of their own as far as exceptional animated content, I was captivated watching them. So I dont think nostalgia is a factor for me, i think i just... like good cartoons. And I'm done allowing other people to decide for me that I shouldn't.
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moira-shears · 9 months
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Cloud and Tifa's Relationship and What it Means to Final Fantasy VII
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It's no secret that Final Fantasy VII is a popular game, it always has been ever since its release in 1997. At the centre of this classic is our protagonist, Cloud Strife, a character so famous that even someone who's never played the game would recognise. With his large sword and handsome character, Cloud is one of the most iconic video game characters of all time, even making guest appearances in games such as Kingdom Hearts and Man at Arms creating a replica of his iconic Buster Sword.
Then there is the heroine of the game, a woman called Tifa Lockhart who is equally if not more popular than Cloud himself. However, if it weren't for her role in the story, there would be no Cloud and therefore no Final Fantasy VII.
Within a story, the protagonist is the leading character, the one whom the audience stays with from dawn until dusk, and none in the narrative of Final Fantasy VII fits that description better than Cloud Strife. After all, he is the character you play as for the majority of the game, but behind his status as protagonist is Tifa Lockhart, the heroine of the game without whom, Cloud would not be whom we all know and love. For it is she whom Cloud sets out to impress by travelling to Midgar to become a SOLDIER First Class, a fact slightly altered under the water tower where they first made a vow so sacred only they ever knew about it - a night under a stary sky. It was there that Cloud made his promise to Tifa that if she were ever in the face of danger, he would come to her rescue, put upon him by the woman whom he'd been in love with from a young age. That night, Tifa realised she was in love with this boy who presented himself as being ordinary, just like any other boy his age, the kind of love that makes you want to be by one's side for eternity.
Years later, unbeknownst to Tifa, that promise was fulfilled, when Sephiroth, the man Cloud once looked upon as a hero betrayed the village of Nibelheim, burning it to the ground in a rage of violent anger. They became all they had left of their childhood and thus is the reason only Tifa could awaken Cloud from his comatose state. Had it not been for Cloud, Tifa wouldn't have survived Nibelheim, and had it not been for Tifa, Cloud would have been comatose forever, and therefore the world would have ended had neither of these events taken place. Cloud is the only one who can defeat Sephiroth and in turn, help save the planet, therefore Tifa is important to him.
Now, the lifestream sequence brings to light the love Cloud harbours for Tifa. By allowing her to explore his subconscious, Cloud is making himself completely vulnerable. Remember, your subconscious is home to your deepest darkest secrets so normally, you wouldn't want anyone exploring it, so for Cloud to allow Tifa to explore his own is a big deal, showing the amount of trust he has for Tifa. Trust is an important part of any relationship, especially a romantic one, and the trust Cloud shows for Tifa is far greater than what a child could show their parent (I, for one, would never allow my parents to explore my subconscious). Within the lifestream sequence, we learn many things about Cloud, including of course, his motivation for joining SOLDIER - Tifa. Ever since the accident at Mt. Nibel when he and Tifa were eight and nine, Cloud has wanted to better himself for Tifa, to be capable of saving her, hence his motives for joining SOLDIER, he wanted her to notice him. Therefore, if Tifa is removed, you have no Final Fantasy VII, because Cloud's story is built upon Tifa, Tifa is his motive, and Tifa is the reason he's the character we all know and love: Cloud Strife, the boy from Nibelheim who defeated the great Sephiroth and saved the world of Gaia. None of this would have been the case without Tifa Lockhart, his childhood friend and the only one capable of salvaging Cloud from the darkness of his mind.
Without Tifa, there is no Cloud, therefore to say something such as 'Cloud's love interest is player choice' or 'Cloud's in love with Aerith' is to undermine the meaning of his character, and what she means to him. Cloud and Tifa have a beautiful romance and if removed, there would be no story, as it is vital to weaving it. This is, in fact, part of what makes it so beautiful, as well as the fact that it's the best relationship you could have whilst still being realistic.
There are many reasons people love Final Fantasy VII, but it wouldn't be the story we all know and love today were it not for the romance of Cloud and Tifa.
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satoshi-mochida · 4 months
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Final Fantasy XVI DLC ‘Echoes of the Fallen’ and ‘The Rising Tide’ announced
Gematsu Source
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Square Enix has announced Final Fantasy XVI downloadable contents “Echoes of the Fallen” and “The Rising Tide.” The former is out today for $9.99, while the latter is planned for release in spring 2024. An Expansion Pass including both add-ons can also be purchased for $24.99.
Here is an overview of “Echoes of the Fallen,” via PlayStation Store:
About
As the sun sets over the land of Valisthea, strange, dark crystals begin to circulate on the black market. Could they be the sinister fruit of a long-slumbering Mothercrystal—one the world never knew existed? Setting out in search of answers, Clive and company encounter a group of suspicious traders. Their trail leads them to a long-abandoned Fallen tower known as the Sagespire and the terrible secrets that await within…
New Story Quest Unlock Conditions
The new quest will become available after unlocking Origin as a destination on the world map and completing the quests “Where There’s a Will” and “Priceless.”
Special Bonuses
Buster Sword – Wield Cloud Strife’s iconic weapon from Final Fantasy VII.
“Away (1987) Orchestrion Roll” – Liven up the hideaway with a new background music track.
Final Fantasy XVI is available now for PlayStation 5. A PC version is currently in development.
Watch the downloadable content announcement trailer below.
DLC “Echoes of the Fallen" and “The Rising Tide” Announce Trailer
English
youtube
Japanese
youtube
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overfedvenison · 6 months
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I doubt it'll mean anything, but Castle Town's initial structures are arrow-shaped
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Although the Chaos Star is much more famous, the symbol of Order is an upwards-pointing arrow. The Order and Chaos symbols were created by author Michael Moorcock... Chaos represents possibilities which extend in all directions (and which is ultimately aimless and moves at random,) while law represents a single path forward (Without outward possibilities.) Now... I don't think this is going to be a motif. That would be sort of weird for this game. But whenever I see the unaltered Castle Town, with it's clear arrow motif, I kind of wonder if that actually is the meaning. Like, why the arrow theme?
Like... - Ralsei's Castle also has an Angel theme - it's covered in angel wings. You can tell they are Angel Wings because one of the doors has six of them. Angels are likewise often used as a symbol of law or order, or otherwise an enactor of a divine plan, in a lot of RPGs. And notably, in Megami Tensei - which iirc was noted to have at least partially inspired Undertale's famous Act system, but don't quote me on that - they are probably the most iconic Law-aligned monsters - The only straight arrow is RIGHT on that fountain of darkness, which seems notable - The game has a much-discussed themed of "Your Choices Don't Matter." It has a much discussed theme of the linearity of games. The secret bosses are aware of their role in the story, and struggle to break out of that. They seem to drop items which offer alternative builds (Ralsei's weapon destroys his healing ability, while Susie's boosts her magic and reduces costs on Rude Buster) and generally seem to have a theme of struggling against your plotted course. This could very well be a Law vs Chaos thing - Your two main companions, Ralsei and Susie, seem to correspond to lawful and chaotic archetypes. Ralsei wants you to follow the prophecy, Susie is just going along because of you and is outright hostile to it at first. Ralsei guides you along the narrative, but Susie often undermines his plans. Etc. - The game actually brings up alignment, albeit as a joke. This does not mean anything, except how you are expected to be familiar enough with RPGs to get the Law/Chaos/Neutral alignment joke.
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(It's also worth noting that Noelle is the one listed as Neutral - Rather than Susie or Ralsei. Noelle is very much neutral, and will stick with you even as you force her to act against her desires) - More than that, alignment is actually brought up in more meaningful ways. Tasque Manager and Jevil both bear explicit alignments in both their recruitment screen and in their lines. Other recruits have alignment listed in their elements: Ponman and Ambu-Lance are Order, in addition to Tasque Manager. Since Jevil is dummied out, that means there's no Chaos recruits yet. So that all brings me to like... I dunno. Is alignment going to be important? Is this game more like Order/Neutral/Chaos than Undertale's Pacifist/Neutral/Genocide? Well, this one is barking up weird trees even for me, haha
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venusxaino · 6 months
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navigation <3
MEDIA icons edit wallpaper lockscreen comparison meme guide fashion playlist gif aesthetic pics
userboxes
HEROES usagi ami rei makoto minako chibiusa mamoru setsuna michiru haruka hotaru luna artemis naru sailor starlights
VILLAINS dark kingdom doom tree black moon clan death busters dead moon circus shadow galactica
VERSION manga 90s anime crystal sera myu pgsm
90S ANIME SEASON classic season r season s season super s season stars season r movie s movie super s movie
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stardestroyer81 · 2 years
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The artstyle of the Classic Mega Man series, which only began to find its footing just after the third installment, is iconic. I have a major soft spot for Keiji Inafune's artwork for the NES-era Mega Man titles, as well as Ryuji Higurashi's illustrative work for Mega Man 9. I've even spent a good while trying my hand at the style, of which you can check out here!
Though, every artstyle has to start somewhere, and even though the later NES Mega Man titles had some excellent looking artwork, the illustrations for the first couple of games were... interesting. The characters of the original Mega Man and its sequel were drawn in a much more rounded artstyle, looking more chibi like than the anime-esque style it would evolve into, and after the first few Mega Man games, it was quickly improved upon.
When you really take some time to sample Mega Man 1 and 2's artwork, however, you'll find that it's not that bad of an artstyle. Sure, the infamous 'Capcom hand' looked odd from having the middle two fingers fused together, but outside of that, I find that it's an artstyle that doesn't get a lot of representation in Mega Man fanart and is one I've grown to appreciate in these past few weeks.
And from having drawn a near-identical Inafune-styled Mega Man a month ago, yet another challenge for my artstyle replicating smarts arose... could I do it again, but take more after the style of Mega Man 2's artwork?
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See for yourself!
I've been playing a whole lot of the first Mega Man Legacy Collection for the past few weeks, and in that time I've beaten all six games (Some even twice or thrice like Mega Man 5), read all of the database entries, and have been sampling the game's enormous backlog of illustrations from Mega Man 1 through 6!
In doing so, I found myself developing a fondness for the artstyle of the first two titles in the series— while I do prefer the artstyle of the later NES games, the humble beginnings of Keiji Inafune's illustrations for Mega Man appealed to me, and it was a style that I definitely wanted to see if I could come close to replicating.
And so, it was shortly decided that I would be drawing Mega Man in the Mega Man 2 artstyle! ... but what pose would I draw him in? I thought it would be neat to have a MM2-styled version of Mega Man from his appearance on Mega Man 10's box art, and the instant I thought of that pose, I got straight to work!
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Compared to its modern counterpart, the style of the earlier Mega Man games has some pretty key differences: most glaring are the pupils of the eyes, which are much more wide than the slimmer pupil shapes seen in later titles. The eye shape itself is also a lot more circular, too, and certain aspects of robot master facial features (Such as their mouth or chin) are much larger.
The hands and boots of both Mega Man and robot masters are also greatly simplified, too. The 'feet' section of the boot is much more round, and also lack the 'Z' crease shape you would normally see on non-segmented boots. Instead, the boots (And often other parts of the body, such as the legs or buster) have minor crosshatch shading, though nothing too major.
These were design elements I made sure to account for in my initial sketch, and much like when I last drew Mega Man, the most important part was getting his head to look as 1:1 to the original that I could. You might notice the 'Capcom hand' looks a bit wonky, and this is because I was using my Switch for references and it was tough to draw a good looking one pointed left instead of right— it wasn't a huge deal. I could always fix it when I digitalized it!
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After I got the sketch fully lined to my liking, it was time to figure out another crucial aspect to staying true to the look of Mega Man 2's visual style: the colors. The colors I used here were directly picked from Mega Man himself on Mega Man 2's box art, but when I wasn't liking how dark the colors came out, I brightened and desaturated them a slight bit to give it that vintage feel.
The shading was particularly easy, as I referenced the shading from my main reference of Mega Man in 10's main artwork, though I intentionally left some areas unshaded (Such as the buster meter and inner earpiece) seeing as Inafune tended to do the same every now and then.
An extremely small detail that I'm glad I acknowledged was how you can only see Mega Man's right (Or his left) earpiece as opposed to both. In artwork from the first two games, whenever Mega Man is at a 3/4ths angle, only one earpiece is present, whereas both can be seen at the same angle in later games.
I'll be honest, it was actually a whole lot of fun drawing in 2's artstyle, since it's a lot more simplistic compared to the perfection 9 and 10's style demands when replicating it— I may even attempt modern robot masters in the same style to see what they may have looked like in earlier Mega Man titles... or perhaps even draw faux official artwork for the obscure Bond Man!
That said, I hope you've enjoyed my dive into analyzing the artstyle of the earlier Mega Man games, and what my research yielded in perhaps one of my favorite drawings I've done this year!
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tardisdelorean · 2 years
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Hey man! So I'm thinking of getting into Power Rangers/Kamen Rider stuff... you're my go-to expert, where would you recommend I start?
The TL;DR of this one is that each Toku series kinda has its own vibe and feel, and it really kinda depends on individual tastes in things (e.g., do you like things kinda dark or hopeful, goofy or serious, how do you feel about older media and special effects, etc.). If you see one that vibes with you in concept or style or design, just go for it. Each season is pretty standalone by design.
Power Rangers and Super Sentai (which is the Japanese source material) is aimed for a younger audience, but tends to focus more on team dynamics and goofier plots, whereas Kamen Rider tends to be a little more focused on individuals and try to be a bit darker. Most people will find Kamen Rider more accessible.
I was tempted to recommend W/OOO/Fourze because they all play into each other pretty well, the first two are pretty Gay and Aesthetic, and W especially has Fuuto P.I. going right now. True to form, I was all set to write a full-on essay, but instead I I’ll give you some snippets and throw some odds and ends details under the cut:
Some crowdsourced comments from friends in a Discord server on starting Kamen Rider:
OOO (my personal favorite):
“its first two episodes are basically perfect for balancing getting you hooked and acclimating you to the camp
“I basically tell my friends and partners not to start with OOO because nothing will live up to that”
“That's the one about the hobo and the mean bird monster who is pretty. A loser and his bitchy bigger loser husband.”
“[It’s about] the strength and corruptibility of human desire, and how it affects a person to have too much or too little”
‘71 (the original):
“Rider '71 has a LOT of problems getting off the ground as it tries to figure out what show it's going to be and the lead actor puts himself in the hospital forever. It's a fascinating watch, but it can be rough."
“It's also intimidating bc it's 98 episodes long, 100 if you count the two original movies which are about episode length just shot on 35mm and with a higher budget”
“'71 also becomes a wildly different show at multiple points some of which I like better than others. and not in linear order.”
"I like it when Batman and Spiderman got their ass kicked by Segata Sanshiro"
Ex-Aid (the Doctors who are Gamers one, the writer who did this is also doing the current season):
“don't look at me I've gotten half a dozen people into toku by showing them Ex-Aid”
“my favorite”
“this gave my brain worms. Doctors have to use the power of Video Games to fight a computer virus which some asshole turned into a real virus which infects you with video games”
“This is what did it for my partner.  They just bought a Gamer Driver also. Gaymber Doctor Riders“
Kuuga (the soft reboot one):
“Don't watch kuuga first unless you want nothing else to live up to that”
Now available on Blu-Ray!
Gaim (dancing fruit samurai teens):
General consensus: Not good, but fun to tear apart with friends (this is how I personally ended up getting into Rider)
For Power Rangers, currently airing Dino Fury is probably a decent entry point and is on Netflix.
For Super Sentai, one of the anniversary seasons would be a solid entry point and a bit of a sampler platter for the tone and themes of other series. Zenkaiger if you like it goofy, Gokaiger if you want it a little more serious and are also okay with some of the series getting tributes being a bit spoiled. Shinkenger (the samurai themed season) is also a pretty well-loved and well-done season, while Go-Busters is more of a quiet favorite that people have come to love more. If you feel like trying some Toshiki Inoue (famously wild toku and anime writer who is also writing the current season, Donbrothers), the older Jetman series is pretty good, absolutely iconic, and very Inoue. My personal favorites are ToQGer (rainbows and imagination and trains) and Dekaranger (space police). Kiramager (gems and vehicles and creativity) is also a fun, recent entry.
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sunnydaleherald · 2 years
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The Sunnydale Herald Newsletter, Sunday, August 14
ANYA: But I don't understand! I don't understand how this all happens. How we go through this. I mean, I knew her, and then she's, there's just a body, and I don't understand why she just can't get back in it and not be dead anymore. It's stupid. It's mortal and stupid. And, and Xander's crying and not talking, and, and i was having Fruit punch, and i thought, well, jOyce will never have any more and she'll never have eggs, or Yawn or brush her hair, not ever, and no one will explain to me why.
~~The Body~~
[Drabbles & Short Fiction]
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Interrogation (Multiple crossings, FR13) by acswatwst
Someone's In The Kitchen (Crossover with Lord of the Rings, FR13) by Grundy
Just Eat (Crossover with DC, PG) by hermione2be
A Cascade of Echoes, Chapter 4: Stargate Command (Crossover with Stargate, T) by 3am_moonlight
Where In The World Was Clint Barton - Option 40: Down On The Farm (Crossover with Avengers, FR13) by Beriaearwen
A New Normal (Crossover with Sweet Valley, PG) by GlitterAngelEm
In the Afterlife (Crossover with MCU, FR13) by mmooch
Another Way (Crossover with Star Trek: Into Darkness, FR13) by Beriaearwen
Back at the Beginning (Crossover with Sweet Valley, PG) by GlitterAngelEm
A New Assignment (Crossover with Ghost Busters, FR13) by acswatwst
Rise and Shine (Crossover wtih Lord of the Rings, FR13) by Grundy
Death’s Merchant, Ch 2 (Crossover with Iron Man, FR13) by mmooch
The First Rule (Crossover with Jurassic World, T) by Jedi Buttercup
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my friends and I we've cracked the code (Crossover with Sleepy HOllow, T) by jedibuttercup
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The Worlds Fate - The Slayers Destiny (Buffy/Spike, M) by DarkViking
Death and War (Spike, Angel, G) by Pagan Pylea Princess (trix_lyesmith)
my friends and I, we've cracked the code (Crossover with Sleepy Hollow, T) by jedibuttercup
Now (Buffy/Angel, G) by ywhiterain
This is Shameless (Ensemble, G) by ywhiterain
Treasured (Angel, G) by ywhiterain
Exchanges (Cordelia, T) by ywhiterain
My Bloody Valentine (Buffy/Spike, T) by vampwillz
In the Afterlife (Crossover with Avengers, T) by mmooch
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Episode 137 - Get it Done (T) by The Slayer Verses
[Chaptered Fiction]
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The Blame Game, Chapter 1 (Buffy, Jenny, M) by Jess_Ann_Perreault
Trailer by the Sea, Chapter 2 (Crossover with Charmed, NR) by nephilim667
The Hunter and the Slayer, Chapter 1 (Crossover with Supernatural, T) by MissLizz
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When You Least Expect It, Chapter 5 (Ensemble, K+) by JayeMaru
Red on Red, Chapter 1 (Ensemble, T) by Empire of the Worlds
Bring Me To Life, Chapter 65 (Buffy, Angel, T) by Jean-theGuardian
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Her Vampire, Chapter 5 (Buffy/Spike, NC-17) by AmyAndrews20
Time, Curious Time, Chapter 2 (Buffy/Spike, NC-17) by MillenialCryBaby
I Wanna Dance with Somebody, Chapter 5 (Buffy/Spike, NC-17) by PineAppleLint
The Slayer and the Vampire, Chapter 52 (Buffy/Spike, PG-13) by violettathepiratequeen
Exquisite Clarity: Part 2, Chapter 9 (Buffy/Spike, NC-17) by all_choseny and multiple authors
Who Watches the Watchers, Chapter 3 (Buffy/Spike, R) by blue_sweater_spike
Colonial Bride, Chapter 1 (Buffy/Spike, NC-17) by Feanix88
Buffy and the Lost City of the Dead, Chapter 3 (Buffy/Spike, R) by JaneRemmington
Fangs Out, Chapter 14 (Buffy/Spike, NC-17) by Dynamite
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Emerald, Chapter 16 (Crossover with John Wick, FR15) by batzulger
Doppelgänger (or: Oi! That’s My Face!), Chapter 1 (Crossover with Harry Potter, FR15) by MsSunshine
The Hornet's Nest, Chapter 12 (Multiple crossings, FR15) by CaptainBoulanger
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Perfect Clarity, Chapter 4 (Buffy/Spike, R) by VeroNyxK84
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The Ring Talks, Chapter 30 (Spike/Buffy, 13+) by Myrabeth
[Images, Audio & Video]
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I drew the only guy who leaves me speechless by Curious_Paradox
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Cosplay:Gay Icon Willow Rosenberg by merede
Gifset:3.18, 4.09, 7.14 by slayerbuffy
Gifset: 7.01 Gifset by starryeyesxx
Manip:1.03 Photoset by pegcrter
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Video: buffy summers (+ spike) | reborn by loveisntbrains
Video: SAD -Buffy the Vampire Slayer- CMV by Goblin Nation Cosplay
[Reviews & Recaps]
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Buffy 2x22 - Becoming (Part 2) - REACTION! by Big Time Knights
Bel Watches Buffy 2x07 "lie To Me" Reaction by Sisnerdly
SHE LIVED?! - Buffy the Vampire Slayer Reaction - 5x10 - Into the Woods by TheLexiCrowd
Buffy The Vampire Slayer 4x03 - "The Harsh Light Of Day" Reaction by DodoReactions
BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER S3 EP2 (REACTION) - PARTY TIME! by CLC Reacts
Slayer Sunday-The Wish by Jane Talks Reel
New Girl 1x5 REACTION!!! "Cece Crashes" Season 1 Episode 5 by Geeked Out Nation
[Community Announcements]
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Week Long Writing Party! August 15-21 via West of the Storm
[Fandom Discussions]
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Spuffy time travel? (Fic Search) by lisagreomg
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REQUEST: Looking for extended Dead Things scene by oveliagirlhaditright
REQUEST: Spuffy prompts by boopsterliv
Spuffy vs Fuffy by djbaywatch
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What would happen if a slayer was turned into a vampire? by multiple authors
The sfx makeup and prosthetics are amazing and hold up 20 years later by multiple authors
Oz (possible spoiler for new viewers) by multiple authors
Bringing Buffy back by multiple authors
From the book "Into Every Generation a Slayer is Born." Does anyone knows who Amber Benson is referring to? by multiple authors
Spike's soul by multiple authors
Xander's hatred for Buffy dating Angel is greatly exaggerated by multiple authors
Why angel was cancelled by multiple authors
Pitch me your Buffy continuation! by multiple authors
[Articles, Interviews, and Other News]
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PUBLICATION: Buffy's Epic Vampire Slayer Return Has Begun via Screen Rant
Submit a link to be included in the newsletter!
Join the editor team :)
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pinelife3 · 2 years
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A24 & Annapurna: Can A Patron Of The Arts Get Paid?
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Two film studios, both alike in dignity, but with wildly different trajectories. Annapurna Pictures and A24 are studios with prestigious filmographies, famous for working with auteurs - but is it profitable to be a patron of the arts?
Contents of this blog:
Annapurna? I hardly know 'er! We look at Annapurna Pictures, the Ellison family, and how Annapurna landed itself in financial strife after being the most hyped production company of the early 2010s
How do film companies make money? This is something that I've always assumed that I understand but when I actually put my mind to it, I have no idea about how a production company actually makes money. How much of the box office cash does a production company get? Or does that just go to the distributor? Let's find out!
Will A24 face a similar financial fate to Annapurna? Let's do some quick math on the ROI of A24 films and compare their business model against Annapurna
Annapurna? I hardly know 'er!
Annapurna Pictures is a film production company founded and led by Megan Ellison. Ellison is the daughter of billionaire Larry Ellison, founder and exec of tech company Oracle.
The younger Ellison got started in the film industry by using her dad's money to finance movies. In her early 20s she worked on some flops that didn't really lead anywhere financially or critically. Then, according to Vanity Fair, "in 2011, on her 25th birthday, she received from her father what a source says was $200 million... The Wrap’s Sharon Waxman has reported a figure that is more often whispered about in town: a lump sum of $2 billion." Cashed up, Ellison founded Annapurna Pictures and began to work with the talent agency Creative Artists Agency to fund films from established prestige directors.
In a 2013 profile, a female writer at Vanity Fair described Ellison as "pretty but a bit overweight" (I'm not kidding!) and "the most talked-about independent financier in Hollywood". What's interesting about Annapurna (beyond the rich daddy backstory) is the crazy run of films they've released and the number of auteurs Ellison has worked with, especially so early in her career:
Kathryn Bigelow (Detroit and Zero Dark Thirty)
Paul Thomas Anderson (The Master and Phantom Thread)
The Coen brothers (True Grit, The Ballad of Buster Scruggs)
Spike Jonze (Her)
David O Russell (American Hustle, Joy)
Barry Jenkins (If Beale Street Could Talk)
Richard Linklater (Everybody Wants Some!! and Where'd You Go, Bernadette)
Curiously, Megan's brother David Ellison also has a production company - Skydance Pictures, founded in 2006. So Larry Ellison has funded two production companies for his kids?! Skydance is less discussed than Annapurna because it tends to produce idiotbrained movies like Geostorm and The Tomorrow War so David doesn't get the same glossy write-ups in Vanity Fair.
I told my software dev bf (Matt) that Larry Ellison had personally funnelled like a billion dollars into the American film industry to make his kids happy and Matt responded 'well I'm glad he's making somebody happy because everyone hates Oracle'. Matt also provided this apparently iconic quote on the evils of Larry Ellison and Oracle.
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^^^ Larry, Megan and David
The Annapurna hype was undeniable in the early 2010s because they dropped so many Oscar players from 2011 - 2014. Banger after banger. A24 is similarly hyped today but what sets A24 apart is that they tend to take chances on lesser known talent - for e.g. A24 has produced or distributed early feature films of Robert Eggers, Ari Aster, Greta Gerwig, Alex Garland, Bo Burnham, Barry Jenkins (first $1 million+ budget), Dennis Villeneuve (first English language film), and Yorgos Lanthimos (first English language film).
All of the above might sound like Ellison is an old school patron of the arts, giving away her trust fund so the Coen brothers can make more movies. But Annapurna is actually a for-profit business. The Vanity Fair profile on Ellison from 2013 discusses the balancing act Annapurna faces in funding films from Ellison's fave directors and touches on the naivety of mixing art and commerce. Quoth one source: "Megan is arrogant and thinks she can re-invent the wheel... She suffers from a chronic case of rich-itis.”
So in the early 2010s Annapurna quickly generated a lot of hype by releasing films from indie darlings and garnered substantial awards attention along the way - these were films that were typically smaller budget and turned a small profit (if any) but were critically well received and often got awards play. The problem was, in the mid-2010s, Annapurna had a run of duds: Detroit tanked. Vice tanked (reportedly losing Annapurna $15 million). Phantom Thread didn't make any money. Missing Link lost tens of millions. Of the 14 films Annapurna released between 2014 - 2018, they had one decent hit: Sausage Party, which made $140 million on a $20 million budget. Stories emerged in 2018 that Annapurna was in financial trouble. Quoth a source at the time: "I don’t care how much money daddy gives you—you have to make something turn a profit." By August 2019 Annapurna was facing bankruptcy with $200 million in debt. The company was later bailed out by Larry Ellison and is still kicking around but has been relatively quiet since then (which may also be attributable to the pandemic). For Annapurna, producing arthouse movies for critics, film school kids, and the awards crowd has not been profitable - they have required the support of a billionaire backer to kickstart the company and keep it afloat.
As I mentioned above, Annapurna seems to have a similar approach to A24. They fund indie passion projects - they're in it for the art. But Annapurna got themselves $200 million in debt by only producing art they believed in, so how does the future look for A24? Can a company like A24 can be profitable while acting as a patron of the arts - or does it require billionaire backers to keep a business afloat?
But first: let's learn a bit more about how producers get paid.
How do film companies make money?
Accounting in the entertainment industry is infamously arcane, so I'll try to keep this high level.
Who are the main players?
Producer - The organisation that bankrolls, coordinates, and is responsible for actually making the movie. These are sometimes also known as 'studios'.
Distributor - The organisation that markets the film and arranges for the film to be made available to the public via screenings in theatres, production of DVDs, etc.
In some cases, the producer and the distributor are the same company or are closely related - for example, Avengers: Endgame was produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures which are both subsidiaries of The Walt Disney Company.
Where can money be made?
Movies can make money via theatre box office, streaming syndication, BluRay steel box sales, merchandise, etc. But the primary avenue and quickest return is box office - this is the metric that is typically used to determine whether a film has been a success or not.
How do distributors and producers work together?
This is all subject to individual agreements and may change from film to film, but in general there are two forms of agreement that a distributor might make with a production studio:
Profit sharing: the distributor and the production company split the downstream profits of the film. For example, the distributor may have a gross points arrangement with the producer.
Leasing: the distributor pays a fee to acquire the rights to distribute the film - profits made will largely be kept by the distributor (although there may also be a gross points arrangement). When Netflix has exclusive distribution rights for a film, we could safely assume that they are using some form of leasing agreement with the production studio because (1) films released on Netflix tend not to make much at the box office and (2) it's difficult to extrapolate profitability from Netflix's viewership and subscription numbers (although I'm sure they have methods of roughly approximating this).
It's something of a gamble for producers in terms of which arrangement is likely to be of the greatest benefit to them. You may be able to lease a film to a distributor for a modest profit and call it a day or you can gamble on seeking a cut of downstream profits, but audiences are fickle and these profits may never materialise.
As an example...
For any given film, it's difficult for an outsider to know what form of distribution arrangement the film had and therefore how to calculate whether the film would have made or lost money for the producer and distributor. In the end, for a film to be profitable, a film needs to make more in sales than it cost to produce and market. There are some rule of thumb calculations we can use to roughly calculate overall profitability and to determine whether the film was a win or a loss for the studio and distributor.
Let's look at an example to determine roughly whether it was profitable or not. Note: box office and budget info on Wikipedia can be inaccurate but let's just go with it. All of the following figures are in US dollars. Wikipedia puts Dunkirk's production budget at $100 - $150 million. Let's split the diff and say $125 million. According to Forbes, the marketing budget was $135 million. So $260 million in up front costs. Dunkirk made $527 million at the box office. As a rough rule of thumb, 50% of box office profits are kept by the theatre - this may vary based on deals, distributor, and even country but let's just go with 50%. So assuming the theatres took 50% of that $527 million, about $263 million might make it back to the studio and distributor. Subtracting the $260 million for production and marketing, this would give them only $3 million in clear profit. The film then would go on to make more through digital sales and rentals, streaming, etc.
So after production and marketing costs, a film needs to more than double its budget in box office takings to begin to see a profit. To keep making movies, studios need to do more than cover their expenses - they need to make a profit to be able to pay dividends to investors and fund future projects.
What's to stop A24 facing a similar financial fate to Annapurna?
As I've mentioned, A24 and Annapurna play in the same sandpit: they primarily work on movies that the studio considers art, there are no cynical cash grabs in their filmographies. I'm curious if A24 is in a similar financial position to Annapurna - and if not, why not?
So let's do some high level accounting with A24's filmography to see if their films generally make or lose money. I'm making the following assumptions:
Only looking at box office takings (because I just know I'm never gonna find details on the DVD sales of films like First Reformed)
Movie theatres keep 50% of box office takings
Marketing budget is 10% of production budget. It's difficult to say how much is actually spent on marketing for these kind of indie films (and it's not information that is available online) so I'm being conservative - for basically any of these films that you've actually heard of, I'd assume the marketing budget was significantly more than 10%
I'm only looking at films released up to the end of 2021 so they've had a decent stretch in theatres.
In this Google sheet, I've charted the budget, guesstimated marketing costs, box office, and a rough profit/loss based on those figures. For lots of movies, the budget wasn't available so I've excluded these from the final total - these were typically movies I've never heard of so I'd assume they weren't big money makers. Of the 60 films where I was able to calculate profit/loss, 26 were profitable at the box office. Of the 50-ish other films where I couldn't calculate profitability (because I couldn't find enough data) only a few look like they might have been profitable - e.g. The Killing of a Sacred Deer, Lamb, The Children Act. Overall it looks like A24 is running a significant loss on their films based on box office takings. I've arrived at A24 taking a $32 million loss but this is really just indicative based on my assumptions above and very rough calculations. Still, I think this is finger-in-the-air accurate and the finger points to A24 movies not recouping their costs at the box office. There is then streaming, DVD sales, etc. but the box office is generally a good indicator of public interest: a box office bomb is unlikely to perform much better via digital rentals.
As a disclaimer, obviously the pandemic has fucked up two years of releases so I'm sure every studio has had a rough run since Feb 2020. Before the pandemic, A24 had some big hits (Lady Bird, Hereditary, Midsommar, The Farewell) that probably worked well to cover their loses on other films. But since 2019, A24 has only had one film that turned a profit at the box office: Minari, which looks like it would have made at least $5 million profit. A24 didn't produce Minari so it's hard to say what portion of those profits they would actually have received.
From my digging, it looks like A24 has worked under both profit sharing and leasing agreements. This court case reveals a bit about the distribution deal for A24's second ever release, Spring Breakers - which was actually a film produced by Annapurna. Annapurna engaged A24 as the distribution partner for Spring Breakers, and the suit tells us that:
This was a profit sharing arrangement with A24 receiving 20% of profits
While A24 arranged the marketing, the marketing costs were actually covered by another party (Annapurna?)
The esteemed Mr. Harvey Weinstein (and the Weinstein Company) had offered to purchase the rights to the film (under a leasing agreement) for $2.25 million
Then this oral history describes A24 going on a 'spending spree' in their second year of operation (2014) and refers to them purchasing movie rights, so I'm assuming A24 had leasing arrangements - presumably funded off the back of their Spring Breakers success. This means A24 would largely bear the brunt of financial losses on these films as they paid out of pocket to acquire the film and then paid for the marketing. Of course, A24 also has TV deals (e.g. Euphoria with HBO) and, thanks to their popularity, also sell merch, but on paper they don't appear to be slam dunk profitable.
It's interesting to note that A24 initially started out exclusively as distributors and have moved increasingly into the production game. This is the opposite path taken by Annapurna which worked solely in production for years and then launched a distribution division in early 2017. When Annapurna faced bankruptcy in 2019, Indiewire noted: "The company’s financial woes began in full after it decided to start its own distribution arm to release its productions, beginning with Kathryn Bigelow’s “Detroit.” Since then, nearly every Annapurna release has been a box office bomb for the studio. Variety reported in March [2019] that only one movie has turned a profit for Annapurna since it launched a distribution arm: Boots Riley’s “Sorry to Bother You.”
Another point of difference with Annapurna is that the three founders of A24 all had experience in film production and financing before they founded the company. In fact, 'twas founder Daniel Katz' former employer Guggenheim Partners that provided "a few million in seed money" to start A24. This Hollywood Reporter article from 2014 actually says that A24 is owned by Guggenheim Partners. As of 2018, Guggenheim had sold their stake to MRC which is owned by Eldridge Industries, a holding company with a net worth in the billions. Cute arthouse film company you've got there... sure would be a shame if it was owned by a billion dollar investment firm, sure would be a shame if your sweet little indie cinema business was sold around town, passed from one LLC to the next like any other asset. Indie really doesn't exist.
So A24 actually has a billionaire backer too - apparently MRC/Eldridge only has a 'minority stake' in A24 but whatever ("I own 49% of this company!"). A24 also appears to rely on bank loans to operate, so at some point it has to turn a profit. Larry Ellison will keep pumping money into Annapurna because he loves his daughter - but cold hearted industry guys in Hollywood board rooms wouldn't bail out A24 unless there was something in it for them.
Remember what those snarky industry sources said about Megan Ellison: "I don’t care how much money daddy gives you—you have to make something turn a profit." No one seems to talk this way about A24 but on paper they don't seem to be doing that much better financially. But despite how it looks, A24 must be doing okay: the explored acquisition in 2021 with a reported price of $2.5 - $3 billion - supposedly Apple was interested. And then in early March 2022, A24 announced a $225 million equity deal - this amount apparently bought the investors less than a 10% stake in the company so A24's valuation is still sitting at $2.5 billion (ish).
So why is A24 valued in the billions while Annapurna nearly went bankrupt? Without actually seeing their accounts, it's difficult to say - spitballing some ideas:
Sources indicated that Megan Ellison and Annapurna were perhaps not prudent in how they spent money on film production. Blowing out the production budget makes it harder to recoup costs
A24 may be particularly canny in how they strike deals and run their operation meaning the business covers its costs or turns a profit even if the film they're releasing isn't profitable
A24 was founded by industry veterans using investor money whereas Annapurna was founded by a wealthy outsider using her own (father's) money. Having skin in the game (i.e. no trust fund) and pushy investors may be a more powerful motivation to turn a profit
Annapurna launched Annapurna Interactive in 2016 as a video game publisher. Annapurna Pictures never attracted the kind of rabid fandom that A24 did, but Annapurna Interactive is very popular with gamers so this venture appears to have been a success... but maybe video game publishing has actually been a drain on business funds which contributed to the bankruptcy?
A24 and Annapurna appear to be working on similar types of films, but Annapurna films typically have a much higher budget. Annapurna budgets appear to typically be $30-40 million. A24 budgets are generally smaller - more like $10 million. Losing money on a $2 million movie like First Cow is a lot less damaging than losing money on a $30 million movie like Detroit
The movies where A24 has dipped their toe into production as well as distribution typically seem to turn a decent profit (Uncut Gems, Midsommar, Mid90s) which may keep things rolling and increase interest in A24 as a production joint
I think this is the most likely explanation: the A24 brand is very valuable - maybe not worth billions but certainly worth something even if the business itself is not wildly profitable. People get excited about a movie because A24 is distributing it - A24 has such good taste that their decision to work on a film is a marketing point. Such is the hype around A24 that they could probably create their own streaming platform and compete with the Criterion Channel and maybe even HBO? This kind of reputation would certainly play a part in a valuation when a company like Apple begins sniffing around - A24 will confer a lot of credibility to any entertainment business that acquires them. As to why Annapurna has missed out on this juice? It may just be a marketing issue
Further reading: a likely bogus copy of A24's 2019 annual report is available online. I haven't included this in any of my calculations above because I don't trust the financials in this report - the income column in the theatrical releases table (numbered page 8/PDF page 12) includes dummy figures. The report is hosted on a graphic designer's website and I suspect is available only as an example of her work with the actual financial figures redacted. This would explain why the figures in the report don't make sense (why would net income be higher than gross?) but that may also just be my reading of it. It's still an interesting read if only to see a template A24 may have used for this kind of reporting
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sora's kingdom keyblade king god outfit uniform
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Sora's first brown & dark brown & light brown & tan & dark tan & light tan transformation Kingdom Keyblade King God outfit uniform, the balance force bender keyblade wielder, he has a main weapons: handguns & main rifles & combat blade knifes & combat blade swords & combat long swords & combat staff & combat riot shields, he has a special personal weapon: buster long sword, he can master the full energy balance force bender power, he is now the master balance force bender keyblade wielder.
Sora's first transformation into the Kingdom Keyblade King God outfit uniform showcases a mix of brown, dark brown, light brown, tan, dark tan, and light tan elements. As the master balance force bender keyblade wielder, he wields a versatile set of weapons and has mastered the full energy balance force bender power.
Appearance:
The outfit consists of a combination of brown, dark brown, light brown, tan, dark tan, and light tan hues, creating a harmonious and regal look.
The Kingdom Keyblade King God uniform includes intricate details and designs symbolizing Sora's mastery over the balance force.
Main Weapons:
Handguns: Sora wields handguns for swift and precise ranged attacks.
Main Rifles: He possesses main rifles for more powerful and long-range assaults.
Combat Blade Knifes: Sora uses combat blade knifes for close-quarter combat and stealthy maneuvers.
Combat Blade Swords: These swords serve as versatile weapons for both offense and defense.
Combat Long Swords: Sora wields combat long swords for extended reach in battles.
Combat Staff: The combat staff enhances his agility and provides additional options in combat.
Combat Riot Shields: Sora utilizes combat riot shields for strong defense against attacks.
Special Personal Weapon:
Buster Long Sword: Sora's signature weapon, the buster long sword, is a powerful and iconic blade with extraordinary capabilities. It adds an extra layer of strength to his arsenal.
Abilities:
Master Balance Force Bender Power: Sora has achieved mastery over the full energy balance force bender power, allowing him precise control over the forces of balance. This power enhances his combat skills and grants him unique abilities in wielding the Keyblade.
Sora, as the master balance force bender keyblade wielder, stands as a formidable force, blending both traditional and advanced weaponry with his exceptional mastery over the balance force.
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allseoreg · 10 months
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Immerse yourself in a thought-provoking video this evening.
Comedy films have long been a beloved genre in the world of cinema, offering audiences laughter, entertainment, and an escape from everyday life. In this extensive article, we delve into the vibrant realm of comedy cinema, exploring its history, subgenres, iconic films, notable comedians, and the enduring appeal of humor in storytelling.The Evolution of Comedy Films:We kick off our exploration by tracing the evolution of comedy films, from the silent era slapstick comedies of Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton to the sophisticated wit of screwball comedies in the 1930s and 1940s. We examine how comedy has evolved over the decades, incorporating social commentary, satire, and various comedic styles.Subgenres of Comedy:Comedy films encompass a wide range of subgenres, each with its own unique comedic style and storytelling approach. We delve into the world of subgenres such as romantic comedy, physical comedy, parody, dark comedy, satire, and absurdist comedy. Through notable examples and defining characteristics, we showcase the diversity within the comedy genre.Iconic Comedy Films:We celebrate the timeless comedic classics that have left an indelible mark on cinema. From "Some Like It Hot" and "Airplane!" to "Annie Hall" and "Bridesmaids," we explore the iconic films that have brought joy and laughter to audiences across generations. We delve into their comedic brilliance, memorable performances, and enduring cultural impact.Legendary Comedians:Comedians are the lifeblood of comedy films, infusing their unique brand of humor and charisma into their roles. We pay tribute to the legendary comedians who have graced the silver screen, including Charlie Chaplin, Groucho Marx, Lucille Ball, Gene Wilder, and Jim Carrey. We explore their comedic styles, memorable characters, and contributions to the comedy genre.The Role of Humor in Storytelling:Humor is a powerful storytelling tool that can engage, entertain, and provide social commentary. We examine how comedy films use humor to explore themes, challenge social norms, and offer cultural commentary. We discuss the balance between comedy and heart, as well as the ability of comedies to tackle serious subjects with sensitivity.Comedic Timing and Performance:Comedy is a delicate art that relies on timing, delivery, and physicality. We delve into the nuances of comedic timing, discussing how filmmakers and actors use pacing, rhythm, and well-crafted comedic setups to maximize laughter. We also explore the physical comedy traditions, from silent era gags to modern-day slapstick.Cross-Cultural Comedy:Humor transcends cultural boundaries, and comedy films have successfully traveled across cultures, bringing laughter to audiences worldwide. We explore international comedy films and the ways in which different cultures interpret and express humor. From British wit to Bollywood slapstick, we celebrate the diversity of comedic traditions.The Enduring Appeal of Comedy:Comedy films continue to captivate audiences, providing much-needed laughter and entertainment. We examine the enduring appeal of comedy, discussing its ability to relieve stress, evoke empathy, and foster a sense of joy and unity. We also explore the role of comedy in challenging societal norms, pushing boundaries, and offering social commentary.Conclusion:Comedy films hold a special place in the hearts of audiences, offering an escape from reality and a chance to embrace laughter. From timeless classics to modern gems, comedy cinema continues to entertain and unite us through its witty storytelling, unforgettable characters, and hilarious moments. As long as there is a need for laughter, comedy films will thrive, reminding us of the universal language of humor. More information - xnxx n
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greensparty · 1 year
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Stuff I’m Looking Forward to in April
It’s Springtime and we’re now in the 2nd Quarter of 2023! In addition to April Fools Day (April 1), Palm Sunday (April 2), Passover (from April 5 to 13), Good Friday (April 7), Easter (April 9), Orthodox Easter (April 16), Patriots Day (in MA on April 17), Tax Day (April 18), Eid al-Fitr (expected to begin on April 21), Earth Day (April 22), Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day (April 24), and Administrative Professionals’ Day (April 26) here is what’s on my radar this month:
Movies:
Air
Ben Affleck directs himself and Matt Damon in this true story of Nike making the Air Jordan. The last time he directed a true story was possibly his best directing Argo, so hopes are high for this one opening 4/5.
Showing Up
I kind of like the simplicity of Kelly Reichardt’s films notably Wendy and Lucy, which she did with frequent star Michelle Williams. Here Williams plays an artist in this dramedy opening 4/7.
The Lost Weekend: A Love Story
May Pang had an 18-month romance with John Lennon during his “Lost Weekend” era and she has told her story in books and been interviewed in other documentaries, but now she is getting the doc treatment she deserves. Opening 4/14.
Personality Crisis: One Night Only
Martin Scorsese and his frequent documentary editor David Tedeschi direct this doc about David Johansen, the former New York Dolls singer later known as Buster Poindexter. The fact that Scorsese is taking on this music legend is literally an NYC icon documenting an NYC icon!  Premieres 4/14 on Showtime.
Beau Is Afraid 
I had mixed feelings about Ari Aster’s first two films Hereditary and Midsommar. On the one hand they kinda lost steam at times and were a little bloated, on the other hand the parts that worked really worked and there’s not denying his ambition. His new one with Joaquin Phoenix is actually a dark comedy I have high hopes for. Opening 4/21.
Evil Dead Rise 
Alright, I don’t know if I’m actually looking forward to this, so much as cautiously optimistic about this Evil Dead sequel. I’m not expecting this to be as good as Sam Raimi’s first three, but hoping it cracks my Top Evil Dead Movies next time I revise the list. Opening 4/21.
Music:
Metallica 72 Seasons
Metallica’s 11th album is also their first since 2016′s Hardwired...to Self-Destruct, which was a serious comeback (I even included it in my Best Albums of the 2010s list). New album drops 4/14.
Smashing Pumpkins Atum
Smashing Pumpkins dropped Act 1 of Atum in November and Act 2 in January. Now Act 3 and the physical release of the entire rock opera are dropping 4/21.
Film Festivals:
Salem Horror Fest 
I have been lucky enough to cover this genre film festival in Salem, MA since 2018. Last year they decided to move the festival from October (when there is a lot going on in Salem) to April. Fest runs from 4/20 to 4/30.
Independent Film Festival Boston 
My favorite film festival (I am an alum) is IFFBoston! Last year they returned in-person after they took 2020 off and 2021 virtual. It felt so good to return to the fest in person! This year marks IFFBoston’s 20th anniversary. Fest runs from 4/26 to 5/3.
Events:
Record Store Day 
Possibly my favorite fake holiday is the day we celebrate independent record stores. This year there’s some exciting RSD releases from Pearl Jam, Ringo Starr, The Stooges and Wilco. Looking forward to 4/22!
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