#by the time hollywood realised people thought he was fun everyone was already sick of him

[charlie-rulerofhell]

For they know exactly what they do

Today there was a pretty long article published in the German newspaper FAZ, written by Julia Schaaf. Since there were quite a few interesting topics raised in it and Måneskin talked about some new aspects (or in more detail), I translated the whole thing (it might also have helped me to procrastinate).

Full interview in English under the cut.

For they know exactly what they do

June 22, 2021

Four young rock musicians from Rome are today's hottest band. Måneskin are enchanting Europe. Why? We met them for an interview.

Every romance needs its founding myth, an anecdote from the beginning, something you can tell later in more difficult times for self-assurance.

In the case of the band Måneskin, who first had Italy and now half of Europe wrapped around their fingers, and who are now trying to conquer the rest of the world with their rock music, there is the story of the shoe box. Rome, around five years ago: Four teenagers who are meeting every day after school in their rehearsal room to make music together, and sometimes they play their songs on the Via del Corso in the city centre in front of a changing audience. One day they want to record their own stuff. They find a studio that they can actually afford and as they go there they bring a shoe box, with the name of the band written on it, 'moonshine' in Danish, the bassist's mother is Danish. In the box: around seven kilogram of coins. The things you get from playing music on the streets. Everyone searching through Instagram for photos from that time can find four hippies with children's faces, three boys in batik, the girl is wearing a straw hat.

As they have to pay [for the recording], frontman Damiano David, 22, says that there was this guy, Angelo, and his bandmate Victoria De Angelis, 21, is interrupting: “No, Andrea, not Angelo”, and all of them have to laugh because a rigid studio manager with the Italian name 'angel' would be even funnier for a founding myth. David continues his story: “The guy was completely dumbfounded. 'We can't do that.' We went: 'Sure we can, that's worth the same even if it's just 20 cent coins, it's still 300 euros.” Thomas Raggi, 20, the guitarist of the band, is gasping for air as he laughs, while drummer Ethan Torchio, 20, is smiling dreamily. David finishes: “And then we snuck off before he was able to count it.” [the German text says 'verdrücken' here which is just a colloquial way of saying 'we left', but it entails some sort of a dramatic exit, so yeah, let your thoughts get creative how they left exactly :D].

Four young musicians on the verge of global fame are sitting on a white interview sofa in Berlin, completely styled, babbling across each other like overeager teenagers.

Ever since the Roman band first won the music festival Sanremo and then also the Eurovision Song Contest, carried by the enthusiasm of European viewers, you could say Måneskin has become a phenomenon. “Rock 'n' Roll never dies!”, Damiano David yelled fueled by the adrenaline of winning, and the insinuation that circulated on social media of the singer snorting during the counting of votes in front of a live camera – including their strict denial followed by a negative drug test result – might have given an additional boost to their public interest, their exploding album, ticket and merch sales, and their outstanding success on Spotify.

“We think it's a shit prejudice against rock music that there always have to be drugs involved. We fully threw ourselves into our participation with the utmost professionalism. We give everything for the music. So of course we don't want people to think that we can only do that because we take drugs.” – Victoria De Angelis

Prior to Eurovision, Måneskin was more of an insider's tip outside of Italy. Handmade rock music, not creating something entirely new but paying homage to the good old times with classic guitar riffs and cracking drum beats, being a lot of fun but also quite fragile and vulnerable at times and, first and foremost, conveying a captivating energy. Finally, on the stage of Rotterdam, live after so many months of isolation and renunciation, this wave of energy spilled straight over into European living rooms. It seemed easy to (mistakenly) interpret the winning song “Zitti e buoni” (Shut up and behave) as a declaration of frustration of our youth in times of a pandemic. In fact, singer Damiano David is singing about the favourite topic of the band: the unrelenting need to, against all odds, be yourself, despite or perhaps because you are different. The message fits their provocative sex appeal, which the band uses to demonstrate their independence of gender norms at any given time. But the core essence of rock music has always been the promise of unlimited freedom.

Thus at the first moment, the meeting with Måneskin is kind of startling. It's Wednesday, we are in the top floor of the new Sony head quarters in Berlin. The four Italians have just started their two-week long promotion tour through Europe. In the afternoon there will be a live concert in a queer club [the SchwuZ, but that's not mentioned here] in Neukölln, which will be streamed via TikTok. Around one million viewers will watch the show, some of them even from Brazil, so people at Sony are pretty excited [for Måneskin to come here]. But at first, these stunningly gorgeous creatures [yes, that's the exact wording :D] are standing surrounded by an entourage of people – their management, PR team, a stylist, a photographer, people who can hold a smartphone or a cigarette if needed [this paragraph is worded a little weirdly, especially taking into account that basically their whole team / 'entourage' is just friends of them, but it seems like the journalist didn't know that or maybe they just wanted to describe their first impression]. They seem like fictional / artificial characters out of a Hollywood movie. Transparent frill blouses with blazers and flared leather trousers, even the platform boots, everything brand-new, the makeup makes their faces look like a glossy magazine cover even in person. The smokey eyes of De Angelis and Raggi make them look smug and bored. Later, on the pictures it will probably look cool.

So of course your first impression might be: This band is under contract to industry giant Sony ever since their success on an Italian casting show [X Factor] in Winter 2017. The music industry must have its hand in the game when a band is photographed half-naked by Oliviero Toscani and styled by Etro. Also, one does not simply rent a villa with a pool in Rome to produce new music there, isolated from the rest of the world. And who else went to London for two whole months, shortly before the winter lockdown, just for inspiration? After the TikTok concert in Berlin – De Angelis and David are now wearing fishnet shirts that sparkle with every move, their bare nipples covered with an X of black tape – the band is posing with a few influencers. In the world of social media you would call that 'producing content'. But what does that mean for a band who are preaching their hosanna of authenticity? How authentic is Måneskin? And is their pointedly casual approach to sexuality and gender cliches in today's pop-cultural spirit more than a marketing strategy?

We're in the interview, the recording device is running for not even five minutes, when Victoria De Angelis says: “Actually, we just try to be ourselves and do what we really want to do.” And really: The more you listen to those four how they speak about the early days of the band in their slurred Roman dialect, about the shoe box and their own experiences with being different, but most importantly about their shared obsession [with music], the more you realise that [De Angelis] is  very serious. Ethan Torchio, who got his first drum kit at the age of six or seven from his father because he was beating everything he could reach, says: “For me, music is like food. I cannot live without it.” The bassist next to him laughs at his pathos. Singer Damiano David applauds the otherwise more reserved friend for his truthfulness [it says 'klarer Punkt', meaning 'for the point he makes', but it makes it seem like Damiano is agreeing with Ethan here, although it doesn't indicate whether he agrees that yes, music is everything for Ethan or that he understands and feels the same].

De Angelis and guitarist Raggi already knew each other from middle school and they were the ones who tried to form a band at the age of only 13, a band that actually took music seriously.

De Angelis: “It's just difficult at that age to find other people who really put everything into music and who truly commit themselves and are willing to invest a lot of their time.”

Raggi: “We set strict rules and scheduled fixed times for the rehearsals, for every day.”

David: “Fever, stomach ache, there was no excuse. Even if you were feeling sick in the rehearsal room. At least you were in the rehearsal room.”

The way the four of them talk across each other, completing each other's sentences, taking turns in talking and sometimes joking about each other, seems intimate and playful. Singer David remembers how at first bassist [De Angelis] was merciless towards him when it came to her first metal band project, as she told him that he wasn't committed enough [to the music]: “Back then I was still playing Basketball. I was one of the people that Vic absolutely didn't want [in her band].” Drummer Torchio was later discovered through Facebook, even though there had already been a drummer, a close friend, but he was not good enough. It seems as if even back then music was everything for them. Even if it meant that only Raggi managed to graduate.

And why rock, why rock music of all things? Because it's great, the four of them say in unison. David adds: “Actually, it's a genre that allows you to do everything you want to do.”

When they played on the street, they were laughed at by their classmates. But not only there. De Angelis explains that she never wanted to be a typical girl: “I was always deterred by those stupid boxes that people put you in, and that are just restricting and constraining you, because something is only regarded as male or female. I always rejected that. Instead, I just wanted to do the things I enjoyed doing, I went skating and played football.” Torchio says: “Friends who are not friends anymore were already telling me at the age of ten that those“ – he grabs his long, silky black hair – “were wrong. Because I'm a boy and boys are meant to have short hair, long hair is only for girls. I was bullied a lot for that.”

“Compared to the past, people in our age became much more open-minded. It gets better.” – Thomas Raggi

Frontman David on the other hand, for whom eye shadow, jingling earrings and nail polish as well as his bare torso with the tattoos have become trademarks by now, says: “I was actually more of the average boy.” De Angelis convinced him to try out some eyeliner, which he describes as a spiritual awakening: “I liked myself much more [with makeup]. I saw myself more as myself. As if it had been a suppressed desire of mine.” On a trip to Copenhagen with the others, when he realised that it really didn't matter what people were thinking about him, he got his first fake fur [coat? the article doesn't specify that] in a second-hand shop and let his clothing style be guided by his own love to experiment: “I realised that my whole life I was just going at half speed.” When it comes to diversity all four of them are becoming almost missionary.

At the same time, their success is not only opening doors for them. Back home in Rome they are barely able to go out on the street due to all the paparazzi. “[You need a] hoodie and huge sunglasses”, David says, “the mask is quite helpful, too.” And still, none of them is complaining, and Torchio explains why: “Even if those experiences right now may have sides that are not so pleasant, we still know that for us a dream is coming true. We experience something that we always had in our minds, so we are willing to face every consequence that this entails.”

So is the band facing difficult times, is Måneskin going to change with all the success? Again, all of them answer at the same time.

David: “I'm not worried about that.”

Raggi: “No way!”

De Angelis: “On the contrary. Everything that happened to us happened because we are who we are, so we want to continue the exact same way and stay ourselves.”

Just a few hours later, they are at the stage in Neukölln, bouncing around like pinballs, hammering at their instruments, flirting with each other. “We are out of our minds, but different from the others”, David sings their winning hymn against conformism, and: “The people talk, unfortunately they talk.” Here on stage, the four paradise birds [a German word describing someone with a flamboyant personality] with their half-nude-glittering outfits are radiating an incredible energy with the utmost sincerity, and you begin to wish there was a live audience instead of the TikTok cameras, absorbing and spreading this energy. Måneskin. A cry for a life after the pandemic, a cry for freedom and a better world.

“We do what we wished for all our lives.” – Ethan Torchio

#måneskin #maneskin #måneskin interview #my stuff #i'm sorry if someone already translated it but i was working on this for the past 3 hours now so i'm still gonna share it #i know most of it is not very new but there were some quite interesting details in there #and it's just always great to read about those four dorks so i wanted to share it with all of you who wanted to read it but couldn't #enjoy and please ignore any possible mistakes i didn't have the time to proof-check everything

[myukulelegentlyweeps]

Nowhere Man : Part V

Pairing : George Harrison x F!reader

Summary : George was sick of the Let It Be sessions, took the day off and met (Y/n), waitress and amateur musician, who happened to be performing the song Nowhere Man at the exact time when he felt like one.

Previous chapters : Part I, Part I bis, Part II, Part III, Part IV

In this chapter : George brings you to a party to introduce you to the rest of the Beatles

Tag list : @givemequeen

Word count : 1.3k

A/n : Forgive me for the absolute crap speed of my updates, I actually get these written pretty fast but inevitably spend a week overthinking whether they’re good enough to publish, so yeah :))

BIG THANK YOU TO @chloe-on-cloud9 for beta reading!

Warnings : None

“Green one. End of discussion.”, Mary sentenced, making you scoff. She could become fairly bossy when it came to your fashion choices - you did not really mind, she knew best after all.

You were sat in the living room, looking at the near entirety of your wardrobe carefully displayed on the couch by your overly enthusiastic roommate. She had become very invested in your love life as of late, you could easily guess why ; so of course when she had learned you would be meeting all three of the remaining Beatles at Ringo’s house party that day, she had made it her mission to doll you up for the occasion.

“Are you sure you don’t want to come? You’re more excited than I am, and George said it was okay,” you asked for the hundredth time. Mary shook her head in response as she rose to bring you the green swing dress she had chosen : “I’ve already told you. This is your formal introduction as George’s girlfriend. I am honoured that you deem me worthy of being your escort-” “This isn’t a Jane Austen novel”, you interrupted, but she continued unfazed : “- but I can’t be third-wheeling. This is your time to shine! Now put this on.”

You rolled your eyes at the cheesy remark. She had some kind of Hollywood movie scene planned out in her mind, a grand entrance in slow motion, but you knew yourself : there would be no shining on your part, only a lot of stuttering and staring intently at the floor. “I just don’t want to embarrass myself on my own.”, you tried to speak while you pulled the dress on over your head. “What if I go all fan-like and-”

“(Y/n). You are beautiful, intelligent, witty, talented and overall amazing. The only thing they’ve got that you don’t is loads of money and, like they said themselves, money can’t buy me love…,” she hummed along to the well known tune. “Even if you do experience momentary stupidity syndrome upon the sight of the great John Lennon, embarrassing yourself is fun! You’ll laugh about it in hindsight. Picture it: you in ten years, telling your kids about the time you met their uncles and tripped over your own feet!” You raised an unimpressed eyebrow in response, but she had already gone off to her bedroom to find God knew what.

She came running back two minutes later, dangling two small glimmering objects in front of your eyes. You soon recognised them as her beetle-shaped earrings. “No.” “Yes”, she beamed. “No! Absolutely not!”, you repeated, trying your best to sound firm, but the smile plastered on her face was not vanishing, and it was taking everything in you to contain your laughter. She was out of her mind.

“You’re smiling! I see you!”, she practically cried out, making them dance in the air. “You’re smiling and you’re going to wear them. You know you want to.” You hated to admit it, but she was right. Somehow a part of you was begging you to put them on and be “that” person - you could never pass up the opportunity to throw some irony into a situation. With a defeated sigh, you took the earrings and threaded them on. “There. Happy?” “They match your outfit.”, she nodded enthusiastically. “Yes they do.” “Are you angry?” “Only a little bit.”

“I’m not going to have his children, you know.”

“Sure, you keep telling yourself that.”

***

“You alright, darlin’? Yer awfully quiet today”, George’s voice startled you out of your daydream. You didn’t know for how long you had been staring out of the car window, counting the trees on the roadside, but it must have been a while for him to be asking. You looked over to him, smiling out of the corner of your mouth : “I’m fine. Trying to prepare psychologically.”

“What for? Ye weren’t nervous when you first met me,” he chimed merrily, his hands steady on the steering wheel.

“Meeting you was different.”

“How so?”

“Well for starters, you told me your name was Arthur!”, you waved your index finger at him accusatively, causing the both of you to chuckle at the memory.

“If it helps, you could think of the lads as Eric, Fred and Michael today.”

“You’re an idiot.”

“How am I an idiot?”, he asked in a falsely offended tone.

“I’m sorry,” you apologised swiftly, lowering your eyes and furrowing your brows. “I call people idiots when I’m nervous.”

“John’ll love you.”, he laughed. “They’re all going to love you, I don’t know what you’re so worried about.”

“It’s not only about them!”, you blurted out, more intense than you had originally intended. Maybe you should have stopped talking, but you saw George’s puzzled expression and thought you owed him some honesty. “It’s everyone. I haven’t even told my sister we’re together, because it feels like the second people know, I will have to prove myself as someone ‘worthy’ of you. How do I do that? How do I prove I’m not just some bird you picked up off the streets for a shag?”

There was a long silence. He was processing your words, replaying that last sentence over and over again in his head, trying to make sense of it. You, of course, couldn’t hear his thoughts : all you could do was sink further into the passenger seat, hoping you had not been too blunt. A part of you wished you could go back and erase what you had just said, because the relief you had expected to feel was not coming in, and all you were left with was the fear of having ruined everything.

“Do you think that?”

“What?”

“Do you think you’re just some bird to me?”, he asked again, sounding genuinely concerned about the answer.

“No, Geo, of course I don’t, I-“

“You’re everything to me. I love you.”

“I know! I love you too! I’m just afraid is all, please try to understand…”

He became silent again, then proceeded to stop the car on the side of the road. Without a word, he pulled you into a hug and you were quick to surrender, resting your chin on his shoulder and melting into his warmth. A full minute must have gone by before he spoke up:

“I understand. ‘S just I’m so used to dismissing other people’s opinions, with the press and all…I’m sorry I didn’t realise it was troubling you. ”

“It’s okay. I didn’t tell you.”

“...Do you want to go home?”

You leaned back to look at him, surprised by the suggestion. Everything in his body language indicated he was being completely serious ; you couldn’t help but smile at how considerate it was of him to be giving you an out, despite having no intention to take him up on it. “Are you crazy? I didn’t spend centuries on my eyeliner just to chicken out at the last minute. I am meeting your friends if it’s the last thing I do.”, you joked, attempting to lighten up the mood. You figured he was thinking of your anxiety now, and did not want him to get things mixed up : you were only experiencing a bit of stage fright, driving back to London would be blowing it out of proportion. “I’m okay, George, really. I’ll have a glass of wine, get over myself, meet the bloody Beatles and realise how little all of this matters. It’ll go well.”

He nodded, relieved to hear the relative confidence in your voice. “Good, because Ringo’s house is just up the road,” he said as he started the car again. “You look stunning, by the way. I should be the one worrying.” “What are you talking about?”, you blushed, and he shook his head quietly : “Paul’s a huge flirt.”

#the beatles #George harrison #George Harrison x reader #Beatles x reader #fan fiction #beatles fanfic #Beatles imagines #series #nowhere man

[m0oranshi]

Diary of a cinephile - Entry 2

Want to get away from life and and watch top notch movies instead?

I’ve been extremely depressed and sick and unable to do much more than watch movies to block out my thoughts in the past two weeks. I haven‘t written a diary of recommendations in ages, but I feel like I’ll feel better if I pour out my love for my favorites, because I haven’t seen or talked about them with anyone. So... I just have to vent about their awesomeness and I want more people to enjoy them because they deserve recognition.

This one will be... Wow.

It’s bound to cure a little bit of sadness or at least get away from it for a while.

Every single one is different but so unique and amazing, from time-bending thriller, to life and loss, to stopmotion, to romance, to hell, to a man in a sheet walking around the whole movie and somehow it’s perfect... I have so many things that will blow your mind and I can’t keep these gems to myself anymore.

This will be in no specific order. They are all awesome.

I’ll post links as usual to the trailers, it’s up to you to watch them. I won’t give any spoilers though. You’re safe.

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

A Ghost Story - Dir David Lowery

Ghost 2: Hello.

Ghost 1: Hi.

Ghost 2: I'm waiting for someone.

Ghost 1: Who?

Ghost 2: I don't remember.

Genre: Romance, Drama, Mystery

Trailer (please don’t watch it if you want to be surprised)

---

I can’t, again, write a synopsis without spoiling anything. So I’m going to write it in a question: How long are you willing to wait, and stay, for the person you love, even if you don’t really know if you’ll ever see them again, even if you don’t really know why, when or even how?

This movie is near impossible to explain. There is very little dialogue but it’s striking as hell. I never knew you could feel so much for an actual sheet without an expression that doesn’t talk. It drags on like crazy at times (there is a scene with a pie and I counted, it’s literally one shot for 3 minutes straight and I admit that was weird in the beginning) but in the grand scheme of it all, the slowness, the sudden fastness, the silence, it all adds to the dreadful flavor this movie brings that I haven’t really felt from a movie before. Boy, is this an experience if you’re open to it. And I don’t think I’ll shake this feeling soon.

If you are into symbollic shit and want a movie where you can really lose track of time in, (I watched it while half awake and it was like a lucid dream) I recommend it. Think of the opposite of The Avengers and if that sounds horrible to you, don’t watch, you’ll hate it and think it’s some artsy-fartsy bullshit. Just being real here.

‘A Ghost Story’ with it’s thriller-like name is ironically one of the most romantic/saddest things I’ve ever seen.

+ Bonus point: the main character is a person in a sheet. C’mon.

++ Bonus point: This fucking epic soundtrack.

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

- Gifted (2017) - Dir Marc Webb

Mary Adler: “He's a good person. He wanted me before I was smart.“

Genre: Drama, Family

Trailer (Safe to watch)

---

A young girl is gifted/cursed by being way ahead of everyone her age in intellect, something that runs in the family, and her uncle tries to give her a normal life, a happy life, a life any kid deserves by making friends and whatnot, while others think she deserves and is created for ‘more’.

This one struck me harder than I thought because it started relatively sweet, but then adults got involved and made everything difficult. Near the end I had to burry my face in a blanket to stop my crying because it got a little too close to home (not that I’m a genius or know at all how horrible it would be like to be ‘gifted’ like that, but some scenes are things anybody can relate to, really.)

Anybody has felt like the ‘odd one out’ at some point, and the unfairness of how you are treated when you are slightly different and how people jump onto that opportunity like vultures just struck such a cord with me. The child actress is absolutely brilliant, the best I’ve seen in a while, I generally wanted to jump through the screen to hug her because for a second I thought she wasn’t acting, that’s how good she is.

+ Bonus point: A one eyed cat becomes a major plot point.

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

- Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri - dir Martin McDonagh

Mildred Hayes: “This didn't put an end to shit, you fucking retard; this is just the fucking start. Why don't you put that on your ‘Good Morning Missouri fucking wake up’ broadcast, bitch?“

Genre: Drama, Black Comedy

Trailer (safe to watch)

---

(If you don’t like cursing look away now. Personally, concidering the circumstances of this poor mother’s rage, I think it’s entirely justified.)

A mother who recently lost her daughter by a horrific murder tries to stirr up her small community and the insanely lazy police force to finally do something, and look for the perpetrator, who is still out there.

I love black humor, but this one was very, very... black. I don’t know how you can be so funny and yet deal with such horrific things at the same time, but they pulled it off so, so well.

In a matter of minutes you feel like you are part of this little town and you get just as frustrated as any and every character on the screen, they are all written so well, it’s as if you’ve known them for years. It was so easy to get into the whole story.

Just after five minutes it’s impossible to stop watching. The lead character ( Frances McDormand ) is just simply amazing, I think she was nominated last year too and I can see why. I’m not a mother, but I could feel her heartbreak every second.

+ Bonus Point: No unecessary stupid romantic bullshit, congrats Hollywood, slowly you’re learning and realise that when you see a man and a woman they can be friends.

++ Bonus Point: same director of ‘In Bruges’ and ‘Seven Psychopaths’ so I feel like a fish stuck on a bait already because I adore those movies, but heh... I am happy to be captured once again. I LOVE him.

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

- Triangle (2009) - Dir Christopher Smith 

????: - IF. THEY. BOARD. KILL. THEM. -

Genre: Psychological Thriller

Trailer (I really recommend you don’t watch this one)

---

I can’t really explain short what this... this... thing is without spoiling anything. Some attractive people straight out of glamour magazines get shipwrecked on their out of a magazine yacht and they get onto another ship. If I say more I ruin all the fun.

I think this might actually be my favorite out of the ones I saw because I remember sitting for an hour straight with a hand covering my mouth with how insane it was. I didn’t know what to believe for a long, long time.

The beginning is such a false representation of what’s to come, and I remember trying to begin watching it years back but I fell for their trick and quit. Now I’ve seen all of it it’s actually up there with some of my favorite psychological thrillers, and I’ve seen ALOT.

But, like I said before, you honestly can’t talk about anything without spoiling it, so don’t even look up the ratings or trailer or synopsis. Just trust me, I went into this knowing nothing and I was never more grateful. (Though know you’ll need a strong stomach at times because there is unexpected blood and gore.)

+ Bonus point: UGH it kills me not being able to tell how brilliant the end is. But yes. The end. And all the crazy foreshadowing.

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INTERLUDE

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The Void - Steven Kostanski and Jeremy Gillespie

Genre: Horror, mystery, something someth-

trailer

---

HAHA I’m just kidding, this was excruciating. Please don’t see it. I’m sorry but they should be punished for this so I had to include. If you want to have a good laugh though, be my guest. So much potentional, so much promise of a different layer of fear, and it goes absolutely nowhere and it’s so sad. It’s not like I’m stupid and just ‘don’t get it’, there is nothing to get. I don’t think the writers even knew what they were getting at.

I sound so mean, but I am mean because I was robbed of my time.

Yes, yes... they did a good portrayal of Hell. But ironically Hell was sitting through this movie. After seeing ‘Triangle’, a movie that ACTUALLY portays Hell well in my opinion, this is just... amazingly bad. Good special effects can’t save this movie for the life of it.

(I wanted an interlude because making this is pretty draining.)

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END INTERLUDE

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- A Simple Plan (1998) - Sam Raimi 

“Sometimes good people do evil things. Four million dollars and plenty of change. They've worked hard all their lives, but they still can't afford the American Dream. Stealing it is even better.”

“Do you ever feel evil?”

Genre: Crime, Suspense

Trailer (safe to watch)

---

Three dudes find a bag of 4 million dollars. Sounds like a slam dunk to me, but it isn’t easy at all because a ton of problems come with it. Who did it actually belong to, is it morally right to keep it, what if the police is after it, does it mean you’re stealing...? What if money corrupts and friendships aren’t like they seem to be and how far will you go to keep it?

This one is straight out of the Coen’s brothers directory, but I’ve looked and I don’t think they have any affiliation with it. Anyway, it’s sooooo reminiscent of Fargo with the set and tone and everything, I honestly thought they had something to do with it. If you’re familliar with Fargo, you’ll absolutely adore this one.

It’s such a dreadful but such a true tale about how people can act ‘differently’ once given an opportunity. You might end up thinking ‘I would never do that’, but... wouldn’t you? You’ve never been in the place of these characters and it’s impossible to imagne, and seeing the true nature of how abhorent you truly can be, can be confrontational.

Everything you try to do leads to more complications, and it’s hard to imagne where you’d say ‘no, enough is enough’.

It’s not an easy watch because it’s way too true but I adore it.

+ Bonus point: Billy Bob Thornton. If you’re not familliar, get on it. He’s amazing, always.

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

Isle of Dogs - Wes Anderson

Oracle: It may snow tonight.

Boss: Really? Thank you very much, wow.

Oracle: To whom it may concern.

Boss: She sees the future!

King: Ha! No. She understands TV.

Trailer (safe to watch)

---

In a dystopian near-future Japan, dogs have become a menace because of some dog-flu virus, so they all get deported to a seperate island. But there are conspiracies flowing around, vaccinations being made, and the dogs do whatever they can to stay alive on this god forsaken island of trash.

I never liked dogs, sue me. But for some reason I KNEW this was going to be an experience so I bought a ticket, and holy crap was it worth it. Every single frame is a piece of art. Every. Single. One. (I want an artbook for this movie. Or a poster. Just... ANYTHING because it’s sugar to my eyes.)

I was so overwhelmed with how gorgeous it was, it was hard to concentrate sometimes, but I walked out with such a huge smile that lasted for days. The humor is on-point and yet so dry, just enough to pull you out of that overwhelmed trance. You end up caring for each and every one of the dogs because they are all perfectly rounded characters, better written characters than you see in humans sometimes. It’s mindblowing. The voice acting is perfectly cast and... Just. This movie is a dessert, something we don’t deserve but we got it anyway.

+ Bonus Point: Edward Norton voice acting. I am in love with his voice.

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

WELL. I’ll make another one sooner than I thought because I have so many more to share, but honestly making these posts is a task (a lovely one though) but I have life duties. I didn’t even get to share my favorite ones yet, so stay tuned (nobody will read this but whatever)

#Movies #film #isle of dogs #a ghost story #a simple plan #triangle #three billboards outside ebbing missouri #gifted #the void #me ranting #movie reviews #cinephile #life

[johhhhhhnintheusa]

Curiosity

I think it's safe to say at this point that I am a massive nerd.

As such, one of my hopes was that I'd be able to go to a nerd convention while I'm in America.

I've been to a few in London and they're a lot of fun. Lots of people walking around in ridiculously intricate costumes, panels, markets and artists.

I actually volunteered at a convention last year, which was some of the best fun I've ever had. I'd say I enjoyed the volunteering more than actually going to the convention itself.

Either way, I'd kind of given up on being able to go to a convention here. They all seemed to be happening at times I wasn't in that area, or they were already full.

However, I did manage to go to Anime Expo right here in LA. I'm not the biggest purveyor of anime, but it was still a good time.

If nothing else, I got to play Guitar Hero for what I realised is probably the first time in ten years. Time has not been kind to my abilities.

I would also like to counter a myth. Some people maintain that nerds don't exercise. To those people, I say you have never seen one play Dance Dance Revolution. The guys playing at the convention were a blur of flailing legs, sometimes dancing over both the player one and two pads. They are almost always glistening with sweat afterwards.

Actually I'll counter another myth. People who say that exercise leads to weight loss also need to watch people play this game. Some of them are as big as they are graceful.

And they're pretty graceful.

Some of them.

Sometimes.

I spent an afternoon at the convention, in which time I started to consider why I enjoyed volunteering more than attending.

I think I just seem to derive enjoyment from other people having fun, particularly those I care about. For those reading this who attended my leaving drinks at work, that was probably a factor in why those sorts of things make me uncomfortable. I'm a support player, rather than the main event. I'm comfortable in that role and I like performing it.

While not the greatest segway in the world, another thing about myself is that I like to have seen both sides of a story. And I'm aware that sometimes I receive information skewed to a certain point of view.

Which brings me to the main topic of conversation. I am not a religious person. I don't begrudge people their religion but it's not something I feel I need in my life. I don't deny that it can be a positive force in people's lives, just as sometimes it can be destructive when utilized improperly.

The religion is almost never the problem, it's the people who practice it making it imperfect.

And there's no denying that religion can be tribal. Generally, a subscriber of one religion will believe in that religion and disavow all of the many others.

I'm staying in Hollywood, a place which happens to contain a Scientology building.

I don't believe I've ever met a Scientologist, so I decided to take the opportunity yesterday to go in and speak to some.

Oh yes, that's something I did.

I'm very conscious that the main things I've heard about Scientology are negative pieces in the media, stories about it being a cult, brainwashing, intimidating or following people. Tom Cruise jumping on Oprah's sofa. And that one episode of South Park. I'm sure I'm not alone in that being my only exposure to it.

And I know that the very notion of me talking about Scientology in the same breath as religion may seem abhorrent to you. But like I said, religion is tribal.

At its core, nobody knows which religions are correct and which are just words. They could all be horseshit, one or some could be true, but they can't all be right.

And I feel it's naive at best to dismiss Scientology based solely on negative perception, considering some of the evil shit purveyors of more established religions have done.

Just to be clear, in case you're now frantically reading this to see how far down the rabbit hole I've fallen, I've not been converted. I'm still your lovable neighbourhood agnostic.

With that out of the way, I walked to the main desk. Everyone in the building is wearing a uniform; a black waistcoat and white shirt, with a monochrome tie. Everyone wears a name badge and a Scientology symbol pin. I tell the man at the desk that I'm here to ask a few questions about them.

He says this is a self-guided tour and directs me to the walls of the room. Each wall has a large TV in it with seating in front of it. Each TV plays several videos on subjects relating to what Scientologists believe, who L Ron Hubbard was etc.

In case you don't know, the core of their belief is that you aren't your body or your mind. You are a Thetan (pronounced THAY-TEN, apparently), essentially a soul.

Your brain just controls the rest of the body, and you control the brain. They believe the mind, which contains all your experiences and sensations, is separate to the brain, and that this travels with the Thetan.

They also believe that Thetans are immortal, and that when the body dies, the Thetan simply becomes another human, similar to ideas of reincarnation. So they also believe that you have the memories and experiences of all of your past lives, including all the pain and negativity.

Scientology is the process of making sure that this negativity is expunged from the mind, so that you can be happier, more productive etc. At least that's what they believe.

I decided not to bombard the host with questions, of which I had many, so I just quietly watched the videos for a while. But then out of nowhere, the host comes over and asks me why I'm here.

I tell him what I told you, that I was just curious to hear things from their perspective. This quickly leads to a barrage of questions from me about what I'd seen so far.

For example, one of the things they believe in is called the reactive mind. This is the part of the mind (again, not the brain) that collects every negative memory and unhelpfully plays this back to you.

The example they showed is one of someone getting sick eating a certain food one time because it was improperly prepared. Then when someone offers you the food again at another time, the mind plays back the sensations you experienced before and you feel nauseous despite not actually eating the food. That this is irrational and through Scientology can be removed.

I asked him if he thought the reactive mind was completely negative. He said yes. This didn't sit right with me, so I gave him an example.

I said that if someone, when younger, put their hand in a boiling pot of water, they would use the memory of that pain not to do it again in the future, and that to an extent that's how we learn.

The host replied that this is actually a facet of the analytical mind, rather than the reactive one. That this is ok.

I'm not entirely convinced by this explanation, since there are times we don't have time to analyse anything. The fight or flight response for example is instinctual, and has largely aided our survival as a species since the beginning. Negative memories would inform that as well.

Ug see tiger, then see Zub. Tiger eat Zub. No more Zub. Ug no go near tiger. Tiger bastard.

One of the more famous, alarming things people mention about Scientology is the whole...aliens crashing in a volcano thing. I didn't want to outright ask about that (for the record, nobody there talked about it, nor did any of the videos. I think they're trying to distance themselves from it) but I thought I'd ease into it.

So I asked him if Scientologists believe in evolution, since Thetans solely inhabit human bodies and humans weren't always as they are.

This leads us to one of the main tactics I encountered: instead of answering a question, directing you to read one of the books, or attend a course.

I asked him why he can't tell me the answer. He says one of their rules is that they can't verbalize what is in the books.

I pointed out that that seems to be what the videos I just watched were doing. I also said, gently, that this is one of the biggest problems people have. That it's all set up so you need to pay money to get answers.

Any time this is brought up, with anyone I spoke to, it provokes the same response: "just go the library and read it". Always the same inflection no matter who you ask.

I asked him why it's a rule that the answers can't be verbalized. He told me that to do so would be to dilute the message.

Essentially, they're worried about Chinese whispers. This...sounds reasonable in theory but also incredibly convenient.

For the record, I tried to discuss this with two people and both times it didn't go anywhere. Seemingly their role is to get you in the door and reading the material. They won't give you much other than vague platitudes about what the religion can do.

At this point, while I definitely have learned more about what they believe, I feel as if I'm hitting a brick wall in terms of what information I can glean from speaking to them.

The host, perhaps sensing my frustration, walks me over to a small grey device. It has a dial readout and attached to the device are two cylindrical handles connected to the main device with wire.

It's an e-meter. Until now, I believed this device was used daily to assist in expunging negative thoughts or feelings. And that the device measures the level of these feelings.

The host is very quick to correct me that it doesn't measure anything. It registers the negativity that you're thinking about.

He asks me to think of a time I've been stressed.

Naturally, as when anyone is asked a question like this, I'm not thinking about something stressful. I am literally thinking the phrase 'hmm, stressful situation, stressful situation. What's a stressful situation I can think about as this man just asked'.

But before I can consciously think about an actual situation, he jabs a finger at the dial and says 'there, what were you thinking about just now?'

I tell him that I haven't even started yet and he asks me to keep thinking. This happens two or three more times until we kind of give up. But essentially, the device doesn't actually do anything to remove negativity. You just need to think of it as a tool a Scientologist therapist uses to find negativity in you so they can remove it somehow. Again, very vague.

He is very insistent that I should go on the first course to learn more because I'm clearly interested. It's only 50 bucks he says.

Here we go.

I tell him I need to conserve money, which is true, and that I can't spare it. Then he tells me about a free personality and IQ test they can do in the building.

Immediately I'm sceptical, but I show interest. He brings me a form to fill in. It asks me for my full name, full address, number, email, age, so much information. I write my first name and my age and leave the rest blank.

He leaves to get a test officer ready for me.

[fantasiesromancechicklits]

In Depth Thomas Doherty interview

TWO things hit home immediately on meeting Scotland’s Disney star Thomas Doherty; the first is he has the arresting good looks normally associated with boy band members, or those young men you see on giant posters on the wall of a trendy clothes shop, wearing nice tops. When Doherty later informs he has over a million Instagram followers it’s not hard to see why.

The second thing is his ankle tattoo, an inscription of sorts, but although I’m sitting a yard away I can’t make the words out. Some foreign language I’ve never come across? We talk about the tattoo puzzle later, meantime the young man from Edinburgh chats about his new Disney role.

Doherty, who is also one of the stars of Disney Channel musical, The Lodge, now stars as Harry Hook in Descendants 2, a sequel to the international TV franchise featuring the adventures of the teen offsprings of the great Disney villains such as Cruella de Vil and Maleficent.

He explains why he’s wild about Harry. “I love playing him,” says the actor who hopes his pirate Son of Hook will be the most evil villain of the past 100 years, badder than old King Kong, and meaner than a junkyard dog, (to lift from the late American songwriter Jim Croce.)

“He can be very hostile and intimidating and unpredictable, but at the same time he has a charming quality. It’s easy to see why people love him – but hate to love him at the same time. He’s such good fun to play. And his character brings a lot to the rest of the film.

Doherty seems to have natural warmth and to be entirely unassuming. As he tells of playing Captain Hook’s wicked progeny, it’s with an endearing sense of incredulity; the actor’s voice has a questioning air, wondering how he can, at just 22, be part of this worldwide franchise, be part of the offspring of the Disney parents who gave the world Miley Cyrus and Britney Selena Gomez.

He later reveals however he isn’t an innocent abroad. But for the moment we continue talk of Harry Hook. Did he channel anyone in particular when he became bad boy Harry? “I did,” he offers. “I thought of Heath Ledger when he played the Joker in Batman. His performance was amazing. He showed how you can totally immerse himself in this huge character, yet make him truthful. It’s such a shame we’ve lost him.

“When I play Harry I want that sort of truth.” He adds: “There’s a real dichotomy about him and it’s important to understand he’s still a kid, which means there’s a lot of teenage angst and frustration in the mix.

“You forget he’s the son of Hook, and don’t think about the pirate ship. What I want to come across is he’s a young man with a lot of problems – peer pressure, father pressures, and loss in his life. And this manifests itself in anger and aggression.” He laughs: “But it’s all good fun.”

Doherty clearly brings an intelligence to the role (his mother, who works in a bank – his dad is a financial adviser – made sure he finished his Highers before she agreed on him taking off to musical theatre college) but you discover there’s also an innate toughness about him which the model looks don’t suggest initially.

“I grew up hoping to become a professional footballer,” he says, revealing a world far removed from fairy princesses and camp.

His talent was such it led to professional trials with the likes of Berwick Rangers, but not quite enough to land the big leagues. “My brother was also a footballer and went to America on a footballing scholarship, so I guess I was following in his footsteps.”

Yet, while Doherty tackled and twisted his way over East Lothian grass he kept a dark, or rather a colourful, secret from many of his school chums.

“While I was seen as a football player, no-one was aware I also did musical theatre,” he says in mock conspiratorial voice. “I’d have my books and packed lunch at the top of my bag but at the bottom I’d hide my tap shoes.

“On Saturdays, for example, I’d go to musical theatre from nine ‘till one and then rush off to the game.” He adds, laughing: “Then during the week I’d turn up for musical theatre with my knees all cut and bruised. It was all a bit Billy Elliott. But I loved both.”

His very close friends accepted his leanings: “Yes, but any 13-year-old boy who wears leotard and tights two days a week is going to get slagged off,” he says, grinning. “Young boys were wary of acting. There was a sense it was all a bit effeminate. And I’d get teased. but it’s part of the banter. And my friends were fantastic and so supportive when it came to seeing my shows.”

Doherty had been attending a local drama group from a young age, but aged 13 he “really began to enjoy it". When the football dream was kicked out of the park, he decided to focus on performing and applied to the Academy of Performing Arts to study musical theatre. “I always wanted to work in TV and film but didn’t feel I was mature enough to go to acting school. And I could sing a bit, and dance as well because I had already done a lot of musical theatre shows.”

At the end of his three years, he performed his showcase and landed an agent. Now, landing representation is every young performer’s dream. But when you coax it out of Doherty there’s a realisation agents were almost queueing around the block to sign him up.

You would imagine they saw him as a cert for a role in EastEnders, a teen heartbreaker shoe-in for Hollyoaks?

“Yes, I met a few agents and some of them suggested they would get me into the likes of Hollyoaks. But it didn’t feel right. I didn’t feel passionate about the idea and felt I would be cheating a little bit.”

What happened was he worked in theatre for a short time, appearing at the Edinburgh Festival in a play about the Black Death, boils and all. Then he landed some film work in the likes of Hercules before being cast in teen musical The Lodge as Sean, filming in Northern Ireland.

He switches conversational channels to offer a bigger picture. “I don’t thinking living two steps ahead in life as being in any way productive. I like to live in the moment. That’s why there isn’t a big career plan mapped out.

“In the six months before leaving college I had the idea I’d get an agent and move to Hollywood and land films and do the red carpet thing. And then I got a little taste of it and I realised I was trying to fill my life with stuff. But I also realised if that was my intent it would never really be filled.”

What? These days actors talk of career moves as if it were a board game strategy. What made Doherty so different? What happened to bring about this epiphany?

Seems he has gone down the way of modelling after all.

“While I was doing The Lodge I was also meeting these modelling agencies, and at the same time I was going to acting auditions. But I wasn’t really thinking about the auditions; I was thinking about what the auditions would bring me. Then I went to LA and did the photo shoot for Teen Vogue and came back and thought ‘That was so much fun’ and people were saying to me it was amazing, yet at the same time it all felt very hollow, a bit vacuous.”

Doherty realised he was being judged for his looks alone. It didn’t sit well. “Old friends or people who didn’t know me were giving lots of attention, and it was weird when girls would scream or ask for photos but it wasn’t fulfilling.”

He felt lost, unsure of the road to take. “I began reading Eckhart Tolle a lot, (the spiritual teacher and author of books such as The Power Of Now) who has been asking why we are trying to fill our lives with stuff. You know; you get the car or the big house or whatever and then you ask yourself what you did to deserve it.

“You wonder if life is all about getting two million followers on social media.”

He has in fact just a million. The actor grins and then takes on a serious look: “But the thing is it doesn’t mean anything, except that ... well, it doesn’t define me.”

It’s quite unusual to find a young man aged just 22 who has been self-aware enough to examine the very point of his being. He could have gone the Bieber route and created minor drugs/alcohol mayhem. But of course, he’s also contained to a certain extent by the demands of Disney. The corporation Disney expects a lot of its young stars, in terms of how they represent themselves to the public, displaying a clean cut wholesomeness.

So how does Doherty balance out the Disney deal with the need to be a young man and have fun – and take a few risks? “Just don’t get caught,” he says, grinning. “But what you don’t do is overthink your status and let it get into your head because it will be a bit restrictive. What you have to do is just see yourself as a you are, which is a normal 22-year-old boy. And don’t let a couple of screaming girls sway you in any way.”

Does he read the tabloid tales of those who have lost the plot? Clearly he’s aware that celebrity is the mask that eats from within. Just think Heath Ledger.

“Yes, and I’m aware if you don’t be careful you crash and burn. Jim Carey once said he wished everyone could spend a week being rich and famous, to see what it’s really like. Attention can bring problems. But I’ve got it under control.”

What helps, apart from Eckhart Tolle and a few pages of natural common sense, is Doherty has a regular girlfriend, who happens to be his Descendants 2 co-star. “Her name is Dove Cameron and she lives in Los Angeles.” His voice becomes more animated as he expands: “She was here for the Edinburgh Festival for the first time and she loved it. She’s great. She’s like my pal, and a really good laugh. The plan is I’m going to head over to LA to live. We’re going to get a place together and live on Venice Beach.”

You tell him he’ll love it. And you’re sick with envy. “Thanks,” he says, smiling. “I think I’m making the right move. London’s great, and so is Edinburgh but it’s too cold.”

Doherty is relaxed about the future. He may be doing another season of The Lodge, and “hopefully a Descendants 3". But thanks to his Instagram success he has a regular income stream, independent of what he earns from acting. “I want to test the water,” he says of work possibilities in Tinseltown.

But gently.

“It’s good to have goals and a career and all the rest of it, but at the same time I want to enjoy life.”

He means it. The actor becomes truly animated when I tell of a young Scots actor, Declan Laird, currently making his way in Hollywood, who plays for a showbiz football team. Declan will get him a game.

“That sounds fantastic,” he says, breaking into a wide smile. “Although I’ll have to watch I don’t get kicked. But of course I won’t tell anyone I’m playing.”

We say goodbyes, but the ankle tattoo questions has to be answered. What the hell language is that? “It’s Elvish,” he declares, as if I should have known it’s Tolkien tongue.

“I’m a huge Lord Of The Rings fan, and it’s a quote from Gandalf: ‘All we have to do is decide what to do with the time that’s given to us.’ Good, eh?”

Perfect line, Thomas. Just perfect.

http://www.heraldscotland.com/arts_ents/15597316.Hook_lines_and_thinker__meet_the_rising_Scottish_film_star/

#thomas doherty #scotland #disneys descendants #Descendants 2 #harry hook #the lodge #sean matthews