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d-criss-news · 2 years

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Darren Criss: ‘Nobody wants to know about the good things on Glee – but I was f***ing there’

You’re getting a full-on TED talk where I get further and further up my own ass and pop out of my own mouth, so buckle up.” Darren Criss is an explosion of chaotic energy. The Glee star also has a lot say, often veering off in slightly paranoid tangents to readjust his points for fear of being misquoted. Maybe it’s because he knows I’ll have to mention some contentious topics, such as his Glee castmate Lea Michele’s behaviour on set or his history of playing LGBT+ characters. Or maybe it’s because I am a member of the British press, which he says is ��evil”, adding, “I do not trust you.” Even the topic of his new Christmas album, A Very Darren Crissmas, takes us to unexpected places.

“Aside from it being a painfully convenient pun… It’s a very, very me thing, from the people that I worked on it with and the songs that I chose that are deeply personal,” he says. “There is just a whole lot of me in this and arguably, it’s one of the most personal albums or bodies of work I’ve ever made. But it perhaps might get lost in the sheen of what Christmas is.” His nails, aptly, are painted with candy stripes.

As I sit across a large conference table from Criss, it’s clear he’s put a lot of thought into making the perfect festive record, from his collaborators (Adam Lambert, Lainey Wilson, Evan Rachel Wood) to every meticulously placed high hat or pizzicato string. “To me - and this isn’t to over romanticise it because I’m promoting a Christmas album - when you think of the Great American Songbook, and you think of jazz standards, Christmas songs are a huge part of those,” he says. “On Top 40 radio, they will play songs from the Thirties to the Fifties right alongside the best of the most contemporary hits. That’s such a f***ing crazy anomaly to how music consumption ordinarily works.

Criss says he’s “cursed with constant curiosity in processes”, whether that be with music or acting. It was on YouTube that he first found recognition, starring in the parody stage show A Very Potter Musical, before making it big time on musical comedy Glee, as Blaine Anderson, a member of rival show choir the Dalton Academy Warblers. But it was his chilling performance as the sadomasochistic killer Andrew Cunanan in The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story that felt like a watershed moment, earning him an Emmy, Golden Globe, Critics’ Choice and SAG Award.

Before Glee, Criss had had small roles in Eastwick and Cold Case, but Ryan Murphy’s showchoir comedy allowed him to do both his passions simultaneously. He’d previously gone up for bit parts on the show but being cast as Blaine was his “Slumdog Millionaire moment”, where his first song on the show (a cover of Katy Perry’s “Teenage Dream”) reached No 8 in the Billboard Hot 100. As with his Christmas album, it was a place to perform old and new songs together - something he was doing before the show, when he would spend hours every week playing covers in bars and restaurants.

Blaine joined the show in season two (when Glee was already watched by tens of millions) as a love interest for fan-favourite Kurt Hummel, played by Chris Colfer. For many viewers, it was the first time they’d seen a young gay couple presented positively on the small screen. “I have a lot of queer folks that come up to me, particularly older folks, that will say how much that relationship meant to them,” Criss tells me. “They’ll say, ‘When I was growing up, I didn’t really ever get to see that on TV’… and then I always remind them, neither did I… As a cis straight man, I also didn’t see that. And while I have not grown up as a queer person, I’m a lifetime subscriber, man. I’m a season ticket holder to the queer experience. I grew up in San Francisco in the Nineties; these are people that raised my cultural awareness… [so] also it means a lot to me.”

But the topic of straight actors playing LGBT+ roles is a much-debated issue. Neil Patrick Harris, who starred in Hedwig and the Angry Inch on Broadway before Criss did it on the US tour, has previously defended the practice, saying that there is “something sexy” about it. How does he feel about it? Here, that mistrust comes out in Criss - a fear of misspeaking on “complex” issues. “This is a really tough one because, let’s just say, I’ve been s*** on,” he says. “No matter what I say, I’m going to get into the same mess that I’ve always gotten in, which is me being what I believe is very fair and diplomatic, but nobody’s interested in that, because compassion is not currently in vogue. So I don’t know what to say.” We can come back to the question if he wants time to gather his thoughts? “I’m making it sound like I have some controversial thing to say, which I don’t,” he hastens to clarify. “What I say is very normal.” We agree to come back to it.

Unfortunately for us both, the hard questions can’t end here. Last year, Glee was rocked by a series of accusations of bad practice and a toxic work environment on set. The most prominent were aimed at Lea Michele, who played the annoying and ambitious Rachel Berry and was accused by former co-star Samantha Ware of making her life a “living hell” on set. I can feel Criss suck the air through his teeth as I mention the allegations. “Bro, you’re getting right into it,” he says.

There’s a pause. “This is no bulls*** PR nonsense between you and me in this room, and whoever the f*** you want to tell. I have nothing but positive things to say about every single person on that show. I had such lovely interactions with everybody… for somebody who may get pinned as Mr Happy-Go-Lucky, it’s a bummer to me that I can’t celebrate the good things about people who have been extraordinary because I think the great things about people are not as fun to advertise as s***ty moments.” While he says he’s not speaking about any cast members in particular, he knows that fans want the “juicy tea” and will “love to try and think of their own version” when they read this. He’s probably right.

Criss continues: “Working on set is an extraordinarily high-pressure zone where the rules are famously written in sand… There’s a great deal of context and compassion that is missing that nobody wants to know about or write about. But I was f***ing there, and I saw a lot of good things. I saw ‘not great’ things, but not because these people are bad people, truly.” Maybe it’s his “bleeding heart idealism”, he adds, but “I don’t believe anybody was ever twisting their moustache, like” - he puts on a Dick Dastardly voice - “‘I know, I shall compromise these people by doing the following things.’”

It’s also easy to forget that this was a young cast, many of whom were in their first TV roles and had been “shot out of a cannon into the public sphere”. “I f***ing dare anybody out there to have the constitution to be able to deal with that in a way that is spotless,” he says. “Think about it this way. Think about members of your family, fights that you’ve had, things that were said that weren’t meant… If it was written down, or somebody outside the family saw it and broadcast it to other people, it would make you look like a s***ty family… The next night, you’re at dinner, the holidays roll around. You give each other a hug, you respect each other, you love each other. That’s how families work… No one’s gonna write about the good stuff. So I’m here to tell you there was a lot more good stuff than there was bad stuff.”

It was on the show that Criss first worked with Ryan Murphy - a man he describes as a provocateur and a “first-rate showman”. The Nip/Tuck creator was Glee’s showrunner, but it took The Assassination of Gianni Versace, episodes of which were directed by Murphy, for the pair to really collaborate. The second American Crime Story season told the story of Andrew Cunanan, a young Californian who murdered five men in 1997, one of whom was the Italian fashion designer. While the other ACS miniseries have told incredibly well-known stories, Criss found creative freedom in the fact that Cunanan - who died by suicide eight days after shooting Versace - was more of a mystery.

“Unlike if you’re playing OJ, or if you’re playing Monica Lewinsky or Bill Clinton, or these public figures that have an extraordinary amount of documentation of how they look, how they sound, how they walk, how they talk, there was next to nothing on Andrew, which gave me kind of carte blanche to do whatever,” he says. “I think if Andrew was somebody that everybody knew, I think people would have had a very different expectation, because the assignment would have been different.”

It’s here that Criss brings us back to the LGBT+ question, saying that he doesn’t want to “shy away” from the topic. “I think for any role that you’re up for, you want to know if you add value to it, right?” he says. “The Cunanan role came up simply because I’m half Filipino and I share a pretty similar likeness to the guy… He was also very white passing, which I am as well, so there’s a lot of things there that really fit… There are so many performances that are either straight roles given by queer actors or queer roles that are done by straight actors that are so beloved, that we just don’t talk about those. But if they’re done poorly, we get up in arms and we blame it on the fact that this person isn’t queer, this person isn’t straight, as opposed to maybe they just weren’t the right person for the job?”

The problem, he says, is the “double standard” placed on performers once they become public figures - say, on a show like Glee. “If there’s a role that requires somebody or something about them, whether it’s a queer character, or a character that does this or has this background, if we know nothing about them, do we have the objectivity to appreciate their performance?” he asks. “Did they do a good job? Did they service the story? Did they give it life? Did we believe it? Did it give the thing that that character represents visibility? And because the veil has been lifted, we can see everything about somebody. I’m now in a position in my life where folks can look up anything about me, at least [that] I’ve let out there. That is a standard that is held up to the roles that I play.”

Criss says that while there’s no “hard and fast rule”, he is acutely aware of the “social barometer” and has turned down “plenty of queer roles” over the years, saying: “I’ll read a script and go, ‘I, as a consumer, would rather see a queer man do this role.’” A few years ago he made headlines for seeming to say that he wouldn’t play an LGBT+ character ever again. Today, he says that was a misquote. “I was like, ‘I never said this,’” he says. “What I did say was that I don’t want to be another…” He seems to lose his train of thought. “This is less about what I said and more about the issue of clickbait and how it can dilute what was actually said and it becomes corrosive to the overall message. That’s what’s unfortunate to me.” He pauses. “You should f***ing quote me on that. You won’t, but it’s OK.”

‘A Very Darren Crissmas’ is out now

#darren criss #the independent #press #glee #acs versace #a very darren crissmas #lgbt+#dec 2021

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randomestfandoms-ocs · 3 years

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Warblers Prompt List

Made by request, a list of prompts for Glee: The Music Presents The Warblers! If there’s a specific artist or album that you’d like a prompt list for, send me a message and I’ll let you know what I can do!

Let's go all the way tonight, no regrets, just love

You and I, we'll be young forever

You make me feel like I'm living a teenage dream

Let's runaway and don't ever look back

My heart stops when you look at me

I knew I wouldn't forget you

I went and let you blow my mind

The way you move ain't fair, you know

A single thing you do tonight

I'm always gonna wanna blow your mind

You're the only one I'm dreaming of

Taking me places I ain't never been

Silly me, why haven't I found another?

You'd think that people would have had enough of silly love songs

Love doesn't come in a minute, sometimes it doesn't come at all

When I get you you'll know, babe

Here we go again, I kinda wanna be more than friends

What are you waitin' for?

So scared of breaking it that you won't let it bend

Sometimes these cuts are so much deeper then they seem

The silence is slowly killing me

Take these broken wings and learn to fly

All your life, you were only waiting for this moment to arise

Only darkness still remains

Looks like a solo tonight

I think I'll be alright

I love when it's all too much

So raise your glass if you are wrong in all the right ways

I’m getting old and I need something to rely on

I’m getting tired and I need somewhere to begin

Is this the place we used to love? Is this the place that I’ve been dreaming of?

This could be the end of everything, so why don’t we go somewhere only we know?

And if you have a minute, why don’t we go

There was a place when we were starting over

She sits alone waiting for suggestions

He's so nervous avoiding all her questions

Don't you just know exactly what they're thinking?

Come on, honey, let's spend the night together

They wake at dawn cause all the birds are singing

They got each other, neither one's complaining

#ask game #prompts #my ask game #don't reblog without sending #my prompts

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esperantoauthor · 4 years

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All Kinds of Memes!

I was tagged by @20xbetterthanu and @heartsmadeofbooks. Thank you lovely people!! I hate when tag games get long so I’m making my own post but your stuff was cute!

10 Songs Meme

Rules: You can usually tell a lot about a person by the type of music they listen to! Put your playlist on shuffle and list the first 10 songs and then tag 10 people! No skipping!

I’m listening to my “pump up my mood” playlist on spotify so I’m going to try to remember what came up recently and write down whatever comes up next.

1. U Should Know Better by Robyn (feat Snoop Dogg)

2. I’m Still Hot by Luciana

3. Halo/Walking on Sunshine by Glee Cast

4. Good as Hell by Lizzo

5. Whatever Happened to Saturday Night (Hot Patootie) by Glee Cast feat John Stamos

6. Sorry not Sorry by Demi Lovato

7. Give up the Funk by Glee Cast

8. Me Too by Meghan Trainor

9. Ladies’ Choice by Zac Efron (Hairspray Soundtrack)

10. Nails, Hair, Hips, Heels by Todrick Hall

7 Albums Meme

Rules: Make an image HERE of your top 7 albums, just type in the name and select the alb. This can be too 7 of all time or this year or whatever you’d like.

[Albums pictured: Hamilton Soundtrack, Stop Making Sense, Follow That Road (folk compilation), Beatles Anthology 3, Pirate Radio Soundtrack, Born Naked, Glee Presents the Warblers]

Check In Meme

1. How has your day been? It has been pretty decent. My insomnia was acting up over the weekend so Monday I was horribly exhausted; today was much better but I was still pretty tired.

2. What’s the last thing that made you smile? The spotify ad that said “Veg up” but I heard it as “Vag up.” It’s the little things, isn’t it?

3. What’s keeping your entertained these days? Reading and writing fic, interacting with my little cadre of tumblr pals (e.g. making oven charts for @spookyklaine...honestly trying to make people laugh is very entertaining for me), playing Stardew Valley, my weekly trivia night with friends over zoom, and as of yesterday we are watching the newest season of Dancing with the Stars (because we noticed there were episodes in the DVR).

4. If you’re in some kind of quarantine/self-isolation what do you hope to achieve in this time? I’d like to not die. K thnx.

5. Post selfie, if you’re comfortable doing so:

I’m not, so please enjoy this photo of the gorgeous Kat Dennings. Someone once told me she was my celebrity lookalike and I was SO FLATTERED.

Phone Background / Last Song / Last photo I saved

Phone Images Meme

Phone Background: It is pure black like my soul 😈

Last Song: [okay I’ll put whatever comes up after I get through my ten for the other part]

Last Photo I Saved: I already posted the actual last photo I saved so here’s one I haven’t posted on here. I joined a new meme group on facebook and it has been great!

Tags:

You can skip certain memes if you don’t want to post them.

@spookyklaine, @justgleekout, @kuiinncedes, @porcelain-nightbird, @kurthummeldeservesbetter, @mytrashunicorn, @klainetrashnumberone, @klainedrops-on-roses, @spaceorphan18

#tag game #tag you're it #about me

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honeysucklepink · 4 years

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MEME-A-PALOOZA

Thanks @likearumchocolatesouffle for tagging me in ALL the memes!

10 Songs Meme

Rules: You can usually tell a lot about a person by the type of music they listen to! Put your playlist on shuffle and list the first 10 songs, and then tag 10 people! No skipping!

Dancing in the Dark (feat. Darren Criss) by Scary Pockets

Love Yourself by Billy Porter

Ride by RILEY

Bad Judgement by Blair St. Clair

No Diggity by Blackstreet

Video Games by Trixie Mattel

You’re Making Me High by Toni Braxton

Mama Told Me by Alex Newell

Help Me Now by Kevin McHale

Love On Top by the Barden Bellas

7 Albums Meme

Rules: Make an image HERE of your top 7 albums, just type in the name and select the album. (Can be top 7 of all time, or this year, or whatever you like.)

Fear by Toad the Wet Sprocket

Stankonia by OutKast

Indigo Girls self-titled

Glee Presents The Warblers

Golden Hour by Kacey Musgraves

Cuz I Love You by Lizzo

Hamilton cast album

Check In Meme

1. How has your day been? Eh, can’t complain? Funny I posted about some of it today...favorite bakery reopened so I got scones, happy comments on one of my fics, been working on a presentation for work this week. Only sucky thing is my old man cat clawed his ear open and bled everywhere so we had to treat him and clean that up. :(

2. What’s the last thing that made you smile? Watching the Ole Miss/Alabama game last night, we made some impressive scores. Didn’t win but it was way better than we expected between a traditional powerhouse and a rebuilding team with a new coach!

3. What’s keeping you entertained these days? See the above...football season, plus Masked Singer and Dancing With The Stars.

4. If you’re in some kind of quarantine/self-isolation what do you hope to achieve in this time? Just keeping up with work, keeping the house clean, maybe a couple more home improvement things? Would love to get an article completed and submitted to a journal by the end of the year too.

5. Post selfie, if you’re comfortable doing so:

Phone images meme

Phone background / Last song / Last photo I saved

Let’s get to tagging! @spaceorphan18 @slayediest @lazygirlblogging @black-john-lennon @klaineharmony @darriness @caramelcoffeeaddict @coffeegleek @ckerouac @motherfickle (don’t feel obligated to do all the memes, do as many or few as you like!)

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undercoversadboy · 4 years

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TOP FIVE ALBUMS OF THE DECADE

5. Glee: The Music Volume 6

4. Glee: The Music Volume 3

3. Glee: The Music Presents The Warblers

2. Glee Sings The Beatles

1. Glee: The Music The Christmas Album Volume 3

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migleefulmoments · 5 years

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"Because accusing a gay man of hitting on all the straight men is homophobic. Because Abby insinuated that the video is problematic" Did the anons say Ryan has hit on all the straight men? This is getting weird. I am sorry to see you keep misrepresenting what the original anon said - who mentioned only a "crush". I don't remember anyone here accusing Ryan of hitting on Darren. The anons weren't talking about Abby either, you brought her up regardless. But she uses everything to tinhat.

I’m done talking about this- if you want to say more then come off anon and have a conversation. But they DID imply that Ryan was being predatory and inappropriate- I don’t remember what the first anon said but I have been responding to the tinhatters comments.

Abby: Yes Anon, That was my take as well.

This got long so it’s under a cut

followed immediately by:

justcantgetenoughcc

I have seen the recording of Ry/M touching Da/rren’s cheek before, and still find it creepy. It looks as if D turns his head to kiss R’s hand. What do you think?

Abby: I noticed that too. That Darren turned his head and blew him a kiss / or kissed his hand… to appease him, as he was interrupting the conversation with their guest of honor - Mayor Bloomberg. Possessive much? I found Harry Shum’s expression even more interesting as he notices what RM is doing.

There’s another picture that goes with this set… Where Heather is unceremoniously yanked out of the way, so that RM could stand next to Darren.

Look at Jane’s reaction to HOW RM is describing Chris here…

Chrisdare actually comes in with a reality check and pushes back against their nonsense. Notice that she points out that they need to watch the entire video to see the truth.

chrisdarebashfulsmiles No it’s not the right take and it’s easy too see if you see the entire clip: tightening the lips is not the same as kissing hands.

Now, i know i’m gonna sound rude but i’m mad and pissed off AF in D’s behalf (and as a person who try always to check before speaking) and it’s not something that happens a lot. I usually stay silent too but today this is too much for me. I don’t understand this need of spreading “lies” about him of on this kind of things. To prove that is ok to be mad at him for the bearding and thinking he’s always been disrespectful to C?? That maybe he did casting couch?

We have enough haters… he has more haters than we have… why there’s the need to invent stuff about him it’s beyond me. And now you all block me or whatever, i don’t care. I swear after 6 years here and all that this means… I DON’T CARE.

But for the love of God he has enough on his plate without this kind of stuff. Said that, i agree on RM being the creepiest and i hate him for how he treated C.

Abby comes back with a toned attitude and agrees with Chrisdare. She wasn’t reflagging this earlier in the week? No idea what that means but she can’t help but stir the shit.

ajw720

I was actively not reblogging this gifs earlier in the week because it’s a reminder I don’t think d needs.

But he’s literally pushing his hand away with his face. As @chrisdarebashfulsmiles said, d as enough on his plate. Can we not add to it with falsehoods?

No one is arguing about RM. but for some reason d has decided to dance with the devil he knows. It must be his best option. And c is still there and supporting him so he’s clearly ok with the choice. Let’s not add to the substantial weight on their shoulders.

Rouged has the most outrageous comments-as usual- and Abby reblogged them without pushing back and in fact said “some good points”. Since she didn’t call out those she felt were untrue-I must assume she was fully supportive of the suggestions of impropriety on behalf of Ryan. This isn’t the only time Abby has sullied Ryan’s name. Rouged is only upset that Darren’s name is dragged through the mud.

rougedraconteur

This has been around forever, and will never go away, will it? I had asked that this not be reposted, for what I thought were obvious reasons, but people just can’t help dragging him through the mud. So, let’s talk about this little piece of hell. This was when they were filming the competition in New York. D’s bit was supposed to be over, and he was only in that episode at the very end, which could have been filmed anywhere. BUT, he had broken so big that he, and the Warblers, were given an album release and were also in NYC and on Today show premiering it. D was privately discussing with the producers where his character Blaine would go next. Would he have his own show with the Warblers, a spinoff, or would he stay with Glee? It was a huge decision, and very high-pressure. C had already returned to Glee and New Directions, this was the big show. But, starring in his own show, and giving all the other Warblers a bigger career, that was also tempting. I am sure he felt the pressure of that decision, and how his choice impacted others, he had formed a bond with the Warbler actors. But being on the big show, a sure thing, and with C as his co-star, seeing him and working with him every day, well…

This was a “Welcome to NYC” photo op and news article by Mayor Bloomberg with some of the cast, and this was the moment D was shaking hands with Mayor Bloomberg, and speaking to him. I happen to think D has some political aspirations as well, so he may have mentioned something when he met Bloomberg. RM was probably high, he acts so erratically here, but he reaches out, with a camera and tons of photographers there, and pats him on the cheek, cups his cheek, actually, and pats it way too fondly, extremely inappropriate but what RM does a lot, and not just with D. (more about that later.). I don’t know why Br/ad Fal/chuk does not control him better, but they are both horrible people, as is Dan/te Di/Lor/eto, standing right behind RM, who no longer works with RM, Br/ad, and I/an. (Thank all the gods. That’s one creep out of the way, two to go.) D, in mid-speech with the mayor, and still shaking his hand, is shocked, and reaches up to angrily swat RM’s hand away. Remember that D did not know all the other guys that much, he had mostly hung out with C and the Warblers, who would probably have been more protective of him, (I am sure C would have tried), and more interactive, but this is the rest of the world, including Bloomberg, the NYC press, AND New Directions seeing this predatory behavior roll out up close and personal, for the first time, out in the open, and blatant. I mean, he just did not care what people thought at that point, he thought he was king of the world.

I don’t know why C and the rest of the girls besides Hea/ther were not here, but I know L and C had that big filming singing on the Wicked stage, and the scenes at Tiffany’s. D supposedly was present in the audience at that filming. Since he is not dressed in Warbler costume, for Today show, this may have been that day, I assume C and L filming in those outfits took most of one day. The entire Glee production team, including Warblers and THEIR album rollout, were all there for a week of filming, and, at the height of their fame, had all practically shut NYC down with their various filming locations. Fans were everywhere, and the city made a big deal of it.

Heather tries to stand in front of D, in the group photo, and is roughly jerked out of the way, (also caught on film, the guy must have been unable to stop rolling, it was just too bizarre), so that RM can cosy in to that tight space next to D and hold on. In virtually every photo made with the two of them in a group, D ALWAYS is made to be very near RM, UNLESS RM is sober, has just been called out for being a creep, or is otherwise trying to behave and scrub his image, in which case D is not attached to him at the hip, but these are rare indeed. Again, this was NYC, the height of Glee’s popularity, RM was drunk with power and fame, and probably also literally drunk, thinking he ruled the world and everyone in his domain, and D was making the second-most important decision of his life, behind the scenes. I don’t think many people ever consider the extreme pressure he was under, this was a career making moment, and RM and the other producers were all giving him the hard press. At 23 years old.

The first important decision, knowing how RM was, was going all in to be on Glee. And don’t tell me he didn’t know. Every person in Hollywood knows the predators, and the pluses and perils of working with them. If they are mature adults, and are not trapped or coerced or blackmailed or assaulted, (and they usually are, the power exchange is very imbalanced), what they do is their business, and I don’t judge. If they gain something, that is an exchange, that is their power, their erotic capital, and they are allowed to own that and exchange it as a strength, if they choose. The actors have assets, that propel their careers, and they are allowed to use them, as they see fit, if they give that consent in that moment, and get something they value in return. That is an exchange of power, and happens so frequently in Hollywood (and Washington, and corporate America, and The entertainment and fashion industries as a whole), that most in those industries don’t think twice about it.

So, Hollywood is one of those towns where lots of sex happens, because there are lots of beautiful people interacting with very rich and powerful people, and they all interact with each other. Get real, and get over that part. D is not a saint, nor does he have to be for me to be his fan, I am not blind or stupid or naive, I get it. They are not like us, okay? This is not our day to day lives.

The bad part is when people are faced with almost constant sexual and physical and emotional harassment because of it. And D is. From many power sources. The same as many beautiful women are, with all the talk about fleshlights and being rapey, which is the latest. It is all lewd and suggestive, we have all sexualized D and C, and need to accept that complicated history we all have with them. But especially it is true for D with RM, and Br/ad Fal/chuk, (and Da/nte Di/loreto, but I hope that one is over.) Theirs is oppressive, and manipulative, and controlling and threatening. And that is abuse.

And if anyone has the film from C’s first Single Ladies dance rehearsal, in costume, for the Glee tour, you would see more blatant RM abuse.

In fact,I would venture to say almost every member of that key cast was abused beyond their consent by the showrunner, other producers, writers, and directors. (Not all of them, but some of them, for sure.) It was only because that show made billions, with a B, for F/ox, and even War/ren Buf/fet visited that set (weird, he sat by Ch/ord), that Fox execs looked the other way. The fact that Da/na Wal/den, RM’s main enabler, is now at The Mouse House, just tells you how pervasive this culture truly is. It’s hard to fight everyone, when all your heroes have feet of clay. RM IS the devil he knows. And he has a contract. And he DID negotiate Executive Producer status. But I think it is ironic, and more than a little sad and sick, that RM also gave it to the two new prettyboys on set, who have earned NOTHING like the shit D went through, after we all mentioned that it gave D power and control that he had more than earned. Can’t let D get too big for his britches, and think he is getting somewhere without us now, can we, RM and BF? He OWES you. Apparently, forever.

And can we stop reblogging that series of images now? I think RM gets a sick satisfaction out of them even now, as all the shot starts yet again, tangling them together in intimate ways RM does not deserve, and I despise giving him anything. What was done, is done. What happened, happened. What is happening, has its reasons. It does not change that D is a huge talent, and deserving of his fans, nor that RM and BF are likely to bring him success. They are still creeps, and horribly so, ones that deserve to be brought down, in my opinion. i And apparently would rather deal with, at this point, since everyone is watching, due to all the issues in the past, than ones he doesn’t, which no one expects. The current movie is a perfect example. This career is exactly like walking through a field of land mines for a living. You never know when you are going to step on the next one.

ajw720. Will no reblog again, but some really good points.

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usagistilinski · 5 years

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Encase you guys ever wanted to know just how deep my love for Glee went at one point, here is every Glee related merchandise that I currently still own lol:

1. Books:

The Beginning

Foreign Exchange

Summer Break

The Official Annual 2011

The Official William McKinley High School Yearbook

2. Games:

Scene It

CD Board Game

Cranium

Trivia Box

Puzzle

Uno

Card Game

Yahtzee

Magic 8 Ball

Karaoke Revolution 1, 2, and 3 including each microphone

3. Miscellaneous:

Journal

Microphone

2011, 2012, 2013, and 2014 calendars

Bookmark

I Heart Finn Ring

Finn Pin

Techno Tats

12 Sticker Set

95 Stickers Book

Folder

Notepad

Gleeaster Basket

4. DVD:

Pilot Episode Director’s Cut

Season 1 Volume 1

Season 1 Volume 2

The Complete First Season

Season 2 Volume 1

A Very Glee Christmas

30 Great Musical Performances Back To Back

Season 2 Volume 2

The Complete Second Season

The Concert

The Complete Third Season

The Complete Fourth Season

The Complete Fifth Season

The Complete Sixth Season

5. CD:

Volume 1

Volume 1 Target Edition

Volume 1 Walmart Edition

Volume 2

The Power Of Madonna

Volume 3

Volume 3 Deluxe Edition

Journey To Regionals

The Rocky Horror Glee Show

The Christmas Album

Best Of Season 1

Love Songs

Volume 4

Volume 5

Presents The Warblers

Volume 6

The 3D Concert Movie Motion Picture Soundtrack

Dance Party

The Christmas Album Volume 2

Volume 7

Volume 7 Target Edition

The Graduation Album

Presents Glease

Season 4 Volume 1

The Christmas Album Volume 3

The Beatles

The Quarterback

Season 5 Movin’ Out

The Christmas Album Volume 4

Celebrating 100 Episodes

What The World Needs Now Is Love

6. Extra:

I also have a ‘WWCCD’ bracelet that stands for ‘What Would Chris Colfer Do’

#Glee #I had a serious problem. Haha.#I think I named everything.#I'm considering selling most of the games and misc stuff though...#I'll probably always keep the CDs and DVDs.#This is a random post but I have always wanted to make it.#~

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darrencrissource · 6 years

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DARREN CRISS: INTIMATE AND LIVE IN SYDNEY

Friday 18 May 2018, 8PM

Eternity Playhouse 39 Burton Street, Darlinghurst

Tickets: $99

Pre-sale begins Thursday 10 May at 9am. The pre-sale code can be obtained at http://darrencriss.me/Sydney

Broadway and television star DARREN CRISS will perform INTIMATE & LIVE, a one-night only concert, in Sydney on Friday 18 May 2018 at the Eternity Playhouse, Darlinghurst.

A multi-faceted artist with a career spanning television, film, music and stage, Criss will present a kaleidoscope of pop hits and musical theatre staples, performing on both guitar and piano accompanied by a string quartet.

Best known for playing Blaine Anderson on global TV phenomenon “Glee”, Criss will be back on Australian TV screens, starring in the award-winning series “The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story” available to stream and screen on Foxtel from Thursday May 24. The miniseries premiered to rave reviews in the US in January, with Criss’s performance hailed as “electrifying” and “career-changing”.

On Broadway, Criss replaced Daniel Radcliffe in “How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying”. He later starred as the title role in “Hedwig and the Angry Inch” to great acclaim. In 2017, he debuted his new indie-pop band Computer Gamesalong with his brother Chuck Criss, the two releasing their first album “Lost Boys Life”. Most recently he released a five-track solo EP “Homework”, which peaked at No. 7 on the Billboard Independent Albums Chart.

Criss joined “Glee” during its second season as a supporting character but soon became a fan favourite, leading the ‘Dalton Academy Warblers’, an a cappella singing group that were rivals with ‘New Directions’. Blaine quickly became a love interest to Kurt Hummel (played by Chris Colfer) and transferred to McKinley High, but not before sharing a drunken kiss and an amazing duet with Rachel Berry (played by Lea Michele) to The Human League’s “Don’t You Want Me.” Criss has recently announced as US concert tour with Lea Michele.

May 7, 2018

#darren criss #concert in australia #may 2018

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historyofglee · 13 days

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On this day in 2011:

Glee: The Music, Presents the Warblers was released.

The album featured 13 tracks performed by the Dalton Academy Warblers, including additional tracks What Kind of Fool and Do Ya Think I’m Sexy?.

This album was made available on CD and for digital download.

#Glee #on this day #2011 #April 19th #historyofglee #music

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dnptheinfinity · 4 years

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literally no other album in the history of music makes me feel the way glee presents the warblers makes me feel

#I’m not sure what that says about me #why am i like this

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d-criss-news · 4 years

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Darren Criss acts as playwright when he writes songs. He’s far more confident, and certainly more vulnerable, when he allows himself to play the part. In such a way, songwriting opens up a whole new world that pulses with untapped potential. So much of what he has accomplished in 15 years resides in his willingness to expose himself to what his imagination and intuition have in store. He steps into a playwright’s shoes with considerable ease (just look at his resume), and always one to put on plenty of bravado, especially during our Zoom face-to-face, it’s the natural order of things.

“As I get older and write more and more songs, I really recognize that I’ve always preferred to write for another context other than my own,” Criss tells American Songwriter. He speaks with a cool intensity, gesturing emphatically to accentuate a sentence, and when you let him go, he’s like the Energizer Bunny 一 “I can tell by just how quiet you already are that you’re fucked,” he jokes at the start of our video chat. But he remains just as engaged and focused when listening.

He soaks in the world, taking astute notes about behavior and emotional traits he can later use in song. His storytelling, though, arrives already in character, fully formed portraits he can then relay to the world. It’s not that he can’t be vulnerable, like such greats as Randy Newman, Tom Waits, and Rufus Wainwright, who have all embroidered their work with deeply personal observations, it just doesn’t feel as comfortable. “I’ve always really admired the great songwriters of the world who are extremely introspective and can put their heart and soul on the chopping block,” he muses. “That’s a vulnerability that I think is so majestic. I’ve never had access to it. I’m not mad about it. It’s just good to know what your deal is.”

Criss’ strengths lie in his ability to braid his own experiences, as charmed as they might be, into wild, goofy fantasies. In the case of his new series “Royalties,” now streaming on Quibi, he walks a fine line between pointed commentary on the music industry, from menial songwriting sessions to constantly chasing down the next smash, and oddball comedy that is unequivocally fun. Plotted with long-standing friends and collaborators Matt and Nick Lang, co-founders of Team StarKid, created during their University of Michigan days (circa 2009), the show’s conceptual nucleus dates back more than a decade.

If “Royalties” (starring Criss and Kether Donohue) feels familiar, that’s because it is. The 10-episode show ─ boasting a smorgasbord of delightful guest stars, including Mark Hammill, Georgia King, Julianna Hough, Sabrina Carpenter, and Lil Rel Howery ─ captures the very essence of a little known web series called “Little White Lie.” Mid-summer 2009, Team StarKid uploaded the shoddy, low budget production onto YouTube, and its scrappy tale of amateur musicians seeking fame and fortune quickly found its audience, coming on the heels of “A Very Potter Musical,” co-written with and starring Criss. Little did the trio know, those initial endeavors laid the groundwork for a lifetime of creative genius.

“It’s a full circle moment,” says Criss, 33, zooming from his Los Angeles home, which he shares with his wife Mia. He’s fresh-faced and zestful in talking about the new project. 11 years separate the two series, but their connective thematic tissues remain striking. “Royalties” is far more polished, the obvious natural progression in so much time, and where “Little White Lie” soaked in soapy melodrama, the former analyzes the ins and outs of the music world through more thoughtful writing, better defined (and performed) characters, and hookier original tunes.

“Royalties” follows Sara (Donohue) and Pierce (Criss), two struggling songwriters in Los Angeles, through various career exploits and pursuits. The pilot, titled “Just That Good,” features an outlandish performance from Rufus Wainwright as a major player in dance-pop music, kickstarting the absurdity of Criss’ perfectly-heightened reality. As our two main characters stumble their way between songwriting sessions, finally uncovering hit single potential while eating a hot dog, Criss offers a glimpse into the oft-unappreciated art of songwriting.

In his own songwriting career ─ from 2010’s self-released Human EP and a deal with Columbia Records (with whom a project never materialized) to 2017’s Homework EP and Computer Games’ debut, Lost Boys Life, (a collaboration with his brother Chuck) ─ he’s learned a thing or two about the process. Something about sitting in a room with someone you’ve never met before always rang a little funny to him.

“You meet a stranger, and you have to be creative, vulnerable, and open. It’s speed-dating, essentially. It’s a different episode every time you pull it off or not. All the big songwriters will tell you all these crazy war stories. Everyone has a wacky story from songwriting,” he says. “I slowly realized I may ─ I can’t flatter myself, there are tons of creative people who are songwriters ─ have prerequisites to just put the two together [TV and music]. I’ve worked enough in television as an actor and creator. I can connect the dots. I had dual citizenship where I felt like it was really time for me to go forth with this show.”

But a packed professional life pushed the idea to the backburner.

Between six seasons of “Glee” (playing Blaine Anderson, a Warbler and lover to Chris Colfer’s Kurt Hummel), starring in “Hedwig and the Angry Inch” on Broadway, and creating Elsie Fest, a one-day outdoor festival celebrating songs of the stage and screen, he never had the time. “I was lucky enough to be busy,” he says. “As Team StarKid’s star was continuing to rise with me being separate from it, I was trying to think of a way to get involved again with songwriting.”

At one point, “Glee” had officially wrapped and his Broadway run was finished. It appeared “Royalties” may finally get its day in the sun. “I went to Chicago for a work pilgrimage with the Langs. We had a few days, and we put all our ideas on the map: every musical, feature film, show, graphic novel, and animated series we’ve ever thought of,” he says. “A lot of them were from the Langs; they were just things I was interested in as a producer or actor. We looked at all of them and made a top three.”

“Royalties” obviously made the cut.

Fast forward several years, Gail Berman’s SideCar, a production company under FOX Entertainment, was looking to produce a music show. Those early conversations, beginning at an otherwise random LA party, showed great promise in airlifting the concept from novel idea to discernible reality. Things quickly stalled, however, as they often do in Hollywood, but Criss had at least spoken his dreams into the universe.

“I finally had an outlet to put it into gear. It wasn’t until two to three years after that that things really locked in. We eventually made shorts and made a pilot presentation. We showed it to people, and it wasn’t until Quibi started making their presence known that making something seemed really appealing,” he says. “As a creator, they’re very creator-centric. They’re not a studio. They’re a platform. They are licensing IP much like when a label licenses an indie band’s album after the fact.”

Quibi has drawn severe ire over the last few months, perhaps because there is a “Wild Westness” to it, Criss says. “I think that makes some people nervous. Being my first foray into something of this kind, Quibi felt like a natural partner for us. If this had been a network or cable show, we would’ve molded it to be whatever it was.”

Format-wise, “Royalties” works best as bite-sized vignettes, charming hijinks through the boardroom and beyond, and serves as a direct response to a sea of music shows, from “Nashville” and “Empire” to “Smash.” “Those shows were bigger, more melodramatic looks at the inside base of our world. I’ve always been a goofball, and I just wanted to take the piss out of it,” he says. “This show isn’t about songwriting. It’s about songwriters… but a very wacky look at them.”

“30 Rock,” a scripted comedy loosely based around “Saturday Night Live,” in which the focus predominantly resides around the characters, rather than the business itself, was also on his mind. “It’s about the interconnectivity of the people and characters. As much of the insider knowledge that I wanted to put into our show, at the end of the day, you just want to make a fun, funny show that’s relatable to people who know nothing about songwriting and who shouldn’t have to know anything.”

Throughout 10 episodes, Criss culls the “musicality, fun, and humor” of Fountains of Wayne’s Adam Schlesinger and Max Martin, two of his biggest songwriting heroes, and covers as many genres as possible, from K-Pop to rap-caviar and classic country. While zip-lining between formats, the songs fully rely on a sturdy storytelling foundation ─ only then can Criss drape the music around the characters and their respective trajectories. “I wanted to do something where I could use all the muscles I like to flex at once, instead of compartmentalizing them,” he says. “I really love writing songs for a narrative, not necessarily for myself. I thrive a little more when I have parameters, characters, and a story to tell.”

Bonnie McKee, one of today’s greatest pop architects, takes centerstage, too, with an episode called “Kick Your Shoes Off,” in which she plays a bizarro version of herself. “She has her own story, and I’ve always been fascinated by it,” says Criss, who took her out to lunch one day to tell her about it. Initially, the singer-songwriter, known for penning hits for Katy Perry, Taio Cruz, and Britney Spears, would anchor the entire show, but it soon became apparent she would simply star in her own gloriously zany episode.

In one of the show’s standout scenes, Pierce and Sara sit in on a label meeting with McKee’s character and are tasked with writing a future hit. But they quickly learn how many cooks are in the kitchen at any given moment. Everyone from senior level executives to publicists and contracted consultants have an opinion about the artist’s music. One individual urges her to experiment, while another begs not to alienate her loyal fanbase, and then a third advises her to chronicle the entire history of music itself ─ all within three minutes or so. It’s absurd, and that’s the point. “Everyone’s been in that meeting, whether you’re in marketing or any creative discussion that has to be made on a corporate level by committee. It’s the inevitable, comedic contradictions and dissociations from not only rationality but feasibility.”

Criss also draws upon his own major label days, having signed with Sony/Columbia right off the set of “Glee,” as well as second-hand accounts from close friends. “There are so many artists, particularly young artists, who famously get chewed up and spat out by the label system,” he says. “There’s a lot of sour tastes in a lot of people’s mouths from being ‘mistreated’ by a label. I have a lot of friends who’ve had very unfortunate experiences.”

“I was really lucky. I didn’t have that. I have nothing but wonderful things to say,” he quickly adds.“It wasn’t a full-on drop or anything. I was acting, and I was spreading myself really thin. It’s a record label’s job to make product, and I was doing it piecemeal here and there. I would shoot a season [of ‘Glee’] and then do a play. I was doing too many things. I didn’t have it in me at the time to do music. I had written a few songs I thought were… fine.”

Both Criss and the label came to the same conclusion: perhaps this professional relationship just wasn’t a good fit. They parted ways, and he harbors no ill-will. In fact, he remains close friends with many folks from that time. So, it seems, a show like “Royalties” satisfies his deep hunger to make music and write songs ─ and do it totally on his own terms.

“I still say I want to put out music, and fans have been very vocal about that. I feel very fortunate they’re still interested at all,” he says. “That passion for making music really does come out in stuff like [this show].”

“Royalties” is Darren Criss at his most playful, daring, and offbeat. It’s the culmination of everything he has tirelessly worked toward over the last decade and a half. Under pressure with a limited filming schedule, he hits on all cylinders with a soundtrack, released on Republic Records, that sticks in the brain like all good pop music should do. And it would not have been the same had he, alongside Matt and Nick Lang, not formed Team StarKid 11 years ago.

Truth be told, it all began with a “Little White Lie.”

#darren criss #american songwriter #royalties press #press #royalties #june 2020

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