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ratingtheframe · 3 years

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So 2020 sucked... but the films didn’t! The top twenty films of 2020 (in my humble opinion).

AT LAST. This godforsaken year is over and as we venture into a new year, let's hope and pray that the art’s industry finds a way to build themselves back up again, in a way that is safe and necessary for them to bring us the entertainment we so crave. It has been a crazy and unprecedented year for the film industry, a year that it has never seen with losses of an estimated $5 Billion at the end of March. Some of the most anticipated blockbusters of all time had to be put on hold and postponed for hopefully next year with No Time to Die, A Quiet Place II, Wonder Woman 1984, Dune and Black Widow being a slim few that never got onto a silver screen this year. However, there is no reason to fret or relinquish the loss film has had this year, as hopefully next year once we’ve had a better understanding of this virus, these films along with many others will have their audience. Amongst the postponed releases, many films have been resilient to the virus and still managed to gain a spot in the cinema despite the circumstances.

Christopher Nolan’s Tenet was the only multi-million dollar film to be released this year and even though the risk of release could have meant nothing for the film, it still managed to rake in a staggering $361 million, an expected profit for a film of its size. However, despite the film's success, Nolan made it clear that this shouldn’t be taken lightly and that the safety of film consumers comes before the profits themselves.

Even though we will have to be more cautious in the cinema, films will return, once we have regulated safety measures in cinemas and film festivals to ensure that customers can feel comfortable. For now, HBO has planned to put many releases from Warner Bros. straight onto its streaming platform as well as in the cinema next year, in an attempt to prevent the spread of COVID whilst still being able show the films we’ve been craving. There’s no telling what next year will bring, what the Oscars will look like or if filming for the next Batman film will ever end, however it's clear to see that the film industry has shown resilience amongst this pandemic and will continue to do so in years to come, no matter the challenges.

Here are twenty of the films that made it to the cinema (or streaming platforms) this year, that proved the durability of the film industry during this time.

20. Tenet directed by Christopher Nolan

We can all agree that Chrisopher Nolan’s Tenet should be handed the award of Most Confusing Yet Entertaining Film of the Year, or ever made in fact. The sci-fi epic adventure that sees its lead (named “the protagonist) travel back in time and then forward in time and then back in time again (?)... yup, I didn’t get it either, but I’m not the only one seeing as Robert Pattinson who played alongside John David Washingston hadn’t a clue what was going on either. And he was in the film. However, despite the film's confusion, it doesn’t make it a bad or “lazy” film, for every aspect of this film from lighting, sound design, casting, direction, stunts WAS ON POINT and those elements are truly what sets this film apart. The story may have been perplexing but at least there was one.

19. Nomadland directed by Chloé Zhao

It is such a shame that Nomadland may not get the audience it deserves due to the COVID-19 pandemic as it is a truly moving and rich film. The Nomads are a group of real Americans who’ve hit the road in various mobile homes after the Great Recession in 2008 caused millions to be homeless and redundant. Frances McDormand plays Fern, one of these Nomads and child of the road whilst the film follows her simple, yet melancholy journey across Western America. Chloé Zhao has been tipped several times for an Oscar with Nomadland after winning the Golden Lion at this year’s Venice Film Festival. Let’s hope that if this goes onto the Academy Awards, Nomadland will find the audience it so craves.

18. Uncut Gems directed by the Safdie Brothers

YES, Uncut Gems came out THIS YEAR, which is an insane thought seeing as I saw the film in a packed cinema before it was released onto Netflix. The Safdie Brothers, Josh and Benny brought us Uncut Gems this year, a declining tale of a man’s test with fate and the many many second chances he gets at life, only to f*** all of them up. Adam Sandler plays Howard Ratner, a pawn shop owner and frequent gambler. This is Sandler’s best ever role and the multifaceted, gritty work of the Safdie Brothers (Heaven Knows What, Good Time) really brought something brilliant out of him.

17. The Half of it directed by Alice Wu

The Half of It wins the Most Surprising Film of the Year. A highly credible film directed by Alice Wu, The Half of It is EVERYTHING we want and need in this world. In fact, it’s everything we kind of already have in this world, but hardly see on screen. Non white leads, queer non stereotyped relationships, unpredictable endings; The Half of It was an all rounder for me. Some may roll their eyes at the amount of diverse elements to the film and see it as a way of gaining brownie points, but why does that have to be a thing? Why can’t having active and authentic representation across all films just be normal rather than political? If anything, it should be encouraged. The story was brilliant (and made me cry) as it had so many layers to it as well as the characters.

16. 7500 directed by Patrick Vollrath

Definitely the wildcard of this list, 7500 is an Amazon Studios film starring Joseph Gordon Levitt. I’ll admit, my hopes weren’t high, but after taking the time to watch this film I was truly blown away. And who KNEW Joseph Gordon Levitt could be so deep and in tune with his emotions on screen. He plays a pilot whose plane gets hijacked mid flight. There. Enough said. I could hardly BREATHE throughout this film in apprehension of what was going to happen next.

15. Kajilionaire directed by Miranda July

2020 thus far has been the best year for female filmmakers. From Céline Sciamma’s Portrait of a Lady on Fire, Josephine Decker’s Shirley, Rose Glass’ Saint Maud and Miranda July’s Kajilionaire, a clear cut foundation has been carved effortlessly for female filmmakers this year. Miranda July’s Kajilionaire especially rocked my senses a little as I saw so much unfamiliarity yet beauty within this film. A simple storyline that follows Old Dolio (Evan Rachael Wood), a young woman trying to feel more connected with her parents. A certainly bittersweet tale that has this rose tinted like vibe to it that attaches itself to the visuals and music of the film, that make everything feel light and playful. This contrasts well with the story itself as being sad and melancholy, further proving the fact this film is more than face value. Face value films have never gotten us anywhere and its films that go beyond entertainment that truly last in the industry.

14. Bombshell directed by Jay Roach

Bombshell is a PERFECT title for this film; a film that left me angry, sad and questioning the immorality that is still prevalent in the mostly male dominant society we live in. Charlize Theron, Margot Robbie and Nicole Kidman (best trio ever) star as three news anchors on Fox news whose lives are brutally torn apart when the Head of Fox News, Roger Ailes is accused of sexual harassment on many different occasions by female members of the workplace. Despite the silence being now broken, these three women still face a whole load of other problems that come in speaking up against a powerful, white and rich male. Threats of permanent job losses, victim blaming and a weak image are the consequence of speaking up about sexual assault as a member of Fox news. The brand itself has an incredibly misogynistic view of women and continues to have an idealised image of how women should be on the news with those working at Fox actually admitting it brings in viewers. Women with tons of makeup and dresses shorter than is comfortable is Fox news and Bombshell went above and beyond exposing this scandal that truly shook American broadcasting forever.

13. Borat Subsequent Movie Film directed by Jason Woliner

Borat Subsequent Movie Film wins the award for Most Jaw Dropping Film of the Year, as its protagonist and creator Sacha Baron Cohen, went above and beyond to show us the true dark depths of America. Ballsy, outrageous, jaw dropping, scandalous; every bold word can be used to describe this film and the lengths it went to get right to the heart of American society. The ugly heart. By now you should be aware that the ex president’s attorney was shoved right into the firing line after he was taken into a hotel bedroom by a reporter who happened to be an actor. Rudi Gulliani was left red faced after Borat bursts into the hotel room proclaiming the young reporter is his daughter, with Gulliani still unaware the entire outrageous event had been caught on camera. And not just any camera. A MOVIE camera. A true triumph in free speech and comedy, Borat Subsequent Movie Film will live on forever as the most outlandish film there is.

12. Miss Juneteenth directed by Channing Godfrey-Peoples

A real eye opener into current American society using a touching story between mother and daughter as a backdrop. Turquoise is a single mother struggling to get by and support her daughter Kai through the Miss Juneteenth pageant, held annually in Fort Worth, Texas. A real competition, the Miss Juneteenth pageant promises one lucky young woman of colour a full scholarship to a black historical college of their choosing. Turquoise desperately wants this for her daughter as it’ll give her the opportunities in life she never had. A truly moving and authentic film, this scored 100% on Rotten Tomatoes which is a highly impressive and deserving score.

11. The Trial of the Chicago Seven directed by Aaron Sorkin

Aaron Sorkin’s lyricism in words was again brought to us on screen this year with his depiction of the Chicago 7 (eight if you count Bobby Seale); seven men who were accused and put on trial for eliciting the Chicago riots of 1968. When in actuality, the police themselves had more to do with riling up the protestors than anyone else, even pushing a crowd of protestors through the front window of a restaurant to make it seem like they had vandalised the property. If anyone was going to make such a film, Sorkin would be the one to do it as with any event or idea he covers, Sorkin’s words as a writer MAKE YOU CARE. Even when you had no recollection or understanding of something, the way Sorkin depicts these events on screen has you absorbed into the story till the last second. An incredible and powerful story and a film that I could constantly go back to in order to learn about the injustices of American politics.

10. The Devil All the Time directed by Antonio Campos

I feel like The Devil All the Time still hasn’t got the recognition it deserves. There is something incredibly powerful and priceless about having a group of exceptionally talented people come together to create something for screen. This film wins Best Casting of the Year (if you don’t count Dune) as the likes of Tom Holland, Robert Pattinson, Eliza Scanlen, Sebastian Stan, Bill Skarsgård, Mia Wasikowska, Harry Melling, Riley Keogh, Jason Clarke and Haley Bennett graced our screens in this dark and ominous tale. Any story that is set in a small town and is about stories interweaving is bound to be interesting and thought provoking in it’s telling, with this adaptation being no different. The star of the show was Robert Pattinson’s thick Tennessee accent along with his clean yet filthy character interpretation of a perverted priest. Not one line in this film was thrown away and every single moment held a weighty tension, further confirming to us each character’s downfall by the end. An amazing adaptation and something you will reeeeeally enjoy.

9. Soul directed by Pete Docter

What was supposed to be Pixar’s second release of the year, Soul is Pixar’s most highly executed film to date. The amount of detail and care the animators and creators of Soul had taken to this picture is INSANE; insanely beautiful. With the black community going through so much this year, having something like Soul be put out to audiences shows support of this ever changing and growing movement. Even though having black representation on screen isn’t on the top of everyone’s priority list, it’s still important that the effort is there in order to really show what the world is like on screen and to cater to more audiences. Soul itself had everything; diverse, three dimensional characters, a clear and heart warming story and comedic, uplifting points that only strengthened the important message of this movie; life itself.

8. The Lighthouse directed by Robert Eggers

Again, another film that came out right at the beginning of the year, Robert Egger’s The Lighthouse was a whole new world that we had never seen before. Shot on a Panavision Millennium XL2 using a lense from the 1930s and black and white film, The Lighthouse was a decrepit, eerie and brilliant movie to watch throughout. It just makes me satisfied as a viewer when a director not only creates a film, but creates one that is so beyond anything we’ve ever seen and could likely have been made in an entirely different era altogether. Robert Pattinson KILLED IT in his role as a surly drunken sailor alongside Willem Dafoe, whose Irish accent was enviable. Overall a highly executed film that exudes brilliance and a creative mind.

7. The Hater directed by Jan Komasa

I would say The Hater is the second wildcard on this list. It’s a Polish drama that hasn’t had a lot of rep in the media, however, this doesn’t detract from the film’s execution and drama. A real downfall story that sees a jealous ridden man go from a media intern into illicting terrorism. Like, HELLO how does one go to such an extreme? The only way to find out would be watching the film...The film really spoke to the dangers of social media and the ease of getting someone to insight violence onto someone else, all through a computer. My mouth was hanging on the floor during several moments of this film and I can 100% guarantee the Netflix film will have the same affect on you.

6. La Belle Époque directed by Nicolas Bedos

La Belle Époque (or “The Good Times”) wins the award for Most Heart Warming Film of the Year. A surprisingly unique concept that follows a man trying to relive the best moments of his past after his wife wishes to divorce him. A company that specialises in creating your past memories offers him the opportunity to go back to the time when he and his wife first met, using actors, set design and music to recreate the moment. The French film emits a strong sense of nostalgia throughout with brilliant music and set design. It’s just one of those films that heavily expresses the idea of “what if” within a film whilst answering it boldly through its unique story.

5. Ema directed by Pablo Larraín

Ema took me a few days to fully absorb and appreciate as an experimental film, rather than one with a clear cut narrative. It's a film that expresses an idea, a feeling as opposed to a story which is completely okay and doable in this day and age. Ema is a liberating, freeing and psychedelic world of a film, with the message of the film being wrapped up in Ema’s attitude as a woman and the way she sets fires to things wherever she goes. Literally, as the opening sequence is of her setting alight a basketball hoop. There is some strong, vivid imagery within this and the MUSIC...definitely the best sound track I’ve heard this year. Ema’s in my top five for its uniqueness, rawness and the weird sense of liberation it gave me after watching it.

4. Saint Maud directed by Rose Glass

Probably the biggest breakthrough film of the year and despite the pandemic, Saint Maud certainly got the rep it deserved. An entirely new perspective of horror was brought to use in troves in the form of this Irish film created by first time director Rose Glass. I cannot express how brilliant and revolutionary Saint Maud was for its simplicity, story and filmmaking techniques. An ambitious and all round brilliant film that sits prettily in my top five films of the year.

3. Portrait of a Lady on Fire directed by Céline Sciamma

Portrait of a Lady on Fire wins the award for Best Foreign Language Film and it still hurts to think it never even made it to the Academy Awards this year. One of the most moving and earthy films that I’ve seen this year, Portrait of a Lady on Fire is a slow, sensual and ambiguous picture that shows a love story between two women through the form of art. I became quite obsessed with the music of Antonio Vivaldi after seeing this as the time period and music intertwined really well in this film. Exceptionally made and incredibly raw, Portrait of a Lady on Fire went straight for the heart in this film by also putting the grievances of love at the forefront of this film.

2. Parasite directed by Bong Joon Ho

You are probably extremely bored and tired of hearing of the success of Parasite as a breakthrough picture, however there are an abundance of reasons for it! Winner of Six Academy Awards including Best Picture, Parasite really pulled the rug beneath the Academy Awards feet and certainly proved that no matter your race, it's the story that sells and that will bank you an Academy Award. A wonderfully crafted story, one that could have been found in theatre or even opera and those sort of structured narratives are what really grab people’s attention.

1. Another Round (Druk) directed by Thomas Vinterberg

And finally, my favourite, Most Enjoyable Film of the Year had to be without a doubt, Thomas Vinterburg’s Druk, which I had the pleasure of seeing at the BFI London Film Festival this year. The theatre-like structure of a narrative has been implemented seamlessly into this film and even if structure means nothing to you, you can feel when a film has been crafted differently to bring about a dynamic and earthy narrative. I’ve previously watched two films of Vinterberg’s; Festen and The Hunt and even though those two films hold a high rating, Druk is definitely Vinterberg’s best film yet. Extremely entertaining whilst also carrying a rather dark side to it, Vinterberg sells you the best and worst of two worlds whilst exposing the effects of alcohol consumption.

And that’s it! 2020 in films! If you agreed or disagreed with anything on this list or think something else should’ve made the list that came out this year, be sure to leave me a comment on this post or via instagram on @ratingtheframe. It’s crazy to think that this obsession of mine turns two years old next year and there are still so many amazing pictures to be seen! And as always, you will find each and every one of them right here on @ratingtheframe.tumblr.

Bring on 2021!

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cherryonigiri · 4 years

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the retrospective: alice’s 1k special || lover masterlist

matchup requests: CLOSED

@renaxwrites asked: Congrats on 1k bby 🥳💞 can I request a matchup 👉🏼👈🏼 my mbti type is ENFP-T. My Hogwarts house is Slytherin/my Patronus is a rattlesnake! 5 words to describe me: ambitious, imaginative, passionate, loyal and sincere. I'm an art major so my hobbies are drawing, reading & playing instruments. My style depends on my mood, so it can be classy fit one day, street style the next. Fav beverage is tied between iced tea and coke. Lastly my fav team is Nekoma/Karasuno (sorry can’t choose 🥺) ty ily

AN: Rena!!! awwwwww thank you sm!!!! Lolol i have trouble choosing a favorite team too! Have a wonderful day bby!

Your matchup is: Yaku Morisuke

How you met: You were in Russia for an art fellowship for the year, and happened to meet him through Alisa (who is a model for one of the portraits you’re creating). She introduced the two of you at a small party at her place, and two of you hit it off right away. Both of you are very ambitious and passionate about your respective careers and vibe off of having that same ambitious energy. He probably says that he’ll spot your ticket if you ever want to go to one of his games. The two of you text on and off for a while after meeting, and you take him up on his offer to watch a game every now and then.

Your first date: For one of the private new year’s galas/charity events that the Russian league holds, Yaku gets an invite to a famous art museum, with the option of bringing a plus one. He looks into what exhibits the museum has and he finds out that one of the galleries is dedicated to impressionist art, and features several pieces by an artist you’ve mentioned to him. He asks if you’d like to be his date for the night and you accept. Honestly his jaw almost hits the ground when he sees you in your outfit for the night and he honestly doesn’t pay much attention to the gala itself since he’s more than content to listen to you ramble and point out all the different paintings you love.

Your first kiss: At the end of the gala, there are several toasts and a countdown until the start of the new year. He grabs two flutes of champagne and the two of you share a small toast and clink your glasses before taking a sip. Of course, it’s a bit cheesy but he waits until the countdown reaches zero before kissing you. The two of you start the new year surrounded by cheering, and honestly the kiss is just perfect. It’s firm yet sweet, and just the slightest bit of tongue that leaves you wanting more. When he drops you off at your door, he makes sure to kiss you a few more times before heading home.

Anniversary: You have to return home after your fellowship ends, but the two of you, out of sheer stubbornness and devotion make long distance work (although not without a few bumps in the road.) Your first anniversary happens to fall on a night where Yaku has to play for his team - and he lets you know that he won’t be there in person. However, the night before the two of you enjoy a very long video call, and he makes it a point to ship you a beautiful Russian egg as a present + a very sweet and heartfelt love letter. Admittedly you’re a bit mopey on the day of your actual anniversary - so you decide to be a couch potato for the day, bundling up in blankets on your couch to watch the re-run of your boyfriend’s match. You’re at the match point for the second set when you hear a knock at your door. At first you think it’s probably just a package, but when you open your door Yaku is standing there with a giant bouquet of flowers. You basically tackle him and are a complete sobbing mess bc this is the best surprise ever???? He hauled ass to get to where you were on time but it was totally worth seeing how happy you are.

How they propose: A few years down the road, you’re visiting Yaku in Russia and are in the VIP section/front row during the finals of the league tournament. You’re on the edge of your seat, they’re down to a deuce in the fifth set and you can just feel the tension as both teams struggle to score two points in a row. Finally, after making an extraordinary save, Yaku’s team manages to score that second point, sending the entire stadium into cheers. You’re jumping up and down in the stands, and the entire team is bundled up in a group hug. After the medal ceremony, Yaku’s walking around waving to fans, and his teammates all keep patting him on the back. By the time he gets to you pretty much all his teammates are casting not so subtle glances at him (much to his annoyance). The adrenaline hasn’t worn off quite yet, so before he gets too nervous he kneels down in front of you and the audience collectively gasps. He has the whole speech prepared when he proposes and you’re in tears by the time he finishes. When you nod yes he tears up before grabbing you for the tightest hug ever.

What your wedding looks like: Decides to do two small ceremonies - one in his home country of Japan and another in your home country. It’s the perfect compromise and ensure that none of your friends have to spend exorbitant amounts of money to attend a destination wedding. The ceremonies are both intimate and small - it’s mostly close friends and family. The Nekoma alum are all there in Japan, and yoru classmates from art school are present for the ceremony that takes place in your hometown. Takes a few months off to enjoy newlywed life with you - he spends the first two months living with you in your apartment, and the months travelling around Japan with you.

Newlywed/domestic hc: now that you’re married Yaku has zero qualms about helping you set up a studio in St. Petersburg (if you’re willing to move your career to the same country as his, if not he’ll still buy the two of you a larger apartment for when you visit). Also sugar daddy Yaku ahem n e ways even if his team isn’t based in St. Petersburg, at least he can spend his weekends and most of his off season with you. Of course, you still have to fly back and forth between continents because of all your different clients, but at the end of the day nothing beats coming home to Yaku cooking a nice pot of nabe in the kitchen. The two of you revel in your newly found domestic bliss - it’s just wonderful to finally have a shared place you both call home.

#haikyuu matchups #haikyuu x reader #yaku x reader #yaku morisuke x reader #yaku morisuke #haikyuu imagines #haikyuu #nekoma #the retrospective #alice's 1k special

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dstudiouk · 3 years

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Artist of The Week - Abby Hope Skinner

Abby is a fabulous contemporary figurative artist and portrait painter, often between Cyprus and the UK Abby works on portrait commissions and other fine art projects. She has also been shortlisted/long-listed for several prestigious competitions including the National Portrait Gallery’s BP Portrait Award!

Credit: Abby Hope-Skinner

What are your biggest inspirations?

Egon Schiele’s drawings.

Frida Kahlo - her life story and the fearless honesty within her paintings and self-portraits.

Lucien Freud - his early portraits, especially from the 1950s. ‘Girl in Bed’ is a favourite.

Arthur Rackham’s Golden Age illustrations.

The Arnolfini Portrait by Jan van Eyck - the exquisite detail and technique in oil, especially on such a small scale.

Hans Holbein.

I’m always inspired by contemporary portrait exhibitions such as the Royal Society of Portrait Painters at the Mall Galleries, and The BP Portrait Award held at the National Portrait Gallery.

My portrait ‘Harlequin’ was shown at the Royal Society of Portrait Painters in May this year. It has been a dream come true, and has fuelled and inspired my work.

Fairytales and literature.

Music.

Credit: Abby Hope-Skinner

How did you start your art career?

I was awarded the ‘Highest Mark in the World’ for my A level Art and Design Cambridge International Examinations in 2012. I was subsequently interviewed and featured on the Student Art Guide, which helped to start a presence online.

Then, in 2014, I was on Sky Arts Portrait Artist of the Year, where Lord Melvyn Bragg selected my painting to take home with him. It was a wonderful experience and I received several portrait commissions after the show was aired. From this I began to build a small group of patrons and collectors.

Credit: Abby Hope-Skinner

What's your favourite piece you have created so far?

My favourite piece is always my last piece which, at the moment, is ‘Alice and the Playing Cards’. It’s a homage to one of my earliest inspirations, Arthur Rackham.

But you can’t have favourites with your children anyway!

Credit: Abby Hope-Skinner

What art tools could you not live without?

I couldn't live without most of my art tools. One of my favourite colours, which I tend to use in all of my paintings, is Florentine Red by Mussini. It’s a rich, luscious and transparent earthy red.

What is the biggest challenge with your art?

It’s quite a solitary occupation, and you have to focus for long periods of time, which can be a challenge.

What was the first book you fell in love with?

‘Treasure Island’ by Robert Louis Stevenson. I read and reread it when I was younger. I have an old, battered copy which is a treasured possession.

Recently, my parents bought me a beautiful hardback edition illustrated by one of my favourite illustrators, N.C. Wyeth.

Credit: Abby Hope-Skinner

If you could trade lives with anyone for a day, who would you pick?

Caravaggio. I’m sure a day in his life would be quite an experience, and I’d love to get the inside track on his painting process.

What's the best thing you've ever purchased?

Flights to Vienna to see the work of Egon Schiele and Gustav Klimt ‘in the flesh’ for the first time.

What do you listen to / watch when you're working?

I enjoy listening to music and podcasts while I’m working. One of my favourite art podcasts is John Dalton’s ‘Gently Does it’.

@johndaltonart

www.johndalton.me

Who would you like to paint in the future?

Emeli Sandé. I’ve always had a dream to make a painting of her for one of her album covers.

@emelisande

Credit: Abby Hope-Skinner

What would your dream house look like?

It would have a beautiful spacious art studio, with large windows, overlooking the sea.

I’d take inspiration from Frida Kahlo’s Blue House in Mexico, and decorate with vibrant colours.

Do you prefer the city or the countryside?

On balance, the city. There’s more opportunity to be around art and people, and to visit all the wonderful museums and galleries.

Where is your favourite place to travel to?

I currently live in Cyprus, so I’m spoilt with the Mediterranean weather and beaches.

I like to travel back home to London whenever I can, to catch up with exhibitions and see my friends and family.

Credit: Abby Hope-Skinner

Huge thanks to Abby for taking part this week! It was a pleasure to chat with her about her work and inspirations! Make sure to check out her work on her website and socials.

Abby Hope-Skinner - Website

Abby Hope-Skinner - Instagram

Abby Hope-Skinner - Facebook

#artists #art #fineart #fineartartists #dstudio #ukart #artinterview #interviews #painting #portraitart #portraitartists #artwork #artsupport #artlove #supportingartists #smallbusiness #localsupport

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brittle-bone-gabe · 4 years

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Cutting the Cake

Aw, man. I’m late, I’m still determined to finish this though.

Also on AO3! Read here

Today has finally been the day both Henry and his newly wed wife Linda have been waiting for for years. They had met in college; Henry was a freshman working towards his art designs degree, and Linda had been a sophomore studying hard for her psychology degree. The two students just so happened to have a class together, and that’s how they met. Linda had been expecting yet another man to tell her that what she was working for would be a waste of her time and the school's time for allowing her to study said subject. Not Henry, though. Henry was different, which, truth be told, shocked Linda. He was interested in what her interests were, why she wanted to study psychology and even believed that she could earn that degree. When she asked about Henry’s plans with his degree, he seemed somewhat shy to say, but he had always been interested in art and wanted to do something more with this interest, maybe even work with an animation studio one day.

Since meeting, and even once the class ended, Henry and Linda still spent plenty of time together to the point that their friends jokingly asked if they were secretly dating. At the time they weren’t, but who would’ve guessed how long their relationship lasted once it got started. It had begun with small gestures, Henry would practice his realism art by drawing sketches of Linda, who would playfully pose to go along with it. Over time, Henry’s realism got better and better, until he felt confident enough to send her a letter in a manila envelope with only a cartoony smiley face where Henry’s name should be. Linda had let out a small gasp when she opened the envelope, putting a hand over her mouth in disbelief upon seeing the perfectly drawn portrait of her that she never knew Henry had been secretly working on. Sure, she knew about the practice sketches, but this was no practice sketch. It was beautiful, and she was so proud of Henry for how long he’s come along from his realism art, especially since his speciality was cartoon-type art. It was no exaggeration when Linda explained to her friends that she went out immediately to buy a frame that would fit the portrait to hang it up in her room, that’s how much she loved and cherished it.

Not long after, their friendship turned into something more serious, to say the least. On Fridays usually, when they both had an upcoming weekend, Henry would go over to Linda’s house to ask if she would like to have dinner with him. After a couple of weeks of this it became their “date night.” That was their friends words, not theirs. Y’know… until that’s exactly what it became. No matter how many Friday’s Henry came over to pick up Linda, her father would still give him that if you hurt my daughter I’ll make sure to break your legs type of look. Not like Henry could ever hurt her anyways, he always thought of Linda as an angel made in heaven, as cliche as that sounded.

On this late September Friday evening, Henry thought about switching it up. He had something he wanted to ask Linda that he’s been wanting to ask for a long time but never had the courage to do so until his friend Joey Drew encouraged him to do so, saying that he’s never seen him so happy.

“So, where are we goin’ today?” Linda had asked him, putting on her seatbelt from the passenger's seat of Henry’s car.

“I thought we’d do something different,” Henry said, Linda took note of how uneasy his tone sounded and it made her slightly worried, but she trusted him.

“Oh. Sure! Sounds like fun!” Henry could feel butterflies in his stomach and his heart slamming against his chest just at the smile she gave him. He couldn’t tell how bad his anxiety really was due to the fluttery feeling he had.

The drive wasn’t long, but it sure felt like an hour long drive to Henry, even with Linda keeping the mood by talking about her day, something that Henry genuinely enjoyed listening to while giving his input when it was wanted and asking questions. However, today he was rather quiet, which did make Linda nervous, she couldn’t help but think that he was thinking of how to tell her that he didn’t want to hang out anymore, which would hurt her since she felt such a close bond with Henry and even developed feelings for him, not like she would say anything about it to him though…

Henry pulled up to Central Park, getting out of the car first so he could open the passenger’s side door for Linda, as he did every time they went out. They didn’t say too much as Henry led them through the park, it was lively with both people and the scenery; the leaves on the trees were starting to turn orange and red with a touch of yellow, they were starting to fall to the ground as it was preparing for the winter time, and the small animals were preparing to live the next couple of months in dens to keep warm by gathering all the food that they can.

Finally, Henry had led them to Central Park Lake, some people were standing around it, having one last look before it froze over for the winter. Henry looked out over to the other side for a couple of minutes, trying to organize his thoughts so he wouldn’t jumble over his words and look like a fool. Not that Linda would ever see him as a fool, but still…

“Linda…” Henry started, feeling Linda’s gaze on him before looking at her again, she had a small smile on her face, waiting for him to say whatever it was he needed to say. “We’ve been going out for awhile now…” he paused again, rubbing the back of his head, “and I wanted to know if… you… wanted to take this relationship to the next level?”

Linda had a strong feeling what he was asking her, but she needed to be sure that was the case.

“Meaning…?” She asked him, raising an eyebrow.

“Meaning… if you would… be my girlfriend?” Henry could feel his cheeks turn red from even saying the word girlfriend.

“I would love that, Henry,” she answered, her own face turning red now as she giggled a little bit. They both had reached out at the same time to take each other's hands.

They looked into each other's eyes for a moment before leaning in, pressing their lips together for their first kiss. Worried of what may have only been a college sweethearts type of relationship turned into marriage. A beautiful, medium sized wedding with both sides of the family joining in together as one.

“Ready?” Henry asked Linda, who was wearing a beautiful white wedding dress while he was wearing a tux with a white bowtie just to mix it up a little bit.

“Ready!” Linda replied with a huge smile as they both held the cake cutter.

Moving together, they both cut the first piece of wedding cake together, a cake that had a little Bendy and Alice Angel wedding topper as a gift from Joey Drew himself, who could thankfully make it to the weddings. Everyone applauded as they fed each other a piece of cake.

To a long, happy, loving marriage.

#the ink demonth #bendy and the ink machine #henry stein #linda stein #fanfiction #fanfic #bendy and the ink machine fanfic #bendy and the ink machine fanfiction #short one shot #This was cute to write #I normally write 5k chapters so this was a nice change #my fic

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darkhymns-fic · 4 years

Text

A Little Opera Goes a Long Way

Colette Brunel has finally moved on from her pop-idol group to more freely sing what she wants, while famous YouTube star, Lloyd Irving went from playing covers on video to going on the big stage. It was only a matter of time before they teamed up and made a hit single.

But what happens when stage fright becomes a problem?

Fandom: Tales of Symphonia Characters/Pairing: Lloyd Irving/Colette Brunel, Presea Combatir Rating: G Mirror Link: AO3 Notes: Slightly obsessed with idol colloyd helped by this art by @frayed-symphony! Would love to write more on this universe when I have the time.

The crowd outside was getting louder.

They had been growing within the past few hours, and if she peeked out just enough, she could see the multitude of rave sticks and cell phones that lighted each wave from the fans. Colette was used to it – she had heard it so many times! Except, it was different now. Everything was different.

Colette didn’t typically perform in Palmacosta. The port city was a long way from her usual tour gig with her group, mostly going around Tethe’alla, starting out from Meltokio before going back. But the Governor had been more than pleased to let the concert go underway, a stage already being built before it had even been requested! More truth to the very idea that the new single had been such a hit.

When she had arrived, she had heard the ocean rushing across the shore, the beaches filled with with so many people. How nice would it have been to walk across the sand, but there was already so much to prepare for. Would she even have the energy to want to go in the evening?

Colette stood within a small corner, being as small as she could while other professionals scattered all around to get everything ready. Sound check, mic check, light check, special effects check, making sure there were no sudden dips on the floor for when they would perform, that no stray excitable fan had snuck their way backstage to meet the band. (This always happened with Alice though, so Colette didn’t think it would be much of an issue now?)

Everyone was working their hardest to get things ready and perfect – and all they asked was that she would do the same.

As Colette messed with her green ruffled sleeves, her heartbeat took over the noise. Soon it was all she could hear, all she could even think about! What if she tripped on stage? (Again!) What if she reached a wrong note in her part of the song?

What if she only ruined things for…

“Colette?”

The backstage was dark, most of the technicians still further off into the sides, busy fiddling with the lights, the special effects that would take place. She saw the dazzling flash of the red lining of Lloyd’s outfit before seeing Lloyd himself. He must have found her the same way in the corner – her green and white ensemble a unique look, reflective gold bouncing off the eyes.

“Hey, are you okay? Sorry, they kept me stuck in the dressing room just to get all this stuff on.”

“Oh! I’m fine, it’s just… the usual pre-stage jitters, hehe.” Colette instantly smiled, winking at Lloyd with all the practiced flair of her idol persona. Although, she wasn’t supposed to be in that role now… She was being herself this time. Just Colette. With Lloyd. And…

“Ah, yeah? I’m kinda getting those too!” Lloyd laughed, and she heard the shakiness within its tone. It made sense for Lloyd. He had only performed a few times in front of an audience, and they were usually much smaller. His black gloved hands reached to pull back at his hair. “The uh, crowd is really loud, isn’t it?”

“Y-yeah! But that’s a good thing!” She knew it was a good thing! So why the sudden beating of her heart. Could she really be this nervous? She kept pulling at her ruffles, they were all uneven! And so wrinkled! But wait, weren’t they supposed to be?

Then she saw Lloyd reach out to her…head? She felt his fingers briefly touch her hair, feeling warm.. “Your hat’s gonna fall off!”

“Huh?” Colette blinked. “Oh, it’s supposed to be tilted like that! And it’s held to my hair with a pin.” She bowed her head slightly for Lloyd to observe. “See?”

“Ohh.” Lloyd nodded. “Sorry, I was wondering how it was staying on!”

“Yeah! I’ve worn it before with my group…and sometimes we have to do dance routines so they make sure it stays on tight!” Colette pressed down on her skirt, still seeing wrinkles and dust and whatever else. Or maybe it had just been the lights… but wait, wasn’t it dark here?

She felt Lloyd’s eyes on her still, so she turned back to him, because her heartbeat was less distracting when she looked at him. Even if it still beat so much, its rhythm so steady. “I guess I’m not used to it,” Lloyd was saying. “This outfit feels really…uh, bright?” And maybe he was right, for the rose pinned on his front lapel was such a loud red, right over his heart. More than once had Colette wanted to reach out and touch it. Whoever had designed his costume had really put thought into all its details.

“It’s because of me. Remiel says I need to keep my image…” She was already on the search for a new one, as her producer was being even more controlling than usual. It had taken so much just to get this show to happen, her producer trying to block each step of the way. “I’m sorry, I really wanted it to be casual instead.”

“Heh, that’s okay though! I like that we kinda match, you know?” And when he grinned, even within the darkness of backstage, the sounds from outside reverberating the very floor they were on, she thought she felt everything stand still. “And…man, I’d wear anything just to perform with you!”

“Really?” she asked, still stunned. Star-struck. Completely and utterly. His outfit couldn’t match to his smile.

“Yeah! I still can’t believe we wrote something together!” His voice carried well through the noise surrounding them. And soon everyone would hear that voice, along with hers. Was it selfish of her to want to keep it for herself?

When in the studio together, working on their song, it had almost felt like he was singing only for her, his fingers moving over the guitar strings with barely a glance to them. To have such a voice and to play an instrument too… Why was he wasting time with her?

“Yeah, I’m so happy we did,” she said, still feeling her nerves jitter all around. “And… everyone will finally get to hear it too!”

At that moment, there was some feedback sounding off from stage, distracting her slightly. But experience told her it was a few stagehands probably setting up speakers, making sure none of the wires would get in the way of their feet. They would still need to wear their mics later, and hopefully she wasn’t already wearing them and talking into it without realizing it was on, like she would do a few times before…

She shook out her hands a bit, while keeping her feet still. Her ruffles still looked so uneven, so wrinkled and frayed and… “Maybe I’m more nervous than I thought,” she finally admitted.

She waited for the moment for when Lloyd would be disappointed with her. Like the other members of her group would be, like her producer, and-

The same gloved hand, but now on her shoulder, forcing her eyes back up. Some of the lights started to flicker backstage, along with a shouted instruction from one of the technicians. They dazzled off Lloyd’s red cape, off the golden filigree that decorated the trim of his jacket.

“Hey…” he said, smiling still. She saw a little tinge of nervousness too, but not with the frustration she was used to seeing from so many people. “I’m still here.”

She nodded. “Yeah…yeah!” She nodded again, then felt she was doing it too much. “Sorry… I’m supposed to be used to this. I should…” Be the one to help you through this instead. How strange was it that the experienced pop singer would need comfort from someone who was still starting out?

“We…still have like 20 minutes before we go on,” Lloyd said, looking back towards the stage that was still out of sight for them, if not out of sound’s reach. “Wanna hang out in my room till then?”

Something about the way he said it got her breath hitched in her throat. But at least with all of her stage experience, she recovered pretty quickly. “Oh, I guess we could! Did you want to rehearse or…?” Sometimes she’d do so with her band, usually on Alice’s insistence which usually just turned into fights with Marta…

“Yeah, come on!” That same gloved hand moved down to grip her own, guiding her from the backstage to the hall.

Passing a few concerned lookers (Colette hoped no one would think to pull out a camera), Lloyd soon took them to a door. There was a piece of paper on it with his name printed roughly. And also… a drawing?

“Oh! Is that supposed to be you?” Colette asked, recognizing the features, giggling at the exaggerated smile she had long grown to like.

“Agh, why’d he put it here too?” Lloyd blushed furiously as he quickly took it down from the door. “Stupid Zelos… sorry, I know it looks dumb.”

“It’s cute!” Colette announced. “Your friend is a good artist!”

“Is… are you sure about that?” But after crunching up the little poster into a paper ball and tossing it in a nearby garbage can, Lloyd tugged her inside the dressing room. “Anyway, I thought it would be good to get away from all the noise.”

“Thank you, Lloyd,” she said gratefully.

His dressing room was a bit bare, much of it just some bags that he had taken on the trip, still in the luggage. Hanging on the wall, she could see the red jacket she saw him wear to his own shows, more casual than what he was made to wear right now. It looked so loose and comfortable. How nice it would have been to wear something like it too.

“…Also, I guess I wanna sit for a while first,” Lloyd confessed, sitting in his chair just then. Colette made sure to not mention that the same portrait of his face was also drawn on the back of the chair, though she still couldn’t help a giggle or two.

“So, which song should we practice first? ‘Star Shining’ might be an easy one to start with… Or maybe ‘Almateria’? Sorry, I should have thought it through before!”

“Huh?” Lloyd blinked up at her. “Uh, no I didn’t mean we should rehearse actually!”

“Oh…then what are we doing here?” Colette felt so genuinely curious.

“To relax, dork!” Lloyd said with a smile. Then that same smile turned a bit softer, his eyes flicking to the right side of him. She hadn’t caught sight of the instrument at first. “Well… I mean if you wanted something like that, it doesn’t have to be both of us, you know?”

She was only getting more confused by the minute! Was this Lloyd’s way of saying he didn’t want to perform with her on stage? “But both of our names are on the listing…” She brought her hands up, fingers pressing together nervously. “I mean… if you really wanted though, I can step out…”

“What? I…don’t know what you mean, I just meant I wanted to sing for you!” Lloyd reached over to grab the guitar that had been laying carefully by his seat. His fingers were already brushing across the strings, eliciting a few sounds that echoed around her.

She took that phrase to heart, hands now clasped together, the ruffles along her skirt, her arms, her shoulders, less on the forefront of her mind. “Sing for me?”

Lloyd nodded, adjusting the small pegs on the end. “Whenever I get nervous about stuff, sometimes I just play whatever. Um, guess I got it from my dad. He’d sing to me when I was little. Oh yeah, and he plays a pretty mean harmonica!” He was grinning again, planting both feet on the ground as he better fit the guitar on his lap.

Colette had never met Lloyd’s father, but the image of a younger Lloyd already tickled her. But she made sure not to mention it, because that would certainly be strange, wouldn’t it? “That’s…but you shouldn’t have to do this for me. I’m used to this…”

“Colette,” Lloyd called out to her, and she faced him again.

His white jacket and the red rose hanging from it, black gloves already moving over the strings so deftly, just as it did in the studio that one day they had taken a chance, leaving all other obligations just to finally sing their song together after so many email exchanges and video calls. “Let me sing for you.”

She stood still. She had heard his voice dozens, hundreds of times. She had heard him through those videos before he’d get famous, hair disheveled, and his unbuttoned jacket hanging off his shoulders. His own album sat on her shelf back at home, the cover art for it so different from anything else she had seen. (So many stars and rainbows! With a nice drawing of a boy and his dog there too…) In all of those times, she liked to imagine he was singing for her.

“Okay,” she finally said, leaning against a counter, her skirt just making a tiny rustling sound as she shifted. “Um, what are you going to sing for me then?”

“Something my dad would sing to me,” Lloyd said. She thought his cheeks had gotten even redder. “So uh, don’t laugh too much. I can’t pronounce all the words right yet.”

“I won’t. I promise.” And she really did promise that. She didn’t want to ruin that smile.

The strum of the guitar, followed by his sound, by Lloyd, had always felt truer to her than anything else.

Only a few minutes later, a knock on the door echoed in the room. Luckily, the notes from Lloyd’s guitar had been on their very last. “Uh, come in?” he called out, his voice still within that range from before.

Opening the door, a small lady appeared. Her sharply pink hair was in contrast to the dark-hued clothes that most of the backstage hands wore. She wore a headset, and apparently one of the giant headlights in one hand – the kind that usually weighed a ton. “Five minutes until curtain time.”

“Presea!” Colette called out to her old friend, waving at her. “I didn’t know you were working here too.”

“I heard you would be performing, so I requested to join.” Presea shifted the headlight to better fit her grip. “Do you have your mics ready?”

“Yeah!” Lloyd went to retrieve his from his pocket while Colette did the same, but Presea had gone up to them, reaching to adjust it before silently requesting for both to bend down so she could have a better hold.

“I can stall if you need. But the crowd wants you.” Presea turned away after making sure the mics were pinned correctly to their clothes. Still, Colette caught a small smile from her. “I’m looking forward to hearing you both sing together.”

Presea already left, and soon it was just Lloyd and Colette in the room, their smiles wide and excited. From the concert, from the music still bouncing around in their heads.

“Still jittery?” he asked, taking the strap of the guitar to finally pull across his back.

“Yeah! But it’s the good kind now!” Colette was standing on her toes, swaying with the beat she still remembered. “You always sing so good.”

“Ah, it was just…like a lullaby, basically.” That flush again, and she wanted to believe it was because of her. So maybe, for at least tonight, she could. “But if you liked it, then I’m happy then.”

“I am! But…I’m also happy we can sing our song live now.” She turned to him, Presea already disappearing into the swell of the backstage darkness. Colette stepped out the door, but not too far off without her partner by her side.

“Heh, yeah… I’m still really surprised Goodness and Love was such a hit though!” With that, he followed Colette out of the dressing room, both heading towards the sounds of the crowd.

“Hm, I knew it would be,” she confessed, her heart racing. Jitters. But the good kind of jitters.

“Oh? How’d you know?” And somehow, in the way he asked her, she wondered if he suspected what she was about to say… So maybe it was okay.

“Because it’s you.” That was all she would say, teasingly sticking out her tongue before taking his free hand and rushing out with him on stage. But always making sure she didn’t trip them both.

Lloyd was grinning so wide once they came out under the lights, the glare setting the red dancing on his outfit, the green on hers. The crowd was loud, but there was only one voice she would listen for.

Everything was so loud, so fast and so much. This wasn’t just like singing out in front of the yard, or to any of his friends that happened to swing by home for a visit.

Lloyd was completely out of his element.

Backstage, as he tried not to get in the way of other professionals, Lloyd gripped the handle of his guitar case, wondering if maybe he had just made a huge mistake. He was by himself, his so-called producer chatting with some other people in the field, (or just woman he spotted honestly), and he couldn’t bring Noishe along, even if the dog was on the album…He’d only get frightened by all the noise, and for once, Lloyd couldn’t blame him.

“Ugh, shouldn’t have let Zelos convince me…” he muttered to himself. The guy had clear dollar signs in his eyes when he told him about where he would perform. ‘You’re a big hit now! Don’t waste it!!’

Lloyd knew he’d do better by just crawling into a hole. Any confidence he had hours ago seemed to have evaporated once reality set in.

It was just when he heard the rest of the lineup and …. He had been stupid to think that would matter. Wouldn’t he just embarrass himself on stage? Then she would see…

“Hi, are you Lloyd?”

He turned at the sound of her voice. Was it pathetic of him to have already recognized it then? He had heard her voice a hundred times, picking it out from the chorus of other voices, of other people…

Colette Brunel stood before him, wearing a green skirt, with frilly ribbons in her hair. She had a microphone in her hand, which seemed to echo with feedback suddenly when she held it a certain way. Once Lloyd flinched from it, she hurriedly turned it off.

“Ah, sorry! I didn’t mean-“

“You’re Colette…” he said, already kicking himself for interrupting her. But his brain was going into overdrive, catching up with every admirable thought he had of her. “From the Angels group!”

“Oh! Yeah, hi! We’re performing too. The other girls are still getting ready to go on, so, I wanted a chance to talk with you!” She sounded quieter as she spoke, eyes cast downward. “I probably should have brought them with me, I’m sorry.”

“N-No, it’s okay…but…you know me?” He still couldn’t quite believe it.

“Yes, of course! I’ve watched your videos! I think they’re so good!” And with the way she spoke to him, he could almost believe it. That she liked his songs. She liked them. “I… I just wanted to let you know that your music is… it’s something I’ve needed to hear.” A pause. “Would you ever want to-“

“Colette! We’re on! Hurry up!”

“Ah! Okay, sorry, Alice!” Colette turned around briefly to wave away someone else. Lloyd recognized them too… but he’d never been a fan of that girl in the group. “Sorry, I need to go. But… I hope you keep writing your music! I, I really like it.”

If Lloyd died at that moment right then and there, even before he ever got a chance to perform, he’d be satisfied. For Colette to come up to him and tell him all this… “I… T-Thanks! I don’t…know what to say…”

Colette smiled, gripping her microphone, her ribbons bouncing with her motion. “Just, I hope to keep hearing you sing.” Another shout from way back, making Colette shudder. “Sorry, but good luck!”

And gone like that, disappearing into the crowd, into the bright lights and sound that made up this terrifying world Lloyd found himself in.

Yet the nerves passed through him, and his cheeks ached from smiling. I’ll sing…but for you then. But before he would go over his song, he’d sneak a glance at Colette’s routine, eyes for her, voice for her, and the crowd encompassing it all.

#tales of symphonia #colloyd #lloyd irving #colette brunel #presea combatir

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queenofcats17 · 5 years

Text

There’s No Shame In Dreaming

I still have feelings about Chapter 5, and @disneyphantomlover had an amazing theory, so I wanted to write something for it. I dipped into myself quite a bit for the character of Henry’s granddaughter. I also dipped into my own version of Joey a bit.

You’re 7 years old and your favorite thing in the world is making up stories. You don’t write them down most of the time, although you think your mother does sometimes. She likes sharing them with your Grandpa Henry and Grandma Linda. Grandpa Henry always praises your creativity. Grandma Linda says you’re just like Grandpa Henry. You know Grandpa Henry made cartoons a long time ago, although he doesn’t talk about it all that much. He worked for Uncle Joey. Uncle Joey technically isn’t related to you, but he’s Grandpa Henry’s friend so he’s pretty much part of the family. He lives close by, along with Grandpa Henry, so you visit him a lot. Uncle Joey can be kind of awkward sometimes like he doesn’t know how to talk to you. You like him anyway. He always listens to your stories. A lot of adults don’t like listening to your stories.

He has cool posters around his house too. Grandpa Henry has posters like that, posters of characters you don’t quite recognize. They’re not like the Disney characters you’re used to. Grandpa Henry talks about working for Uncle Joey on the cartoons sometimes, but he never talks about it enough to satisfy your curiosity. So, one day, when Grandpa Henry has dropped you off at Uncle Joey’s house, you ask him about it. You want to know what happened at the studio. You know it closed down at some point, but you don’t know why. You know about the ink machine in Uncle Joey’s house too, even if you don’t know what it does. Uncle Joey gets a faraway look in his eyes.

“I haven’t thought about that in a long time.” He says. You sit there patiently, arms folded, waiting for him to continue.

“Are you sure you wouldn’t rather hear a different story?” He asks.

“No. I want to hear about this.” You insist. Uncle Joey smiles wearily, shaking his head and muttering something about you being just like your grandfather. Then he begins. The story he tells you details your grandfather returning to the studio after getting a letter from Uncle Joey himself. The details are bare, and the only other person he mentions is the janitor, Wally. You don’t know much about Wally, but he sends Uncle Joey and Grandpa Henry letters sometimes. You saw a picture of him once and you think he dresses weird. Your father laughs and tells you that that’s the fashion in Florida.

“When are you going to tell me the rest?” You demand as Uncle Joey finishes. You’re rather unsatisfied with the story he’s told you.

“When you’re older.” He tells you. You huff, but Grandpa Henry is walking in to pick you up.

You’re 8, about to turn 9, and you’re standing outside of Uncle Joey’s house in the rain, crying so hard you can barely breathe. You know you should have gone home, but your day has been pretty rough. Some boys at school threw your notebook in a puddle and ripped out a bunch of the pages. Uncle Joey gave you the notebook as a present for your birthday. It was really nice, with the cover made of real leather with your name embossed on it and everything. You’re worried your parents will be mad at you. You’re not supposed to bring the notebook to school because it’s expensive and it was a gift. You knock on Uncle Joey’s door, trying to will yourself to stop crying. Uncle Joey opens the door, dressed in pajamas and a bathrobe. He always seems to wear that sort of thing when you come over, even though you’ve seen pictures of him in suits and he has lots of nice clothes in his closet. He takes one look at you and drags you inside.

“You could have caught your death of cold.” He’s scolding you as he gets some towels and wraps you up in blankets on the couch, but you feel better just being here.

“What happened?” He asks once you’re safe and dry and bundled up in blankets. Your heart sinks because now you have to tell him what happened to the notebook he gave you. You sniffle as you dig out the dirty and disheveled notebook from your bag, holding it out to him with your head hung in shame. Uncle Joey takes the book from you, turning it over and clicking his tongue.

“I’m assuming you didn’t do this to it yourself.” He says. You shake your head, trying not to cry.

“Some boys at school saw me writing in it and took it.” Your lip is quivering as you fight back tears. “I wasn’t supposed to take it to school and now it’s ruined. I’m sorry, Uncle Joey.” Uncle Joey kneels down in front of you, putting his free hand on your shoulder.

“Sweetheart, it’s alright.” He gives you a smile. “I can get the journal fixed.”

“B-But it was really expensive and-” Your parents told you to be careful with it because they said Uncle Joey had spent a lot of money on it. But Uncle Joey cuts you off.

“It wasn’t your fault. I know you’ve been very careful with it in the past and I’m certain you will continue to be careful with it.” He says.

“You’re...You’re really not mad?” You were so sure he would be angry. But then again, you don’t think you’ve ever seen Uncle Joey get mad before.

“I’m really not.” He reassures you. “Now, let’s call your parents, alright?”

“Okay.”

You’re 10 years old and you’ve actually done some research about the studio. Well, you call it research, but it was mostly pestering Grandpa Henry into showing you more drawings and posters and letting you listen to some music from the show. You know now that the person who composed those songs is Sammy Lawrence. Grandpa Henry used to get letters from him when you were younger. Grandma Linda says Grandpa Henry has a studio portrait somewhere in the house, although she thinks it’s packed away in the attic. Your mother thinks she remembers meeting Sammy once, although she’s not sure. Your father knows very little of the people from the studio. Armed with this new information, you demand to hear more of the story of the studio. Uncle Joey looks up from his knitting, Grandma Linda has started teaching him so he has something to do with his hands, and chuckles.

“You really are Henry’s granddaughter.”

“You always say that.” You fold your arms. “Are you going to tell the story or not?”

“Alright, alright.” Uncle Joey sets his knitting down and starts telling the story all over again. The story seems different this time, but maybe that’s because it’s been a while since you’ve heard the story. Or maybe Uncle Joey is just embellishing things. He does that a lot. Wally appears again as Uncle Joey takes you down to the music department, as well at the projectionist Norman Polk. Your mother remembers going to a funeral for Norman when she was a teenager, so you know what happened to him. Still, you find it interesting to hear about him.

“Did Wally really lose his keys that often?” You ask.

“Well, I wasn’t there all the time,” Uncle Joey admits. “But Sammy always brought it up when he came to complain to me.” You can’t help but feel a little intimidated by Sammy, even if it’s just in a story. He reminds you of stern teachers you’ve had who don’t like how often you end up daydreaming in class. You try to distract yourself by asking about Alice Angel. You’ve seen her on the posters and when Uncle Joey tells the story of the music department, he mentions her and a woman named Susie Campbell. You’ve heard her name before, but you’re not sure where.

“Maybe another time.” Uncle Joey says. His smile suddenly seems forced, like he finds it hard to talk about her. Part of you wants to push him for answers, but you decide not to. You don’t like making Uncle Joey sad.

You’re 12 years old. You have a few friends you’re close to, and you like them a lot, but they’re a lot more outgoing than you are. You don’t see them too much outside of school, although you did invite all of them to your Bat Mitzvah. The boys at school are picking on you even more now. They tease you about your appearance a lot. You had to get braces that year, so that’s something they really like pointing out. It makes the whole thing even worse. You keep to yourself most of the time. You like spending your time in the library, curled up in a corner. The librarians like you and remember which books are your favorites. You’re a bit of a morbid child. You read a lot of horror stories, despite the librarians warning you that they might be gruesome. You don’t speak up all that much in class, preferring to lose yourself in your own little world. You’re just not interested in most of the subjects. Your parents are worried about you.

“Sweetheart, it just seems like you’re not applying yourself.” Your mother says when your report card comes in. You’ve been getting mostly B’s with an occasional C.

“Give her a break, Sarah.” Grandpa Henry says. “I was the same way when I was a kid.”

“I’m just worried about her, Dad.” Your mother glances back toward you. You’re hunched up in a corner, writing in your notebook. It’s a cheap notebook. You keep Uncle Joey’s notebook at home, using it only for special ideas.

“She’ll be alright.” Grandma Linda assures your mother. “School isn’t everything, dear.”

“I guess you’re right.” Your mother sighs and shakes her head. “I just want her to be able to function well in the world.” Your father is at work right now, but you’re sure he’d say something similar. Your parents tell you all the time that pursuing a career in the arts really isn’t realistic. They tell you it doesn’t pay well. Just look at what happened to Uncle Joey’s studio, they say. Grandpa Henry and Uncle Joey always come to your defense when your parents start talking like this.

“She’s 12.” Grandpa Henry says. “She doesn’t need to have her whole life figured out. Let her do what she enjoys for now.”

“They mean well.” Grandma Linda tells you when you’re alone. “They just want you to be safe and happy, and they think you won’t be happy if you don’t make money.” You just nod. You don’t really care about money. You don’t care about having a job. You just want to do what makes you happy.

You’re 14 years old. You know the world is cruel. The boys at school push you into puddles when they can find them, or take your supplies and hide them. You got in trouble when you knocked out the front teeth of a book who decided to flip your skirt. You just finished reading Frankenstein in its entirety. You’re at your Uncle Joey’s apartment. You don’t want to go home because the boys at school beat you up that day for what you did to the boy who flipped your skirt.

“You need to tell your parents.” Uncle Joey says as he gives you a bag of ice to put on your face.

“They’re already mad about me getting in trouble.” You mutter, staring sullenly down at your feet. “They said it’s not ladylike.” Uncle Joey sighs, settling down beside you.

“They mean well.” He says.

“Everyone says that.” You hunch your shoulders. “It doesn’t feel like they do. Nothing I do is ever good enough.”

“They love you, they do.” Uncle Joey puts an arm around your shoulder and pulls you into a hug. “Sarah and David just worry, is all.” You draw into yourself.

“Did you ever get bullied when you were little?” You ask after a moment or two. Uncle Joey laughs. He has a nice laugh. It always makes you feel better when you hear him laugh. It’s big and booming most of the time, although it’s gotten weaker over the years.

“Oh, I certainly did.” He chuckles. “I was never all that popular in school. I was a bit of a bratty child if I’m being honest. And it didn’t help that I was almost always sick.”

“So you got beat up a lot?”

“Quite a bit.”

“Were your parents mad at you?”

“Only when it was my fault.” Uncle Joey says. “Because it was my fault sometimes. I had a big mouth.”

“Do you...Do you think I deserve it?” Your voice is quiet as you huddle into Uncle Joey.

“You’re a good kid.” He pats your head. “I don’t think you’d ever deserve it.” You both sit in silence for a few moments.

“Will you tell me about Alice Angel now?” You finally ask.

Uncle Joey tenses a bit at the name, but he sighs and nods his head. “I suppose you’re old enough for it now.”

You look up at him, trying to hide your excitement. You’ve waited so long to finally learn about who Alice Angel and Susie Campbell are. Uncle Joey begins to tell the story again, from the beginning. You think you remember this story differently. Boris isn’t a monster, he’s just a slightly selfish wolf. You were excited to hear about him at the end of Chapter 2, and now you get to see him again in Chapter 3. This chapter is longer than the others, so long you almost fall asleep. You learn about the Butcher Gang, the villains of the Bendy cartoons. Here, they’re nothing but mindless creatures, without voices and without purpose. And you finally hear about Alice Angel. In Uncle Joey’s story, she’s a selfish and vain being, marred by the Ink Demon and driven to insanity. This what he thinks of Susie Campbell, apparently. You’re surprised at the bitterness in his voice when he speaks of Susie. You’ve never heard him sound so angry before. In passing, he mentions Thomas Connor as well, which is a name you know. Mr. Connor’s wife sometimes sends Uncle Joey letters. You’ve never met her, but Uncle Joey says she’s a lovely woman. The story ends abruptly, with Alice stealing Boris away.

“That can’t be it!” You say, grabbing Uncle Joey’s arm. “What’s the rest? What happens to Boris?”

“It’s getting late, my dear.” Uncle Joey pats your head. “It’s been a long day and I’m feeling tired. You should be getting home too.”

“But...” You trail off, knowing full well that he’s right. You slid off the couch, gathering up your school bag from where you left it beside the door.

“Dear?” You stop and look back at Uncle Joey.

“There’s something I want you to remember, darling.” His expression is worn, almost mournful. “Grownups aren’t always right. We make mistakes, just like you do. But we don’t always want to admit to it. Don’t fault your parents when they’re wrong, help them be better.” You’re not sure what he means by this, but you nod before darting outside.

You’re 15 years old. You don’t go to Uncle Joey to get a story this time. He’s in the hospital. He goes there sometimes when his health gets particularly bad. You don’t have school that day, so you’ve gone to visit him in his hospital room. Since your parents are both working, Grandpa Henry agrees to take you. Grandma Linda comes along too. She wants to bring Uncle Joey his knitting so he has something to do while he’s in the hospital.

“If he doesn’t have something to do, he’ll end up complaining to all the nurses.” Grandma Linda sighs as you all walk up to the hospital.

“I think they’re used to him by now.” Grandpa Henry laughs to himself. You hold your notebook close to your chest. You’ve come up with a new story idea that you want to share with Uncle Joey. Within the past year, you’ve gotten really into Norse Mythology and you want to write some kind of story with it. You really like the goddess Hel, even if there isn’t a lot of information about her.

Uncle Joey is sitting up in his bed, reading glasses perched on his nose as he skims a book. In the quiet moments, you can’t help but notice how old and frail Uncle Joey looks. You try not to think about it too much. You’ve never actually had someone close to you die before. You don’t really want to have that happen either.

“Well, it looks like you’re amusing yourself.” Grandma Linda says. “I guess I didn’t need to bring your knitting.” Uncle Joey immediately looks up, his whole face splitting in a grin.

“Goodness! Did you all come here just to visit little old me?”

“She wanted to visit you.” Grandpa Henry pushes you forward gently. “We just came along because she needed transportation.” You smiled and run over to him, throwing your arms around Uncle Joey.

“I missed you.” You say. Uncle Joey’s expression softens and he pats your head.

“I missed you too, dear.”

Grandpa Henry and Grandma Linda exchange a look before setting down the knitting and leaving the room. You sit down in the chair next to Uncle Joey’s bed, opening up your book.

“I got a really good idea for a story.” You say, flipping to the proper page. “Do you want to hear about it?”

“I’d love to.” He smiles at you.

You spend the next hour excitedly telling Uncle Joey about your story idea. He listens quietly, watching you with a soft smile. When you finish, Uncle Joey nods thoughtfully.

“Do you want to hear more of the story?” He asks. You blink.

“Really? Are you sure?”

“You told me a story, so I should return the favor.” He nods. He takes your hand in his and begins once more. The story is a bit lacking this time, but you know that’s because he’s tired and you’re happy to listen anyway. You hear about people you didn’t know about, like Jack Fain, and people you already know, like Grant Cohen. He shortens Chapter 3 because you’re both tired and he knows his audience. When he reaches Chapter 4, you learn how sorrowful the ink creatures are, how much they’ve suffered. You learn about Bertrum Piedmont and Uncle Joey’s plan to build an amusement park.

And you realize your Uncle Joey was a horrible, horrible person.

You’re very quiet when he finished. Grandpa Henry and Grandma Linda come back because the sun is setting and they need to get you home.

“Why don’t we get some food on the way home?” Grandma Linda suggests as she takes you by the hand. You cling to her hand, nodding and feeling very much like a small child again. Grandpa Henry notices your silence, giving Uncle Joey a knowing glance. Then you all leave.

It takes you a long time in order to ask Uncle Joey for the end of the story. Life gets in the way. You’re 18 years old. You just graduated high school and are going to college in the fall. You’ve had a lot of talks with your parents about your future and they understand now. They want you to be happy. And you are happy, to a certain extent. You’re excited to go to college, to be something more than you currently are. Grandpa Henry took you out to lunch that day to celebrate your graduation and now you’re at Uncle Joey’s apartment. Grandpa Henry wanted to check on Uncle Joey. You don’t mind too much. You’re sitting on the couch in the living room while Uncle Joey and Grandpa Henry do the dishes in the kitchen. Uncle Joey’s sickness has been getting worse as of late, but despite it all, he refuses to be weak or helpless. You’ve been doing a lot of thinking about your Uncle Joey since the last story he told you.

It’s strange, knowing these two sides of him. On one hand, he’s the Uncle Joey you grew up with. He supported your interests throughout the years, always taking your side and making sure you never feel as though you’re worthless. On the other hand, he’s Joey Drew, the man who drove his studio into the ground and never cared about his employees. When you first arrived at his apartment that day, Grandpa Henry had to step out to get something Uncle Joey needed, so he told you the last bit of the story.

“I’m not sure I want to know the rest.” You say as Uncle Joey sits down beside you.

“Don’t you want to know how it ends?” Uncle Joey smiles wearily. “Every story needs an ending, doesn’t it?”

“It does.” You nod.

He doesn’t embellish or explain anything this time. You have to read between the lines a little bit. You have nothing to fear from Sammy Lawrence anymore. It’s been years, and he doesn’t even know you exist. You know he’s probably dead anyway. You learn a bit more about Wally Franks, and how his feud with Sammy started. Apparently, Wally had stolen a chocolate cake from Sammy. You can’t help but laugh a little at this. It does sound like something Wally would do. You recognize Mr. and Mrs. Connor as the survivor angel and her loyal wolf. You don’t know them well enough to know if this portrayal is right. Just bits and pieces. But that’s what this story is, just bits and pieces. You waited too long, and Uncle Joey’s memory isn’t what it used to be. This is the end. There won’t be any more chapters.

You watch Uncle Joey and Grandpa Henry in the kitchen and smile to yourself. You’re older now. You know the world is cruel and life is unfair. But there is happiness. Your Grandpa Henry chose happiness, and he allowed Uncle Joey to experience it as well. You decide you won’t ask for any more stories about the studio. You open up your notebook, placing your pen on the page. You think you know just the right story to tell now. One with a happy ending.

#bendy and the ink machine #fanfiction #batim spoilers #batim chapter 5 #henry stein #joey drew #linda stein #batim oc #tw: bullying #tw: violence #tw: injury

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thesilverdreamer · 6 years

Text

Roger Rabbit and the Ink Machine: Chapter 1

Read on Fanfiction.net here

Read on AO3 here

Summary: New York City, 1948. Alice Angel has gone missing. The NYPD laughed at the prospect of a Missing Toon Report, and nobody wants anything to do with Toons. Desperate, Joey turns to Eddie Valiant, the Detective Who Works for Toons. A few months out from the Marvin Acme case, Eddie quickly realizes that something funny is going on at Joey Drew Studios, and he aims to find out what.

Characters: Eddie Valiant, Roger Rabbit, Joey Drew, Henry, Bendy, miscellaneous characters from Bendy and the Ink Machine

Rated T for language

From the Case Files of George K. Fowler, Office of Extranormal Affairs

June, 1947: Marvin Acme, acclaimed comedian, industrialist, and the creator of Toontown, is found dead, apparently murdered by one of the very same Toons he had been supporting for almost two decades. Maroon Cartoon’s Roger Rabbit is believed to have killed him in a fit of jealous rage after learning that his wife, Jessica Rabbit, was having an emotional affair with Acme. Detective Eddie Valiant, of Valiant & Valiant, uncovers the truth: Judge Doom of the Los Angeles Circuit killed Acme and framed Roger to gain control of Toontown. Acme’s will is found, bequeathing Toontown to the Toons. Valiant begins helping Toons again after several years’ lapse, and Roger Rabbit signs a contract with Walt Disney Productions to have his own cartoon.

New York City, 1948

Joey Drew was either out of his mind or an idiot to fly a detective from LA to New York. Eddie Valiant wasn’t complaining, his plane ticket, lodging, and time were being paid for in advance by Drew Studios, plus the job itself. (Alright, so he was complaining a little, but odds were good that this would be a simple missing toon case the NYPD wasn’t taking seriously, worse case scenario he got to see the Statue of Liberty. He was, after, all, the shmuck who agreed to come out here.)

Drew Studios was smack dab in Manhattan, at Broadway and 3rd Avenue. The building was unimpressive, but apparently it had several basement floors. Joey Drew had a reputation for being a little peculiar, even for a man who worked in cartoons. The front face of the building was dominated by a colorful sign reading, ‘JOEY DREW STUDIOS.’

Eddie breathed a long-suffering sigh, hefted his travel bag over his shoulder, and pushed through the revolving door.

The studio was alive with the sound of creators at work, and it almost sounded like home. The entrance hall had posters all the way down showing some of the characters in Drew Studios’ cartoons. Boris the Wolf (less villainous, more hungry), the Butcher Gang (a recurring group of bad guys made up of Charley, Barley, and Edgar), Alice Angel (her mediocre debut was followed up by the fantastic ‘Hell or High Water’ and her popularity exploded), and of course, studio mascot Bendy the Dancing Demon. Bendy was the big star, and had been ever since Drew Studios started getting some recognition back in ’35.

The hall opened into a lobby, and an inter-office courier nearly ran into Eddie, gave a half-hearted apology, and kept on going. There were a couple of young men bickering off to the side, and a projector played an old Bendy cartoon on a screen at the back wall.

A woman wearing a knee-length checkered skirt and red lipstick approached Eddie as he took the scene in. “Can I help you, sir?” she said. She had a distinct Jersey accent.

“Yeah, uh, I’ve got a meeting with Mr. Drew?” he said. The secretary, probably, consulted her clipboard and asked for his name. “Valiant.”

“Hm, I’m not seeing—”

A sharp whistle cut across the lobby, and a man who definitely wasn’t Joey Drew but still seemed kind of familiar strode across the room, up to Eddie and the secretary. “It’s fine, Sherry, we’re expecting Mr. Valiant,” he said. He was distinctly short, white, and slim. He looked young, without a trace of gray in his hair, and had a very thin pencil mustache. He was dressed professionally, but his sleeves were rolled up to his elbows and his tie was thrown over his shoulder to keep it clean. There were dark spots under his eyes.

“Alright, Mr. Hoskins,” Sherry said, and quietly made a gesture like adjusting her collar; he picked up on her meaning and quickly sorted out his tie.

Sherry fluttered away, her heels clicking on the wood floor, and Eddie forced himself to look in any other direction. “So, uh, Mr. Hoskins?”

“Please, just call me Henry.” Henry Hoskins, now that was a name that Eddie recognized from his research. Cofounder of Drew Studios, head animator for what little traditional animation they still produced. Despite his significance in the studio’s history, he stayed out of the public eye, especially compared to Drew. “Pleasure, Mr. Valiant, I’m the lead artist here.” Henry held out his hand for Eddie to shake.

‘Lead artist’ was a roundabout way of alluding to Henry’s bigger role; he was one of those rare gifted people who possessed the power to literally bring their art to life. Some called them, ‘Old Men,’ after Disney’s Nine Old Men, who had that power to a man.

Eddie shook Henry’s hand. “Eddie Valiant.”

“Oh, I don’t think there’s many people in this industry who haven’t heard of you after last summer,” Henry said.

“You’d be surprised.”

“Well, at any rate, I’d like to talk somewhere a little more private. We’re trying to keep things quiet as long as possible.”

He led Eddie down the left wing to what was presumably Henry’s office, surprisingly small for one of the studio’s founders. There was an ordinary desk and chair, along with a light table that had been in use recently. He probably didn’t have people in his office very often, judging by how the desk and chairs were piled high with papers. As Henry moved a heavy-looking binder off of a chair, Eddie looked around a little.

Framed art covered the walls, but especially over the light table. There were character model sheets, concept art, a few posters. Some photographs had been pinned up. There was one of Henry and another man, at least a few years younger. Another was clearly a wedding portrait, showing Henry and a pretty woman with dark hair. Eddie checked surreptitiously to confirm that yes, Henry was wearing a wedding band.

Then there was another photo, this one of a little girl who couldn’t have been older than five, and right next to that photo was a child’s drawing of Bendy done in crayon.

“Your daughter?” Eddie said.

Henry swung his head around to see what Eddie was referring to, and broke into a smile. “Yeah, my little girl. Beth just turned six. Do you have any children, Mr. Valiant?”

Eddie shook his head emphatically. “No, no no, that life ain’t for me.”

“Well, it isn’t easy, I’ll say that much, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. Then again, if even half of what the papers say is true, you’ve taken on some work far more difficult than raising a child.” Henry threw his hands up as the mess defeated him. “Bah. I’m sorry Joey didn’t come meet you himself, he’s scatter-brained at the best of times. I—what in the world is that noise?”

There was some kind of rustling noise coming from the coat closet. Eddie was closer, so he pulled the door open, and a puny cartoon devil came tumbling out, dramatically gasping for air.

“I thought I was a goner!” Bendy wheezed. “It smells like a sewer in there!”

“Bendy!” Henry snapped, but he didn’t look all that bothered by it, smiling as he spoke. “How long have you been in there?”

“Uh…what day is it?”

“Same as when I saw you this morning. Why aren’t you on set?”

“Cause they’re still cleanin’ up after the last take,” Bendy drawled, dropping all of the wheezing he had affected. It was a gag, between Toon and creator, maybe not exactly that situation but the format of Bendy cracking wise while Henry was the straight man was nothing new. Not for the first time Eddie reflected on just how weird artists were.

“So, this the flatfoot who’s gonna find Alice?” Bendy said, turning his attention to Eddie and sizing him up.

“I hope so,” Henry said. “Mr. Valiant, Bendy. Bendy, Eddie Valiant.”

“Hmph,” Bendy grunted, and Eddie’s response was more or less the same. He was way too used to being around Toons.

“So, Alice Angel?” Eddie said.

“Yes, that’s right,” Henry said, sobering. “Alice has been missing for a little over a week. The last time anyone saw her was the Friday before last. Joey tried to report her missing, but New York’s Finest laughed at him.” The sarcasm was practically dripping off of Henry. Bendy murmured something about, “@#&%ing pigs,” with the sound of a bike horn. Definitely a New Yorker.

“No surprise there,” Eddie said. He held up his box of cigarettes. “Alright if I smoke?”

“Sorry, I’d prefer if you didn’t,” Henry said. Eddie nodded and quietly pocketed the box. “We tried searching for her ourselves, but everyone here is so busy with work. There’s been some calls to PI’s in the area, but they didn’t want anything to do with Toons. If I’m being honest, as much as I trust Joey, I objected when he wanted to hire you, Mr. Valiant, but I think he’s panicking.”

“Well, if we’re being honest, I thought it was a little funny myself. As for your little starlet…” Eddie set his jaw. “She wouldn’t be the first to go running off into the city for a good time, but she doesn’t seem like the type. Anybody check her place?”

“Hm?” Henry blinked. “Oh, no, Alice lives here in the studio, along with Bendy and Boris.”

Well that explained some of the expansions, dorms for the Toons. It was practically unknown in Hollywood since Toontown was brought to life, and even before then it was uncommon for studios to have private housing for their ink-based stars. Toons weren’t treated well in general, but there was still some acknowledgement that they were people, human-like, and wanted to be treated like adults. Unless it was funny, of course. Hell, even Roger—

“ACHOO!”

The room went very still, as that had definitely not been either of the humans who had sneezed comically loudly, and Bendy wasn’t trying to use Henry’s shirt as a handkerchief, and also the sneeze had come from Eddie’s travel bag.

“I, uh, think your bag might have a cold,” Bendy drawled.

Eddie could feel his blood pressure rising. He dropped his bag unceremoniously to the floor, and the impact was accompanied by a yelp. Eddie roughly unzipped the bag, reached in to the elbow, and yanked out a Toon rabbit by the straps of his red overalls, wriggling as he tried to get free. “Oh, boy, is it stuffy in there! My ears were burning, was somebody talkin’ about me?”

“Roger!” Eddie snapped, as he lifted Roger Rabbit up so he could look him in the eyes. “What’re you doing here?”

Roger rambled, oblivious to Eddie’s frustration. “Well, I heard you were going to New York, and I’ve always wanted to go to New York, so I thought, why not go see New York with my best pal? Then we can solve a case together, just like the good ol’ days!”

“’The good ol’ days?’ You mean last summer, when you were framed for murdering Marvin Acme and almost got the both of us killed?”

“Yeah, just like then!” Roger said earnestly.

Eddie closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and dropped Roger so he could rub his temples. Bendy looked excited, which couldn’t be good, and Henry was laughing. “Do I even want to know what you did with my spare clothes?” Eddie snapped.

Meanwhile, a ten-year-old girl in Albuquerque was very confused when she unpacked her suitcase and found a pair of men’s boxers with hearts printed on them.

“Pu-bu-bu-bu-robably not!” Roger trilled, and darted away from Eddie to avoid retaliation.

Roger stopped in front of Bendy and gasped dramatically. “Oh, boy! I never thought I’d get to meet Bendy, I just saw the last cartoon you were in! Oh, the artistry! The drama! The tragedy! It was inspired!” Roger cried, swooning.

Bendy was all too eagerly soaking up the praise. “Well, you ain’t too bad yaself, Rabbit. Put ‘er there, pal,” Bendy said. Roger happily shook his hand, and even as Roger was viciously zapped by Bendy’s joy buzzer, he shook Bendy’s hand so strongly that the little devil was lifted up off his feet and shaken up and down. By the time they were finished, Roger’s fur was singed and Bendy was dizzy and a droplet of ink fell from the edge of his widow’s peak like sweat.

“Toons,” Eddie said gruffly.

“Toons,” Henry said cheerfully.

Artists.

A knock came at the door, and a blonde kid pushed it open. “Henry, you’re needed on the sound stage. And have you seen—oh, Bendy’s right here, perfect. You should know, Mr. Drew is getting anxious.”

“Yes, yes, I’ll be right there,” Henry said. “Do you mind coming downstairs, Mr. Valiant? Knowing Joey, if he doesn’t see you with his own eyes he’ll end up keeping you waiting a while.”

Eddie just gestured for Henry to lead the way.

There was a lift to the lower floors, Henry explained, but the sound stage was only one floor down. The stairs were easier. Bendy hopped up on Henry’s shoulder and Henry didn’t even blink; Roger saw this, looked at Eddie hopefully, and Eddie ignored him.

All things considered, the studio was nothing special compared to the kinds of setups you saw in LA, but you wouldn’t know it from the way Henry spoke proudly about starting the studio with Joey Drew, creating Bendy and building the studio into a strong contender, expanding the staff to a fair size, if smaller than some other studios of the same age—coming up on fifteen years.

There was one weird thing, though.

“What’s with the pipes?” Eddie said, of the clear plexiglass pipes carrying a trickle of some dark black substance. The pipes seemed to run (and drip) everywhere in the building, from the lobby to the offices to the stairwells.

Henry didn’t even need to look to know what Eddie was talking about. “Much like your being here, a result of Joey panicking. I’m still not all that sure about it myself, I was a little distracted with a newborn, but I have my suspicions. Around that time, before Bendy became real, the studio was having some trouble. We couldn’t really keep up with the larger studios out west. I’m thinking Joey got pulled in by a conman, he was desperate but it could happen to anyone—”

Bendy cut in when it was clear Henry was going to keep rambling and making excuses. “Joey wanted to try and use some hunk-a-junk ‘Old Man-in-a-Can’ to try and make me real. Not to, uh, doubt him? But let’s just say I’m real glad Henry pulled it off before the machine ever got off the ground.”

Eddie made a sour face. “Hold on, hold on, he tried to build a machine to make Toons?”

“Well, yes,” Henry said, wincing. “Don’t get me wrong, Joey’s my best friend, but he can be a little…”

“Short-sighted. Impulsive. Dumb as a box of rocks,” Bendy said.

“Anyways! It was a mess from the beginning, but it never would have worked, Joey’s Ink Machine,” Henry said. “I saw the blueprints once, most of the writing was some nonsense scribbles. He’s embarrassed by it, really. But it’d be expensive and messy to take it all apart, it’s just been left as it is.”

“A monument to stupidity,” Bendy quipped, and Henry shook his head.

Joey Drew was even more of an eccentric than rumor claimed, then. Bringing Toons to life without needing an Old Man? He wasn’t the first person to try, but there was a reason that studios still employed Old Men. The attempts ended in spectacular failure, and the failures were well-publicized. From what Eddie knew, nobody had really tried to do it in at least ten years. The general conclusion was that it was impossible to replicate an Old Man’s power. Joey must have been really desperate.

The sound stage on B1 was a raucous mess of people moving back and forth trying to get their jobs done. Above the sound crew setting up and testing mics, above artists organizing work, above the cleanup crew getting out of the way, a man’s booming voice dominated the room. “Somebody shut off that fan! I want that playback ready to go on cue this time! And where is Bendy?”

Crew moved aside as somebody pushed their way through, and there was a man Eddie recognized from his picture in the papers, looking a little red in the face from exertion and the stage lights. Joey Drew was a white man standing at about six foot tall, built sturdy. His facial hair was grown out and a little unkempt, and already light hair was shot through with gray. He had clever eyes and laugh lines.

“Finally!” Joey declared. His voice was deep and booming, filling the space he was in. He pointed a finger at Bendy as though in accusation. “Just where did you run off to? After everything that’s happened, I would think you—”

Henry grabbed Joey’s hand and forced it down. “Give it a rest, Joey. He was upstairs in my office, meeting Mr. Valiant.”

“Wait, Valiant?” Joey said, and for the first time he looked at Eddie. His face was starting to return to a healthier pallor. “Mr. Valiant!” Joey exclaimed, with no small amount of relief, and he laughed. “Goodness, I didn’t expect you here so early!” It was almost four in the afternoon. “Oh, but it is wonderful to meet you in person, put ‘er there.”

They shook hands, and Joey’s grip was firm. “Mr. Valiant, please do forgive me, but could I have just one minute and then we can go back upstairs.”

Eddie waved him along. Joey pulled Henry and Buddy up towards the sound stage, clapping Henry on the back and they chatted amiably as they went out of sight. Eddie took a few steps off to the side to lean against a wall in a mostly unoccupied corner. A janitor in denim coveralls was leaning over a trash can, rooting around in the garbage.

“Lose something?”

The janitor jumped and hit his head on the edge of the trash can and stood up straight massaging the bump. He was a young black man, in his early twenties at best. “Nope, didn’t lose nothing! I was just, uh…” He had a strong Brooklyn accent. “Definitely did not lose my keys, nosiree…”

“Don’t worry about it, kid, no skin off my nose,” Eddie said, and then he rethought it. “Just one question, though, how long have you been missing your keys?”

The janitor, his name tag said Wally, looked at Eddie funny. “Uh, I had them an hour ago? But thanks, anyways. Oh, hell, I’m outta here,” Wally said suddenly, and darted away as Joey returned.

Joey had his attention split as he opened a small vial. It looked a little like something Eddie’s girl Dolores had ordered out of the Sears catalog, some oil that was supposed to relieve stress but mostly the strong smell just gave Eddie a headache. Running a cartoon studio, though, Joey probably needed all the stress relief he could get.

Joey sniffed the contents of the vial and made a face. “Blast it, I think it’s gone bad. Mr. Valiant, does this smell like lemon to you?” Joey said as he suddenly shoved the vial in Eddie’s face. Eddie reflexively pushed it away but not fast enough to avoid catching a whiff of something that was not lemon, but smelled a lot like eggs that had been rotting for months. Eddie turned away to cough and retch.

“What the hell?” Eddie spat as Joey was laughing. Roger came closer to investigate, caught the scent directly, turned green, and dropped to the floor stiff as a board clutching a drooping flower between his hands.

“Ha-ha! Oh, dear, I just couldn’t resist!” Joey said as he wiped his eyes, tearing up from laughing so hard at Eddie. Eddie just scowled at him. “Oh, don’t be like that, Mr. Valiant, it was just a joke.” He corked the vial and replaced it in his coat pocket. The smell was still present, but Joey seemed unperturbed. He tapped a finger on the side of his nose. “Can’t smell a thing, never been able to, makes the gag just a little more convincing.”

“Yeah, well, right now I’m wishing I couldn’t smell.” Eddie really had regained his sense of humor since the Acme case, but that didn’t mean he had the patience for some guy who thought that Acme Brand Stink SyrupTM was a replacement for an actual joke.

“Oh, for the love of, I’m sorry, alright? It won’t happen again,” Joey said, and to his credit he sounded pretty genuine.

“Right, well, I’d like to get to work, if you’re done playing pranks.”

“Now hold your horses, Mr. Valiant, there’s no need to be hasty. A minute one way or the other won’t make much of a difference.”

Eddie begged to differ, but made himself shut up and stay put. It was hard when Roger was standing behind Joey waggling his finger and making faces.

“There we go. Now, Mr. Valiant, tell me, have you ever seen an Old Man use their power?”

“You kiddin’? I’m from LA, you can’t swing a dead cat without hitting an Old Man.”

Joey pouted at him. “Well, I personally never get tired of watching.” He turned back toward the sound stage.

The crew was settling and clearing the space, and on the sound stage Henry was with an assistant artist on one side and the director on the other, looking over a drawing done by the assistant with Henry’s guidance and input.

There were no bright colors or auditory cues when an Old Man went to work. There was just an invisible shift in the air, like the way light passing through a gap in the curtains moved across the wall. And as Henry’s eyes passed over the empty space, the image in the drawing was reproduced in three dimensions. The floor became a city street, the back wall, a store front. A couple of lamp posts, a manhole cover, the sidewalk, all of it rounded and polished and matching the style of Drew Studios’ cartoons.

So there was still some wonder at seeing drawings come to life. Everybody was watching quietly, but nobody seemed quite as happy as Henry, even after using his power so many times. It was never mundane to him, how could it be?

As it was drawn by another artist, the set would only last a couple of hours before turning to dust. Only if Henry drew it himself would it be permanent. Nobody quite knew how that power worked, but there was a consistent set of rules to how it could be used.

When the set was completed, Henry was perspiring and grinning. The page in his hand had started spontaneously leaking ink from the center out, and by the time he was done it was soaked through with black ink.

Henry took a step back, and like that, the spell was broken, and everybody went straight back to work.

Joey clapped a hand on Eddie’s shoulder, and Eddie jumped. “Alright, then, let’s get to business.”

Joey’s office was three times the size of Henry’s, significantly more organized, with significantly fewer personal touches. The left wall had a bookshelf mostly filled with knick-knacks, and the right wall had a couple of newspaper clippings, a magazine cover, and a poster for the Butcher Gang. It was a little chilly, the vent was wide open. Eddie made Roger wait outside the office, which carried its own risks, but it was at least a calculated one.

“So, Henry already told you what’s happened?” Joey said as he stepped behind his desk.

“More or less. You want me to find Alice.”

“That’s exactly right, Mr. Valiant. It’s been madness this past week, I’m at my wit’s end. Speaking of, I really am sorry about the state I was in when you first came downstairs, it’s just been…difficult,” Joey said. “We’re all so worried about her, the police only mocked me, and I shudder to imagine what could have happened to her.”

“Mm-hm,. You gotta understand, Mr. Drew, you’re not giving me a lot to work off of here, and I can’t guarantee I’m gonna find her. It’s not easy to hurt a Toon, but it ain’t hard for a smart Toon to make themselves disappear.”

Joey shook his head. “I hope she isn’t hurt, but even if she did run away, she couldn’t possibly have done it without help.”

“What’s that mean?”

“Just what I said. Alice, and Bendy and Boris as well, they’re all clever, but not particularly, what’s the word, worldly. They don’t really leave the studio very often, and when they do they usually have a chaperone, either myself or Henry.”

Eddie squinted at him. “No offense, Drew, but that’s a little funny to keep Toons locked up in a studio.”

“Not locked up, goodness!” You make it sound like they’re here against their wills!” Joey said, visibly appalled. “But, Mr. Valiant, this isn’t Los Angeles. There isn’t a haven like Toontown here in New York, but people aren’t any kinder to Toons here than they are in California. Do you recall Fleisher Studios?”

“Sure I know ‘em. Hell, my brother and I worked for ‘em once back in the day. They, uh…” Eddie frowned as he recalled the details. Had to be spring of ’42, Fleischer Studios was going defunct. The case wasn’t actually for Max Fleischer, Valiant & Valiant were hired by Betty Boop and Bingo after the couple moved to California along with some other Fleischer Bros. Toons.

Eddie wet his lips. “Right. The stalker.”

Now it was coming back to him. Betty had a stalker who had been harassing her for some six months. The creep wasn’t subtle about it, but he was a human and she was a Toon, so the NYPD would not do a think about it, and the stalker even followed Betty and Bingo all the way across the country. They had been afraid he might try to hurt one or both of them, so Teddy got Betty and Bingo safely to Toontown while Eddie waited at the motel room and gave the stalker the scare of his life. The involvement of Valiant & Valiant did not make the papers, but word of mouth still spread the story among the Toons.

“Alright, I get what you mean.”

“Thank you, Mr. Valiant,” Joey said, relaxing a little and smiling gratefully. “It’s incidents just like that one that make me fear for the safety of my Toons. They haven’t expressed any interest in living somewhere else, so I’m only too happy to let them have a home here.”

Persuasive guy, Eddie thought. “So, whether she left of her own will or not, somebody else had to be involved. That’s definitely something to look into. Still can’t guarantee anything, but I can do some digging.”

“Fantastic,” Joey said, flashing a big grin. “About your compensation, I admit that this work is a little nebulous and the time frame is going to be uncertain.”

“At least a couple days.”

“I thought as much. We’ll stick with the daily rate we agreed upon plus expenses, yes? You do have a reputation for results, and for being a man of strong morals, so I think I can trust that you won’t sit back and do nothing.”

This was already going better than Eddie feared it would. “That sounds damn fair, Mr. Drew.”

And they shook on the agreement.

“So Alice lives here in the studio, but does she have any friends outside of it?”

“Ah, I wouldn’t know, I speak with her less than I would like,” Joey said, as he went to write out a check for the first day of work.

“Then who would know?”

“Well, Henry is certainly closest with the Toons,” Joey said. “But he’s a tad busy at the moment, and rather worn out. Otherwise, she spends quite a bit of time around our Music Director, Sammy Lawrence. You’re welcome to speak to him, the lift can take you down to level B4. I only ask that you avoid going into sound stage while it is in use. Level C is under construction but the button on the lift is disabled anyways. And there is one room on this level you will pass on the way to the lift, it’s boarded up, but that is the site of a, eh, project that didn’t work out.”

“The Ink Machine?”

Joey’s lip curled. “So, Henry told you about that, did he? Wonderful. Nevertheless, I recommend staying clear. And that goes double for Roger. The last thing I need is Disney on me, on top of everything else.”

That, at least, Eddie could understand.

When Eddie went to leave, he was relieved to find Roger was just where he left him, now chatting with that same janitor from downstairs. Wally wasn’t doing his job in the slightest, but was leaning on his mop with the bucket left right where somebody could step in it.

“Wally! Perfect timing!” Joey boomed, and Wally nearly fell over in surprise, stood upright, and grinned. “You can show Mr. Valiant—”

“Show him the door! On it, boss!” Wally said, dropping his mop and pushing his sleeves up.

“Show him the lift, Wally!” Joey interjected.

“Show him the lift! On it, boss!” Wally said in the same tone, fixing his sleeves and adjusting his cap.

Joey clapped his hands together. “Well, Mr. Valiant, on behalf of every one of my employees, I wish you could luck. I believe in you, Eddie, and with the power of belief, nothing is impossible.” He was beaming, and there was a twinkle in his eye.

Eddie nodded and touched the brim of his hat. “Let’s get going, Roger.”

The door closed loudly behind them.

“So, you find your keys?” Eddie said.

“Huh? Oh, yeah!” Wally said, and kept on walking as he fished out a keyring and jangled it. Roger was intensely fascinated by the keys. “And now I get why you were so curious about when I lost ‘em, if they’d been lost a while somebody might’ve used them to break in.”

“Smart kid,” Eddie said dryly. It really had been his concern.

“Don’t think it’s that much. Aw, geez, Eddie Valiant. My aunt’s wild about that true crime stuff. Uh! Not that I’m gonna mention anything about it until after you’re done,” Wally added quickly. Again, smarter than some of the people Eddie had worked for in the past. “You are here to find Alice, right? She’s quite a gal, just hope she’s alright.”

Wally took Eddie down a hall, past administrative offices, and down a small flight of stairs to a break room. In the back corner was the lift Joey told him about.

“Hey, so, I couldn’t help but overhear a little,” Wally said. “You’re gonna go talk to Mr. Lawrence?”

“’Overheard,’ huh?” Eddie said doubtfully. “Yeah, that’s right.”

“Can I give you a piece of advice?” Wally crossed his arms and slouched. “Sammy’s pretty much always angry at everybody, and it’s easy to cheese him off. He’s just damn good at makin’ music so everybody puts up with him. But, if you want to start out on his good side, offer him a cigarette. He’ll probably turn you down, but he’ll be a little easier to talk to.”

And that was why you were polite to the janitors: they had the dirt on everyone. “Offer him a cigarette, huh? I’ll keep that in mind. Thanks, kid.”

“Yeah, well, no problem, Mr. Valiant,” Wally said. He held out his hand. Eddie frowned, but he shook the proffered hand. “Good luck finding Alice.”

“…Yeah.”

Weird kid, but Eddie had met weirder in just the last hour. Eddie pushed his hands into his pockets.

The lift was a little rickety and very slow, but better than too fast. Eddie pulled the grate shut, and Roger insisted on pushing the button, but at least he didn’t push all the buttons.

As the lift slowly descended, Eddie lit a cigarette. He set his jaw, and noticed Roger looking at him eagerly. “What?”

“I know that face, that’s the Eddie Valiant Thinkin’ Face!”

The worst part was that Roger wasn’t wrong. He really had been thinking.

Eddie tapped his cigarette and said, “You ever see an Old Man work, Roger?”

Roger perked up. “Oh, sure plenty of times! Not as much at Disney, but at Maroon Cartoons, all the time!”

“So, you know what it looks like and you saw when Henry made the set a bit ago. You notice anything weird about it?”

“Huh, weird?” Roger said, and he tapped his chin in thought. “Well, now that you mention it…” He tilted his head to the side. “I ain’t never seen an animator get so tired after Old-Manning. It’s usually easy for ‘em, right? But Henry looked like he was gonna pass out by the end of it.”

Ignoring the interesting turn of phrase, Eddie nodded. “What else?”

“Uh, oh, yeah, and the paper he was using!” Roger exclaimed. “It got all gross and inky, made a whole big mess! I’ve never seen anything like that happen before?”

“Me neither. I already felt like something was up, but now I’m sure of it.” Eddie pulled out the paper that Wally had quietly given him while they shook hands and held the note up to Roger. “Something stinks at this studio.”

Written in a heavy hand were the words:

DON’T TRUST JOEY DREW

#bendy and the ink machine #batim #who framed roger rabbit #wfrr #roger rabbit and the ink machine #rratim #fanfiction

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houseofvans · 6 years

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SKETCHY BEHAVIORS | Interview w/ STACEY ROZICH (LA)

From animal mask wearing people sifting through antiques to creepy mascots being arrested by equally creepy looking officers, Los Angeles based artist Stacey Rozich’s watercolor works are all things awesome. Strange, familiar, dark, humorous, and pleasantly eerie at times, Rozich’s paintings, while done in the style of folk traditional painting, are filtered through her own lens of modern pop culture. With some upcoming shows in the New Year–a group show at New Image in LA in February and a two-person show at Portland’s Talon Gallery in September–we couldn’t wait to chat with Stacey Rozich about her early experiences with drawing, her collaboration with Subpop Records, and her sketchiest story involving loud raucous metal heads and a little out-of-the-way saloon in Malibu in this latest Sketchy Behaviors.

Photographs courtesy of the artist | Portrait by Kyle Johnson

Tell us a little about yourself. My name is Stacey Rozich, or Stace, Stace Ghost, etc. I’m from Seattle, but I now live in Los Angeles. I’ve been painting in watercolor for the past twelves years, and drawing before that since forever. I sometimes do large scale versions of my work as acrylic murals, which is something I stumbled into. I dig painting in the folk tradition, but through my own lens of modern pop culture, and way too much tv watching as a kid. Seriously, I was an insomniac in middle school and for some reason my parents gave me a tv in my room, so I stayed up all night watching VH1 Pop-Up Video and Adult Swim (circa late 90’s). I have an almost encyclopedic knowledge of The Simpsons seasons 3 - 8 — I used to recite monologues from the show to my family when I was a kid. And I still do!

What was your first experience with art / drawing? And who were some of your early artistic influences? In Kindergarten I drew a many-legged leopard in the forest with crayons and I got a lot of praise for it from the other kids and the teacher. I felt a combination of pride and complete embarrassment for the attention I got for something I created without thinking. My earliest artistic influence was probably Sailor Moon. I wish I could say I was one of those really smart arty kids that loved Picasso, but honestly I wasn’t that aware of what “real art” was until later in pre teenhood. The flashy colors and character designs of Sailor Moon were so exciting for me! Even the lush watercolor backgrounds captivated me. I liked drawing people then so the outrageous proportions of the girls was something I could mimic in my own drawings.

Some of our favorite aspects of your work is your use of gouache and watercolors. Can you share with folks what it is about this particular medium you enjoy so much? I absolutely love watercolor, and truthfully I don’t use gouache that much to consider myself proficient in it since it’s a slightly more opaque medium and I use it for accents. Especially the fluorescent gouaches I picked up in Tokyo, those against my watercolors pop nicely. But watercolor, yeah, I think I have that one in the bag. I remember using it in high school and absolutely loathing it — where was the control? One wrong move and it all just blended together into one big wet puddle. When I was a freshman at CCA (California College of the Arts in San Francisco) I took an intro Illustration class and the first thing our professor did was give us a watercolor demo; I was not looking forward to it. He was such a wizard with it! He gave us really smart instructions to not use very much water, and really “charge up the brush” with the pigments and paint it in and let it dry fully. That way edges of the paint have dried and created a barrier for the next application of color next to it. That’s why the barrier for entry with watercolor can seem too high, when it gets too slippery to work with there’s an overuse of water. I got that suddenly and it all clicked. Since i grew up drawing habitually I liked that I could use a very small brush and almost draw with watercolor, and large brushes to fill in certain planes with tonal washes. I like that I can wipe and dab away little pools of color and it creates a nice stained glass effect — that looks really lovely against a matte layer of watercolor that I’ve used extremely little water with.

Are there other mediums you’d like to try in the future? In the future I would really like to start painting portraits of people in my life. Like, Alice Neel style portraits in oil. Oil intimidates me greatly so I think I’d start in acrylic.

What’s a day in the studio for you like? I get to my studio around 10am since I’m not a very early riser, unfortunately. I so envy early morning people! One of my girlfriends who’s an incredible textile artist is up and at ‘em and hiking in Griffith Park by 6am. And there I am under the covers with a cat on stomach looking at her Instagramed hike thinking “Some day that will be me” — I like to lie to myself. Anyway! Once I roll into my studio I settle in to write some e-mails, putz around the Interwebs, and then get down to the task at hand. It’s usually 11 around this time so I’m usually really chugging along by 3, and then I’ll keep going for a few more hours. If it’s a painting for a commission or gallery show I tend to spread my timeline out so I don’t get burned out. If it’s a commercial gig there’s a lot more scanning, Photoshop clipping out and editing which can take me later into the evening.

What’s that process like? My process always starts with loose sketches on paper, which can mean in a sketchbook or whatever blank piece is lying closest to me. I work out compositions with really doodly lines — they’re virtually unintelligible but I know what they mean. When I move to the final I mostly wing it when it comes to the color palette. If anyone has ever seen my watercolor palette they know it’s a goddang mess which works for me. I usually work with whatever shades I’ve pre mixed and let dry in the pan.

You’ve worked with various clients and companies over the years. Do you enjoy collaborating and what do you find the most challenging about it? I do like working commercially, the collaboration with art directors can be incredibly rewarding. Though there are times it becomes a slog when you’ve created about four or five killer rough ideas and they go with the weakest one. Why does that always happen? You have to do what they say essentially, but still keep your voice even when it feels a little pinched.

In 2015, you collaborated with Subpop Records on some amazing record art and design? Can you tell us a little about that collaboration and process? Subpop is one of my favorite labels to work with hands down. Their art director Sasha Barr is such a boss. I was really lucky when I was working on the Father John Misty album that I got to create the art and not worry about the editing process. I sent it up to them since they had access to a gigantic scanner to get a full high-resolution image. It meant a lot that I was able to do the art as an actual full scale piece, as opposed to broken up to little scraps and then scanned on my wee little ancient scanner. Sasha did all the leg work to clip out the whole thing and to figure out how to stage the multi-layered pop-up interior gatefold. Usually when I work with smaller clients they ask me to do all this which is…not a good idea. Ultimately that album packaging was nominated for a Grammy in Packaging Design in 2016, but we lost out to Jack White because of course. Damn you, Jack White!

What WOULD BE your ideal collaboration? I would like to work with a great publishing house to do my own young adult series. Basically all the characters and worlds I’ve been painting distilled down into a serialized art book/graphic novel type thing. That’s a big dream of mine that swings from feeling so possible and exhilarating and then feeling completely futile because everyone has the worst things to say about the state of publishing right now. I still have hope that someday I’ll get it together to at least put forward a proposal.

On a different level I’ve love to design some patterns for Gucci. I’m not really up on the latest collections of luxury brands but Gucci is one I’ve noticed has been doing a fantastic job incorporating illustrations into their garments either as accents or printed motifs. The uniqueness of the artwork coupled with excellent hand done detailing makes my brain feel fuzzy in a really good way.

What type of music do you listen to when creating? Can you give us the top 5 bands you’ve been checking out? I waffle back and forth between music and a lot of podcasts. For the times when I can’t listen to anyone talk anymore, I listen to Jim James, Solange, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Shabazz Palaces. I just started listening to Andy Shauf’s new album which is lovely, it reminds me a bit of Harry Nillson. Also there’s a great massive playlist on Spotify called Twin Peaks Vibes that is excellent.

What’s your strangest or sketchiest art story that you want to share? I was eating lunch with some friends at this little out-of-the-way saloon in a canyon east of Malibu after a hike a few months ago. It’s pretty isolated down there — they’ve been using this place for filming Westerns since the 30’s so it’s a very specific strange and cool gem. I was sitting at the bar and these bros come in, being loud and raucous. I kind of internally rolled my eyes at them and ignored them. I hear one of them say “Excuse me — are you Stacey Rozich?” I got scared for a moment because anytime someone recognizes me by name I feel like I’m going to get into some trouble. I told him I was, and then he and his friends got very excited since they all were huge Southern Lord fans, and loved the album artwork I did years ago for the band Earth. I was really surprised (and relieved) and we had a good chat! It was a very unexpected encounter down at this little far away rustic saloon.

What’s a common misconception about artists? Perhaps that we’re all lazy. That we don’t have a good work ethic since what we do is hard for most people to wrap their brain around. It’s a completely unconventional path to go down, and you have to be extremely dedicated to it. Yet somehow this doesn’t quite translate to most folks since it seems like basing your life and career on an unknown pursuit like art seems insane. And there’s an idea that artists have a lot of free time to spend laying around waiting for inspiration to strike.

What’s been the biggest challenge for you as an artist? The largest challenge for me, honestly is: myself. I’ve been working solely on my artwork for the past six years and it’s been full of a lot of ups and downs: emotionally and financially for sure. There’s always a feeling of not being good enough, why aren’t I as good as this or that artist, why aren’t I doing X, Y or Z. Don’t get me wrong, I am proud of myself for what I have accomplished but I need to remind myself of that before I go down a spiral of anxiety. It comes from a fear of rejection which can prevent me from pursuing things, submitting a proposal for the aforementioned young adult series for example. Sometimes I need to remind myself to get out of my head and to get out of my own way.

What do you think you’d be doing if you weren’t an artist? I’d probably be in finance, on Wall Street most likely. Kidding! I think about this sometimes. Being someone who creates has always been so tightly wrapped up in who I am as a person that it’s hard to extract myself from what I would be without. I would hope I would do something in Slavic studies. My dad’s side is Croatian (by way of Detroit) and while that’s been a huge inspiration for my artwork I’ve always been really fascinated with that region’s history of conflict and resilience. When I spent six weeks there back in 2012 it only deepened my love for that place and also my curiosity for what makes it tick.

What are your favorite Vans? A pair of beat up, worn in, maybe a couple of holes at the toe blue or red Authentics. A true classic.

What’s a question you never get asked in an interview and would like to ask and answer yourself? It would be, ‘If there was one person living or dead who you wished owned or could have owned your art — who would it be?’ To which I would say that’s such a hard question there’s so many people I admire! But as of this moment I think it would be rad if David Lynch had some of my art. I love his unstructured style of storytelling, all the loops and the sometimes frustrating dead ends his narrative world has. The effect of creating an unusual if not downright confusing vignette just for the sake of it reminds me of how I approach the storylines in my work.

What cool and interesting projects or shows that you’re working on - should folks keep an eye out for next year? Since it’s the end of the year things are usually pretty quiet in terms of projects, but I’m in a group show in conjunction with Luke Pelletier’s solo show at New Image here in LA in February. I’m scheduled for a two-person show at Portland’s Talon Gallery in September and! Hopefully, if it all aligns, I’ll be headed Internationally to do some muraling. I’m stoked for it!

FOLLOW STACEY | Instagram | Website

#Art #Vans #Vans Art #Stacey Rozich #SKETCHY BEHAVIORS #female artist #vans girls #painting #gouache #watercolor

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sky1news · 3 years

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TV Movie Guide: 23 – 29 November | Movie News

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FOR SBS WORLD MOVIES HIGHLIGHTS THIS WEEK:

Closed Captions (CC) available for Destroyer, Her Smell and Final Portrait Audio Description (AD) available for Destroyer and Annie Hall

MONDAY 23 NOVEMBER

The Work 1:00pm, NITV (repeats Saturday 28 November, 8:35pm)

PG USA, 2017 Genre: Documentary Language: English Director: Jairus McLeary, Gethin Aldous What’s it about? Set entirely inside Folsom Prison, this acclaimed fly-on-the-wall documentary follows three men during four days of intensive group therapy with convicts, revealing an intimate and powerful portrait of authentic human transformation that transcends what we think of as rehabilitation.

Streaming after broadcast at SBS On Demand:

TUESDAY 24 NOVEMBER

The Editor 12:35am, SBS VICELAND

MA15+ Canada, 2015 Genre: Comedy, Horror, Mystery Language: English Director: Adam Brooks, Matthew Kennedy Starring: Adam Brooks, Udo Kier, Paz de la Huerta, Conor Sweeney What’s it about? Rey Ciso (Brooks) was once the greatest editor the world had ever seen. Since a horrific accident left him with four wooden fingers on his right hand, he’s had to resort to cutting pulp films and trash pictures. When the lead actors from the film he’s been editing turn up murdered at the studio, Rey is fingered as the number one suspect.

Streaming after broadcast at SBS On Demand:

WEDNESDAY 25 NOVEMBER

Her Smell 8:30pm, SBS VICELAND

M, CC USA, 2018 Genre: Drama, Music Language: English Director: Alex Ross Perry Starring: Elisabeth Moss, Cara Delevingne, Dan Stevens, Amber Heard, Agyness Deyn What’s it about? A self-destructive punk rocker (Moss) struggles with sobriety while trying to recapture the creative inspiration that led her band to success. From writer-director Alex Ross Perry (Listen Up Phillip, Queen of Earth).

Faces of Harassment 8:30pm, NITV

MA15+ Brazil, 2016 Genre: Documentary Language: Portuguese, International Director: Paula Sacchetta What’s it about? On Women’s Week, a studio-van was parked in locations across rich and poor areas of Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. The studio-van was made available to any woman who felt like sharing her story. The film, which is part of a transmedia project, is comprised of a significant number of testimonies, and reflects upon an important part of the filming process: how did these women feel when they were telling their stories?

Streaming after broadcast at SBS On Demand:

Pariah 10:55pm, SBS VICELAND

M USA, 2011 Genre: Drama Language: English Director: Dee Rees Starring: Adepero Oduye, Pernell Walker, Aasha Davis, Kim Wayans What’s it about? A Brooklyn teenager (Oduye) juggles conflicting identities and risks friendship, heartbreak, and family in a desperate search for sexual expression. The acclaimed directorial debut of Dee Rees, director of 2016’s Mudbound.

Final Portrait 11:50pm, SBS

M, CC UK, 2017 Genre: Drama, Comedy, Biography Language: English, French, Italian Director: Stanley Tucci Starring: Geoffrey Rush, Armie Hammer, Clemence Poesy, Tony Shalhoub, Sylvie Testud What’s it about? In 1964, while on a short trip to Paris, the American writer and art-lover James Lord (Hammer) is asked by his friend, the world-renowned artist Alberto Giacometti (Rush), to sit for a portrait. The process, Giacometti assures Lord, will take only a few days. Flattered and intrigued, Lord agrees. So begins a touching story of friendship and a uniquely revealing insight into the beauty, frustration, profundity and, at times, downright chaos of the artistic process.

The Last Days of Disco 12:30am, SBS VICELAND

M USA, 1998 Genre: Drama, Comedy Language: English Director: Whit Stilman Starring: Chloë Sevigny, Kate Beckinsale, Matt Ross, Jennifer Beals, Chris Eigeman What’s it about? Charlotte (Beckinsale) and Alice (Sevigny) are friends and roommates who must deal with the changing dynamics of their social group at the end of the disco era. From Whit Stilman, writer-director of Love & Friendship and Metropolitan.

NOTE: No Catch-up at SBS On Demand

THURSDAY 26 NOVEMBER

Twelve Canoes 12:20pm, NITV

PG Australia, 2009 Genre: Drama, Omnibus Film Language: English Director: Rolf de Heer, Molly Reynolds What’s it about? A series of short films that paint a compelling portrait of the people, history, culture and place of the Yolngu people whose homeland is the Arafura Swamp of north-central Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory.

Once Were Warriors 9:30pm, NITV

MA15+ New Zealand, 1994 Genre: Drama Language: English, Maori Director: Lee Tamahori Starring: Temuera Morrison, Rena Owen, Cliff Curtis What’s it about? A family descended from Maori warriors is bedevilled by a violent father (Morrison) and the societal problems of being treated as outcasts. This 1994 drama opened the eyes of audiences world-wide to the reality of life for a small section of New Zealand, broke domestic box office records, and was followed by the 1999 sequel What Becomes of the Broken Hearted?.

FRIDAY 27 NOVEMBER

The Panther Within 11:00am, NITV

G Australia, 2016 Genre: Documentary Language: English Director: Allan Collins, Edoardo Crismani What’s it about? A family’s quest to unravel the mystery of Joe Murray, an Aboriginal boxer and vaudevillian known as, ‘The Black Panther’.

Sunny and the Dark Horse 12:00pm, NITV

PG Australia, 1987 Genre: Documentary Language: English Director: David MacDougall, Judith MacDougall What’s it about? The story of an Aboriginal stockman, Sunny Bancroft, and his family at Collum Collum and their growing enthusiasm for “picnic races” on bush tracks in New South Wales. The film follows Sunny and his wife Liz, in their search for a winning horse to triumph on the local picnic racing circuit – but things don’t always go their way.

Mosley 8:00pm, NITV (repeats Saturday 28 November, 10:00am)

PG China, New Zealand, 2019 Genre: Animation, Family, Adventure Language: English Director: Kirby Atkins Starring: Lucy Lawless, John Rhys-Davies, Temuera Morrison, Rhys Darby, Kirby Atkins What’s it about? Tells the story of Mosley, a “thoriphant” who rebels against his life of servitude and embarks on a treacherous journey with his father to find the fabled city of Uprights.

The Claim 12:10am, SBS VICELAND

M USA, 2000 Genre: Drama, Romance, Western Language: English Director: Michael Winterbottom Starring: Peter Mullan, Wes Bentley, Sarah Polley, Milla Jovovich, Nastassja Kinski What’s it about? Dillon (Mullan) is a pioneer who defied the harsh winter in search of rumoured gold. Having amassed unimaginable riches, he runs a thriving mining town called Kingdom Come. But the blind ambition and greed that drove him to succeed finally catch up to him with the arrival of three strangers. Based on Thomas Hardy’s The Mayor of Casterbridge, and directed by Michael Winterbottom (24 Hour Party People, Code 46).

NOTE: No Catch-up at SBS On Demand

SATURDAY 28 NOVEMBER

Annie Hall 12:00pm, SBS VICELAND

PG, AD USA, 1977 Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance Language: English, German Director: Woody Allen Starring: Woody Allen, Diane Keaton, Tony Roberts, Carol Kane, Shelley Duvall What’s it about? This landmark romantic comedy (and Best Picture Oscar winner) stars Woody Allen as a neurotic, New York comedian who falls for a quirky midwestern girl (Keaton) in an on-again, off-again romance.

NOTE: No catch-up at SBS On Demand

Destroyer 9:30pm, SBS

MA15+, CC, AD USA, 2018 Genre: Thriller, Crime, Drama, Action Language: English Director: Karyn Kusama Starring: Nicole Kidman, Sebastian Stan, Tatiana Maslany, Bradley Whitford, Toby Kebbell What’s it about? Erin Bell (Kidman) is an LAPD detective who, as a young cop, was placed undercover with a gang in the California desert with tragic results. When the leader (Kebbell) of that gang re-emerges many years later, she must work her way back through the remaining members and into her own history with them to finally reckon with the demons that destroyed her past. Directed by Karyn Kusama (Girlfight, The Invitation).

Streaming after broadcast at SBS On Demand:

Do the Right Thing 10:10pm, NITV

MA15+ USA, 1989 Genre: Drama, Comedy, Crime Language: English Director: Spike Lee Starring: Spike Lee, Danny Aiello, Ossie Davis, Ruby Dee, Richard Edson, Giancarlo Esposito What’s it about? This award-winning and critically acclaimed drama, written and directed by Spike Lee (who earned a 1990 Academy Award nomination for Best Original Screenplay) takes place on the hottest day of the year on a street in the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn. Everyone’s hate and bigotry smoulders and builds until it explodes into violence.

ORIGINAL MOVIE SHOW REVIEW

Code 46 12:10am, SBS VICELAND

MA15+ UK, 2003 Genre: Drama, Romance, Sci-Fi, Thriller Language: English Director: Michael Winterbottom Starring: Tim Robbins, Samantha Morton, Togo Igawa, Om Puri, Jeanne Balibar What’s it about? In a futuristic world, an insurance investigator (Robbins) embarks on a brief but dangerous affair with a woman (Morton) wanted for holding a fake DNA identity and passport. He overlooks her crime but soon finds out that she stands accused of violating a reproductive code. From director Michael Winterbottom (24 Hour Party People, The Trip).

NOTE: No catch-up at SBS On Demand

SUNDAY 29 NOVEMBER

Invaders from Mars 4:10pm, SBS VICELAND

PG USA, 1986 Genre: Horror, Science Fiction Language: English Director: Tobe Hooper Starring: Karen Black, Hunter Carson, Timothy Bottoms, Bud Cort, Louise Fletcher What’s it about? This space-age creature feature from director Tobe Hooper (The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Poltergeist) is crawling with horrifying hordes of Martians hell-bent on stealing your soul – as well as your planet. Little David Gardner’s starry-eyed dreams turn into an out-of-this-world nightmare when invaders from the red planet land in his backyard and unleash their hostilities on unsuspecting earthlings.

NOTE: No catch-up at SBS On Demand

Yusuf Hawkins: Storm Over Brooklyn 8:35pm, NITV

M USA, 2020 Genre: Documentary Language: English Director: Muta’Ali Muhammad Starring: Yusuf Hawkin, Joseph Fama, Keith Mondello, Al Sharpton What’s it about? The 30-year legacy of the murder of black teenager Yusuf Hawkins by a group of young white men in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, as his family and friends reflect on the tragedy and the subsequent fight for justice that inspired and divided New York City.

Streaming after broadcast at SBS On Demand:

Hard Eight 12:30am, SBS VICELAND

MA15+ USA, 1996 Genre: Drama, Thriller Language: English Director: Paul Thomas Anderson Starring: Philip Baker Hall, Gwyneth Paltrow, John C. Reilly, Samuel L. Jackson, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Melora Walters What’s it about? Veteran gambler, Sydney (Hall), befriends John (Reilly) and proceeds to tutor him in the art of making a living as a gambler. Sydney also takes an interest in Clementine (Paltrow), a cocktail waitress and sex worker. One night, Sydney is called to a dark hotel by John and Clementine who have bound and beaten one of her ‘Johns’ for non-payment of services – Sydney engineers their escape. The directorial debut for Paul Thomas Anderson (Boogie Nights, There Will Be Blood, Phantom Thread).

Streaming after broadcast at SBS On Demand:

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grantmkemp · 4 years

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"Everyone discusses my art and pretends to understand, as if it were necessary to understand, when it is simply necessary to love." - Claude Monet

Claude Monet was born 179 years ago today, 14th November 1840 on the fifth floor of 45 rue Laffitte, Paris. His father wanted him to go into the family's ship-chandling and grocery business, but Monet wanted to become an artist. His mother was a singer, and supported Monet's desire for a career in art. On 28th January 1857, his mother died, and at the age of sixteen, he left school and went to live with his widowed, childless aunt, Marie-Jeanne Lecadre. When Monet traveled to Paris to visit the Louvre, he witnessed painters copying from the old masters. Having brought his paints and other tools with him, he would instead go and sit by a window and paint what he saw. Monet was in Paris for several years and met other young painters, including Édouard Manet. Disillusioned with traditional art schools, in 1862 Monet became a student of Charles Gleyre in Paris, where he met Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Frédéric Bazille and Alfred Sisley. Together they shared new approaches to art, painting the effects of light en plein air with broken colour and rapid brushstrokes, in what later came to be known as Impressionism. From the late 1860s, Monet and other like-minded artists met with rejection from the conservative Académie des Beaux-Arts, which held its annual exhibition at the Salon de Paris. Manet. After the outbreak of the Franco-Prussian War, Monet took refuge in England, where he studied the works of John Constable and Joseph Mallord William Turner, both of whose landscapes would serve to inspire Monet's innovations in the study of colour. Impression, Sunrise was painted in 1872, depicting a Le Havre port landscape. From the painting's title the art critic Louis Leroy, coined the term "Impressionism". It was intended as disparagement but the Impressionists appropriated the term for themselves. The first Impressionist exhibition was held in 1874 at 35 boulevard des Capucines, Paris, from 15th April to 15th May. The primary purpose of the participants was not so much to promote a new style, but to free themselves from the constraints of the Salon de Paris. The exhibition, open to anyone prepared to pay 60 francs, gave artists the opportunity to show their work without the interference of a jury. The total attendance is estimated at 3500, and some works did sell, though some exhibitors had placed their prices too high. Pissarro was asking 1000 francs for The Orchard and Monet the same for Impression: Sunrise, neither of which sold In 1876, Camille Monet (his first wife, and former model) became ill with tuberculosis. Their second son, Michel, was born on 17th March 1878. This second child weakened her already fading health. In the summer of that year, the family moved to the village of Vétheuil where they shared a house with the family of Ernest Hoschedé, a wealthy department store owner and patron of the arts. In 1878, Camille Monet was diagnosed with uterine cancer. She died on 5th September 1879 at the age of thirty-two After several difficult months following the death of Camille, Monet began to create some of his best paintings of the 19th century. During the early 1880s, Monet painted several groups of landscapes and seascapes in what he considered to be campaigns to document the French countryside. These began to evolve into series of pictures in which he documented the same scene many times in order to capture the changing of light and the passing of the seasons. Monet's friend Ernest Hoschedé became bankrupt, and left in 1878 for Belgium. After the death of Camille Monet in September 1879, and while Monet continued to live in the house in Vétheuil, Alice Hoschedé helped Monet to raise his two sons, Jean and Michel. She took them to Paris to live alongside her own six children, Blanche (who married Jean Monet), Germaine, Suzanne, Marthe, Jean-Pierre, and Jacques. In the spring of 1880, Alice Hoschedé and all the children left Paris and rejoined Monet at Vétheuil. In 1881, all of them moved to Poissy, which Monet hated. In April 1883, looking out the window of the little train between Vernon and Gasny, he discovered Giverny in Normandy. Monet, Alice Hoschedé and the children moved to Vernon, then to the house in Giverny, where he planted a large garden and where he painted for much of the rest of his life. Following the death of her estranged husband, Monet married Alice Hoschedé in 1892. Monet rented and eventually purchased a house and gardens in Giverny. The family worked and built up the gardens, and Monet's fortunes began to change for the better as his dealer, Paul Durand-Ruel, had increasing success in selling his paintings. By November 1890, Monet was prosperous enough to buy the house, the surrounding buildings and the land for his gardens. During the 1890s, Monet built a greenhouse and a second studio, a spacious building well lit with skylights. During World War I, in which his younger son Michel served and his friend and admirer Georges Clemenceau led the French nation, Monet painted a series of weeping willow trees as homage to the French fallen soldiers. In 1923, he underwent two operations to remove his cataracts. The paintings done while the cataracts affected his vision have a general reddish tone, which is characteristic of the vision of cataract victims. It may also be that after surgery he was able to see certain ultraviolet wavelengths of light that are normally excluded by the lens of the eye; this may have had an effect on the colours he perceived. After his operations he even repainted some of these paintings, with bluer water lilies than before. Monet died of lung cancer on 5th December 1926 at the age of 86 and is buried in the Giverny church cemetery. Monet had insisted that the occasion be simple; thus only about fifty people attended the ceremony. At his funeral, his long-time friend Georges Clemenceau removed the black cloth draped over the coffin, stating, "No black for Monet!" and replaced it with a flower-patterned cloth. These are my colourised versions of: a studio portrait by Benque & Co., Paris, taken in 1883, when Monet was aged 43, and a photograph taken in his house at Giverny in 1916, when Monet was aged 76

Restoring Your Past … Website Restoring Your Past … on Facebook

#Impressionist #Impressionism #painting #artist #France #Paris #Louvre #Giverny #Academie des beaux-arts #Impression Sunrise #Water Lily Pond #Water lillies #history #colorized #colourised #photo colorization #photo colourisation

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theracoonlodge · 7 years

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At Lunch With Joyce Randolph & Audrey Meadows

AT LUNCH WITH: Joyce Randolph and Audrey Meadows; Trixie and Alice, on Their Own By BRYAN MILLER Published: October 13, 1993

SOMETIMES an actress becomes so identified with one role in her career that the character clings to her as stubbornly as puppy hair to a navy blazer, impossible to brush off.

"For years after that role, directors would say: 'No, we can't use her. She's too well known as Trixie,' " said Joyce Randolph, who was immortalized as the wife of Ed Norton, the rubber-limbed sewer worker in the 1950's television sitcom "The Honeymooners."

A similar fate befell Audrey Meadows, who played the wisecracking wife of a blustering bus driver named Ralph Kramden, portrayed by Jackie Gleason. "After the series, I was lucky to do guest shots with Dinah Shore and Red Skelton, but almost all of the stuff I was offered was something in the kitchen, always in the damn kitchen," Miss Meadows recalled over lunch recently at Le Cirque in Manhattan.

For both women, still close and affectionate, their famous television personae hover above them like giant balloon characters at a Macy's parade, attracting throngs of nostalgic admirers and prompting dozens of letters a week.

Since "The Honeymooners," Miss Randolph's acting career has been limited to commercials and occasional musical summer stock. She lives in Manhattan with her husband, Richard L. Charles, a retired advertising executive. Miss Meadows, who lives in Beverly Hills, Calif., and has been divorced once and widowed once, has made many guest appearances on television shows and was in two subsequent sitcoms, "Too Close for Comfort" and "Uncle Buck." She has recently completed a book about "The Honeymooners" titled "Love, Alice," which is to be published by Crown next year.

Entering the restaurant wearing a shimmering pink-and-white Chanel suit and oversize tinted glasses, Miss Meadows was hardly recognizable as the tough-as-steel-wool spouse who fended off many threatened flights to the moon, courtesy of Ralph. Her once crystalline voice has taken on a cigarette-induced gruffness, but her distinctive inflection, familiar to all "Honeymooners" addicts, remains.

Miss Meadows began her career in musical comedies. The daughter of a missionary, she lived in China until age 5, when her family moved to California so that the children could be educated in the United States. "I first got into musical comedy as a teen-ager as the result of singing in church," she explained. She eventually joined road tours of shows like "High Button Shoes."

Miss Randolph had a similar theatrical background. After performing in local theater in her hometown of Detroit, she made the mythical trek to New York City in search of fame. In 1945, after several years of touring and appearing in Broadway shows, she found herself in Schenectady, N.Y., where the General Electric Company had some of its early television production studios.

"Mostly I remember the lights, which were so harsh, and that terrible black lipstick," she said, rubbing her lips as if trying to remove it.

The first television sketches were largely reworks of popular radio mysteries. "For a while I was publicized as the most murdered girl on television," Miss Randolph said, laughing.

Acting jobs were easier to find then than they are today. "We all were in the same kinds of bars and restaurants -- Sardi's, Lindy's, the Blue Angel," Miss Meadows recalled.

Miss Randolph found her way to the DuMont television network, where she was asked to do a Clorets commercial. She was such a hit that CBS asked her to do the same commercial on "Cavalcade of Stars," a variety show whose host was Mr. Gleason, a former nightclub comic who was a rising star.

It was on this show that Mr. Gleason began developing characters like Reginald Van Gleason 3d, Rudy the Repairman and Ralph Kramden. "Cavalcade of Stars" opened in 1950 and ran for two seasons, followed by two years of "The Jackie Gleason Show" and then, in 1955, "The Honeymooners."

Mr. Gleason liked the young "Clorets girl." So when he began casting "The Honeymooners" he offered the part of Trixie to Miss Randolph. For his stage wife, named Alice, he chose a seasoned actress named Pert Kelton. The part of the sewer worker went to Art Carney.

Miss Meadows, who eventually replaced Miss Kelton as Alice, was a pioneer in the early days of television, too, in both Chicago and New York City, doing bit parts in skits on variety shows as well as commercials. Her mellifluous voice won her a job in the comedic sketches of the radio duo Bob and Ray. While working on radio, she was asked to take a leading part in the Broadway musical "Top Banana," starring Phil Silvers.

On Broadway she became acquainted with Mr. Gleason's manager, Bullets Durgom. "He actually looked like a bullet -- bald, short, roundish," she said.

By this time, Mr. Gleason had moved his variety show, which included a "Honeymooners" sketch, to CBS. Just two weeks before the first show, he had to find a new actress to portray Alice because Miss Kelton had fallen ill.

Mr. Gleason supposedly rejected Miss Meadows for being "too young and too pretty." As Miss Meadows relates the story, she went home that evening, put on a frumpy housedress, changed her hair and had a photographer take pictures. Mr. Gleason saw the photos and hired her on the spot, not knowing he had rejected her the day before.

Did the two young actresses have any idea they were about to make television history?

"Heavens, no," Miss Randolph said, placing an open hand on her cheek, a la Trixie Norton. "Everything was so casual in those days, you never thought it would be important." In fact, Miss Meadows was the only one of the supporting cast who drew up a contract calling for residuals.

"The Honeymooners" achieved immortality with the 1955-56 television season, when 39 episodes were filmed at the Adelphi Theater on West 54th Street in Manhattan. The cast performed twice a week, Tuesday and Friday nights, before an audience of about 1,000.

Mr. Gleason loved spontaneity; hence, there was little or no rehearsal. Often the cast received the script the night before performing; it was not unusual for them to try on their costumes just before going on the air.

"I remember some nights when we had guests on the show, and I saw some of them vomiting in the wings from nervousness," Miss Randolph added.

Both actresses recalled one memorable fiasco on stage, during an episode called "Better Living Through TV," in which Ralph buys a warehouse full of fancy can openers and tries to sell them fast by appearing in a television commercial with Norton.

"The two of them are making the commercial, and the can opener is supposed to come down on Jackie's hand so he can do his pain bit," Miss Meadows recalled. "Then he starts running around the room, and he hits a prop wall that isn't fixed securely. He knocks down the wall and lands on his face. Then, Artie goes to help him and Artie lands on his face. That scene, just as it happened, was left in and is still being shown today."

Neither woman has anything nice to say about the most recent biography of Mr. Gleason, "The Great One," by William Henry 3d (Doubleday), which portrays Mr. Gleason as a moody, booze-soaked egomaniac who bullied his writers and abandoned his family.

While both contend that the book presents a flawed portrait, Miss Randolph concedes that Mr. Gleason sometimes mistreated his staff. "He was very mean to the writers," she said. "He kept them isolated. He didn't get to know them."

Miss Meadows, to this day Mr. Gleason's greatest defender, attacked Mr. Henry's emphasis on Mr. Gleason's drinking. "Jackie did not drink on the show, ever, not one sip," she asserted.

About the book's accusation that Mr. Gleason tried to thwart the richly talented Art Carney, both women strongly disagree.

"Never, never," Miss Meadows said. "There were times when he would say in rehearsal: 'Give that line to Artie. It would be funnier coming from him." Added Miss Randolph: "Art didn't want to be top banana. He was always so low-key and shy."

When Mr. Gleason was once asked why "The Honeymooners" was so popular nearly 40 years later, he replied, "It's funny." Miss Meadows concurred. "We had such good writing," she said. "The money people running the industry today don't know good scripts."

Moreover, "The Honeymooners" was a mini-morality play, in which the characters always learned lessons about things like greed, vanity, trust, love and the importance of sharing.

"You know what I thought was interesting about 'The Honeymooners'?" Miss Meadows said. "There we were, blowing whatever money we had from his driving a bus. The Nortons lived a little better than we did because they put everything on credit. We were both lower middle-class people, but we had class. 'Roseanne,' even though it's funny, do you think they have class?"

Both women think "Murphy Brown," "Seinfeld" and "Mad About You" are also funny.

After lunch, Miss Meadows and Miss Randolph did what their fictional counterparts never would have done: they shopped on Madison Avenue, taking time out to explore the new Barneys. They were spotted by an adoring sales clerk at the Estee Lauder counter and soon attracted a large crowd of autograph seekers -- so many that Estee Lauder herself came to see what the fuss was all about. "You see," Miss Randolph declared. "It can happen anywhere."

Copywritten NY TIMES

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chaletnz · 7 years

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Alternative Berlin

This morning didn't go exactly to plan... I had set my alarm for 8am so I could get up early and go out to the Charlottenburg Palace, then come back and enjoy my fancy breakfast. But instead I turned off my alarm when it went off and slept in until 10. The castle could wait! I eventually dragged myself out of bed and down to the breakfast restaurant where I was seated and started off with a cappuccino. My first course was some hashbrowns, bacon and a muffin. I washed it down with a tall glass of pineapple juice and then ordered my next dish from the kitchen which was French toast with maple syrup and jam. It turned out to be very small so I still had room for some traditional German dessert - apple strudel, some pineapple and mango slices and a yoghurt. I waddled back up to my room to shower and say goodbye to the comfort. After checking out I rushed myself to the East Side Gallery to join an alternative walking tour which I just managed to arrive in time for. The guide was a lovely girl called Daphna from Herzliya in Israel, she broke the ice by doing a round of introductions and then we crossed the Oberbaunbrücke bridge from East to West Berlin to begin our tour. Halfway across the bridge we paused at one of the many balconies on the bridge (this one flooded with water and/or pee and littered with cigarette butts) where we could see our first street art piece. A small portrait of a man and a woman on the wall of the bridge painted by Alice Pasquini from Rome that had been scribbled over on the edges. Daphna also pointed out a statue in the distance of what appeared to be two robots fighting but was in fact two people hugging. On the other side of the bridge we saw a large portrait by an Italian street artist known as BLU, the wall was a commissioned piece and he spent some time in the area to get a vibe for what to paint and he noticed how public land was being privatized by corporations so he painted his mural as all these workers being identical brainwashed cogs in a machine. It is a well regarded piece as he painted it in its entirety in less than a week. We saw a street pole with 9 months worth of posters wrapped around its base and Daphna explained that it's because the city has no money to clean it up and the responsibilities lie with building owners - which is why graffiti is rampant in Berlin. Just down the road from here is where a large squat used to be, a commune of people who were homeless or between homes. There used to be two more large art pieces by BLU on the brick wall behind it but unfortunately the squat was burned down, evacuated, red taped and never investigated or reopened. In its place apartments are due to be built and have been sold with the promise of famous street art in view. But BLU asked his friends to paint over the works to ensure they cannot profit from them after forcing people from their squat. Their revenge was painting a giant middle finger and profanities instead. Down a quieter residential street Daphna pointed out some potato characters that are everywhere throughout Berlin and mushrooms which are rumored to be drawn on special paper so that if you lick them you get high. We walked into a small park/playground with a large deep puddle that looked like one of those sinkhole puddles and here we saw quite a special work. It was painted high up in what appeared to be a rough paint job (it had been done with a roller on a stick from the ground apparently!) but once we all squinted our eyes we saw the immense detail come alive! The shading on the faces and clothing of the three boys in the painting was really something quite amazing to see on a ragged wall above a dirty park bench laden with a trio of homeless men and their trolleys. This artwork was all about reclaiming their city and occupying public land, however if caught graffitiing the artists face fines of a minimum of €500 as it is a vandalism charge to start and repeat offenders can face jail time. Daphna's neighbour went to prison for graffiti and said to her one day; "hey I'm renting my room on Air BnB while I'm in prison, can you take care of it and we can split profits?" Around the corner at a convenience store we bought some beers and Fritz colas and sat outside for a little break to discuss Israeli politics and life in Berlin. Back out on the street and we were shown some zebra illustrations drawn on paper and then glued to walls, the reason for this style is that if you're caught gluing paper up it is only prosecuted with a charge of unlawful advertising with a fine of €15 so many artists prefer to take the small risk and with the other benefit being they can create their pieces in the comfort of a studio somewhere. On a busy intersection with streets below and the U Bahn tracks above we were shown where a favourite German burger restaurant was- a place called Burgermeister located in a refurbished public toilet. On one of the side streets opposite we took a moment to check out a large wall piece painted by a pair of Brazilian twin brothers. As the story goes they were commissioned to paint the wall so both went to feel the energy of the wall, fell asleep, and woke up to sketch the exact same man who would become the subject of the work. They also painted an airplane for a Brazilian football team that was so popular it is now a regular carrier. As we were standing looking at the U Bahn anyway, Daphna decided to point out how the trains are always so clean despite Berlin being a bit dirty overall. The trains were seen as difficult to graffiti without being caught - until the group 1-Up decided to target the trains and trams to leave their name on. They strike together pulling the emergency stop, knowing they have three minutes until police arrive they then spend two minutes spraying their work before running off down the tracks. One of our last stops was the Lux Club which originally had a huge mural with the general theme of love by an artist called Oliver. In the dead of night someone had painted over it with the words "Go Die". Friends, artists and members of the public banded together for Oliver throwing a party with blaring music and a confetti cannon to make a new masterpiece in its place. We parted ways with Daphna's final tale about a poster in a cafe that said "Linda I love you, I'm sorry. Please take me back, I'll be here next Saturday waiting for you." Then a week later was replaced with "Linda I love you, if you can forgive me I'll be here next Saturday and Sunday waiting for you." The messages to Linda gradually got more and more desperate and pleading, and people started to write notes on napkins and stick them on the posters telling Linda that he was crazy and that she was right to leave him. Other men said, "Linda you must be great here's my number." Eventually they all stopped and disappeared but the public wondered what had become of Linda and her ex boyfriend until one day on local radio a man went on air and said "hi I'm Linda's ex, I was writing my thesis on how the people of Berlin would interact personally with street art and I passed so thank you all!" After the tour I went for a quick coffee at a specialty shop called 19 grams then I walked down the street only to randomly discover the Urban Spree art gallery and flea market. Plus tons of graffiti and street art, quirky shops and stalls and even the Berlin Skateboarding Open being held in the skatehaus. I browsed for an hour or so then began walking back to the hotel via the East Side Gallery until it started to rain quite heavily so I caught a bus the rest of the way back. I checked in and chilled waiting for the rain to stop then headed back out to Curry 36 for the typical Berlin currywurst sausage and chips. I browsed a few souvenir shops to get my usual collectible fridge magnet and also found the Ampelmann store - the Germans are so weird they are obsessed with the little red and green men that tell you when to cross the street so they dedicated a whole store to selling merchandise of him. You can even buy your own traffic light for at home! The sun was still out so I took the train to the Berliner Dom to see it in the evening light, then visited Mio for a little tub of ice cream for dessert before darkness set in.

#Germany #Berlin

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