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dccomicsnews · 6 years

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This weekend marks the official launch of the highly anticipated DC Universe digital steaming service, and earlier this week they decided to run their beta version for those who have already pre-ordered the service. The beta is limited, so those of us who have it haven’t gotten the chance to see everything, but it did give us a great look at what to expect from the full version.

There are so many great reasons to sign up for this service, and below I list the TOP 10 Reasons to Subscribe to DC Universe. So sit back and enjoy the ride into the wonderful world of all things DC.

10. EXCLUSIVE MERCHANDISE

Not only will you get all sorts of great content to watch and read (as you’ll see below), there’s also a new DC Universe Shop within the app where fans can purchase some awesome merchandise, like t-shirts, statues, mugs, phone cases, and more, with some items being exclusively sold through the app. One of these exclusives is a new line of animated-style Justice League action figures, to complement the popular 6-inch Batman: The Animated Series figures the company has been making lately.

The first wave includes the full initial team line-up – Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, The Flash, Green Lantern John Stewart, Hawkgirl, and Martian Manhunter – plus Aquaman, who was not a member of the team before they became Justice League Unlimited, but who did appear in several memorable episodes during the first two Justice League seasons.

9. DC COMMUNITY

In the all new DC Community section, fans can join other fans on a plethora of message boards covering all kinds of topics like comics, movies, TV, news, and more. There’s even a section called “Creators Corner” where fans can connect with DC talent.

DC Community shows trending discussions, popular tags, and even gives you the chance to create your own thread covering any topic that’s rattling around in your brain. Do you want to talk about the best Robin? You can make a thread about it. Do you want to discuss your love of the short-lived Birds of Prey TV series? Go ahead! The sky’s the limit!

And DC has vowed to work hard on moderating these boards in order to make it the best possible experience for fans everywhere!

8. ENCYCLOPEDIA

This comprehensive encyclopedia breaks down your favorite characters (like Batman and Superman), as well as some you may have never heard of (like Chaselon and Ferro Lad), with great detail, giving an introduction and history to the character, their origin, powers, essential storylines, team affiliations, and appearances in other media. Some characters are more thorough than others, but this encyclopedia will be always growing and expanding, so if there’s some info you think is missing, you’ll be able to submit it to be added.

There’s also a tab labeled “Related Content” that brings up movies and TV shows, comics, and even trending discussions about that character within the app. This is a great part of DC Universe as it will help to educate DC fans, new and returning, on the characters that live within it.

7. LIVE-ACTION FILMS

As someone who loves films (I even run my own film review site), the fact that the DC Universe app will include live-action films is something I was very happy to hear. Now, from what we’ve been told, there doesn’t seem to be very many live-action films available, at least not yet. We’ll have access to Superman 1-4, Batman (1989), Batman Returns, Batman Forever, Batman & Robin, Batman Begins, and The Dark Knight.

Now, this is a great, albeit small, selection of films, but I’m really hoping they will put more than just Batman and Superman movies up here. Let’s get films like V for Vendetta, Watchmen, A History of Violence, The Losers, Road to Perdition, RED, RED 2, Swamp Thing, Constantine, etc. This would truly add some great value to the film library. And who knows, maybe they already have plans to add some of these. That would definitely push this farther up on my list.

6. ANIMATED FILMS

The catalogue of animated films based on DC properties is huge, with dozens of quality entries, from the 30+ DCUA (DC Universe Animated Original) films, to films like Subzero and Mystery of the Batwoman, and even the LEGO DC Super Hero films.

The DC Universe app will offer a large array of them, including some of my favorites like Justice League: War, Batman: Under The Red Hood, and even Batman: Mask of the Phantasm. But what shocked me the most was that their newest animated film, The Death of Superman, is actually available to watch on the app, even though it’s only been out for less than two months. And with a 3-4 films release schedule every year just for the DCUA films, this library will continue to grow.

5. DC DAILY

Within the “News” tab is a section for the upcoming daily news show, DC Daily. They recently did a live-stream (of which the video is available to watch on the app) breaking down what you can expect from DC Universe, while also introducing DC Daily and the hosts who will be bringing all the news to the fans. The live stream was hosted by Kevin Smith.

There will be several great and knowledgeable hosts including Tiffany Smith (DC All Access), John Barrowman (Arrow, Doctor Who), Samm Levine (Freaks & Geeks, Inglourious Basterds), Harley Quinn Smith (Yoga Hosers), Sam Humphries (DC Comics Writer – Green Lanterns), Hector Navarro (DC All Access), Clarke Wolfe (Collider Movie Talk, Film HQ), Brian Tong, Markeia McCarty (DC Movie News), and John Kourounis.

DC Daily cast (L to R): Samm Levine, Sam Humphries, Tiffany Smith, John Barrowman (in front), Harley Quinn Smith, Clarke Wolfe, Brian Tong, John Kourounis, Hector Navarro

DC Daily will be replacing DC All Access and will offer news related to the original series on DC Universe and other content that “ties back” to DC Comics and the DC Universe community. The program is scheduled to have the following segments: “Headlines”, for daily news briefs; “Reports”, for an in-depth interview or look at an upcoming book, film, or television series; and “Talk”, for panel discussions.

4. LIVE-ACTION TV SERIES

DC has some of the best live-action comic book TV shows out there, and a lot of them will be available to watch right through the app. We’ll get to see such shows as Wonder Woman, The Flash (1990), Birds of Prey, Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, and even more obscure titles like Human Target.

This would be a spot or two higher on the list if the current DC shows were included, like Arrow, The Flash, Supergirl, Gotham, and all of the others. Hopefully, they’ll eventually make their way to the app once their contracts with the other streaming services expire.

3. ANIMATED TV SERIES

I’ve got four words for you: BATMAN. THE. ANIMATED. SERIES!!!!

When it was announced that the greatest comic book TV series of all time was heading to DC Universe, I was ecstatic. And to make it even better, it’ll be released in fully remastered HD, and I have to say, it looks fantastic!

And if that’s not enough for you, we’ll also be getting a plethora of other great animated shows from the world of DC including Batman Beyond, Justice League, Justice League Unlimited, Batman: Brave and the Bold, Superman: The Animated Series, Static Shock, Teen Titans, Young Justice, and even the old Max Fleischer cartoons from the 1940’s. This is an amazing line up that will keep people busy binging for quite a while.

2. LARGE SELECTION OF COMICS

Unlike other streaming services, DC Universe will also offer a reading component through a large curated selection of some of DC’s best comics. You’ll get to read classic stories like Action Comics #1, Detective Comics #27, and The Dark Knight Returns, as well as getting the chance to check out some more obscure stuff like Doom Patrol and New Gods.

And the built-in comic book reader is fantastic, particularly the panel-by-panel option, which allows you to become fully immersed in what you’re reading, bringing these comics to life.

1. BRAND NEW EXCLUSIVE CONTENT

For me, the biggest reason I chose to commit to this service wasn’t the past DC content, but instead all the future content that’s on the way. There’s only so much previous content, so the fact that they’re developing several new projects exclusive to DC Universe will keep me coming back for more.

Right now, there are four live-action shows and two animated shows in production, with many more to come. I’m also hoping they will dive into original films for the app as well. The shows announced so far are Titans (which will premiere at NYCC, and then hits the streaming service on October 12th, with new episodes each Friday), Doom Patrol, Swamp Thing, Stargirl, the Harley Quinn animated series, and the one many have been waiting for… Young Justice season 3 (titled Young Justice: Outsiders).

Titans follows young heroes from across the DC Universe as they come of age and find belonging. This gritty take on the classic Titans franchise finds Dick Grayson and a special young girl possessed by a strange darkness named Rachel Roth as they get embroiled in a conspiracy. They’re joined by Starfire and Beast Boy to become a surrogate family and team.

Doom Patrol is a reimagining of one of DC’s strangest group of outcasts: Robotman, Negative Man, Elasti-Woman and Crazy Jane. Led by the mysterious Dr. Niles Caulder they’re called into action by none other than the ultimate hero for the digital age, Cyborg. These rejects band together on a mission that will take them to the weirdest and most unexpected corners of the DC universe.

Swamp Thing is a scary love story following Abby Arcane as she investigates what seems to be a deadly swamp-born virus in a small town in Louisiana but soon discovers that the swamp holds mystical and terrifying secrets.

Stargirl follows High School sophomore Courtney Whitmore who inspires an unlikely group of young heroes to stop the villains of the past. This new DC Universe series reimagines Stargirl and the very first superhero team, the Justice Society of America, in a fun, exciting and unpredictable series.

Harley Quinn tracks the lovable, raucous villain with a fractured psyche after she breaks up with The Joker and tries to make it on her own to become Gotham’s main queen-pin.

Young Justice: Outsiders features the return of the fan favorite animated series with a huge cast of DC’s most iconic young superheroes – plus brand-new characters, many of whom are just discovering their unique meta-powers and special abilities. Set against the backdrop of a rich, deep world that touches all corners of the DC universe, the season focuses on meta–trafficking, and an intergalactic arms race for control of these super–powered youths.

And there you have it folks, the Top 10 Reasons To Subscribe To DC Universe. If you haven’t already done so, be sure sign up and enjoy all of this wonderful content at your fingertips. Head on over to the DC Universe site and sign up right now. You can do the monthly subscription for $7.99/month or you can save some money and do the annual plan for only $74.99/year.

And be sure to share your experiences with the service in our comments section below or hit us up on Facebook or Twitter.

Top 10 Reasons To Subscribe To DC Universe #DCUniverse @TheDCUniverse @DCComics #BatmanDay #DCComics #DCComicsNews This weekend marks the official launch of the highly anticipated DC Universe digital steaming service, and earlier this week they decided to run their beta version for those who have already pre-ordered the service.

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theonyxpath · 6 years

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A comment in the comments section, of all things, basically asked why every time they look here lately there’s dogs all over the place. The art samples have dogs in them, the Kickstarter news is about the dog card game. Dogs, dogs, dogs!

Part of that is, of course, coincidence or a coming together of multiple projects for a line with three Kickstarters and a bunch of projects which came out of those KS Stretch Goals. And it helps that Eddy Webb is the kind of developer who pushes to get projects finished as close to estimate, and sometimes earlier, as possible.

So, woof, woof, woof go the dogs.

In a week or so, maybe it’ll seem like only WoD books are mentioned, or CofD, or Exalted. And so on. It’s all pretty much coincidence as to how books of a particular setting come out together, as we have projects from all of our “worlds” going at all times at different stages of creation, and a lot depends on which projects you’re waiting for.

This also applies to Kickstarter news when you don’t back Kickstarters, or Onyx Pathcast news when you don’t listen to podcasts, or convention info and our plans for FangCon 2019 when you can’t get to the convention.

So for this blog, I try to mix the things I mention and art I put up to give a bit of a taste of as many game worlds and activities we’re doing as I can so that I’m touching on something, I hope, that is relevant to YOU. But, if coincidence gives me mostly Exalted stuff that week, I’m mostly going to be relaying that, with a mix of other things if I have other things on my radar to share.

No Marketing department, no professional writer here – just your dear old Uncle Rich and whatever we’ve discussed during the Monday Meeting.

(Which reminds me, not only is last week’s Onyx Pathcast a great inside look at the way we conceive, create, and publish our projects, but this Friday yours truly is grilled by Dixie and Matthew for a very special episode. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry. You’ll learn secrets of the early days of White Wolf right into Onyx Path.)

Wraith 20th Handbook of the Recently Deceased art by Michael Gaydos

Which means, it’s time for some quick topic hits:

In a similar conversation to the one above, there was a poster that remarked how the first mention of Pugmire made him wonder just what Onyx Path was turning into. Then, he dug into the background of Pugmire and realized there was a lot more to it than a funny animal TTRPG.

My response must be that we aren’t turning into anything different than we’ve always been on track to be: a publisher who creates amazing and engaging worlds for folks to explore. And that the poster was dead-on right to identify that one of the threads that combine all of our projects is that there are depths built into our worlds that reward players who look into them.

Some of that is a heritage from old White Wolf we’ve been fortunate to bring to the fore, and use as models for what works and what doesn’t, and part of the depth is built in by our amazing creative teams who know they can do that kind of game and world building with us.

Monarchies of Mau art by Pat McEvoy

We’ve been having other great conversations on our Onyx Path Publishing Discussion Group on Facebook, which you might be able to get to through this link: https://www.facebook.com/groups/419273928504341/ I haven’t had a chance to join in to the discussions yet, but hope to very soon.

Boggans art by Brian LeBlanc

I haven’t been able to jump in because these last couple of months have been a combination of working up and with contracts for new projects and licenses, putting in pitches for projects, and getting Changing 20th, Prince’s Gambit, and soon, V20 Beckett’s Jyhad Diary Kickstarter rewards out to backers. It’s a bit of an endurance challenge, so I’m lucky to have maxed out Fortitude.

Plus, I’m trying to keep up the communication with backers for the Scarred Lands Kickstarter that the late Stewart Wieck had started for our two companies, while representatives for his company, Nocturnal Media, work to get the KS fulfilled and shipped. So, four KSs shipping around a month from each other.

The flip-side is…we’re getting out four KSs’ rewards to our backers!

Nerma Fetch Quest Stretch Goal card.

Finally, I think I might have mentioned this before, but one of my working methods when creating a new setting, or establishing an overall art “look” for a project, is to take what Allen Moore calls a “high altitude pass” and gather all sorts of reference material and sift through it without trying to force any sort of viewpoint over it.

For visuals, this is very often seeing what registers as “right”. What feels like the sort of feeling we want the setting to give players. Although we can pull huge amounts of story from an illustration (picture=1K words), very often a far more lasting impression comes from the viewer’s emotional reaction. I’ve been doing this pass for Aberrant for about 3 months now, and we’re getting to the decision point on creating an artist list, and actually further back for when I did the initial designs for all four Trinity Continuum main books.

Right now though, I’m reading through a collection of 1950’s EC Weird Science comics in preparation for establishing the art for They Came From Beneath the Sea!. Developer Matthew Dawkins and I already have a strong idea overall based on the films of the time and some TV, but in a lot of ways looking at illustration when thinking about kinds of illustrations is actually more directly what I need.

Not going to go too far into the history of EC right now, although I could and it is a fascinating tale of the rise and fall of a publisher, but suffice to say that their comics were a gigantic influence on both the comics that came after, and on the generation of creators who wrote science fiction in all media (including TTRPGs) for decades to come.

So I get to read comics collections as part of my job. It is tough. But it’s what ya gotta do in order to explore:

Many Worlds, One Path!

BLURBS!

KICKSTARTER:

Fetch Quest, the adventure card game set in the Realms of Pugmire went live last Tuesday, May 22 and funded in under a day, and now we’re over 250% funded and have added a group of six cats from the Monarchies of Mau to the game as alternative adventurers via Stretch Goals!

This is definitely a game that needs to be spread by word of mouth, so please let your friends and family know about this game of good dogs (and cats!) out to fetch what Man has left behind!

ELECTRONIC GAMING:

As we find ways to enable our community to more easily play our games, the Onyx Dice Rolling App is now live! Our dev team has been doing updates since we launched based on the excellent use-case comments by our community, and this thing is both rolling and rocking!

Here are the links for the Apple and Android versions:

http://theappstore.site/app/1296692067/onyx-dice

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.onyxpathpublishing.onyxdice&hl=en

Three different screenshots, above.

ON AMAZON AND BARNES & NOBLE:

You can now read our fiction from the comfort and convenience of your Kindle (from Amazon) and Nook (from Barnes & Noble).

If you enjoy these or any other of our books, please help us by writing reviews on the site of the sales venue you bought it from. Reviews really, really help us with getting folks interested in our amazing fiction!

Our selection includes these fiction books:

Vampire: The Masquerade: The Endless Ages Anthology (Kindle, Nook)

Werewolf: The Apocalypse: Rites of Renown: When Will You Rage II (Kindle, Nook)

Mage: The Ascension: Truth Beyond Paradox (Kindle, Nook)

Chronicles of Darkness: The God-Machine Chronicle Anthology (Kindle, Nook)

Mummy: The Curse: Curse of the Blue Nile (Kindle, Nook)

Beast: The Primordial: The Primordial Feast Anthology (Kindle, Nook)

Vampire: The Masquerade: Of Predators and Prey: The Hunters Hunted II Anthology (Kindle, Nook)

Werewolf: The Apocalypse: The Poison Tree (Kindle, Nook)

Werewolf: The Apocalypse: Songs of the Sun and Moon: Tales of the Changing Breeds (Kindle, Nook)

Vampire: The Requiem: The Strix Chronicle Anthology (Kindle, Nook)

Werewolf: The Forsaken: The Idigam Chronicle Anthology (Kindle, Nook)

Mage: The Awakening: The Fallen World Chronicle Anthology (Kindle, Nook)

Vampire: The Masquerade: The Beast Within Anthology (Kindle, Nook)

Werewolf: The Apocalypse: W20 Cookbook (Kindle, Nook)

Exalted: Tales from the Age of Sorrows (Kindle, Nook)

Chronicles of Darkness: Tales of the Dark Eras (Kindle, Nook)

Promethean: The Created: The Firestorm Chronicle Anthology (Kindle, Nook)

Demon: The Descent: Demon: Interface (Kindle, Nook)

Scarred Lands: Death in the Walled Warren (Kindle, Nook)

V20 Dark Ages: Cainite Conspiracies (Kindle, Nook)

Chronicles of Darkness: Strangeness in the Proportion (Kindle, Nook)

Vampire: The Requiem: Silent Knife (Kindle, Nook)

Mummy: The Curse: Dawn of Heresies (Kindle, Nook)

OUR SALES PARTNERS:

We’re working with Studio2 to get Pugmire out into stores, as well as to individuals through their online store. You can pick up the traditionally printed main book, the Screen, and the official Pugmire dice through our friends there!

https://studio2publishing.com/search?q=pugmire

Looking for our Deluxe or Prestige Edition books? Try this link! http://www.indiepressrevolution.com/xcart/Onyx-Path-Publishing/

Here’s the link to the press release we put out about how Onyx Path is now selling through Indie Press Revolution: http://theonyxpath.com/press-release-onyx-path-limited-editions-now-available-through-indie-press-revolution/

And you can now order Pugmire: the book, the screen, and the dice! http://www.indiepressrevolution.com/xcart/manufacturers.php?manufacturerid=296

DRIVETHRURPG.COM:

This week, we’ll be releasing a cornucopia of merchandise and other items on Wednesday!

This is our monthly release week for our ongoing series of PDF releases for Exalted 3rd Edition, and we have the Barrow Hound and Devilstone for Hundred Devil’s Night Parade www.drivethrurpg.com/product/242687, and Iron Siaka for Adversaries of the Righteous http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/242686 on DTRPG.com!

CONVENTIONS!

Prep is also underway for Gen Con 2018 in the first week of August, which takes place in Indianapolis. In addition to our booth presence, be sure to check out the games and panels in the Gen Con Event Schedule.

From Fast Eddy Webb, we have these:

Eddy will be speaking at Broadleaf Writers Conference (September 22-23) in Decatur, GA. He’ll be there to talk about writing for interactive fiction, and hanging out with other writers who have far more illustrious careers. http://broadleafwriters.com/3rd-annual-broadleaf-writers-conference/3rd-annual-broadleaf-writers-conference-speakers/

Eddy will also be a featured guest at Save Against Fear (October 12-14) in Harrisburg, PA. He’ll be running some Pugmire games, be available for autographs, and will sometimes accept free drinks. http://www.thebodhanagroup.org/about-the-convention

If you are going and want to meet up, let us know!

And now, the new project status updates!

DEVELOPMENT STATUS FROM FAST EDDY WEBB (projects in bold have changed status since last week):

First Draft (The first phase of a project that is about the work being done by writers, not dev prep)

M20 Book of the Fallen (Mage: the Ascension 20th Anniversary Edition)

C20 Novel (Jackie Cassada) (Changeling: the Dreaming 20th Anniversary Edition)

M20 The Technocracy Reloaded (Mage: the Ascension 20th Anniversary Edition)

M20 Victorian Mage (Mage: the Ascension 20th Anniversary Edition)

CofD Dark Eras 2 (Chronicles of Darkness)

Aeon Aexpansion (Trinity Continuum: Aeon)

Trinity Continuum: Aberrant core (Trinity Continuum: Aberrant)

Lunars: Fangs at the Gate (Exalted 3rd Edition)

Tales of Excellent Cats (Monarchies of Mau)

Dog and Cat Ready Made Characters (Monarchies of Mau)

Adventures for Curious Cats (Monarchies of Mau)

Scion Companion: Mysteries of the World (Scion 2nd Edition)

Redlines

Deviant: The Renegades (Deviant: The Renegades)

Spilled Blood (Vampire: The Requiem 2nd Edition)

Night Horrors: Shunned by the Moon (Werewolf: The Forsaken 2nd Edition)

In Media Res (Trinity Continuum: Core)

Wr20 Book of Oblivion (Wraith: The Oblivion 20th Anniversary Edition)

C20 Players’ Guide (Changeling: the Dreaming 20th Anniversary Edition)

Second Draft

WoD Ghost Hunters (World of Darkness)

Tales of Good Dogs – Pugmire Fiction Anthology (Pugmire)

CofD Contagion Chronicle (Chronicles of Darkness)

Development

Signs of Sorcery (Mage: the Awakening Second Edition)

Hunter: the Vigil 2e core (Hunter: the Vigil 2nd Edition)

Fetch Quest (Pugmire)

They Came From Beneath the Sea! Rulebook (TCFBtS!)

Dystopia Rising: Evolution (Dystopia Rising: Evolution)

WW Manuscript Approval:

Guide to the Night (Vampire: The Requiem 2nd Edition)

Editing:

Night Horrors: The Tormented (Promethean: The Created 2nd Edition)

Post-Editing Development:

Scion: Hero (Scion 2nd Edition)

Trinity Continuum Core Rulebook (The Trinity Continuum)

Trinity Continuum: Aeon Rulebook (The Trinity Continuum)

Ex Novel 2 (Aaron Rosenberg) (Exalted 3rd Edition)

Exalted 3rd Novel by Matt Forbeck (Exalted 3rd Edition)

GtS Geist 2e core (Geist: the Sin-Eaters Second Edition)

M20 Gods and Monsters (Mage: the Ascension 20th Anniversary Edition)

Indexing:

Wraith 20

Cavaliers of Mars

ART DIRECTION FROM MIRTHFUL MIKE:

In Art Direction

Ex3 Monthly Stuff

Scion Hero – Last art notes and contracts sent.

Trinity Continuum

Geist 2e

The Realm

M20 Gods and Monsters

Ex3 Dragon Blooded – Wave 2 art in progress

Promethean Night Horrors: The Tormented – Sending out Artnotes and Contracts.

Marketing Stuff

Storyteller System Brochure

Posters and Displays

Gen Con Cards

In Layout

Wraith 20 Screen – I’ll pull this together this week.

Fetch Quest – Putting together the Mau Pioneer card previews.

EX3 Dragon Blooded – Firming up layout and tweaking some backgrounds.

Proofing

Scion Origin – PDF almost ready for in-Onyx review.

Changeling: the Lost 2 – Meghan has the proof.

At Press

V20 Beckett’s Jyhad Diary & Beckett Screen & V20 Dice – At fulfillment shipper, prepping for KS ship-out. Shipping addresses to be locked down on Wednesday.

Scarred Land PGs & Wise and the Wicked PF & 5e – Shipping from fulfillment shipper. PDF and PoD physical book versions on sale at DTRPG.

Prince’s Gambit – Shipping from fulfillment shipper.

Scion Dice – At fulfillment shipper.

Cavaliers of Mars – Errata input on Backer PDF, now to Indexing.

Boggans – PoD files uploading.

Monarchies of Mau – Errata gathering on Backer PDF.

Wr20 Guide for Newly Departed – Backer PDF should go out to backers this week.

TODAY’S REASON TO CELEBRATE: In 1783 the Montgolfier brothers publicly demonstrate their montgolfière (hot air balloon). A year later in 1784, Élisabeth Thible becomes the first woman to fly in an untethered hot air balloon. Her flight covers four kilometres in 45 minutes, and reached 1,500 metres altitude (estimated). In the future, people of all genders are able to fly in balloons and zeppelins to work and to visit friends, at least if any pulp setting ever can be believed!

#Onyx Path Publishing

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kassandra-lorelei · 6 years

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So, new HC this afternoon. Here in the states they had on a special honoring Andrew Lloyd Webber and all I could imagine was Maxwell, Fran and N/CC watching it. The whole show max just whines and claims all the facts are wrong and "that play wasn't really that great" and the whole time N/CC trade whispered jokes and make fun of how dramatic he is behind his back. He's oblivious but Fran hears and keeps supporting her husband while trying not to laugh. Can you write something like this for me?

This was actually an awesome idea, Anon, thank you! Sorry it took a while, I’ve had a busy couple of days between uni, a doctor’s appointment, and my brother moving out of the house. I hope it’s worth it - enjoy!

@missbabcocks1 @holomoriarty

Niles had been finishing up his chores for the evening whenhe saw it – Fran curled up on the living room sofa, her arms wrapped around a largebowl of popcorn, and her eyes fixed on the television screen.

Usually there wouldn’t be anything strange about it. It was,after all, her usual routine when Maxwell and C.C. were busy making importantphone calls to the studio workers in the office, and all of the children were elsewherewith their friends. She’d put her feet up, fetch herself a snack or get him tomake one for her, and watch a rom-com or something until their spouses came in,finally finished from a long day’s work.

But what Fran was currently watching looked like a televisionprogramme – and not one of her usual Netflix bouts.

He approached the back of the sofa, “What are you watching?”

“It’s that NBC special, the one markin’ Andrew LloydWebber’s birthday – oh! I cannot believe that man is seventy and still doin’theatre musicals like he does,” Fran answered, grabbing another handful ofpopcorn. “You’d’ve thought that after the knighthood and then the lordship andall the royalties on top o’ that, he’d decide enough was enough and retire offsomewhere, but no.”

“Hm, I suppose some people just live for what they do,”Niles set down the papers he’d been tidying away and rounded the corner of thesofa to take a seat as well. “Pass the popcorn this way.”

She did so, and he settled into watching along with her. Theprogramme was actually quite interesting and enjoyable, once you got into it.

But still there were more interesting things to the butler,and one of them made herself known with the familiar clicking of heels againstthe hardwood floor. C.C. must have finished her work for the evening, and comedown to join them for an evening of light entertainment.

He smiled up at her as she came in, and she stared back theminute she noticed what was on the screen.

“Why are you watching this?” she asked, slightly incredulous.“You both know how much Maxwell hates Andrew Lloyd Webber!”

Niles shrugged back at his wife, “He’s not here.”

“And we still like the shows,” Fran said. “Besides, Maxwellneeds ta learn that Andrew Lloyd Webber’s successes are not his failures.”

C.C. pulled a thoughtful face and sighed, “You do have apoint, there. We’ve been working in television for nearly twenty years, it’sabout time your husband got over all that pettiness.”

Niles smiled to himself. Both women were, of course, rightabout how Maxwell should have been moving on past his grudge against the otherproducer, but they all knew it wasn’t going to happen. It had been a source ofirritation in the household for so long now, it was practically integral. Andit had lasted longer as a source of tension in the house than his and C.C.’s rivalry,which even they had had to admit was impressive.

It had led to all Andrew Lloyd Webber productions being bannedfrom the new house, back when they’d moved to California just before the startof the Millennium. But C.C. wasn’t exactly trying to turn the television off orover, either. And Niles knew why.

“You like Lloyd Webber musicals as well, and you knowit,” he smirked, and rose to his feet to wind his arms around her waist,crooning into her ear. “Now come; sing once again with me our strange duet, mypower over you grows stronger yet…”

He pulled her back onto the sofa with him, and C.C. let outa soft yelp and a chuckle.

“Well, that’s not creepy at all,” she rolled her eyes,before stroking one finger down his chest. “At least the Phantom only had towear half a mask when he went outside…”

Niles hummed pleasurably, and went to brush his lips up herneck, “Play your cards right, and I won’t wear anything…”

“Hey, hey! I’m tryin’ ta watch!” Fran protested, shifting onthe sofa and taking the popcorn bowl back. “If yer gonna do the whole foreplaything, could ya perhaps go somewhere else where there are no other people?”

C.C. lifted his chin up with two of her fingers, so he’dlook her in the face.

“Later, lover,” she murmured with a wink, before addressingFran louder. “Sorry, Nanny Fine. We’ll watch the show now.”

That seemed to settle Fran, “Thank you.”

They got back into watching, Fran keeping mostly a firm holdon the popcorn bowl and Niles keeping a completely firm hold of C.C., who had swungher legs over his lap and had her body resting against his.

They all appeared to be relaxing, Niles nearly dozing off,when a loud voice started them all back to the present moment.

“What the hell are you three doing?!”

They nearly leapt out of their skins; Niles and C.C. clutchedat each other for dear life, and Fran let out a screech as she just about clungonto the popcorn bowl. They all spun to look over the back of the sofa, heartspounding and catching breath back.

“Maxwell, you just gave us all heart attacks!” C.C. exclaimed.

The other producer marched around to the front of the sofa,his face like thunder.

“Like that’s the biggest crime going on in this room!” he shouted,gesturing wildly between the three of them and the television. “Why are you allgathered in here, watching this…this rubbish about Andrew Lloyd Webber?!”

“Because it’s a good show, with some good showtunesattached!” Fran argued back. “Ya might not like the man, honey, but ya gottagive credit where it’s due!”

Her husband folded his arms in a huff, “I can give creditwhere it’s due, Fran. By letting the show go on without me or any member of myfamily watching.”

Niles cocked his head from side to side, “Well, you achievedmost of that – none of the children are here.”

“Don’t be clever, Niles,” Maxwell was on the verge ofsnapping, and he seated himself heavily. ““Credit where it’s due”! It’s notlike there’s so much to make a fuss over…!”

C.C. raised her eyebrows at Niles, muttering, “And yet herewe are…”

Their employer didn’t hear her snide comment. He was too busycaught up in his own bitter jealousy.

“Half of these ideas came from other people anyway!” he saidin contempt.

That left him open to a lot of fun, for the time being.

Niles copied C.C.’s expression back at her, “Remind me howmany writers the sitcom has…?”

“And the other half aren’t even good!” Maxwell complained.“Remember what a flop Love Never Dies was?”

“Remember before this conversation started?” C.C. askedquietly.

Fran heard that one. Niles saw her try not to laugh as she rubbedher husband’s forearm.

“We all remember, sweetie,” she said reassuringly. “And yersitcom’s been a massive success.”

“As big a success as Cats?” Niles asked his wife, a hint ofirony in his tone.

The corners of C.C.’s mouth were twitching into a smile, “Ifit was, he’d turn it down, too.”

“It has, hasn’t it?” Maxwell was only paying attention toFran still. “He can’t even get a simple stage musical right, I’d like to seeAndrew Lloyd Webber try turning his hand to television!”

That was too good an opportunity to resist. Niles puffed hischest out and ran a hand through his hair to make it wavier, and launched intoa pompous impression.

“I’d like to see Andrew Lloyd Webber turning his hand totelevision…!”

Stifling laughter, C.C. joined in with her own impersonation,“Yes, seeing as the last time he turned his hand, it was to give me thefinger…!”

Fran couldn’t help but let out a splutter of laughter atthat. And it finally caught Maxwell’s attention.

“Is something funny, Fran?” he asked, clearly still verymuch annoyed.

“No, honey, nothin’s funny, nothin’ at all…” she repliedquickly, putting the bowl of popcorn down on the coffee table and taking his hand.“Well, apart from yer sitcom, of course! In fact, we have the boxset upstairs,don’t we? Why don’t we let the rest o’ the country get on with celebratin’Andrew Lloyd Webber, go somewhere else, and watch yer show?”

Something about that perked Maxwell up some, “Really? Youmean it?”

“Of course I mean it! You deserve ta celebrate yer own successes,not get caught up in somebody else’s, and you’re my husband,” Fran squeezed hishand “And both of those things are more important than anything else.”

“Well…alright,” Maxwell nodded, calmer as he stood up. “Ithink the boxset is by the television in our bedroom.”

“Then we’ll go find it,” Fran began to beam, and got to herfeet as well. “We can forget all about this whole Andrew Lloyd Webbernonsense!”

They made their way out of the living area, heading for thestairs. But as her husband went up, Fran turned back, snatching up the popcornand shooting a warning scowl at Niles and C.C..

She pointed first at them, and then at the television, “Youtwo are not funny! And record the rest of that for me!”

Niles pressed a button on the remote for her, “Got it.”

“Thank you!” she called out as she left again.

As she did, the remaining married couple breathed a sigh ofrelief.

Niles let his head rest back against the sofa, “Well, that’sanother crisis averted, for another day.”

C.C. shifted, and relaxed back against him again, “Yeah,until they have the next Andrew Lloyd Webber special.”

“Which hopefully won’t be any time soon,” he put one arm aroundher back. “We’ve, um…got this recording – you want to keep watching?”

His wife looked up at him, a teasing glint in her eye, “Why,what else did you have in mind that we could be doing?��

“What you said about…later,” he growled, using his free handto trace patterns on her thigh.

“Oh, I see…” she grinned. “Maxwell and Nanny Fine went totheir room, so you want us to go to ours and think up our own entertainment?”

In one swift movement, he had her lying flat on her back onthe sofa, and was on his hands and knees over her.

“Who said anything about moving anywhere?” he smirked.

C.C. chuckled, “You’d better hope they’re binge-watchingthat boxset, Butler Boy…”

He slowly leaned down to kiss her, “Like the threat ofpeople walking in’s ever stopped us…”

The special on TV eventually finished, but neither of themnoticed.

Some things in life were just too interesting to bedistracted from.

#anon asks #the nanny #niles and cc #niles the butler #cc babcock #otp: butler bitch #otp: always been bitter together

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weekendwarriorblog · 4 years

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The Weekend Warrior Home and Semi-Theater Edition 7/10/20 – GREYHOUND, PALM SPRINGS, THE OLD GUARD, RELIC and More!

I hope everyone had a good 4th of July weekend, even though movie theaters don’t seem any closer to opening, and I believe some in certain areas even closed! New York City just hit Phase 3 this week, and I’m not sure Phase 4 even includes movie theaters. Let’s not even talk about L.A. as it will just depress me. I literally have no idea what’s going on or if movies being back in theaters nationwide by the end of this month is even realistic. There are a lot of available movies this week, and I did my best to see as many as possible, but honestly, I’m getting a little burnt out watching movies on my computer and even on my TV set (the few times I can), so we’ll see how far I get this week. Hold on tight, because this week is gonna be a doozy! (I actually wanted to write a defense of Quibi and its content, but I’ll have to save that for a quieter week.)

Believe it or not, Tom Hanks has a new movie out this week, too, but it’s only on Apple TV+, since Sony decided to sell Hanks’ fictitious submarine drama GREYHOUND to the relatively new streaming service. Surely, that can’t be a good sign, right? Directed by Aaron Schneider (Get Low), it has Hanks playing Commander Ernest Krause, who is put in charge of his first fleet of ships to sail across the Atlantic Ocean’s notorious “Black Pit,” bringing supplies and troops to Europe during America’s early days in World War II. The area of the Atlantic got its name because the planes that normally escorted the fleet to keep an eye out for German UBoats would have to turn back. As Captain of the USS Keeling aka Greyhound, Krause is solely responsible for dozens of ships and men.

Greyhound is a classic case of “Well, it looked good on paper,” because when you have a piece of fiction by C.S. Forester and one of America’s most beloved actors wanting to make it into a movie, what could possibly go wrong? Well, I’ll tell you. As someone who generally loves submarine movies and movies with great sea battles, certainly this movie was made for me, but no, although there are a few decent CG battles, the majority of the movie involves Hanks calmly stating orders to his men from the control deck of the Greyhound, as they take evasive measures to protect the fleet from the UBoats. Really, it’s mostly about Hanks, because other than Stephen Graham in a small role, none of the other men on the Greyhound have much personality. The movie even has the audacity to waste a great actor like Rob Hunter on a nothing role as the ship’s cook who brings Krause food and coffee he never has time to eat or drink anyway, because fighting the Germans is very busy work indeed.

While some of the firefights do bring a much-needed level of excitement, there’s otherwise no real stakes or tension, because you always know that Hanks’ boat will never be sunk. Every once in a while, Hanks will ask for coffee or his slippers to change things up. That’s how boring this movie is. And then, despite all the “non-stop fighting,” they somehow have time to stage an elaborate burial at sea when the ship is hit by enemy fire. Maybe this would have been a better movie seen in theaters, but probably not. It’s absolutely astounding how boring this movie is, but if naval speak gets you hot then Greyhound might just be the movie for you!

Now that that’s taken care of, let’s try to get some of the other movies, hopefully some of them are better than Greyhound.

Andy Samberg stars in PALM SPRINGS (NEON/Hulu), the new romantic comedy and first feature from director Max Barbakow. Calling it a “romantic comedy” wouldn’t really be doing the movie justice, since it’s more of a quirky comedy that offers more than the simple Sundance rom-com formula of Samberg’s previous Sundance movie, Jesse and Celeste Forever. The movie begins with Samberg’s character, Nyles, waking up at a wedding with his horrid girlfriend Misty (a very funny Meredith Hagner). At the wedding, Nyles gives a rousing speech (despite no one knowing who he is) then connects with the bride’s sister, Sara (Cristin Milioti). But wait, maybe you think you know where this is going but when the two go off somewhere private to “hook up,” it’s rudely interrupted by someone trying to kill Nyles, and well, it just gets stranger from there.

I’m not sure how much of the plot and the early twist would be considered a spoiler, although maybe not if you’ve watched the trailer. Essentially, Sara follows Nyles into a cave where there’s some sort of dimensional thing that returns them back to the beginning of the same day over and over. They go to sleep or they die, and they’re right back at the start of the day, so yup, it’s basically a similar Groundhog’s Day premise that we’ve seen in movies like Happy Death Day, Natasha Lyonne’s Russian Doll, Before I Fall or others, but it’s all about what Barbakow, writer Andy Siara and the two leads do that make Palm Springs so much more entertaining and even deeper.

I have to be honest that I wasn’t familiar with Milioti at all before this film, so this ends up being an amazing spotlight for her talent, and similar to Rashinda Jones in Jesse/Celeste, she makes Samberg that much easier to palate. Not that I dislike Samberg, but I’ve never been the biggest fan when he’s given free reign like in movies such as Hot Rod. (But I did like Popstar: Never Stop Stopping, so maybe he’s grown on me.) I will admit that I’m a sucker for a good wedding-based romantic comedy—as seen by recent ones like Plus Oneand Destination Wedding -- and with its odd quantum physics twist, Palm Springs continually finds new ways of exploring the tenuous existence that is a new relationship. Oh, I should also mention that Roy, the guy trying to kill Nyles, is played by JK Simmons, and while it’s definitely a smaller part for one of my favorite actors, he also plays a significant role in the story.

You’ll probably know right away if Palm Springs is your kind of movie, but the mix of quirkiness and honest heart and emotion makes it one of Samberg’s better endeavor. It hope it allows us to see much more of Ms. Milioti, since I think she’s quite wonderful as well. Palm Springs can be watched on Hulu or in select drive-ins starting this Friday, and since it is this week’s “Featured Flick*,” I hope you’ll check it out! (*I changed the name of this just to see if anyone is paying any attention… or even reading.)

Greg Rucka and Leandro Fernández’s comic, THE OLD GUARD, has been turned into a movie directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood (Love and Basketball) that will hit Netflix this Friday. It stars Charlize Theron and is written by Rucka himself, and it’s a fairly high concept action movie involving a group of “immortals” – warriors who aren’t able to die, so they’ve lived for hundreds of years and are now hiring themselves out as hired mercenaries. When they learn there’s a new immortal awakening, they seek her out to recruit her.

I generally like Charlize Theron in action mode as seen in Mad Max: Fury Road and Atomic Blonde, and she’s pretty kick-ass as Andromache the Scythian aka Andy, the leader of the Old Guard. Kiki Layne from If Beale Street Could Talk offers a nice counterpoint as her trainee in the form of Nile, the newest immortal, who discovers that she can’t die while serving as a soldier in the Middle East. The rest of the cast includes Chiwetel Ejiofor, Matthias Schoenaerts and others, who are all okay, but I just wish there was more to the story than just watching them have to deal with a lame corporate villain named Merrick (Harry Melling), who wants to harvest their blood to create life-saving pharmaceuticals for others.

While I liked the flashbacks to historic times showing Theron’s Andromache in another light, the stuff in present day is rarely as interesting. I’m not sure I ever would have thought of Bythewood doing action, even though she was supposed to do a Silver Sable/Black Cat movie at one point, but her fight scenes pretty fairly impressive, but she doesn’t lose sight of losing the focus on characterization, at least in terms of the two women.

The Old Guard isn’t bad, and it really would have benefited from being seen on the big screen, but I’m not sure it really offers enough with its concept other than a few decent fight scenes. Personally, I felt it paled in comparison to Netflix’s other recent action film, Extraction, at least in terms of the story and characters.

A horror movie that got a lot of lavishing praise out of Sundance is Natalie Erika James’ RELIC (IFC Midnight), which you may remember me mentioning last week, because apparently, it opened in a few drive-in theaters last Friday. I had been looking forward to this due to the amount of praise it got from Sundance, comparing it to the likes of The Babadook or Hereditary.

The story revolves around Emily Mortimer’s Kay and her daughter Sam (Bella Heatchote) travelling to their grandmother Edna’s country home in Australia after she’s reported missing. Edna (Robyn Nevin) soon returns and is behaving oddly, and with Gran clearly not herself, Kay has to figure out if she’s possessed by something or just suffering from advanced dementia.

I feel like I have a general idea what James was trying to accomplish with Relic, as it explores what it’s like being the caregiver for your elderly parent once they’ve become debilitated by something that makes them unrecognizable, put into the context of a horror film. I ended up watching the movie twice, mainly because I had no clue what was going on during my first viewing, but honestly, this movie just ended up annoying me, and it was only partially due to the fact that I had very little idea what was going on since most of the movie is so dark. More than that, I found a lot of the movie to be incredibly dull, and comparisons to The Babadook are inane, since the only thing is that it’s a horror movie (sort of) directed by an Australian woman.

The movie also involves some sort of “evil presence” and a creepy old house that was on the premises when Kay’s family moved in, but this information is revealed in such a dreary and confusing manner that makes it harder to figure out what you’re watching. In fact, if not for a number of eerie random images, it would be hard to even consider the first half of Relic “horror” since it’s more of a family drama about these three women from different generations contending with each other in this house. As someone who has had many conversations with my sister about what to do about my own elderly mother, I could see why this might connect with viewers, but planting this idea haphazardly into a typical horror movie just never worked for me. Relic has some good things going for it, such as the performances by the three actors (particularly Nevin), plus the creepy imagery and sound design do a lot to create a mood even if it doesn’t necessarily help with the storytelling.

The problem is that this story is told at such a snail’s pace and by the time the horror elements start kicking in within the last 20 minutes of the movie, almost everything is in pitch blackness, making it almost impossible to tell what you’re watching. Any earlier qualities worthy of praise are lost with some of the bad choices in lighting and editing, as well as an ending that’s dragged on for so long and at such a drowsy pace that any good will towards the movie will likely be lost. Ultimately, Relic is a disappointing high concept but single-note thriller that fails to deliver on the scares, instead delivering a dull and slightly unsettling family drama about aging and dementia.

In fact, I actually much preferred Jeffrey A. Brown’s horror film, The Beach House, which comes to the streaming network sShudder this Thursday. It stars Liana Liberato and Noah Le Gross as Emily and Randall, a young couple who travel to his father’s beach house to reconnect. Once there, their vacation is broken up by Jake Weber’s Mitch and his wife Jane (Maryann Nagel), but as the two couples get to know each other, a freak environmental event unleashes an infection that leads to all sorts of freaky occurrences. While there was just as much weirdness and not knowing what was going on as in Relic, at least this movie mostly takes place in the sunlight, so you can actually see things that are equally or even more disturbing than anything in Relic.

Brown’s film starts out so simply with this young couple wanting to spend some time alone together, but there’s this constant menace looming that’s foreshadowed in the opening credits, and as Mitch and Jane show up and start behaving oddly, you’ll wonder what exactly is happening to them. Things get even more disturbing when Emily is on the beach and experiences even odder and grosser circumstances that lead into the film’s “body horror” portion that will make even those with the strongest constitutions slightly queasy.

Part of why the film works so well is the small cast Brown has put together. I’ve been quite a fan of Liberato for many years, and she effectively becomes the film’s lead. Certainly, there are a few common horror tropes in place including ones that can be traced back to the likes of Eli Roth’s Cabin Fever, but there’s also enough new ideas that the film doesn’t seem like retread. While I’m not 100% sure exactly what was happening in The Beach House, Brown and his cast do a good job keeping the viewer uneasy and disturbed.

Atom Egoyan’s new thriller GUEST OF HONOUR (Kino Lorber) will premiere this week as part of the Kino Marquee (and there’s lots of great stuff on there that will help support your local arthouse while you’re checking that out!) It stars David Thewliss as Jim, a health inspector whose high school music teaching daughter Veronica (Lausla de Oliveira) has been jailed over an indiscretion with two teen students.

Egoyan has proven himself to be quite a master at the thriller genre, and Guest of Honour involves a complex family drama narrative that scuttles between timelines in order to keep you guessing where things might be going. I’ll freely admit that the non-linear storytelling was somewhat confusing at first, as the movie is framed by a conversation between Veronica and Luke Wilson after the death of her father. It also flashes back to an important moment from Veronica’s childhood before her mother died of cancer, which led to other things that would affect her years later.

I’m frequently amazed by Thewliss as one of England’s more underrated exports, but I was equally impressed by Ms. de Oliveira, whose work I was not familiar with before seeing her in Egoyan’s capable hands.

While we’ve heard plenty of true stories about the relationships between teachers with their students, Guest of Honour isn’t just about that, and it’s the way Egoyan reveals some of the story’s more interesting complexities, like Veronica’s relationship with an obsessed bus driver (Rossif Sutherland), that builds to some of the events that happen later. Honestly, I’m hesitant to reveal too much about the plot since there’s a way that Egoyan unveils various elements that makes Guest of Honour another compelling entry in the filmmaker’s constantly-evolving oeuvre.

A really interesting crime-thriller with a sci-fi twist hitting Apple TV, Prime Video and other digital platforms this Friday is South African filmmaker Tony Dean Smith’s own directorial debut, VOLITION (Giant Pictures), a film co-written and co-produced with his brother Ryan. It stars Adrian Glynn McMorran (Arrow) as James, a man constantly down on his luck who has clairvoyant powers that he uses to get himself involved in a scheme involving valuable diamonds. Just before this happens, he meets Angela (Magda Apanowicz), a young woman who gets pulled into the problems James gets into with others wanting the diamonds, and when he sees a murder, he has to do what he can to change the future.

I feel like this column’s running theme is that I’m being deliberately vague about the film’s plot, and in this case, it’s because halfway through the movie, there’s a pretty big twist that involves time travel. While that immediately makes the movie more interesting, it also makes things far more confusing. Up until that point, Volition felt like a rather weakly-written indie crime-thriller from filmmakers who may have seen Memento a few too many times. In fact, it opens with such a pretentious bit of narration I was worried the movie wasn’t going to be very good, and there was very little in the first half to keep me invested. When that new element/twist is added, McMorran’s character ends up on a far more interesting journey, and that turns Volition into a far more inventive and original story. Sure, it isn’t Primer, but if you’re a fan of the twists that come with time travel, Volition does a good job keeping you wondering what might happen next, and it does this with a mostly no-name cast, which is always quite impressive. In that way, it reminds me of The Wretchedwhich opened earlier in the year, as that was also by two filmmaking brothers taking a DIY attitude towards independent film. Volition isn’t perfect but it’s far better than I was expecting, and it’s a testament to the filmmakers’ perseverance to bring their very specific vision to the screen.

I was pretty excited to learn out about the quirky Japanese coming-of-age musical comedy WE ARE LITTLE ZOMBIES (Oscilloscope) from Makoto Nagahisa, because it’s the type of movie that I would usually see at the New York Asian Film Festival that would have been going on right now if not for… well, you know what. But it did play Fantasia in Montreal last year, so I’m sure it would have been fun seeing it with that audience. It’s certainly cute and quirky, involving a group of kids who come together to deal with their parents. Honestly, I don’t have a ton to say about it, but if you like oddball Asian films like the ones that play those festivals, you’ll know whether the film is for you. You can watch a trailer and find out where you’ll be able to catch We Are Little Zombies at its Official Site.

At least that was more watchable than Gavin Rothery’s sci-fi directorial debut, ARCHIVE (Vertical Entertainment), starring Theo James from the Divergent movies as George Almore, a man in the year 2038 who is working on an AI that is as close to human as possible, one that will hopefully reunite him with his dead wife in this new form. If you watch this, you’ll immediately think that Rothery must have watched Moon quite a lot. In fact, he was the conceptual artist and visual FX artist on Duncan Jones’ movie, and the influences of that film are so obvious it’s hard to get past it. Then again, Theo James has so little personality and charisma, he’s almost constantly being overshadowed by his robotic companions. So yeah, not recommended, and I’m a little shocked this was accepted into this year’s cancelled SXSW. Honestly, I couldn’t even get through it.

Also premiering in the Kino Marquee is Nicholas Leytner’s Austrian drama The Tobacconist (Menemsha Films), starring Bruno Ganz (Downfall) as Sigmund Freud and based on the bestselling novel by Robert Seethaler, which I haven’t read (if that isn’t obvious). It deals with the friendship between a teenager named Franz (Simon Morzé) and Freud during the Nazi occupation of Vienna, when the former travels there to work as an apprentice at a tobacco shop where Freud is a regular customer. When Franz falls in love with a music hall dancer, he turns to Freud for advice.

Apparently “showing only in theaters” this Friday is Michael W. Bachochin’s sci-fi/”psychodrama” Parallax (The Primal Group) starring Naomi Prentice as a young artist who is haunted by nightmares and who wakes up to a life she doesn’t recognize. At this point, I might as well just post the actual synopsis: “As she begins to uncover the truths of the life that she's found herself in, the gravity of her failing reality weighs heavily on her psychological identity and the reliability of her sanity is called into question.”

Let’s get to some docs, and you can probably safely assume that Harry Mavromichalis’ Olympia(Abramorama) is about Oscar-winning actress Olympia Dukakis, because it is. Featuring interviews with Whoopi Goldberg, Laura Linney, Diane Ladd and more, that covers the Greece-born actress as she opens up about her struggles with depression, suicide and drug addiction, as well as stories from some of the actors she’s shared the stage and screen with over the years.

The next doc is about the Chinese artist who probably has had more docs made about him than…well, anyone else? Ai Wei Wei: Yours Truly (First Run Features), directed by Cheryl Haines and Gina Leibrecht, covers how the artist developed his 2014 exhibition, @Large: Ai Weiwei on Alcatraz, inspired by his 2011 detention by Chinese authorities (which has generally inspired all his recent work?) Hey, if you’re a fan of his artwork, then you’ll probably want to see this doc, too.

One doc that I really wanted to see was Brett Harvey’s Inmate #1: The Rise of Danny Trejo (Universal), which had a virtual world premiere and is now on ITunes and other VOD, but my attempts to get a screener was met with absolute silence. The film documents the amazing life and career of the 71-year-old character actor and action hero who went from a life of drugs and doing hard time in prison to becoming an easily recognized and respected star, mainly thanks to Robert Rodriguez. I would like to see this movie, and maybe someday I will.

Film Forum’s Virtual Cinema will be adding Jacques Becker’s 1947 film, Antoine and Antoinette, this Friday, as well as the 1927 filming of the original Broadway play, Chicago, long before it was turned into a musical, although it does have Ginger Rogers playing Roxie Hart. Reinhold Schünzel’s original 1933 film Victor and Victoria (which was later remade by Blake Edwards for wife Julie Andrews) also joins the fairly hefty list of repertory films available, being shown as part of the “Pioneers of Queer Cinema” series.

Other movies I just wasn’t able to get to this week include Tito (Factory 25), I, Pastafari (Gravitas Ventures), The Medicine (1091), Never Too Late (Blue Fox Entertainment), Deany Bean is Dead (Global Digital Releasing) and Bloody Nose, Empty Pockets (Utopia).

Also beginning on Apple TV+ this Friday is the new JJ Abrams series, Little Voice, starring Brittany O’Grady as Bess King, a 20-something singer trying to find her voice in the rat race that is New York City. I haven’t had a chance to watch this yet but apparently, Abrams got Sara Bareilles from Broadway’s Waitress to write some of the tunes, so it should be decent.

Next week, more movies—some in theaters, some not in theaters! But most of them watchable from home in case you don’t drive or your city is exploding with the COVID after the rest of us have been in quarantine for months. Thanks bunches.

By the way, if you read this week’s column and have bothered to read this far down, feel free to drop me some thoughts at Edward dot Douglas at Gmail dot Com or drop me a note or tweet on Twitter. I love hearing from readers … honest!

#TheWeekendWarrior #Movies #Reviews #Streaming #VOD #Greyhound #Relic #TheOldGuard #Volition #TheBeachHouse #PalmSprings #GuestOfHonour

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greenphantomqueenuniverse · 5 years

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Lia’s Duel School - How I Got This Crazy Idea

Welcome to the opening of Lia’s Duel School for Aspiring YGO Writers.

This is a blog that I’ve had thought of for the past month or so, but at now, you must be thinking, “Why make a blog based on this crazy idea?”

It’s a long story, so sit by my side as the lights darken and the curtains pull.

(Ah memories...)

I’ve been a fan of Yu-Gi-Oh since I was 10-11. I was a big fan of Ancient Egypt at the time, and when I learned of Yu-Gi-Oh having basis on the kingdom that was born from the Nile River, I fell in love with it at first site. I remember asking my father to get me a pair of Yu-Gi-Oh sneakers with little Millennium Puzzle zippers that I would wear to school practically every day, asking my aunt for a Pegasus Starter Deck because I loved all the cute Toon Monsters (although if I were to play a deck these days, I’d go for Gravekeeper’s with a Dark Horus card beacuse it’s my favorite monster ever) and watching in fear watching Yami Yugi vs Yami Bakura in the Duelist Kingdom anime when the souls of the characters were trapped in their favorite Duel Monster Cards.

This love expanded when I found about fanfiction when I was 12. There, I wanted to write stories like how I always dreamed of for all to share. Of course, my drafts were...pathetic, but I still kept watching the anime, writing my stories and reading fanfics, under the name of Green Phantom Queen

(And yes, I know the card is “Green Phantom King” but after learning about the mythology of the Morganna, I rolled with it.”.

It was around this time that I learned of the fanfiction.net writer, Cyber Commander (who now goes by the name of 0ccam’s Razor) whose Yu-Gi-Oh story: Yu-Gi-Oh! Dark Messiah kicked me into writing my first ever duel fic that would be what I defined myself under: “Between My Brother and Me”, the title of an old fanfic series I once planned that was a Pokémon/Yu-Gi-Oh crossover in which Valon was actually the older brother of May and Max and the two set off to find him.

Of course, I was 13 at the time, but three to four years later, I became a better writer and the plot of that became, “May and Max decide to go to Domino City for vacation before May goes to the Johto Region and get entangled with the Waking the Dragons Arc” (which is currently going into a rewrite that I totally need to update...)

Years passed, college and life happened, going to Burma with my mom happened when I was just 22 for only three weeks, and I wasn’t writing due to lack of internet connection. But I STILL had a desire to.

So in 2017, I started again. Using my phone and an Internet card to write as much as I could. I had already planned on a collection of Pokémon/Yu-Gi-Oh crossovers with an added twist: the characters existed in an universe where ALL characters, regardless of what series they came from all existed in some sort of community. So you can have Seto Kaiba still running Kaiba Corp. while Team Satisfaction cleans up Duel Gangs in Satellite, or Yuma Tsukumo and his friends go to school with Judai Yuki along with (human) Pokémon characters playing Duel Monsters and getting into crazy adventures.

But, the thing is, while the crossover aspect got my brain fired up, I still wasn’t ready to make the plunge into this blog yet.

And you may be asking, “What changed your mind?”

Well, you’ll be surprised at what happened next.

Come June/July 2018. I have just learned that the Philippines has uploaded a cartoon known as Legend of the Three Caballeros, an action-adventure oriented cartoon series where Disney’s Three Caballeros (Donald Duck, Jose Carioca and Panchito Pistoles--or Gonzoles in this case) were tasked to stop the evil Lord Felldrake by teaming up with Xandra, Goddess of Adventure in fighting strange monsters all around the world.

And by coincidence, one of the episodes had our heroes go to Peru and enter the Nazca Realm.

Someone on the comments section of that video (which has sadly been removed) commented on how the Nazca Lines IMMEDIATELY brought back the Earthbound Immortal saga of Yu-Gi-Oh 5Ds, one of my favorite arcs due to its supernatural elements and how freaking dark it was. The Dark Signers already existed in my Pokemon/Yugioh crossover verse (with each and every Dark Signer a Pokémon character whose role is to cleanse humans of sin and await the day that the open the “Gates of Hamunaptra” in Satellite) and a thought of “What would happen if Disney characters became Dark Signers” entered my head, resulting in the story known as “Legends of the Three Caballeros: Dark Signs of the Sun”: in which the Three Caballeros fight off against the Dark Signers in a Kingdom Hearts like adventure through the use of Duel Monsters.

Published at the end of August, I have been amazed to find people so interested in this story. But...why?

Was it its novelty? It is the only fanfic of a Disney/Yu-Gi-Oh crossover that involves dueling.

Was it the writing? I wasn’t sure about that, seeing as I had a few reviews from ACTUAL readers rather than spam.

I thought and thought about it for a while, and then lightning struck.

I may not be able to understand WHY it was becoming so popular, but perhaps I could use it as a stepping stone to help others get into writing duelfics.

After all, when it comes to Yu-Gi-Oh, we come for Duel Monsters and the epic battles first.

So with this, I announce that Lia Duel School is open and anyone and everyone willing to follow me in a curriculum based on writing will have a blast as they understand what it takes to make a story such as this.

And who knows? Perhaps one day I’ll be reading fanfics in the future by these aspiring writers.

So, what are you waiting for? Grab your notebooks and pens, get that internet up and running, and get set to learn all there is about the Art of Duelfics.

Next time: The definition of a Duelfic comes first.

See you then!

#LiaDuelSchool #Origins #AboutMe #yugioh #fanfiction

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bpdjennamaroney · 7 years

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Love Interests for Gay Niles

1. Roberto (Raul Esparza) Roberto is a razor sharp museum archivist and passionate lover, and Niles is enthralled by him until they both subconsciously push each other's competitive sides. It culminates in an intense karaoke duet.

2. Sam (Jack MacFarland) Sam overhears Niles saying something snarky about an upcoming movie and they soon form a relationship based on salt and sarcasm, but eventually Sam becomes so tiresomely negative that Niles can’t handle it--and Sam breaks up with Niles for being too perky.

3. Marcel (Idris Elba) Roz sets Marcel and Niles up on a blind date. Niles is worried he’s going to be some loser, but when he sees Marcel, he’s struck by his beauty and can barely talk for the rest of the date. In fact, every time they meet, Niles can’t do much more than admire Marcel. Eventually Marcel breaks up with Niles because he’s a highly successful lawyer, and he needs “someone who can keep up intellectually,” which Niles, apparently, can’t.

4. Paul (Bob Odenkirk) Niles falls for an affable Twitter personality/blog writer but their relationship quickly falls apart when Niles realizes Paul’s sense of humor is exactly the same as Martin’s.

5. Cameron (Gavin Creel) Cameron is the sweetest man in the whole world who’s devoted to Niles and Niles simply can’t deal with that.

6. Ryan (Stanley Tucci) Niles doesn’t realize that Ryan is actually a famous, powerful television writer at the center of gay culture until Jack [Ewan McGregor Daphne] points it out. Niles literally never heard of any of his shows before so, out of curiosity, he watches some, and is absolutely appalled by their quality. It’s too much for their relationship to bear. Also, Ryan is shocked and offended when he finds out Niles didn’t know who he was. He thought Niles was merely not bringing it up as some sort of power dynamic thing.

7. Horatio (Nathan Lane) Niles is thrilled to date a theatre legend. Horatio is everything Niles dreamed he’d be: eloquent, romantic, cultured, witty. Even Frasier can’t contain his jealousy. Everything’s going well until Horatio reveals his explosive temper.

8. Max (Jack Gyllenhaal) Max is one of Roz’s friends, a beautiful, broody artist. Niles takes a chance and asks him out. Max agrees. Roz tries to warn Niles that Max is a loser, even by her standards, but he’s so handsome Niles doesn’t care about his moodiness. Niles carefully points out that Max doesn’t paint at all, he just stares at a canvas and moans in frustration, and that maybe he should, like, paint. Max gets angry and says things like “Is art only real if it’s visible? Go exploit some labor, you capitalist suit. I should have known a man with a tie couldn’t understand love.”

9. Jamie (Chadwick Boseman) Jamie is handsome, clever, charming, and helps Niles loosen up. Niles genuinely has a good time with Jamie, and Jamie’s a great guy. Good with kids, as smart as Niles but not stuffy about it...except Jamie is obsessed with comic books. Niles is OK with one or two comic book movies occasionally (although, to be honest, not really) but Jamie has a show room of action figures and original edition comic books and he has a podcast about superheroes, and Nile is simply too judgmental to bear it.

10. Alejandro (Lin-Manuel Miranda) Another one of Roz’s friends. Adorable, well-read, great personality, high school teacher by day and aspiring rapper by night...except he’s not very good at it. Niles isn’t sure whether or not he should tell him. Who is he to judge rap, after all? Alejandro releases an album and Niles, hoping to spare Alejandro’s feelings, says that maybe he should give up on rap and pursue a higher education degree in history, and eventually he’s pressed to say that he doesn’t think Alejandro is very good at rapping. Alejandro breaks up with him, and his album goes triple platinum in a week.

11. Simon (Christian Borle) Originally Jack’s boyfriend, but they break up, and Simon runs into Niles and asks him out. Niles asks Jack if it’s OK and Jack laughs.

Jack: I don’t think Simon’s your type.

Niles: What do you mean? Isn’t that for me to decide? If you don’t want me to date him, just say it.

Jack: Sexually. I don’t think you’re compatible.

Niles: I’m a gay man, he’s a gay man...

Jack: Oh, forget it. Go for it.

Niles and Simon hit it off, and Simon takes him back to his place and shows him a wild sex dungeon.

#niles crane #frasier crane #gay niles #frasier

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awfulfirstdrafts · 4 years

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The Queen of Crime

(Assignment: choose an author and briefly write about their lives and their works using multiple sources)

For the genre of mystery and detective novels, any avid reader will say the best works came from the 20s to the 50s. This is because books were a main source of entertainment in these decades, it seemed to be a golden age for that genre of stories. The best of these novels was written by Agatha Christie. Many joked that if she were ever to turn to a life of crime she would be uncatchable. Her works were highly regarded and often held in comparison to author of the Sherlock Holmes series, Arthur Conan Doyle. The Queen of Crime didn’t receive that nickname for nothing, she could have been a detective herself but decided to give her audience the opportunity to follow the lives of her mystery solving characters. Unlike her novelist peers her works would continue to hold an impact that other authors and works could not.

Christie’s life made her seem to be the furthest thing from a criminal mind or even having a knack for detective work. Agatha Christie was born as Agatha Miller. Her family was on the wealthier side, they lived comfortably enough for her parents to not work and for her eldest siblings to be sent to school. Sadly, this only lasted until her father, Fredrick, was informed of mismanagement with his money. There was nothing left in his estate. His attempts to find a job were futile, he had no special skills and had not furthered his education; soon he passed away leaving a young Agatha Miller to his wife, Clara. Christie adored Clara. Her mother was an amateur poet, always reading and writing and of course, she passed this on to Christie. Christie was a lonely child, she had no friends and her two siblings a decade older. Homeschooling was partly the reason for this loneliness. She taught herself at home from books and kept imaginary friends. She was described as shy and quite morbid “She adored funerals, and often went to put flowers on the grave of her late canary, kiki.” (Acocella, pg. 82)

She had no plans for a career and only hoped to get married. For girls at that time it was not uncommon to wait for marriage instead of following a career path. At twenty-four she married and began her own family. She was a mother to her daughter Rosalind and wife to her husband Colonel Archibald Christie. Although she worked to maintain her home life as well as her career as a novelist, her husband was not so committed. She began writing novels in the twenties after World War I. Her mother she so loved died in 1926. Colonel Archibald was so displeased and inconvenienced by Christie’s depression he spent most his days at a golf club. It was soon apparent that her husband had narcissistic tendencies, he found that the sadness of others was very troublesome for his own mood. He later revealed to her that he was having an affair with a woman named Nancy Neele. He was in love with her and wanted a divorce. For their daughter’s sake they tried to stay together. They even moved back in together to be a family, however, he still never stopped seeing Neele.

Soon after the collapse of her marriage, on December 3, 1926 Christie went downstairs, kissed her half-asleep daughter’s head and disappeared into the night. Her car was found the next day abandoned with no trace of the author. Christie was front page news, the police and her husband searched vigorously. The police brought other crime novelists into the investigation, Arthur Doyle and Dorothy Sayers. It was believed the authors could give an insight into the mind of Christie in a way the police could not. They thought only crime novelists could find the Queen of Crime. The search lasted 11 days. She was found to be staying in a hotel under the alias “Neele”. Her husband later put out a statement “She has suffered from the most complete loss memory, and I do not think she knows who she is.” (Vito pg. 2 ). When the media circus died down, Christie and her husband finally called it quits. After she and her husband divorced, he stayed with his mistress Nancy Neele, they remained partners until his death. Christie gained full custody of their daughter, Rosalind. She kept the Colonel’s last name but remarried just two years later to Max Mallowan, to whom she remained married to until her death in 1976.

Just a few short years after her divorce she wrote Murder on the Orient Express, part of her Hercule Poirot series. Although this novel was part of a series this one was arguably the most popular. This book was wildly successful because it was one of few detective novels that the reader could see the clues the way the detective can. The clues are small but at the same time are in your face. One of the most noticeable clues is, the victim of the first murder rang a bell for help. The conductor came to the door and when he knocks someone on the other side says “Ce n’est rien. Je me suis trompe.” (Christie 1934). The victim did not know any French. The reader was able to predict the murderer was French.

Two years after the success of her novel Murder on the Orient Express she wrote one of her more experimental works, The ABC Murders. Although this novel is part of the Hercule Poirot series it is quite different than the others. The ABC Murders does not exactly follow Christie’s usual formula for her novels. Typically, it starts in a small place or setting, then suddenly a body is discovered, and the culprit must be found. Instead of the same story with different names, in this piece Christie works through the mind of a serial killer, a man murdering his way through the alphabet. First it is Mrs. Ascher, then Betty Barnard, next Sir Carmichael and so on. He leaves clues on purpose to give the detective just enough information to know who might be next but not who he is. Christie’s experiment with his novel illustrated how she could truly depict not only the mind of a detective but a criminal as well. This novel specifically might just be what coined her nickname “the Queen of Crime”.

Shortly after her experimental novel, Christie’s masterpiece was published. Originally titled after a nursery rhyme, it was published in the United States under a different name. And Then There Were None, titled after the last sentence of the book. Her highly popular novel followed the formula from her previous works. However, it was much more well received than the others. It could have something to do with her progress as an author. More likely than that possibility, it may have been because of the suspense of the book. The absolute terror the characters experienced. One sentence from the novel showed the absolute hopelessness of the characters adequately “In the midst of life, we are in death.” (Christie 1939). It created a type of suspense the reader could feel as well. When the lights go out, who will be gone? This novel specifically sparked much more inspiration in other writers and directors than any of her other books and arguably out of any novel in the crime genre. Although she continued writing after this piece, she mostly maintained her character series. She continued to write the adventures of Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple.

Agatha Christie has no doubt left her mark as The Queen of Crime and the best-selling novelist of all time. She also left her mark as an author who understood people and their motives, their ticks and flaws. She not only adequately portrayed the mind of several detectives but also scorned murderers seeking revenge as well as serial killers. It’s for this reason her works have withstood the test of time. Her novels have also shown to be inspirations to many in the media. Her novels and series have since been given film and show adaptions including Murder on the Orient Express, And Then There Were None, Death on the Nile etc. Her series Miss Marple has its own show adaptation as well as The ABC Murders. Many television shows have given a nod to her works; they include but are not limited to Adventure Time, Frasier, Family Guy, and Doctor Who. All could be considered parodies of her works except Doctor who. This show has a different take on what might have happened during her eleven-day disappearance. Christie’s works have not only done well but they’ve inspired media from publication to present day.

Bibliography:

Christie, Agatha. Murder on the Orient Express: 1934. HarperCollins, 2009.

Christie, Agatha. And Then There Were None. Grosset & Dunlap, 1945.

Acocella, Joan. "Queen of Crime." The New Yorker, 16 Aug. 2010, p. 82. Biography in Context, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A235212086/GPS?u=txshracd2546&sid=GPS&xid=45f497d9. Accessed 10 Apr. 2019.

Vito, Stefania de. “Was Agatha Christie's Mysterious Amnesia Real or Revenge on Her Cheating Spouse?” Scientific American, 2 Aug. 2017, www.scientificamerican.com/article/was-agatha-christie-rsquo-s-mysterious-amnesia-real-or-revenge-on-her-cheating-spouse/.

#academic writing

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