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narwatharsh01 · 2 months

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Global Theater Industry Trends, Players, and Future Projections

The magic of the silver screen endures, and the theater market continues to captivate audiences globally. In 2024, the industry is not just surviving but thriving, navigating challenges and evolving with the times. Let's take a deep dive into the current state of the theater market, examining its size, growth trajectory, notable trends, key players, and future outlook.

Market Size and Growth:

As of 2023, the theater market was valued at an impressive USD 69.78 billion. it is set to reach a staggering USD 95.66 billion in 2029, reflecting a robust compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.24%. Despite the surge in home entertainment options, the theater market is evidently expanding.

Technological advancements, including 3D, 4DX, and IMAX, contribute significantly to this growth. These innovations provide audiences with a more immersive cinematic experience, attracting those seeking a break from the ordinary. Rising disposable income, particularly in developing regions, further fuels the growth, allowing audiences to indulge in leisure activities such as moviegoing. The popularity of blockbuster releases also plays a pivotal role, with audiences flocking to theaters to witness the grandeur of big-budget franchises.

Theater Market Trends:

The global theater industry is witnessing several trends that are shaping its future:

Focus on Premium Experiences: Theaters are differentiating themselves by emphasizing premium formats such as luxury recliners, in-seat dining, and personalized services, offering a unique experience not easily replicated at home.

Experiential Marketing: Creative marketing strategies are employed to generate excitement around films. Interactive events, themed concessions, and engaging social media campaigns are becoming integral to the moviegoing experience.

Evolving Distribution Models: The traditional windowing system, where movies are exclusively released in theaters before hitting streaming platforms, is undergoing changes. Studios are experimenting with different release strategies, impacting traditional theater attendance.

Theater Market Players:

Key players dominate the theater market:

AMC Entertainment Holdings, Inc.: The largest movie theater chain globally, boasting over 900 theaters across 11 countries.

Cinemark Holdings, Inc.: A major player with a strong presence in the United States and Latin America.

Comcast Corporation: Owner and operator of the Universal Pictures movie studio and various theater chains under the NBCUniversal umbrella.

The Walt Disney Company: Operates Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures and owns several theater chains, including Disney Theatres.

Theater Market Research Reports:

Understanding the theater market necessitates insights from research reports, providing:

Market Size and Growth Forecasts: Offering a comprehensive snapshot of the current market state and predicting its trajectory.

Consumer Trends: Identifying audience preferences and evolving behaviors, aiding businesses in adapting their offerings.

Competitive Landscape: Analyzing the strengths and weaknesses of key players, enabling businesses to develop effective competitive strategies.

Prominent research firms publishing reports on the movie theater market. These reports are indispensable for investors, businesses, and stakeholders seeking a nuanced understanding of the theater market.

Theater Market Outlook:

While the theater market faces competition from streaming services, the allure of a unique social and immersive experience remains strong. With increasing disposable income, technological advancements, and strategic marketing initiatives, the industry is poised for continued growth. The ability to adapt to changing consumer preferences and distribution models will be crucial for the theater market's long-term success. The flickering flame of the theater market continues to burn bright, promising a compelling future amid the evolving entertainment landscape.

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mockingjaysnakes · 3 months

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Sony really knows how to squeeze every penny possible out of theatrical revenue by releasing the extended cut of the film Anyone But You in theaters this February 9, especially for Valentine's Day. Successful movies are proving to perform well in theaters. The film has already surpassed 150 million dollars at the global box office, the production cost only 25 million dollars. Meanwhile, Lionsgate does not want to release the extended cut of the ballad of songbirds and snakes. i want and need to see that tbosas cut so bad!

#tbosas #the ballad of songbirds and snakes #thg #the hunger games #tom blyth #rachel zegler #coriolanus snow #lucy gray baird #snowbaird #anyone but you #movies #extended cut #lionsgate #deleted scenes #the lake #sony pictures #bts

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iwanthermidnightz · 7 months

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The Eras Tour on the big screen — it’s giving movie, cinematography, magical, brilliant, incredible, amazing, show-stopping, spectacular, never the same, totally unique, completely not ever been done before.

From start to finish Taylor does what she does best: captivate the entire room with her never ending star quality. Seeing the entire show from all the angles in HD gives me a new appreciation for the cultural phenomenon that is the Eras Tour. The scale and promotion of this film starts to really click when you’re finally watching it. The turnout will be massive and the records will be broken and the movie theaters have gone all out for Taylor because she’s singlehandedly bringing in so much revenue for them, but also solidifying herself once again as a true businesswoman.

When I said I hoped no one got up to dance and sing around me I was wrong. Everyone remained in their seats until you belong with me and love story came on… believe or not that’s what did it for them. Girls from 5 to 15 hurried down to the front of the theater in excitement where they would remain and be joined by others throughout the show until the end.

Most of the crowd screamed every word (especially the lyrics you’re supposed to scream) from our seats and that really did make it so fun. The phone lights came out for Marjorie, and when reputation (and 1989) came on everyone went feral. It made me giggle to see kids yelling “oh lord save me my drug is my baby” with their whole chest. Vigilante Shit close up was an experience and was rightly appreciated with very descriptive expletives by the crowd.

The vibes really were amazing. It was so cute to see and feel how excited everyone was! So if you’re thinking about going or hesitant because you “want to watch in peace” (shading myself) do yourself a favor and go. You deserve a night of pure joy! And thank you Taylor for giving that to us every night on tour. You’re a once in a lifetime artist and woman 🤍

#taylor swift #the eras tour #the eras movie

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the-ace-with-spades · 9 months

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Fic idea I'll probably never write:

Actor Bradley + still naval aviator Jake AU

Bradley was a theater kid and he was a really good theatre kid - his last high school won a national award for a musical he had the main male role and a play he's the main character and his theater club teacher encouraged him to send audition tape for acting schools. He does, just to get her off his back and he gets further auditions for Juilliard and Tisch, somehow.

Mav, who is trying very hard to change Bradley's plans to join the Navy by encouraging him to apply to as many colleges as he can, tells him to go, just in case he likes it. He gets a spot in Juilliard around the same time he finds out Mav pulled his papers from USNA. It's supposed to be just something to fill the time until he can join NOCS when he gets his degree, he doesn't actually think he'll be an actor full time, he just wants to be as far away from Mav and Ice as he can.

Things happen fast - he has his first Broadway role before he graduates. Within the next few years, he stars in an extremely popular TV show in one of the main male roles, he's got a side role in a box office breaking movie, and then he gets cast as the main character for a series of action movies (ala MI or FaF). He's one of those actors that does dangerous stunts himself and who is called a madman by most of his co-stars and gets a reputation as the crazy but absolutely the funniest and kindest guy ever who stars in way too many productions every year. Fans know him as the guy who engages in charity work, donates and promotes charities for orphans, veterans and minorities and as the guy that goes to random bars and sings musical numbers on untuned pianos. His main revenue are the popular action movies but he stars in more traditionally demanding roles for the challenge (dramas, tragedies, thrillers) and romantic comedies and musicals for funnsies and in indie movies way under his budget for the sake of artistic creation.

(Mav and Ice watched every single production he had been in, a few unavailable Broadway productions aside. Most of them, they have on DVDs.)

He had a lot of luck because his breaking side role was directed by one guy and that guy loved him and pushed him into many of his movies later and then the same happened with another two directors.

His career hits a tough point when his sexuality comes out (unwillingly). There are rumors and a lot of people who were fans of his action movies come around and talk shit about him and he decides to take a break from acting for a bit.

He's a year into the break when his friendly director calls and says he's got a military action movie for him. A movie about naval aviators, about fighter pilots. To be filmed raw, in real planes, in real flight, with real pilots.

Bradley says no straight away. But then his friend is like, I know you've got a pilot licence already and you fly planes for fun, don't you want to share the fun with the rest of the cast, don't you want to fly a fighter jet?

Bradley has always wanted to fly a fighter jet, that's what hurts most about it all, so he agrees.

He hasn't talked to Mav or Ice for over fifteen years when he finds out that the Dagger Squadron the cast got their assigned pilots from is led by Pete Maverick Mitchell and said Pete Maverick Mitchell is going to be performing the most demanding jet stunts needed for the movie.

Bradley's assigned pilot for the rest of the film is a very reluctant Jake Hangman Seresin.

Hangman doesn't watch movies and definitely not action movies. He's a romantic comedy kinda guy because his life is an action movie with ad breaks for paper work and training. So he doesn't know Bradley and like hell he's going to be flying for some hollier than thou actor - he's going to put him in his place and make him puke as many times as possible the minute he sits in his backseat.

It doesn't work. Bradshaw doesn't puke once. He's almost impressed.

He's definitely impressed when Bradshaw stops by the Hard Deck, looking absolutely not like someone who earns millions every year, wearing an old Hawaiian shirt, an old pair of jeans, sunglasses and a worn out Casio watch, and Nikes that have seen better days and sits down at the piano with Jake's squad and bursts out songs after songs, sounding like a freaking angel. He has to leave when people start asking about autographs from left and right.

Maybe Bradshaw is hot, whatever. He still doesn't think he's a big deal, he's probably a mediocre actor at best, some pretty boy with rich parents that could send him to acting school and who probably grew up with money that could buy him a career.

They have problems working together, obviously, and Bradley is like, fuck that, and tells him the address of a private airport and tells him to show up at four.

Jake thinks he's going to make him fly a small private plane for the sake of bonding but instead Bradshaw packs into the passenger seat of a new piston sport plane and starts it off. Doesn't explain anything, just takes Jake up in the sky, ignores his chatter until they're in the air space where he can do some funny bits and maneuvers.

At some point, the plane tells him Bradshaw is pulling 6 Gs.

In the end, Bradshaw tells him, "I don't care what you think of me, I just want you to fly the goddamn plane like I'd."

And okay, maybe Hangman starts finding him a bit hot.

He googles him. And watches some of his movies. And his rom coms and his musicals and he reads and reads and maybe Bradshaw isn't that bad.

They start to talk between film takes and then he takes Bradshaw to relax to a taco stand where he won't be recognised. Then to an ice cream place, and bowling, and surfing, and then again and again, until finally, Bradley lands at Jake's house.

In Jake's bed.

Everything would be absolutely fine but not even a few days later not only tabloids find out all about Bradshaw's gay navy romance - his sexual orientation being a topic Bradley's been avoiding as much as he could in the past year - but also about all the things he's told Jake during their dates, like about Goose and about his (unnamed) Navy gay parents and about how tough it was for him in college and then how tough it was being in the closet while in the industry.

Obviously, Bradley thinks the worst about Jake and how all that info surfaced.

(this gets somehow resolved but I didn't think that far - they get together and Bradley reconciles with Mav and Ice and they have an awkward meet the parents moment when Hangman finds out)

#hangster #bradley rooster bradshaw #jake hangman seresin #sorry brain rot moment needed to be articulated or else #fic ideas #op #charlie writes

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marisatomay · 2 years

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i love pirating a film as much as the next millennial but some of you fr need to realize that if you want movies to be made that aren’t created in a disney test tube then you need to start buying movies again. not subscribing to streamers. you need to buy them. digital or physical, that’s up to you but the netflix model has nigh completely erased the significant and essential revenue stream of vhs/dvd which used to compensate and offset any box office losses from riskier, smaller films. studios have to stop immediately shoving movies onto streaming platforms or even announcing when a movie will be out of theaters, on VOD, or streaming before it premieres because that disincentivizes audiences from doing anything but wait the 45 days for it to hit netflix but we as audiences need to vote for better art with our money and actually buy movies again.

#and when i say i pirate films i mean i dress up as a pirate to watch a movie yup yup mister fbi #i did my absolute best to not boss baby this but i’ll do it don’t test me

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city-of-ladies · 2 months

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Bénita Anguinet (1819-1887) was one of the famous magicians of her time. Her impressive tricks bewitched France and Europe.

A family tradition

Bénita learned her trade from her father, Antoine, an illusionist who performed in local fairs and later in Paris. She made her debut on stage at age 7 and would accompany him father on tour. By 1840, Bénita had become the family’s figurehead, her fame having relegated her male relatives to the background.

Unlike her father, Bénita performed only in theaters. She toured across France and traveled to Western Europe and Algeria. Contemporary reviews praised her skills, marveling at her “prodigies” and “wonders”.

The star of Paris

In 1856, Bénita acquired her theater at the Pré-Catelan, near Paris. It could host up to 170 spectators. She performed there continuously during afternoons and evenings, from spring to autumn.

Bénita's theater (1856)

Bénita became a true celebrity and a fashionable topic. Female conductor Laure Micheli composed a piece in her honor: Bénita the magician.

Among her tricks were the inexhaustible bottle, producing various liquors according to the audience’s wishes, and the fantastic cardboard from which the illusionist pulled many objects that weren’t supposed to fit in it in the first place.

Her signature trick was the mysterious cabbage. Bénita would make a glove and a ring borrowed from spectators disappear. She made them reappear inside an egg, itself enclosed in a lemon, wrapped inside an orange, which then emerged from a beet forming the heart of a huge cabbage.

Back on the road

Bénita’s success coincided with the rise of female illusionists. From the end of the 1850s and for two or three decades, many women would occupy the top of the bill, with their husbands or male relatives performing only secondary attractions. Women also practiced the discipline as amateurs.

Bénita's Parisian fame didn't last and her revenues plummeted in 1858. A year later, Bénita toured France again. In 1863, she settled in the Iberian peninsula where she performed until she died in 1887.

Feel free to check out my Ko-Fi if you want to support me!

Further reading

"Bénita Anguinet (1819-1887), la célèbre illusionniste du Pré-Catelan"

#bénita anguinet #artists #magicians #history #women in history #women's history #19th century #paris #france #french history #women's history month #historyedit

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bongobriegel · 6 months

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So what do the gym leaders do in their free time?

Milo is really busy outside of being a gym leader so he doesn't really have a lot of time for hobbys. However every now and again he still finds the time to sit down and do some whittleing.

Nessa is into arts and crafts. Her windowsills are decorated with polymer clay figurines of pokemon. She started to get Sonia into it as well.

Kabu is a trainer for childrens/teen football teams. He used to play himself, but by now he's mostly dedicated himself to passing on his interest and passion for the sport to the younger generation.

Allister likes to explore abandoned buildings and graveyards. In the beginning he just wanted to get away from people for a bit, but then he discovered his interest in ghost type pokemon that lived in the places he explored.

Bea is into martial arts, obviously. It started in school where she joined the judo extracurricular.

Opal is a theater actress and has been since she was fifteen. She's involved in the culture council of Galar.

Melony used to do gymnastics when she was younger and even won some trophies. Today she's mostly busy with parenting but occasionally she still finds the time to train.

Gordie inherited his mother's passion for gymnastics and is fairly successful at it. He regularly takes part in tournaments and is always ready to demonstrate his abilities to anyone who dares to question him.

Piers and Marnie mostly spend their time raising hell and causing mayhem. When Piers isn't doing that, he and Team Yell fix up the city. Keeping it clean, fixing things, etc.

Raihan is into LARPing. He owns several swords of various types as well as chainmail and leather armor. Because this my HC he's also really into power metal.

(I don't count the influencing as things they do in their free time because a) it generates revenue and b) it can be seen as part of their job, as with real world celebrities)

#pokemon swsh #pokemon #raihan pokemon #marnie pokemon #pokemon milo #pokemon piers #pokemon nessa #pokemon opal #pokemon gordie #pokemon melony #pokemon allister #pokemon bea #pokemon kabu

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dani-luminae · 9 months

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"Why are they releasing Haunted Mansion in July? What are they thinking?"

I can almost guarantee you that The Idea was to put it out in theaters (it was slated for the spring of this year!) have its run, then have it on Disney+ by Halloween.

Also, they probably didn't want the HM fans to have to compete with other Halloween release movie crowd. Because frankly, HM is not a horror movie - not enough to hold its own against stuff like the FNAF movie and other Halloween releases. HM is a love-letter to a well-loved theme park attraction that just happens to involve ghosts, and (as much as I love the movie so much) if the movie was released at Halloween, it wouldn't be able to compete.

Yes, the Disney execs knew what they were doing, releasing it at the time that they did. But it was more in favor of box office revenue and availability for streaming than in the interest of Halloween and spooky vibes.

#seeing all the 'hm should have been a halloween movie' tweets has me a little frustrated #i love the movie but also. if it were released at halloween it would not survive against fnaf #haunted mansion movie #haunted mansion 2023

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duhragonball · 8 months

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Dragon Ball Super Movie 2: Super Hero (3/5)

"What are any of us doing here? We're not even in this movie!"

So the Red Ribbon Army is trying to stage a comeback with a fresh crop of new androids, and Goku isn't around to stop them, because he's on Beerus' planet training with Vegeta and Broly. While Piccolo figures out what to do without them, the movie just goes ahead and shows us what Goku is up to. For about ten minutes.

I'm pretty sure this part of the movie is a concession to Goku's fans. Let's face it, the people love Goku, and to do a Dragon Ball movie with no Goku at all would be a risky proposition, no matter how good that movie is. Looking back at the old DBZ films, Movies 9, 10, and 11 were mostly Goku-free, but he still put in a brief appearance in each one. But those are also regarded as some of the worst entries in the series, and I don't think that's a coincidence.

Now, I'm a fan of Dragon Ball in general, so the idea of a Piccolo and Gohan movie is not only appealing to me, but I'd say it's long overdue. I'd take a Yamcha/Tien movie any day. Or a Launch standalone film. I sat through GT, so it'd take a lot to keep me out of the theater. But Toei's trying to run a business here, and they can't just depend on die-hards like me to bring in the ticket revenue. So I'm sure the decision to focus on Piccolo was a controversial one in the home office. But they probably reached a compromise by giving Goku a decent chunk of screentime as a make-good.

One thing that makes this movie so good is that they don't just toss out a character for the sake of having them in the movie. They actually take a moment to show what that character is doing these days, even if it doesn't affect the plot that much. That's important, because it lets the viewer come away feeling like they got something out of the cameo they just saw. For example, we've seen Goku and Vegeta on Beerus' planet before. This is nothing new, but this time Goku's trying to help Broly control his power. And Vegeta's trying to meditate so he can learn how to imitate Jiren's power. Goku doesn't really understand his approach, which goes to show that Vegeta's trying to push beyond the scope of the training they've done on Beerus's planet before now. Gohan is studying ants, Videl has her combat sports class, Piccolo's a homeowner, etc.

Compare this to Battle of Gods, for example. Now BoG's a good movie, don't get me wrong, but a lot of the characters who appear in the film are utterly wasted. Tien shows up but he looks and acts exactly the same as he did the last several times we've seen him. Then he shows up in Resurrection F and nothing's changed either. He says he left Chiaotzu and Yamcha behind for the big fight, but would it matter either way? If they showed up, they wouldn't do anything new with those guys either.

The trick is to not just put Ox King in your movie, but to have him mention something that he's gotten up to lately, something Ox King fans can mull over later. "Oh, hey, remember how Ox King said he was going back to school to get a sociology degree?" You can sink your teeth into that, even if that's the only thing that you find out about from him. It's a lot better than "It's Bulma's birthday, and one of the guests is Ox King, a character who certainly exists."

Let's talk about Vegeta's revelation in this movie, since it caused some commotion among the fans. Goku complains that Vegeta had just been sitting still lately, which he thinks is a waste of time. Vegeta explains that he's been studying the way Jiren fought during the Tournament of Power. While he dominated Goku and Vegeta--sometimes both at once-- Vegeta is certain that Jiren isn't that much stronger than they are. What made Jiren so tough to deal with was that he was completely relaxed until the very moment he chose to strike, which allowed him to put all of his power into those brief offensive moments. But since Vegeta can't do that himself, he's trying to train his mind to conceptualize it before he tries to make his body learn how.

So a lot of fans saw this and concluded that the studio hates Goku, or they think Goku's an idiot, or that the studio is stupid for failing to remember that Goku has meditated before in the past. There has always been a subset of the fanbase that tries to turn everything into a Manichean conflict between Goku and Vegeta. In this case, if Vegeta figures something out before Goku does, then it means that Toei or Shueisha or Akira Toriyama himself must hate Goku.

This is stupid on the face of it, because Akira Toriyama literally created the character and he's credited with the screenplay for this movie. If he truly despised Goku, why would he even have Goku in the movie at all? He could have killed him off a long time ago. Why even make a Dragon Ball movie when he could have been working on some Dr. Slump project instead?

All this scene is... and I promise you, it's nothing more to it..., is a exploration of what the boys are doing on Beerus' planet. They train here, of course. We've seen that before, but why are they training here? Well, they need to receive instructions and guidance from Whis, and this is where Whis lives. Okay, and why is Whis so important to the process? Why can't they just stay on Earth and spar like they used to do? Because that only gets them so far. They need to learn new ways of thinking in order to surpass the level they're already at.

And what does that mean exactly? Well, they can't just do a million pushups. It doesn't work that way. There's other things they have to figure out, and that requires them to think of things they hadn't thought of before. And Whis is already beyond them in terms of power, so he knows things that they're still struggling to grasp. But Whis can't just spell it out for them. He can describe what they need to do, but it's still up to Goku and Vegeta to understand and internalize it.

And that's what they're doing here. They're basically brainstorming ways to get stronger. This time, Vegeta had an idea, and he's following it to see where it leads. Whis approves, so he seems to be on the right track. Tomorrow, maybe Goku will have another good idea, and so on.

But it's not always going to be one or the other who has the breakthrough. And it would be stupid for them both to have the same idea at the same time, just so the partisan fans won't feel slighted. Goku seems to think he can get a lot out of working with Broly, but that hasn't paid off just yet. It might prove more productive than what Vegeta is working on at the moment, but there's only one way to find out.

As far as Goku failing to recognize the value of meditation, well, he's had to re-learn that lesson several times. People will point to the time he meditated in Otherworld, or the time he meditated during his training with Mr. Popo, but they forget that this sort of focus and concentration was part of his training with Master Roshi as well. Whis scolded both Goku and Vegeta on this point when they first trained with him in Resurrection F. We can draw one of two conclusions here.

Goku's quest for greater strength is a flat circle. He just keeps re-discovering the same fundamentals, making a big gain in power, and then forgetting how he achieved that improvement.

Akira Toriyama is recycling the same martial arts hokum over and over again, because he only needs to show the characters working for greater strength. He does not need to design a genuine and internally consistent system for fantasy martial arts, any more than the writers of Star Trek need to explain how dilithium crystals make the ship go.

Anyway, Whis proposes a Goku/Broly/Vegeta three-way match, but no one wants Broly to fight in case he flips out and wrecks the entire planet. Then Beerus wakes up and finds out he has new houseguests. Goku explains that this is a good place to hide Broly from Frieza, and before Beerus can object, he meets Lemo and samples his cooking. It's good, so Beerus decides he can stay. Then Cheelai walks by with a bag full of loot she stole from Beerus' home. But Beerus decides he likes Cheelai's looks, so he agrees to let her stay too. So that's decided.

I've also seen some fans gripe about how Cheelai didn't spend much time with Broly in this movie, and Beerus' crush on Cheelai muddies the waters further. Look, none of these characters got a lot of screen time in this movie. This scene could be cut entirely and you wouldn't miss a thing. Half of it is Goku sparring with Vegeta, so of course Broly and Cheelai weren't going to have a whirlwind romance in this thing.

All I know for certain is that Cheelai walked by Broly and went out of her way to say he was "looking good", which is a lot more than she complimented anyone else on this planet. I mean, she's stealing Beerus' stuff, which ought to tell you how much she's into his lanky purple ass.

Moving on, Whis still wants to do that sparring match, if only so Broly can learn to appreciate a high-level battle with the fighters maintaining control of their powers. But Goku wants to eat first and so they stop for lunch.

And yeah, then this movie up and decides to give us Goku/Vegeta III, just like that. I don't want to oversell it, but it's an excellent fight. Whis sets the ground rules to that transformations and ki blasts are forbidden, so in a lot of ways this looks a lot like the kind of battle they might have had at the 25th Budokai before Babidi's henchmen got involved. We only get to see a few minutes of it, but they're so evenly matched that the fight takes a really long time to settle, so maybe it's just as well.

Beerus notes that Vegeta's moves have changed in an almost imperceptible way, due to his recent meditation training. Still, he loses interest in the fight and decides to get ice cream while the boys slug it out. I'm pretty sure Cheelai never cared in the first place, but Broly is enthralled with this action. He's getting to watch two of the greatest Saiyans ever put on a clinic, and he's soaking it up like a sponge.

But the important thing, at least as far as this movie goes, is that Beerus tosses an empty ice cream carton onto Whis' staff, so no one notice it flashing when Bulma tries to call him.

Which means Piccolo's on his own, at least for the time being. He gets the news from Bulma while he's picking up some senzu beans from Korin. The situation looks pretty bad, since Piccolo estimates that the Gammas' power is roughly on par with Goku and Vegeta's. And Dr. Hedo might know 17 and 18's weak spots, so they might not be able to help either. There is Majin Buu, though...

.... ha ha ha! No, did you think this one was going to be any different? Buu's sleeping through this crisis too. Seriously, why did they keep him alive at the end of the Buu Saga if no one had any plans to use him for anything?

So what about Gohan? That's what Korin asks, but Piccolo just says they can't count on Gohan right now, which... ouch.

But Piccolo does have one other idea, and so he flies up to see Dende on the Lookout and asks him to draw out his hidden power. See, the Kami of Planet Namek, Grand Elder Guru, was able to power up Krillin and Gohan way back in the day. Now, Dende is the Kami of Earth, so Piccolo figures Dende could do the same for him.

Only, no, it doesn't work that way. Turns out a Dragon-Type Namekian has to reach a certain age before they can use that sort of ability, and Dende's too young. On the other hand, Dende suggests using the Dragon Balls to solve the problem. They could simply wish away the Red Ribbon Army, but Piccolo doesn't care for that idea. Okay, well what about using Shenron to draw out Piccolo's hidden power? Can Shenron do that? Dende's like "gimme a minute."

So Dende wheels out the cart with the model of Shenron on it, and he powers a flask of water on the model. This makes it glow, and somehow upgrades Shenron so that he can grant a wish to draw out a person's hidden powers. Piccolo remarks that he had no idea any of this was possible when he was Kami. To be fair, when Piccolo was Kami, he didn't even know he was a Namekian, so there's a lot of stuff he was out of the loop for.

Now all Piccolo needs is the Dragon Balls, but Dende tells him that Bulma probably has them already. Ever since Frieza came back, Bulma's been gathering up the Dragon Balls every year, using the wishes up so that they'll be inactive in case any bad guys try to use them. Piccolo calls to ask her and yes, she has the whole set. In the dub, he asks her how many she has and she's like "Oh, uh.... All of them?!" I can't be sure, but I think that's a reference to the "All of them?" line from the dub of Dragon Ball, when Piccolo tried to zap Goku, but he missed all his vital organs. Anyway, Piccolo tells her to hang on to the balls until he gets there.

So they summon Shenron and it works. Piccolo gets stronger, and the Dragon promises that he threw in "a little extra".

That still leaves two wishes to use, so Bulma asks for a nicer ass and slightly longer eyelashes. Then she realizes -- too late-- that they could have wished to bring Goku and Vegeta back to Earth. Whoops.

"Shenron, I wish for you to bring Goku and Vegeta to Earth, so that they might bear witness to all this junk within my trunk."

So Piccolo returns to the Red Ribbon base and just walks right back to the line of soldiers there in Magenta's command room. They're still talking, and Piccolo tells the other soldiers he had to go potty. No one suspects a thing.

Magenta's trying to figure out what to do next. He'd like to target Goku and Vegeta, but no one knows where they are. Mr. Satan is too risky, since no one seems to know what his powers are, exactly. Then Carmine suggests Gohan be the next target. His intel says that it was Gohan who defeated Cell, and he has lots of spy footage of Piccolo going to his house to visit, which suggests that Gohan is a "shadow boss" in Bulma's organization. Magenta likes the idea of taking Gohan out, but he doesn't want Red Ribbon guys operating in the city, since it's too soon to reveal their presence to the wider public.

But if they could kidnap Gohan's daughter and lure him to the Red Ribbon base, then they could fight him on their own turf. Carmine finds that to be a good idea, as it would improve troop morale. Magenta orders a two-man team go to fetch Pan, and Piccolo volunteers, saying that he lives in the same neighborhood and knows Pan's face, because she's the granddaughter of Mr. Satan.

Dr. Hedo objects to the kidnapping angle, but Magenta tells him to mind his own business. Hmmm...

So Piccolo will be picking up Pan from preschool after all, just a bit later than planned. I don't know why Pan can't just run home by herself. She made it all the way here from Piccolo's house, didn't she?

One thing I like about this scene is how there's one other kid here who gets picked up, and that kid's mom apologizes for being late, so it's pretty clear that it's well after 1pm. Pan's been here a while. Her teacher assures here that someone will show up soon, but Pan's still kind of disappointed.

The other Red Ribbon soldier sent to do the kidnapping thinks this will be easy, so he just walks right up to Pan and tells her his mom sent him, but she demolishes him with a single blow.

Then Piccolo reveals himself and Pan recognizes him by his ki and calms down. The teacher already knows Piccolo, so she's cool with him, and Piccolo explains that this was all a security drill arranged by Mr. Satan. Now, in the dub, Piccolo addresses the teacher as "Janet", implying that he knows her as well as she knows him, and I think this is what led to the genesis of the Piccolo/Janet ship. I don't have a lot to say about it that hasn't already been said, but I'm all for Piccolo and Janet getting together. Janet's a fine foxy lady, and Piccolo's reputation speaks for itself.

Of course, Piccolo now has to fly the Red Ribbon airship back to base. He's a pretty crappy pilot, but he manages. I like to think Janet is still impressed, though. "Wow," she thinks as he flies away, crashing into a billboard. "Is there anything he can't do?"

Piccolo's plan is pretty simple. He explains the situation to Pan, and convinces her to play along with the kidnapping. When Gohan shows up to rescue her, he'll kick everyone's ass and that'll take care of everything. Actually, that sounds a little half-baked to me. Piccolo got a power up from Shenron, but is that enough? Anyway, they bring Pan to the base and take a video of her acting scared, then Magenta sends Piccolo and the other guy back to the city to show it to Gohan. Wait, why is that Namekian chair back there? What's that about.

Well, it doesn't matter because Pan sees some cookies and she's like "Don't mind if I do!" but then...

Carmine takes the plate away! BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

You suck, Carmine!

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

Pan would probably attack him right there, except Piccolo's behind him trying to calm her down.

So Piccolo and 15 go to Gohan's house, and Piccolo takes him to the window since he knows Gohan won't answer the door. Notably, Gohan doesn't recognize Piccolo through his disguise, even though Pan saw through it immediately. Also, Gohan hasn't bothered to change out of the clothes Piccolo put him in this morning. Those must be fascinating ants he's working on.

15 shows Gohan the video of Pan and RIP the windowsill.

He turns Super Saiyan and scares the shit out of 15, who promises Pan will be fine if he just returns with him to the base. Gohan gets so mad he makes a crater in the ground...

... and the house starts to list down into the hole. But Piccolo doesn't mind because his plan is working. Gohan's back in a fighting mood and he can clobber the Gammas!

Or can he...?

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racefortheironthrone · 10 months

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Not that this is the only example, but just watched "Lady Bird" where a major part of the plot is if the protagonist will go to NYU or UC Davis. As somebody who doesn't live in the United States and there aren't any "private universities" here just wondering if state schools are so bad? Why do they have such bad reputations or maybe just I'm just thinking too much of American-made entertainment?

This is a great question, because it allows me to talk about a topic that I find endlessly fascinating: how the cultural politics of class intersect with higher education.

With regards to Lady Bird, I think the first thing to understand is that it's a highly autobiographical film: Greta Gerwig also grew up in Sacramento, her parents had the same jobs as Lady Bird's parents, and Greta was also a theater kid who ended up going to a prestigious private university in New York City because she wanted to have a career in the performing arts. So what we're getting is not necessarily a universal experience, but how Greta Gerwig herself felt when she was a teenager.

Second, state schools are not bad but their reputations are ...complicated. The land grant universities are generally reasonably well-resourced, they have good reputations, and they provide an extremely solid middle class credential that provides a major pathway for social and economic mobility in the United States.

However, there is usually a hierarchy within the state school systems between the flagship campus(es) which are usually nationally ranked research universities - U.C Berkeley, UCLA, Ann Arbor (UMichigan), University of Wisconsin-Madison, UMass Amherst, etc. - and the other campuses in the same system, which tend to be less selective, less nationally well-known, and more focused on teaching.

This sometimes leads to state schools having a reputation among middle-class to affluent families with college educations as being less "aspirational" compared to selective private universities. (This doesn't apply to the flagship campuses, because they are more selective and thus more similar to elite private universities in terms of their reputations.) Kids from those families still apply to (and attend) state schools in large numbers, but the term that's often used for them is "safety schools" - they're the schools you apply to in case you don't get into the highly selective private schools who take 10% or less of their applicants.

Third, NYU versus UC Davis is actually a slightly odd fit for the "state school" versus "private university" comparison. NYU is not actually that selective: it takes in 13% of applicants, which makes it about the 40th most selective college in the U.S. That's surprisingly low down the totem pole, given that the annual cost of attending NYU would be around $84,000 for Lady Bird. (NYU actually has to be less selective than other private universities, because it has a fairly small endowment compared to the selective private universities, and is thus more reliant on tuition dollars for revenue.)

However, Lady Bird's conflict isn't so much about academics generally - it's more specific than that. Remember that Lady Bird/Greta Gerwig is a theater kid who wants a career in the performing arts. If you narrow your focus from which is the best university overall to which university has the best Film Studies program, NYU is the second-best film school in the country, and because it's right in NYC there's a direct pipeline to one of the main hubs of the film and tv industry.

At the same time, Lady Bird probably should have done a bit more research about California's public university system. Because of the legacy of the California Master Plan, there is a robust transfer system within California's public universities that allows students who are really on the grind to move their way up, so that you can potentially start at the least selective community colleges and end up graduating from the most selective flagship UC campuses. So Lady Bird could have easily gone straight from UC Davis to UCLA (because while UCLA takes in only ~11% of applicants, making it more selective than NYU, it takes in about 24% of transfers), which is also one of the best film schools in the country with a direct pipeline to Hollywood, and it doesn't cost $84,000 a year.

(Ironically, Greta Gerwig herself didn't actually end up going to film school - she ended up going to Barnard which isn't particularly known for film, ended up going into English Lit because she was intending to be a playwright, before becoming a breakout actor in the indie film world, and then zig-zagging from there into directing and back into writing.)

#academia #public policy #higher education #lady bird #greta gerwig #film school

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vintagerpg · 7 months

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It’s funny, I love a masquerade party adventure, but when I saw Acting Up in Lankhmar (2018) centered on a stage play, I felt my skepticism rise. That it was written by Michael Curtis made me settle down some, but still.

The premise is simple: low rent theater troupe performs a play that skewers piggish nobleman, piggish nobleman responds in a way that confirms his piggishness and necessitates the troupe’s hiring of the PCs as guards. There is a little bit of lower classes being on to the bullshit of the upper classes theming, but this mostly feels like a slightly reserved Marx Brothers film, only with swords and black magic.

The show must go on, of course, despite several attempt by the Duke to derail it. There is also one non-Duke related issue — a pair of thieves sneaking in to make off with the ticket revenue. They make the cover (by William McAusland), but they’re the one problem I would cut — they just seem like one problem too many. One of the Duke’s schemes requires a pair of PCs to step on stage for a spell (which, I admit, is probably a hoot, and the book has the play’s script for them to work from). There’s also a little mechanic for keeping track of the audience mood, which I like (DCC has an enthusiasm for trackers like this that I appreciate). The Duke’s final, deadly salvo seems a bit too…deadly, though. I expect it can be staged so that the PCs are on top of things, but if they are taken unawares, there is an extremely high likelihood of bystander casualties, which puts a damper on the farce. I’d want to work hard to make sure that didn’t happen — the idea of nobility spending the lives of the lower classes in a fit of pique seems to be exactly the opposite of the intended ending.

#roleplaying game #tabletop rpg #dungeons & dragons #rpg #d&d #ttrpg #Goodman Games #Dungeon Crawl Classics #Lankhmar #Acting Up in Lankhmar

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cloama · 8 months

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As I watch the strike and the last 8 months of movie releases, I wholeheartedly allege that Hollywood is money laundering.

I've only seen one big movie this year. I had no idea there were at least 10 different half a billion dollar flops this year.

The movies' costs are astronomical and no one makes any of their money back. Any average finance guy knows there aren't enough people in the world to support the release of 10 blockbusters back to back. There aren't enough movie theaters customers to make the money back. It's some simple ass math.

I think they're doing this on purpose. I think most execs have a gambling issue and gamble via their job.

Yes, you can make 20 reboots and sequels in a year but they need to be cheap. How did it go from quick cash grab to legit $500,000,000 gamble???? These billion dollar movies have to be a grift.

I also allege that streaming is not making money and they're cooking their books to make it look profitable. Now that writers want a piece of the pie (the pie that the studios claim is definitely real), they are terrified bc they'll have to admit that they lied and there's no goddamn revenue.

An audit is needed because I would love to learn how all this works. My regular regular brain knows when someone is skimming. I know when someone is being against themselves. There people have been making movies for decades. No way they thought we all had enough money to go see all these reboots and sequels.

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dalliansss · 19 days

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If you’re up to it, Caranthir and the prompt “I tried to help you once, against my own advice.”

madilyn bailey: wiser album … sentence starters

The bankers' guild of Tirion sent representatives to Finwe's council every week or every month; oftener if things are urgent in Valinor, and they almost never are. But today is a send-a-representative day, and this is how Morifinwe Carnistir finds himself sitting by the long table in Finwe's council room, by the middle section. His eldest brother Maitimo is surprised to see them there, and Maitimo wastes no time circling the massive table and engulfing him in a hug, which Moryo returns.

"Good morrow, hanno, it is nice to see you here," Maitimo greets, pulling back just enough so he can briefly press their foreheads. The gesture, reserved for childhood, has never been seen as such in Feanaro's household. And all of his sons delighted in this small tokens of appreciation, grown elves they are all.

"Good morrow," Moryo returns. He grasps his brother by his forearm and surveys him. Beautifully imposing as always; Nelyo has his red hair styled in Noldorin braids, yet sans his copper circlet. His robes are a deep forest green trimmed gold on a backdrop of off-white Telerin silk for his inner layers, embroidered with a paler gold for contrast. His boots are perfectly polished. Mm. Crisp and everything princely, as it should be for these councils. "Beautiful robe and tunic, hanno, who made it?"

"You, of course," Nelyo laughs.

The rest of the council arrives. Lords mill about and greet each other, Moryo sparing everybody worth his attention with a bow. At once, some of the elves around begin shifting nervously seeing him there and his ledgers. His cousins arrive as well: Findekano and Findarato, who greet him in varying degrees of cheer. These two, Moryo also spares with a curt nod.

Finwe is the last to arrive, waddling into the council in Vanyarin clothes today. Moryo purses his lips and stands with everybody else, and the long morning of council begins. He is here of course to report on Tirion's economic standing so far, and if certain projects submitted the months passed could be funded. Of course, as one of the main signatories for any treasury warrant of the Noldor, Moryo has a say which projects can be funded or not. He approves funding for those urgently needed. The more frivolous, relegated to the whims of lords like Ninimben and Thilior, are rejected. Moryo knows he has long made enemies of the two older elves, but he doesn't care. They are not of Feanaro's people, but Arafinwe's.

It is a long, tiring morning. They end about an hour past the midday meal, and Laurelin has abandoned her zenith to begin her soft waning in preparation for the Mingling. Moryo gathers his ledgers, spares a greeting for Finwe as he passes, and endures his grandfather's pinching of his ruddy cheeks; valiantly bearing Finwe's perpetual complaints of 'he should eat more'.

Nelyo went on ahead with Findekano and Findarato. Moryo is the last to leave the council room, and he descends the steps leading to the palace and finds himself waylaid by Makalaure his second oldest brother, of all people.

Long story short (and because he can read the harrassed thoughts wafting from Makalaure), his brother needs money to fund the costumes for his next opera at the Telerin stage, due in two months.

Moryo frowns. Makalaure (and Curufinwe) have grown up with the terrible notion that debts should not be repaid, especially if they borrow from family. Much less their own brother. If Makalaure coursed this through the budget, it would have been an instant rejection, for him. The theater can recycle costumes. And don't they earn revenue from each show, each elf that watches?

“I tried to help you once, against my own advice," says Moryo after a long silence. "Twenty thousand crowns you owe, and I have yet to see a single coin returned to me."

Makalaure tantrums. Wheedles. Pleads his case. Moryo wouldn't let his brother the greatest musician of the Noldor fail a project, would he? Have pity on his students! His apprentices! His entire music class, whose final project for the semester this show is. They just need costumes!

"If it is your students who need costumes," says Moryo. "Then they can buy them themselves, or make them. For those who have not yet attained Majority, then solicit their parents for the funds. I am not going to let you borrow from me, not until you pay back all that you owe first. You have been given all the extensions for each debt. If you doubt my records, come see me at the bankers' guild. I am there every Isilya, Alduya and Menelya. Business hours only."

He continues walking. Makalaure puffs up his cheeks, determined to continue the harrassment, and waddles after him. Moryo shutters his mind against the relentless beating of his brother's thoughts against his mind.

This will indeed be a very long day. Sigh.

#silmarillion #my drabs #caranthir #morifinwe #carnistir #maglor #makalaure #kanafinwe

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