Ronald.phillips

Al Pacino's boisterous performance as the ambitious, hotheaded, American Dream usurper Tony Montana is undoubtedly the heart of Brian De Palma's operatic gangster film "Scarface." But he tends to overshadow Michelle Pfeiffer's fine performance as Tony's wife, Elvira Hancock, an equally compelling character despite her limited screen time. Although they had chemistry, Pacino didn't initially want Pfeiffer to play the role.  

"Look, my last credit before that was 'Grease 2,' can you blame him?" Pfeiffer quipped in a 2017 "Tonight Show" interview with Jimmy Fallon. The audition process for the role of Elvira was lengthy and intense, taking several months and involving different callbacks. At the time, Pfeiffer was a young aspiring actress overcome with nerves. She was surprised to be asked to do a screen test after previously being told she wasn't good for the part. She told Jimmy Fallon: 

 "I kind of drag myself, and I have, you know, just no feeling at all that I have any shot at getting this. So it kind of freed me up, you know, and sort of, I wasn't afraid."

Having no inhibitions allowed Pfeiffer to make creative choices in her audition with Al Pacino. She was completely in the moment during their feuding marriage scene, breaking dishes and throwing them around, causing one of the shards to cut Pacino's hand. Pfeiffer told Fallon she was horrified: "I saw the blood on the floor, I thought it was my blood, but no, I'd cut this big movie star!"

"Scarface" producer Martin Bregman and director De Palma thought she was "sensational" early in the audition process, but Pacino had reservations. "He was concerned that she didn't look right. She didn't fit the image of Elvira he had in his mind. But he was dead wrong," Bregman wrote in "Scarface Nation: The Ultimate Gangster Movie and How It Changed America." Apparently Pacino was picturing Glenn Close, who Bregman did not think fit the role. Pfeiffer certainly looks the part of a trophy wife, but she brings a lot of layers to the role.

Pfeiffer Brings Depth To An Objectified Role

In 2018, during a Q&A at the Tribeca Film Festival 35th anniversary screening of "Scarface," the moderator asked Michelle Pfeiffer, "As the father of a daughter, I am concerned with body image. In the preparation for this film, what did you weigh?" While Pfeiffer did lose weight for the role to portray Elvira's growing cocaine dependence, this crass inquiry is just another example of how female performances are constantly reduced to their looks. There is much more to Pfeiffer's performance than her slender body and perfectly manicured looks.

Pfeiffer portrays Elvira as an ice princess who armors herself with dry humor. Her apathetic exterior hides a wounded young woman trying to survive in a man's world. Elvira is a personification of Tony's American Dream — a blonde, thin dream doll to have on his arm. "She is a tiger. She'll belong to me," Tony declares, and he claims her just like the tiger he chains to his estate. Elvira is only valued for her appearance and the sense of power she gives men. 

In "Scarface Nation," Pfeiffer reflects on playing a character confined by misogyny: 

"Sometimes, though, by playing an object you can actually say more about objectifying women than if you play somebody of strength. She was a hood ornament, like another Rolls-Royce or something, for both of the men that she was with. I felt that by playing something that mirrors someone's life in that way, I could make a kind of feminist statement."

Channeling Her Own Kind Of Power

Not all female characters have to be pillars of strength in order to be feminist. Elvira is not passive; she actively combats her objectification by openly joking about her drug lord boyfriend's assassination and standing up to Tony's prodding about her sex life. "I'm not your baby. Don't call me baby," she snaps at him. Elvira is not afraid to make the cocksure men around her feel small, exposing their chauvinism and penchant for aggressive violence as the playacting of little boys. But in Michelle Pfeiffer's wide and haunted eyes, she exquisitely conveys the hidden vulnerabilities beneath Elvira's aloof exterior.

Pfeiffer skillfully traces Elvira's devastating downward spiral. Increasingly dependent on cocaine and trapped in a miserable marriage, Elvira becomes a vacant-eyed, hollow shell of her former self. When she finally gains the strength to leave Tony, we can only hope she finds independence and does not become another object for a man to exploit. It's a credit to Pfeiffer's steely performance that the character of Elvira is not merely seen as eye candy, but someone with a depth of feeling.

Read this next: The 20 Best Heist Movies Of All Time

The post Michelle Pfeiffer Proved Al Pacino Wrong With Her Scarface Performance appeared first on /Film.

"The Lighthouse" and "The Northman" filmmaker Robert Eggers broke out with "The Witch," a movie most directors would love to have on their resume, especially as their feature-length debut. It's also a film that Eggers admits he really doesn't like to watch now, in the same way that creative folk in any field tend to be extra hard on their earlier work.

Released in 2016, "The Witch" centers on a 17th-century Puritan family who find themselves in the crosshairs of a baby-napping witch and other dark forces upon being banished from their New England colony. It's an eerie, atmospheric folk-horror film that snagged Eggers a directing award at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival and was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize. It would go on to become a box office hit and a critical darling, though audiences were harder on the movie after A24's bait-and-switch trailer marketing left them expecting a very different horror-thriller than the one they got.

Eggers and "The Witch" star Anya Taylor-Joy have since reunited for "The Northman," a Viking revenge epic loosely based on the ancient Norse legend that is said to have inspired "Hamlet." It's a much bigger movie than Eggers' first two outings as a director, with a price tag coming in at a rumored $90 million (as opposed to $4 million for "The Witch") and a general vibe that recalls 1982's "Conan the Barbarian." John Milius' pulpy fantasy-adventure is even cited as one of Eggers' childhood favorites in an interview he gave to The Guardian to promote his Nordic thriller.

Eggers Wasn't Able To Get 'What Was In My Brain On To The Screen'

Reflecting on his past also gave Eggers a chance to talk about "The Witch" and explain why he doesn't look back fondly on his "New England Folktale" (as the film is subtitled):

"Honestly, I can't stand watching 'The Witch' now. It's not that it's bad, and the performances are great, but I was not skilled enough as a filmmaker to get what was in my brain on to the screen. In 'The Lighthouse,' I was able to do that. And 'The Northman,' I'm proud of the movie, but not everything is quite what I hoped it would be. So I would like to do something with the scope and scale that I can actually get what's in my imagination on to the screen."

As someone in a creative field, I empathize with Eggers' inclination to be hard on himself, especially when it comes to his feature debut. Like so many movies by first-time directors (Eggers' short films aside), "The Witch" wears its influences on its sleeves, from Stanley Kubrick's chilling movie adaptation of "The Shining" to Ingmar Bergman's equally-distressing drama "Cries and Whispers." It's also radical but messy in the way it criticizes the Puritan society at the heart of its story and tries to portray its witches and their creepy practices as a startling yet enticing and even preferable alternative lifestyle.

Flaws aside, however, "The Witch" is absolutely worth your time if you've never watched it before and has only gotten better in my memory since the first time I saw it (Eggers' feelings on the matter aside). With positive reactions already coming in for "The Northman" ahead of its arrival in theaters, now's as good a time as any for those who're so inclined to either seek out or revisit Eggers' bewitching (sorry, couldn't resist) horror feature debut.

"The Northman" storms into theaters on April 22, 2022.

Read this next: Every Ridley Scott Movie Ranked From Worst To Best

The post Robert Eggers 'Can't Stand' His Breakout Film The Witch Now appeared first on /Film.

Twitter (NYSE:TWTR), one of the largest social media companies on the planet, is now ripe to become a part of Elon Musk's growing business empire, as per the trend gleaned from the latest developments.

As a refresher, the CEO of Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA), Elon Musk, had commissioned an online poll on the 25th of March, asking respondents to convey their opinion on whether "Twitter rigorously adheres" to the principles of free speech. Over 70 percent of the respondents expressed a negative opinion in that poll. Interestingly, as per a filing with the SEC, Musk had already acquired a 9.2 percent passive stake in Twitter before commissioning his online poll.

This move unleashed a fierce wave of speculation, with Wall Street analysts chiming in as well. For instance, as we had noted in a dedicated post last week, Gordon Haskett's head of event-driven research, Don Bilson, highlighted the fact that Elon Musk had sought assistance from Goldman Sachs and Silver Lake back in 2018 when he was mulling over the idea of taking Tesla private. Bilson laid emphasis on this connection between Silver Lake and Twitter to theorize that Musk might take the social media giant private:

"Keep in mind that Silver Lake's Egon Durban is a TWTR director. That connection seems relevant today, and we don't think anyone should sleep on the idea that Musk and Silver Lake might take TWTR private."

Bilson had then added:

"[This passive stake in Twitter is] sort of a Ryan Cohen move on steroids."

Amid this speculative fervor, the CEO of Twitter, Parag Agrawal, had offered Musk a seat on Twitter's board.

I’m excited to share that we’re appointing @elonmusk to our board! Through conversations with Elon in recent weeks, it became clear to us that he would bring great value to our Board.

— Parag Agrawal (@paraga) April 5, 2022

For his part, Musk remained non-committal, tweeting only his intention to work "with Parag & Twitter board to make significant improvements to Twitter in coming months".

Looking forward to working with Parag & Twitter board to make significant improvements to Twitter in coming months!

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 5, 2022

As per a filing with the SEC, the seat on Twitter's board came with stringent conditions:

"For so long as Mr. Musk is serving on the Board and for 90 days thereafter, Mr. Musk will not, either alone or as a member of a group, become the beneficial owner of more than 14.9% of the Company's common stock outstanding at such time, including for these purposes economic exposure through derivative securities, swaps, or hedging transactions."

This brings us to the crux of the matter. Mr. Agrawal has just confirmed that Musk will not be taking a seat on Twitter's board after all:

Elon has decided not to join our board. I sent a brief note to the company, sharing with you all here. pic.twitter.com/lfrXACavvk

— Parag Agrawal (@paraga) April 11, 2022

While we do not know the exact reason behind this development, it does pave the way now for Musk to acquire a much heftier stake in Twitter beyond the 14.9 percent ownership limit that had been imposed as part of the board membership agreement. Ultimately, given Musk's vocal criticism of Twitter's censorship policies, the CEO of Tesla might completely take over the company, potentially fulfilling Don Bilson's prediction.

The post Elon Musk Refuses To Become a Member of Twitter’s Board, Potentially Paving the Way for a Complete Takeover by Rohail Saleem appeared first on Wccftech.

One of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time native PC ports now supports 60 FPS gameplay, as showcased by a new video shared online.

This port, called Open Ocarina, now features an experimental mode that supports 60 FPS gameplay. Despite still being experimental, and with a few bugs here and there, it already seems to work nicely, judging from the video shared by zel on Youtube.

Today I decided to test out the experimental 60fps mode that is being worked on in the OpenOcarina port of Ocarina of Time. The Ship of Harkinian port does not seem to support 60fps at all yet, so I could not test it for that port. So far, although buggy, it does work quite well. I also tested the HD texture pack feature at the end of the video, however, the pack I tested here is older and does not fully work.

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time Open Ocarina native PC port can be downloaded from GitHub. The repository does not feature any of the assets necessary to build the ROM for obvious reasons, so it requires a prior copy of the game.

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time was originally released on Nintendo 64 before getting ported to different Nintendo systems and getting finally remade for the Nintendo 3DS.

In this game, Link sets off on a legendary journey through time to stop Ganondorf, the Gerudo King of Thieves who is seeking the Triforce, a holy relic that gives its holder ultimate power. The graphical upgrades and three-dimensional depth breathe new life into the expansive world of Hyrule. An improved and intuitive interface, coupled with the easier navigation offered by playing in a world with 3D visuals, give players better control as they solve puzzles, travel through time and explore this immersive world.

The post The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time Open Ocarina PC Port Now Supports 60 FPS Gameplay by Francesco De Meo appeared first on Wccftech.

The "Doctor Who" 2005 reboot revitalized the sci-fi series, instilling modern audiences with a love for the legendary time traveler and his many adventures. But when the original series arrived on the BBC in 1963, it was a phenomenon unlike anything seen on television before. William Hartnell was the first actor to introduce the quirks and idiosyncrasies we've come to associate with the Doctor; he might have appeared as a frail, older man, but in reality, the First Doctor was more than capable — he played dangerous games with the Celestial Toymaker, persuaded a Roman emperor to burn down his own city, and gave the Daleks a run for their money.

Not much is known about the show's early run because the BBC lost several "Doctor Who" episodes over the years; what we do know is that the sci-fi series wasn't always going to be a fun time-traveling adventure. It was going to get dark ... like really, really dark.

The Doctor Was A "Senile, Old Man"

"Doctor Who" was first conceived as an educational family program with teachers as protagonists who would narrate stories based on historical events. It was one of the many original ideas that were eventually put on the back-burner, but not the worst one of them all. The Doctor wasn't always written as a charming time lord with a penchant for adventures and a knack for defying aliens. The opening story saw him as an old man wandering in a foggy street, an "amnesiac" who didn't remember his name.

After writer and playwright C.E. Webber presented his "Doctor Who" pitch, featuring adults who were "experts" and a secretive, fourth man, Canadian producer Sydney Newman (who played a pioneering role in British television at the time) decided he wanted Webber's undeveloped, mysterious character to play the most prominent part in the show.

Newman reworked the extensive cast of characters, eliminating Webber's description (via Doctor Who: A History by Alan Kistler) for the "experts," so the series could incorporate dialogue that explained the show's science fiction-based plot in a speech accessible to children. Newman then developed the show's characters, likening them to "ordinary people to whom extraordinary things happen." The group included Biddy, a 15-year-old girl; Lola, a 24-year-old mistress at Biddy's school; and, Cliff, a master at the school. The mysterious fourth character was called "Dr. Who" and was "a senile old man" and an alien scientist between 720 to 760 years of age.

Newman continued developing Dr. Who as a mature character who had escaped a faraway planet in a spaceship he didn't know how to operate. The spaceship in question was also a time machine that the characters would use for their adventures. The concept that the ship would be "bigger on the inside" was suggested by Newman! 

C.E. Webber Penned A New Pitch

A new pitch from C.E. Webber explained that Dr. Who was an experienced time-traveler who had been the inspiration of "many myths and fairy tales on Earth." The character was at the show's center, searching for something he could not describe. He was also "capable of sudden malignance" and possessed a hatred for scientists and inventors — he endeavored to "stop progress (the future) wherever he finds it while searching for his ideal (the past)."

Sydney Newman wasn't a fan of the idea — he didn't want the Doctor to be so conservative. A hand-written note from Newman critiquing the character's development reads: "Don't like this at all. Dr. Who will become a kind of father figure -- I don't want him to be a reactionary."

The program's pitch was altered repeatedly — every new version slowly formed the Doctor into the character we know him today. Newman — along with Donald Wilson, C.E. Webber, writer Anthony Coburn, editor David Whitaker, and producer Verity Lambert, heavily contributed to the sci-fi show's development during its early stages. Their efforts paved the way for "Doctor Who" to transform into the phenomenon it became while setting up a fanbase that dedicatedly watches the show's reboot even 50 years after it was first released. Who knows how dark "Doctor Who" would have been if it wasn't for their input!

Read this next: The 15 Worst Sci-Fi Movies Of The 21st Century (So Far)

The post Doctor Who Could Have Been A Much Darker Sci-Fi Show appeared first on /Film.

The line, "So say we all" is a classic part of the reimagined "Battlestar Galactica" series. The show, which was based on the 1978 television series, aired on SYFY (then the Sci-Fi Channel) beginning with the two-part miniseries in 2003, followed by four seasons starting in 2004. It spawned the under-appreciated prequel series "Caprica" in 2010, and a spinoff called "Battlestar Galactica: Blood & Chrome" which was first released as a web series in 2012, then as a television movie on the channel in 2013. 

There are no aliens in this show. The bad guys (and that is debatable) are the cylons: AI developed by humans who destroy the Twelve Colonies with nuclear bombs. The few survivors head off in ships to find the fabled Thirteenth Colony where they can start over. These humans try to use as little digital technology as possible (despite the spaceships) to keep the cylons from finding them, but some of those cylons are on the ships in disguise as humans. The non-cylon humans are led by William Adama, commanding officer of Battlestar Galactica, played by Edward James Olmos. One moment of improv from him not only brought audiences to tears in a time shortly after the attacks of 9/11, but gave the series its most memorable line.

'So Say We All'

At the Battlestar Galactica Exhibit in Seattle in 2010 (via YouTube user grimley1977), Olmos spoke to the crowd about the first time the words, "So say we all" were uttered in the mini-series. Olmos explained that this was the very first day of shooting, and after a few hours of scenes with characters Gaius Baltar (James Callis) and the cylon Six (Tricia Helfer), they set up for a huge scene. This moment had hundreds of extras, and he explained that this was the first time they'd used the hanger set for the ship. He gives a speech to a devastated crowd who escaped the colonies and have no idea what to do next. They're mourning their loved ones and their homes, and as Olmos says, this was shortly after a rough time for America and the world at large:

"[W]e had just finished going through 9/11, and it was really not a healthy time. And so to be going into this world, this way, we're all kind of trying to get our footing. And our footing, it was really -- nobody knew each other, so we're all kind of very depressed that we've been standing around for a couple hours waiting to do this scene."

'We Will Find Earth'

The group hadn't rehearsed yet, and Olmos didn't want to. He changed his blocking, standing in a different place, and had the crew move the cameras. He explained:

"I started to walk around, and it was so -- everybody was so depressed. That hope was just gone, and so the hope was gone. And that's when I did the big line. You know, so I walked around the dead bodies, and I came up to the front, I came up to everybody, and then I just said, you know, 'We will find Earth, I promise you we will find Earth. So say we all.' And nobody said nothing. [...] It really united everyone in a way.  

[...] It would become a very, very strong single moment of hope, and that's what we knew right from the very first day -- that the show was going to be something that we would never be able to understand."

That moment was incredible to watch. There is something about watching someone good and strong taking command after something devastating that speaks to us. It did then and having rewatched the scene, it does now. Maybe more so. It was a moment that defined the series and the sense of hope that it carried. 

A Very Real Moment

Even creator Ronald D. Moore is quoted talking about the intensity of that moment of improv in the book "So Say We All: The Complete, Uncensored, Unauthorized Oral History of Battlestar Galactica":

"I had written it ['So say we all'] into the script as just a line, but in the moment on the set, when Eddie said "So say we all" to the cast, he thought that they didn't give him very much back. So he said it again. You can see it in the take; they all kind of glance at each other and go, 'So say we all.' And then he insists. He says it louder and he just pushed them and pushed them until it became this big thing on the soundstage. But it was just something Eddie came up with on his own in the moment, and then it became a signature line in the series after that. That was a big thing."

The moment is so moving, so full of the first spark of hope for devastated people. Perhaps it's time for a rewatch of the series? It's currently streaming on Peacock. Do note that the miniseries is listed separately from the full series, and you should absolutely watch that first. 

Read this next: The 14 Best Sci-Fi Shows On Amazon Prime

The post A Brilliant Piece of Improv Produced Battlestar Galactica's Signature Line appeared first on /Film.

(Welcome to The Daily Stream, an ongoing series in which the /Film team shares what they've been watching, why it's worth checking out, and where you can stream it.)

The Movie: "Heat"

Where You Can Stream It: Pluto TV

The Pitch: An armored car robbery gone wrong puts a police lieutenant and a career thief on a collision course in Michael Mann's sprawling Los Angeles crime saga.

One of the early action beats in "Heat" sees a gang of crooks donning hockey masks like slasher villain Jason Voorhees as they literally knock over said armored car with a semi-truck. Character deaths in action movies are not so different from those in horror movies: they mean more when we've actually spent time getting to know the faces involved.

With a running time of 170 minutes, "Heat" is the consummate crime drama, a movie that brings two hours of character development into its famous bank robbery and street shootout so that it inspires more ripped-from-the-headlines terror when someone takes a bullet, or when a guy we've seen laugh with his family suddenly takes a kid hostage while his partners unload automatic rifles on the street in broad daylight. That sequence and the movie in general influenced Christopher Nolan's "The Dark Knight," which even utilized William Fichtner, one of the many great character actors in "Heat," for its opening scene.

The premiere of "Tokyo Vice" this week has brought the first new directorial work from Mann since he helmed "Blackhat" in 2015 and the pilot of HBO's "Luck" in 2011. It's a good excuse to go reaching back into his filmography, which begins with "Thief" and peaks with "Heat." This film was the centerpiece of an especially strong three-movie run that Mann had in the 1990s, starting with "The Last of the Mohicans" and culminating in "The Insider" and its multiple Oscar nominations.

Why It's Essential Viewing

In "Heat," Mann assembled an unparalleled cast for the ultimate game of cops and robbers. Shot entirely on location in L.A. (as opposed to some studio backlot there), the movie distinguishes itself from other run-of-the-mill crime flicks through its scope and attention to character drama. Mann's sweeping vision juxtaposes scenes of men on both sides of the law with their wives and personal lives outside the bursts of action and gunplay. Yet it does so in a way that feels rooted in real-life stories and not just cinema clichés.

Though the title leans warm, "Heat" is equal parts fire and ice, as embodied by Al Pacino and Robert De Niro, two acting legends who need no introduction. Their careers had long run parallel to each other, even once in the same mob-movie family. In "The Godfather Part II," their characters inhabited different time frames and never crossed paths, scene-wise. "Heat" put them "together again for the first time," as the saying goes. It let them finally trade dialogue in a historic matchup that also managed to juggle screen time for Val Kilmer and a massive ensemble with too many good actors to enumerate in full.

"Heat" is a true time capsule of '90s talent, with several other recognizable members of its Major Crimes Unit — Wes Studi, Ted Levine, and Mykelti Williamson — branching out to films from that era such as "Dances with Wolves," "The Silence of the Lambs," and "Forrest Gump." They're the good guys here, but as with other modern crime classics like "The French Connection," "Heat" shows the thin line between cop and criminal. There's more to it than simple white hats and black hats, per the aforementioned Mann film.

In "The Devil's Advocate," which followed two years after "Heat," Pacino went on record (as the Devil) to say, "I'm a fan of man!" He was talking about humankind, but let's just pretend he doubles as "a fan of Mann" and was encouraging the viewer to revisit "Heat."

Hanna And McCauley

Of the two lead performances in "Heat," Pacino's is the flashier one, in keeping with the tactics of a hotshot detective who wants to keep his informants on edge (along with the audience). Lieutenant Vincent Hanna bridges the gap between Pacino's upright, well-intentioned cop in "Serpico" and his older, wearier, more manifestly flawed detective in "Insomnia."

Hanna's wife, Justine, played by Diana Venora ("Romeo + Juliet"), observes that he "lives among the remains of dead people." He's watching his third marriage disintegrate due to his own neglect and obsession with chasing murderers. His stepdaughter, played by a young Natalie Portman, is caught in the middle, and she's just one of the many side characters who populate the snaking subplots of "Heat." Another is Breedan (Dennis Haysbert), a parolee stuck working an exploitative diner job, who gives a human face to the usual shoot-'em-up casualties when he agrees to be the getaway driver for the robbery.

1995 was maybe the last great year of Robert De Niro's career. "Casino" and "Heat" hit theaters within weeks of each other, and they teed up his transition from a leading man, whose name had become an event-level marquee draw in the 1970s, to more of an elder statesman who would fade to the background a bit in the comedy slums and in various supporting roles as fathers or grandfathers. De Niro would still appear in some good films after 1995, working with auteurs like Quentin Tarantino and David O. Russell, but his track record became much more uneven.

"Casino" marked the end of De Niro's initial eight-film collaboration with Martin Scorsese, who found a new muse with Leonardo DiCaprio in the 2000s and would not reunite with De Niro until almost a quarter-century later when they teamed with Pacino for "The Irishman." As Neil McCauley in "Heat," De Niro projects an aloof, business-like demeanor, similar to his buttoned-up, controlling casino manager, Ace Rothstein, in Scorsese's film. Like the actor himself, McCauley is a master of his trade, but that comes at the cost of human relationships.

Thirty Seconds Flat

The other members of McCauley's crew are capable of maintaining marriages, but they're also ruthless in their criminal efficiency and menacing to civilians, with Cheritto (Tom Sizemore) poking his head out from the diner booth, daring a guy who's bigger than him to challenge them as they cause a violent commotion. The title of "Heat" stems from a line of prison-yard sagacity that McCauley repeats:

"You want to be making moves on the street, have no attachments. Allow nothing to be in your life that you cannot walk out on in thirty seconds flat if you spot the heat around the corner."

Amy Brenneman's character, Eady, manages to penetrate McCauley's walled-off existence, and as they grow closer, he tells her, "I'm alone. I am not lonely." Intimate character moments like this, or the final wordless warning from Charlene (Ashley Judd) to her fugitive husband (Kilmer) have kept "Heat" memorable long after the hot streaks of some of the creative people behind it have cooled.

In "Collateral," another gripping Mann film set in L.A., Tom Cruise's steely hitman lamented that the city was "too sprawled out, disconnected." At times, the narrative of "Heat" mirrors this aspect of the city, but Mann keeps everything interconnected and shows how his characters and their micro-stories come together in a larger incident where not everyone will make it out alive.

Back in '95, "Heat" opened in third place behind "Jumanji" and "Toy Story." In the intervening years, the market for adult dramas or action thrillers that rely on performances and practical stunts over visual effects has shrunk even more. Usually, films of that nature now head straight to the streaming wild, to live or die based on the whims of algorithmic recommendations. It might be a trite observation, but they don't make enough movies like "Heat" anymore.

Read this next: The Daily Stream: Genre-Bending Series Dickinson Is Pure Imagination

The post The Daily Stream: In Heat, Michael Mann Explored the Spaces Between the Typical Crime Film Shootouts appeared first on /Film.

Mark Wahlberg is out promoting a new biopic, "Father Stu," in which he plays a boxer-turned-priest, and the 50-year-old actor and star of "The Fighter" seems to be taking a cue from his character as he talks up a possible career shift and his own impending retirement.

"Father Stu" co-stars Oscar nominee Jacki Weaver ("Animal Kingdom") and Mel Gibson, the latter of whom once made his own controversial foray into faith-based filmmaking with "The Passion of the Christ." Like Gibson, Wahlberg identifies as Catholic, and while speaking to Entertainment Tonight (via IndieWire), he pointed to "Father Stu" as a crossroads in his filmography. He talked about leaving the limelight "sooner rather than later" and said:

"I feel like this is starting a new chapter for me in that, now, doing things like this [with] real substance can help people. I definitely want to focus on making more. I wouldn't say necessarily just faith-based content but things that will help people. Hopefully this movie will open a door for not only myself but for lots of other people in Hollywood to make more meaningful content."

When he refers to "meaningful content" and things of "real substance" helping people, Wahlberg seems to be talking about films with a spiritual bent like "Father Stu" and inspirational movies in general, as opposed to the bloody Bayhem of "Pain and Gain" or escapist spectacles like the two "Transformers" movies in which he's appeared (also directed by Michael Bay). We haven't done much coverage of "Father Stu," but below, you can see the trailer, which speaks for itself as to what kind of movie it is.

'God Wanted A Fighter And He Found One'

As you can see from the trailer, "Father Stu" sees Wahlberg adopting a somewhat dodgy accent as he plays a character who goes from being a boxer to a butcher/barroom brawler/aspiring actor with a DUI, and finally, a priest, all in the span of three minutes. Somewhere in there, there's also his courtship of a Catholic woman, played by Teresa Ruiz, which precipitates his decision to get baptized. It's a lot to take in, but the film is based on the real-life story of Father Stuart Long, who underwent a conversion to Catholicism after a near-death experience, only to later be afflicted with a "progressive muscle disorder," as the trailer calls it, known as inclusion body myositis.

The tagline for "Father Stu" is, "God wanted a fighter and He found one." Sony Pictures is opening the film exclusively in theaters just before Easter, on April 13, 2022. The presence of Gibson, the use of Johnny Cash's music, and lines like, "You don't belong with those L.A. folks. They're a bunch of fascist hippies," all speak to a movie that is catering to a very specific target audience.

In the past, I've written about some of the issues hampering faith-based movies and have also done a deep dive into "The Passion of the Christ" here on /Film. As a onetime pre-seminarian, I'm not opposed to religious films in principle, but based on the trailer, "Father Stu" doesn't necessarily look like one that's going to break the mold.

Wahlberg's best movies — "Boogie Nights," "The Departed," and "The Fighter" — have all managed to be meaningful without being didactic, though obviously those were secular films. For some moviegoers, seeing Wahlberg smile for a mugshot, minister to prison inmates, and kneel in tearful prayer might be a hard sell, given his teen history of racially motivated assaults, which resurfaced in 2020 alongside Gibson's own troubled history. Yes, there were drugs and alcohol involved, and no one needs an armchair critic to cast stones or play moral arbiter, but the internet never forgets.

In the "Father Stu" trailer, Wahlberg's character says, "We've all been wronged. And we've done some wrong." Wanting to turn over a new leaf is an admirable aim, but whether Wahlberg's shift to faith-based content can provide meaningful inspiration beyond preaching to the choir remains to be seen.

Read this next: The 14 Greatest Biopics Of The 21st Century

The post Mark Wahlberg Might Be Retiring Soon After Shifting Towards 'More Meaningful Content' appeared first on /Film.

In March a 44-year-old librarian at Pennsylvania's Bucknell University saved a copy of a web site about a 16th century Ukrainian politician and patron of the arts. One month later, "the original website is lost," reports the Washington Post, "its server space likely gone to cyberattacks, power outages or Russian shelling." But thanks to that librarian, the site "remains intact on server space rented by an international group of librarians and archivists." Slashdot reader nickwinlund77 shared the Post's report: Buildings, bridges, and monuments aren't the only cultural landmarks vulnerable to war. With the violence well into its second month, the country's digital history — its poems, archives, and pictures — are at risk of being erased as cyberattacks and bombs erode the nation's servers. Over the past month, a motley group of more than 1,300 librarians, historians, teachers and young children have banded together to save Ukraine's Internet archives, using technology to back up everything from census data to children's poems and Ukrainian basket weaving techniques. The efforts, dubbed Saving Ukrainian Cultural Heritage Online (or SUCHO), have resulted in over 2,500 of the country's museums, libraries, and archives being preserved on servers they've rented, eliminating the risk they'll be lost forever. Now, an all-volunteer effort has become a lifeline for cultural officials in Ukraine, who are working with the group to digitize their collections in the event their facilities get destroyed in the war.... They banded together, and amid sleepless nights across multiple time-zones, they recruited, trained, and organized scores of volunteers wanting to help archive Ukraine's historical websites. Large parts of the Internet get periodically archived through the Internet Archive's Wayback Machine, which partners with the organization, but SUCHO's organizers also needed something more advanced, said Quinn Dombrowski, an academic technology specialist at Stanford University. In many cases, the Wayback Machine can dig into the first or second layer of a website, she added, but many documents, like pictures and uploaded files, on Ukraine's cultural websites could be seven or eight layers deep, inaccessible to traditional Web crawlers. To do that, they turned to a suite of open source digital archiving tools called Webrecorder, which have been around since the mid-2010s, and used by institutions including the United Kingdom's National Archive and the National Library of Australia... SUCHO's organizers receive tips from librarians and archivists across the world who may know of a rare museum in Ukraine that needs to have its work backed up. Other volunteers have become sleuths, using Google Maps to take a digital walk down Ukrainian streets, looking for any signs that might say "museum" or "library" and trying to find out if it has a website that needs archiving. In other cases, when a shelling happens somewhere, a group of volunteers dedicated to "situation monitoring" alerts any volunteers that might be awake to look for institution websites in that region that need backing up, for fear they could go offline any minute. Or, as that Bucknell librarian told the Post, "We're trying to save as much as possible."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Changes:

• Fixed some levels failing to load (bug #1615)
• Fixed parsing of numeric script command parameters with a non-numeric suffix or + prefix (bug #1616) This broke the `setequip` script command with percentage value buffs, causing many rings to have no effect. This bug may also have had other unintended consequences in scripts some of which may be persisted in save files created by previous AL 1.3 snapshots.
• Updated SDL to version 2.0.20
• Linux: SDL is now built with timer support to fix performance issues in fullscreen mode
• Linux: SDL is now built with IBus and fcitx input method support

This week we start off completely derailed talking about getting old and working out, before we get into Ghostwire Tokyo and its spirit fingers, the ways Weird West makes it hard to love it, some thoughts on how Elden Ring ends, and also find some time to argue about Star Trek.  This week's music:  Banks - Deadend 

Half-Life: Enriched Version alpha 0.3. HL:Enriched is a HL mod that strives to polish and improve the Half-Life experience within the original engine limits.This build contains the following chapters: 0: Black Mesa Inbound 1: Anomalous Materials 2: Unforseen Consequences 3: Office Complex 4: We've got Hostiles 5: Blast Pit

This package contains the client.dll and hl.dll files to make the current version of the MOD work with legacy Half-Life for Windows 95/98.

(Welcome to The Daily Stream, an ongoing series in which the /Film team shares what they've been watching, why it's worth checking out, and where you can stream it.)

The Series: "Dickinson"

Where You Can Stream It: Apple TV+

The Pitch: Young, moody poet Emily Dickinson (Hailee Steinfeld) seeks a life of total creative freedom, and freedom from the social restrictions of the 1800s, in this anachronistic, genre-bending series. Steinfeld plays Dickinson as a deeply impassioned, sometimes insufferable woman who, along with her increasingly zany sister Lavinia (Anna Baryshnikov) is both indulged and oppressed by her parents (Jane Krakowski and Toby Huss). She's also in love with her best friend, Sue (Ella Hunt), who is set to marry her brother, Austin (Adrian Blake Enscoe).

Although the titular poet spent most of her life in Amherst, Massachusets, "Dickinson" is anything but settled. It's part deeply funny satire, part heartfelt romance, part ode to the great imaginations of the world. It has a social justice bent, just like its compassionate yet sometimes impractical lead. It's also so much weirder than any promos you've seen might indicate: Wiz Khalifa plays the embodiment of Death, there's a giant hallucinatory bee voiced by Jason Mantzoukas, and a revolving cast of 19th century writers appear in the form of hilarious guest stars (think John Mulaney as a scraggly-bearded poser version of Henry David Thoreau).

Why It's Essential Viewing

"Dickinson" executes its surprisingly high-concept premise on all levels, succeeding as a drama, comedy, romance, surreal fantasy, and coming-of-age story. Its excellence can be sliced into even thinner sub-categories, too: It's great as a tender sapphic romance, as a series of rewarding in-jokes for former English majors, and as an extended meditation on the painful work of crafting a legacy. The series never goes for the cheap take on anything, from proto-feminism to the abolition movement to mental illness. Instead, it examines all sides of its setting and themes with a bright curiosity that matches its protagonist's ever-expanding views of the world.

The show only ran for three quick seasons, but showrunner Alena Smith's complex, fully realized vision remained unwavering throughout its brief tenure. "Dickinson" is, first and foremost, a resetting of the record about a woman who seems to have been historically misunderstood. A love letter to excitable introverts, it presents Emily as a strong-willed, ultimately fulfilled creative force who made a major impact on her community, rather than the shy, lonely woman history sometimes remembers her as.

"Dickinson" may initially seem like it's playing fast and loose with history -- one of its best moments features characters getting low to Carnage's "I Like Tuh," after all -- but it's clearly made by history and literature geeks. The Dickinson Extended Literary Universe includes not only Mulaney's Thoreau, but also bellowing, deathbed-obsessed Walt Whitman (Billy Eichner), ruthlessly capitalist Louisa May Alcott (Zosia Mamet), proud polyglot Sojourner Truth (Ziwe), and many more familiar faces. The show is at once slyly critical of the public artist persona, and endlessly reverent about the actual act of making art.

It's also Steinfeld's best work to date. As Emily, she can be daydreamy, stubborn, inspired, anxious, giddy, and more, but no matter how she feels, she's utterly endearing. The series is a showcase for all its actors, letting Krakowski drop screamingly funny lines into otherwise serious scenes and giving Baryshnikov a chance to get totally weird as the Dickinson family's true eccentric. When Hunt and Steinfeld share scenes, the series transforms into a love story so powerful it eclipses everything else entirely. If "Dickinson" is about the limitlessness of imagination, its grounding force is a love that flourishes in a private world of one's own creation.

Read this next: The Daily Stream: Experience The Glory Of Hard Ticket To Hawaii

The post The Daily Stream: Genre-Bending Series Dickinson is Pure Imagination appeared first on /Film.

Sonic sped past the competition this Friday, beating out Michael Bay's "Ambulance," Sony's "Morbius," and adventure rom-com "The Lost City" for the weekend box office crown. According to The Hollywood Reporter, "Sonic The Hedgehog 2" is projected to make $67-$69 million by the end of its opening weekend.

The immediate success of the "Sonic" sequel is a hopeful indicator for an otherwise sluggish box office. Bay's bank robbery thriller "Ambulance" trails in fourth place, and only drew in $3.2 million on Friday. Meanwhile "Morbius," the weekend's second top earner, saw a roughly 70% drop since opening last weekend.

Gotta Go Fast (To The Movies)

"Morbius" may be dead on arrival, but it sounds like Jim Carrey, James Marsden, and a couple of superpowered CGI critters are keeping the box office alive. The "Sonic the Hedgehog" sequel drew in families and longtime fans alike with the promised introduction of Idris Elba's Knuckles the echidna, who joins the fray as Sonic's (Ben Schwartz) rival. The movie is also the only place comedy fans can see Carrey in wacky, scenery-chewing action, as the actor is considering retirement.

Whatever the driving force, "Sonic" is having a great weekend. In fact, the sequel is already on track to break its predecessor's record. "Sonic the Hedgehog" dropped in theaters in 2020, right before the COVID-19 lockdown shut down movie theaters for months. Despite its precarious timing, the film made $58 million on its opening weekend, and went on to break the domestic box office record as the highest-grossing video game of all time. "Sonic the Hedgehog 2" is already outpacing the original, with $26.5 million in earnings by Friday alone.

The box office big picture looks a little more bleak when we turn to everything else in theaters. "Morbius" has been panned by critics, and a lack of positive word-of-mouth has kept typically loyal superhero movie audiences from checking it out en masse.

"Ambulance," starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, is a thriller molded around an ambulance chase through LA. "For all its flaws, it never lets up," /Film critic Chris Evangelista says in his positive review of the latest from "Transformers" filmmaker Bay. Unfortunately, audiences don't seem to be along for the ride. With a budget of $40 million, "Ambulance" doesn't have to go far to end up in the black, but its sluggish start isn't a good sign and its projected weekend domestic haul is around $8.1 million.

Luckily, "Ambulance" isn't the only adult, non-franchise fare available this weekend. Sandra Bullock and Channing Tatum-led adventure comedy "The Lost City" remains in third place after earning a better-than-expected $31 million its first weekend. Critically adored mind-bender "Everything Everywhere All At Once" will also go wide this weekend, giving more viewers a chance to lay eyes on the film that our own Jacob Hall gave a rare 10/10 score.

Read this next: Sci-Fi Box Office Bombs That Deserve A Second Chance

The post Sonic the Hedgehog 2 Beats Ambulance to All the Gold Rings in Opening Weekend appeared first on /Film.

[link] [98 comments]

When we first learned about plants in school, they seemed so straightforward: Make sure they have the right amounts of soil, sunlight, and water, and they’ll grow. Then we learned that it’s a little more complicated than that, and many different factors determine whether and how well a plant will grow.

Read more...

Space Exploration Technologies Corporation's (SpaceX) Starlink satellite internet constellation suffered from a global outage earlier today. Starlink uses low Earth orbit (LEO) internet satellites to deliver internet coverage to its users, and the service has managed to expand its presence to countries outside the United States in a short time period. Earlier today, several Starlink users on the social media platform Reddit reported that the service stopped working for them. These reports, according to the users themselves, came from all over the globe, with the outage seemingly brief and being over in less than half an hour.

Starlink Users From U.S., U.K., New Zealand, Canada and Other Countries Report Brief Service Outage

The reported outage took place roughly four hours back, in the early morning Eastern Time. It is uncertain whether it was planned or unplanned, but the timing would suggest the former, given that it took place at a time when most users at least in the U.S. Eastern seaboard would likely be asleep.

As per the details, shared on two Reddit threads, the disruption resulted in the Starlink terminals being stuck and unable to connect with the orbiting satellites. Additionally, SpaceX seemed to be aware of the problems, with users reporting that the Starlink application promised to resolve the situation as soon as possible.

According to comments made on the main thread, users affected by the outage covered several countries. These include the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Belgium and Portugal. Additionally, several American states including Colorado and Washington were also affected by the disruption.

However, the outage was short lived as most users were also quick to report that services had resumed soon after the user terminals were unable to connect to the satellites. While some of them outlined that a quick of simply restarting the terminal did the trick for them, the bulk of reports outlined a roughly thirty minute disruption.

Through a rapid launch cadence courtesy of the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, Starlink has quickly managed to deploy nearly two thousand satellites into orbit. This has enabled it to establish a global presence within a short time period after it started accepting preorders and making deliveries to its users. Even as the internet service caters to hundreds of thousands of users globally, its pre-order backlog is higher, with SpaceX being constrained from making user terminal and equipment deliveries due to a myriad of reasons.

However, despite being the only LEO satellite internet constellation operator in the world, Starlink plans to rapidly scale up its constellation within the next couple of years. On this front, it intends to use SpaceX's Starship next generation rocket. Starship is much larger than the Falcon 9, and if Starlink is able to launch its satellites with it, then it will place several Falcon 9 launches worth of spacecraft in orbit with just one go.

This plan, currently being debated at the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), comes just in time as a potential rival plans to establish a quick launch cadence of its own. Amazon's satellite internet arm Kuiper announced its plans for 83 launches over the next couple of years with rockets larger than the Falcon 9. The announcement is crucial since it marks the company's confidence in its satellite manufacturing capabilities. SpaceX, on the other hand, is currently waiting for the Federal Aviation Agency's (FAA) approval for its Starship launch site in Texas, following which the company will be in a position to apply for a launch license and commence Starship orbital test flights.

The post Starlink Suffers From Global Outage Affecting Multiple Continents – Reports by Ramish Zafar appeared first on Wccftech.

Despite how "Batman" set up Billy Dee Williams as Harvey Dent, the role of Dent's villainous alter ego, Two-Face, went to Tommy Lee Jones in the 1995 sequel, "Batman Forever." By then, the "Batman" film franchise had undergone a major tonal shift, with director Joel Schumacher taking over from Tim Burton and infusing the world of Gotham City with brighter colors and quips, not to mention the infamous rubber nipples on Batman and Robin's costumes. Lines like, "Holy rusted metal, Batman!" harkened back to the campiness of the 1966 "Batman" TV series, while Jones was left to share the spotlight with Jim Carrey's Riddler, who ran amok with his own spastic one-liners like, "Joygasm!"

Two-Face was an atypical role for Jones, who did not necessarily relish the opportunity of playing a scene-chewing supervillain the way actors like Carrey, Jack Nicholson, Danny DeVito, Michelle Pfeiffer, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Uma Thurman might have. In fact, Carrey once related how he ran into Jones at a restaurant before filming their "Batman Forever" scenes together, only for his costar to tell him: "I cannot sanction your buffoonery." At the time, Carrey was on the rise in Hollywood, having broken out as a movie star and comedic lead the year before in "Ace Ventura: Pet Detective," "The Mask," and "Dumb and Dumber."

Jones was clearly not thrilled about working with Carrey, but he was also coming off the success of an Academy Award win in March 1994 for "The Fugitive." The late Peter Macgregor-Scott served as a co-producer on the film, and since he had worked with Jones on "Under Siege" and was also co-producing "Batman Forever," he managed to twist the notoriously gruff actor's arm and convince him to play Two-Face.

'He Calls Me Up And He Says, "I Don't Get It"'

"Batman Forever" also reunited Tommy Lee Jones with Joel Schumacher, who had just directed him in "The Client," a straight-faced legal thriller adapted from a John Grisham novel. Before he passed away in 2017, Peter Macgregor-Scott participated in a 20th anniversary retrospective on "Batman Forever" for The Hollywood Reporter, where he related how Jones became involved in the project while he and Schumacher were still filming "The Client." He said:

"Joel was in the Carolinas shooting 'The Client.' I go to see Joel on set and got Tommy Lee [Jones] and all of his principle actors working. Tommy Lee and I were quite good friends. I'd done 'Under Siege' and 'The Fugitive' with him. And I remind him that he got the Academy Award for 'The Fugitive.' 'F*** you,' he said (laughs). He's a great guy. Difficult but wonderful. Later when we were working on 'Batman,' I said to Joel, 'Tommy would be a fantastic Harvey/Two-Face.' He said, 'Go get him.'

"So I sent Tommy Lee the screenplay down in Texas, and two hours later, he calls me up and he says, 'I don't get it.' I said 'Why don't you reread the f****** thing and remember that the Academy Award-winning actor Tommy Lee Jones is playing the f****** role!' And I hung the phone up. (Laughs.) A few hours later, he calls back and says, 'OK, I'll do it.' And then he got on a plane and flew into Burbank the next day, and we went to work. No management. No nonsense."

The Faces Of Harvey Dent

While the casting of Tommy Lee Jones in "Batman Forever" may have been a no-nonsense deal, the movie itself is full of all sorts of nonsense. When we first meet Two-Face, the villain is already fully formed, complete with bank-robbing henchmen and a lair with two "good" and "bad" girlfriends, Sugar and Spice, played by Drew Barrymore and Debi Mazar.

Years later, Aaron Eckhart would try to wrench more pathos out of the character's transformation from Dent, the upstanding Gotham district attorney, into Two-Face in Christopher Nolan's "The Dark Knight." However, for a certain generation of Batman fans, the definitive screen version of Two-Face may still be the one voiced by Richard Moll in "Batman: The Animated Series."

One thing's for sure: While Michael Keaton and other stars have signed on to reprise their legacy superhero roles in recent years, we probably can't expect to see Jones as Two-Face again. At a certain point, he may have just found himself in a position where he had signed on for "Batman Forever" because of his working relationship with Macgregor-Scott and Schumacher, and was then contractually obligated to appear in the film despite his misgivings about it.

Read this next: Batman Movies Ranked From Worst To Best

The post Tommy Lee Jones Wasn't Given Much of a Choice In His Batman Forever Casting appeared first on /Film.

No One Lives Forever 2 (or NOLF2) had a lot of expectations from fans after the critical awards that the first title received. The successor was expected to have better AI, as well as improved rendering and physics, without straying too far from the successful formula of the first game. Designer Craig Hubbard also expressed how he had to keep the team motivated since they wouldn’t like to spend a year and a half to develop the same game but with a new coat of paint, he wanted to keep the team excited and present new challenges to explore gameplay concepts. This proved to be another hit for the team as the game was very well received: GameSpot named it the best second PC game of 2002, and it received several awards such as the GOTY award and a 91/100 on Metacritic.

Cate Archer is back with a new character model resembling the English actress Jean Shrimpton, as opposed to Mitzi Martin in the first game. She also sports a new voice actress, Jen Tylor. Bruno Lawrie returns as the temporary director of UNITY since Jones decided to take a vacation, and  Doc Schenker is the new main staff scientist, plus the UNITY cast is expanded with two new characters: the US Military Adviser Isaac Barnes and the General Morgan Hawkins. Also along for the ride is Magnus Armstrong, who brings his sassy attitude as Cate’s new sidekick and comedic relief. As for the villains, H.A.R.M is back with a new leader called The Director with his pupil Isako, the leader of the Katakuri Ninja Clan. Volkov makes a return, though he is now in a  wheelchair after a skiing incident.

The main plot focuses on tensions between United States and the Soviet Union over the isle of Khios and the efforts of UNITY to investigate on Project Omega, which is believed to be the key to the Soviets to gain control of the isle. Cate will face new enemies such as ninjas, robots, super soldiers and even natural disasters along the way. Once again Cate travels around the world, exploring Japan, Siberia, India, Antarctica and a secret H.A.R.M base located in the core of an artificial volcano.

The cutscenes are vastly improved over the original game, with realistic expressions thanks to custom facial expressions and eye movements. The graphic engine received an overhaul and looks stunning with water reflections, mesh shading and a physics engine that adds a lot of small details, such as flying objects and debris, especially in the fourth mission where Cate has to survive a slowly-approaching tornado.

The voice acting is great for the main characters, but for the secondary characters it falls flat quickly,  since there is a lot of intentionally bad acting to mock some regional accents. Those worked in the first one in short bursts such as the Irish banter between Cate and Armstrong, but in this game they feel beaten into the ground. The Indian levels are a great example of why it doesn’t as they’re mostly based on cultural stereotypes that are boring at best and offensive at worst.

The pacing is another big problem: some missions feel tight and carefully crafted, with interconnected levels and a non-linear progression that lets the player choose which problem they should tackle first. There is a bit of backtracking but it’s never too tedious or forced on since the player can easily swap between levels with ease. Meanwhile, some levels feel like there wasn’t a clear idea by the level designers on how to fill up the gaps between objectives. In place of those gaps there are some frustrating “endurance levels” with waves of enemies and scarce supplies. This is especially true in boss fights which are placed out of the blue, usually after slow paced stealthy segments. These break the atmosphere and have all the same formula: brief moments to shoot at them, a wave or two of enemies, repeat. The first game had fewer but better bosses and were placed to surprise the player while not letting them feel overwhelmed by the situation.

NOLF2 introduces some light-RPG elements with a skill system. Cate can upgrade her statistics such as Health, Armor, Stealth, Search by spending points that can be earned by completing objectives and finding intel items. Every skill has a maximum of 5 levels, ranging from Novice to Expert. Cate cannot use some bigger healing or armor items until she upgrades those skills, and the same is true for accuracy which feels severely dampened until it’s upgraded. There isn’t a mandatory skill to be maxed out, everyone has its strengths and weaknesses and a no skill run is doable on Normal difficulty.

Stealth is completely revamped: every level can be finished by sneaking, using non-lethal weapons and a tracking dart launcher which highlights the path of a foe on the mini-map. Cate can hide bodies in dark spots, and she will become undetectable after standing still in them for a brief period. The player can alert enemies by walking near bell chimes, trees or active light sources. The dynamic sound system is even more reactive than the first title, and a careful player will feel rewarded in being as silent as possible. The AI feels a lot smarter; awakened enemies will instantly try to run to the nearest alarm or call for reinforcements, spotting a dead guard will instantly alert them and they will search for the player even before checking on the body. The goofy conversations between guards can now contain useful information on where to go next and Cate can interact with NPCs to get some tips.

Gone are the interactive briefings between each level, substituted by cutscenes. Also gone is the selectable custom equipment in favor of a default set. Santa’s Workshop is now a speaking robot bird which acts as a tutorial in the first level and later in the game gives updates on the mission. As for the gadgets, everything must be found on site and their place is never too obvious, like in the first game. Many gadgets have been removed or combined into a multitool called the Utility Launcher; this new tool has different type of ammo ranging from shock darts, a camera disabler, glue bombs and a tranquilizer. Some tools such as the lockpick and the welder return and they feel a lot more useful; they’re needed for getting all the hidden intel.

NOLF2 sports some new weapons: the AK-47 and the Tommy Gun are common finds, substituting the 9mm in the first game. Engaging in close fights is now doable with the addition of a Combat Shotgun plus two melee weapons, the Katana and the Tulwar. The Lipstick Grenade is gone in favor of a much more useful array of explosives such as Flashbangs, Incendiary, Laughing and Sleeping Gas. The Banana briefly appears in the Indian levels to make quick work of the chasing guards in some segments. The gunplay is as fun as the first title and the new weapons fit nicely both in the action and stealth sequences. They all feel fitting for the period and much more realistic compared to the first title.

With this sequel, Monolith experimented a fair bit to freshen up things and while it has some flaws, this was by no means an easy task. The devteam really kicked it out of the park by delivering a great sequel to an already successful title, which is still considered by many a classic.

Despite its success, this spelled the last game with Cate Archer as a star, though it’s technically not the end of the series. The last title of the franchise, Contract J.A.C.K (“Just Another Contract Killer”) was released the following year, this time following an H.A.R.M character fighting an opposing organization.

---

No One Lives Forever 2 was first posted on April 9, 2022 at 8:20 am.
©2017 "Hardcore Gaming 101". Use of this feed is for personal non-commercial use only. If you are not reading this article in your feed reader, then the site is guilty of copyright infringement. Please contact me at kurt@hardcoregaming101.net

It's always great when a movie is quotable, when you can take catchy lines from a film and repurpose them to fit into your own daily life. Most likely, at one point or another, you have found yourself, in a moment of disorientation, telling someone, "I have a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore!" Or perhaps, you've passionately whispered, "My preciousssss..." while coveting something you've long desired. If you've felt like pulling a Jack Dawson while sailing on a boat, you've definitely stood at the bow of a ship and screamed, "I'm king of the world!" -- most likely to everyone else's displeasure. 

My point is that movie catchphrases are incredibly important to fans, and oftentimes for the people making the movie, there's no telling just what single, specific line audiences are going to love the most. At least, that's the case with John McTiernan's "Die Hard," a movie chockfull of deliciously quotable one-liners with one among them that stands out above all the rest.

A Franchise Catchphrase Is Born

In the iconic scene where John McClane and Hans Gruber communicate with one another via walkie talkie, Gruber tries unsuccessfully to guess just who exactly McClane really is. Their back and forth banter is infectious to watch, and at one point, Gruber asks McClane if he's "just another American who saw too many movies as a child" and so now he "thinks he's John Wayne." McClane sassily corrects him, telling him that he was more of a Roy Rogers fan than anything. "I really liked those sequin shirts," he taunts. And then just before evading one of Gruber's henchmen, he whispers into the walkie, "Yippee-ki-yay, motherf*****!" And just like that, a catchphrase is born.

Screenwriter Steven E. de Souza spoke with Creative Screenwriting about how this iconic scene came to be. It turns out that both he and Bruce Willis were fans of Roy Rogers when they were young, and Rogers's famous catchphrase was always "Yippe-ki-yah, kids!" Wanting to include this somehow in the film, the line was altered a bit and put into the script. "That line was from me," says de Souza, taking credit for the brilliance behind one of the best moments in "Die Hard." 

De Souza also talks about the popularity of this now famous line. He says, "Whenever you think you're writing a line that's going to catch on, it never does," going on to explain that once the movie is released to the world, it's out of the writer's hands. "The audience decides what is the takeaway line," he says. And decide they did because Willis's perfect delivery of that famous Roy Rogers quote — albeit embellished a little for the adults in the room — has become one of the film's most memorable moments.

Read this next: The 14 Greatest Action Movies Of The 21st Century

The post The Unassuming Origins Behind Bruce Willis' Signature Die Hard Scene appeared first on /Film.

An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: Since its launch, the Raspberry Pi OS (and most operating systems based on it) has shipped with a default "pi" user account, making it simpler to boot up a Pi and start working without needing to hook up the device to a monitor or go through a multi-step setup process. But as of today, that's changing -- new installs of the Raspberry Pi OS are shedding that default user account for both security and regulatory reasons. Raspberry Pi Foundation software engineer Simon Long explains the thinking in this blog post. "[The "pi" user account] could potentially make a brute-force attack slightly easier, and in response to this, some countries are now introducing legislation to forbid any Internet-connected device from having default login credentials," he writes. This move will improve the Pi operating system's security. Before, even if you assigned a good password to the "pi" account, attackers could still assume with a reasonable degree of certainty that most Raspberry Pi boards were using the "pi" username. Many Pi OS-based operating systems also ship with the default "pi" user account enabled and are completely passwordless, requiring extra steps to assign the account a password in the first place. The flip side is that the change could break some software and scripts, particularly those that are hard-coded to use the "pi" user account and home folder. "[T]he Raspberry Pi OS now boots into a dedicated setup mode the first time you start it up instead of running the setup wizard as an app in the normal desktop environment," adds Ars. "And that setup wizard now prompts you to create a username and password rather than simply assigning a password to the default 'pi' user account. To aid with setup, the wizard can now pair Bluetooth keyboards and mice without requiring you to plug in a USB accessory first." The new version of the Pi OS also includes experimental support for the Wayland display server protocol, but Long says most people should ignore it for now since it's explicitly labeled as "experimental."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

People tend to use meal planning as an attempt to gain control over their diet and budget. Usually, they have a goal to “eat better” and “stop buying takeout.” That is almost never my goal when it comes to meal planning (or anything else). My goal is always to have to do less and to experience more pleasure, which is…

Read more...

Soon after Russia invaded Ukraine in February, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk pledged to send Starlink internet terminals to the country. His company donated thousands of units and is covering the cost of the service for a few months. However, the US government reportedly paid millions for some of the terminals and to get them all to Ukraine, in spite of statements to the contrary from the company's president.

The United States Agency for International Development bought around 1,500 terminals at a cost of $1,500 each, according to documents obtained by The Washington Post. It also covered transportation costs for all the terminals to the tune of $800,000, resulting in the agency shelling out over $3 million. In all, the agency and SpaceX sent more than 5,000 terminals to Ukraine, with a third-party contractor handling transportation and delivery.

It's unclear whether USAID paid over the odds for the terminals. SpaceX recently increased the price of a Starlink terminal from $499 to $549 for deposit holders and to $599 for fresh orders. As of April 22nd, the monthly price of the satellite-powered internet service is increasing from $99 to $110. The company announced a higher tier service earlier this year that costs $2,500 for a terminal and $500 per month for service.

SpaceX president Gwynne Shotwell said last month that France and possibly Poland helped get the terminals to Ukraine. “I don’t think the US has given us any money to give terminals to the Ukraine,” Shotwell said. SpaceX is said to have donated $10 million worth of terminals and Starlink service to the country, which is laudable enough, though the company wasn't exactly clear about where funding for other parts of the operation came from.

On top of that, Musk had to issue a warning over the use of Starlink, given that Russia may be able to triangulate the location of a terminal uplink. Musk urged people to use Starlink only when needed and stay away from other people while doing so.

This isn't the first time that Musk has offered help during a crisis where his input hasn't gone without a hitch. In 2018, he took a mini-submarine to Thailand to assist with the rescue of 12 boys and their coach who were trapped in a cave. Not only were those people safely retrieved by the time he got there, the mini-sub was deemed impractical for the mission anyway.

After over fifty years in the biz, horror master Stephen King knows a thing or two about writing a shocking twist. This week, the author delivered one for the ages -- not in the pages of a new novel, but on Twitter. In response to an article from Screen Rant that compared two of his most iconic villains, Pennywise and Randall Flagg, the author tweeted: "Have they not considered the possibility that THEY ARE THE SAME ENTITY?"

The prolific horror novelist has a history of including both subtle and straightforward crossovers in his works, so this twist isn't exactly out of character. Of course, detail-oriented fans of his work -- which includes over sixty novels to date -- immediately ran with this idea. Thousands of fans have replied to the post to weigh in on the theory, with many even questioning the King of Horror on the intricacies of his own mythology.

King's tweet has a tongue-in-cheek quality to it, especially when considering how he frames the theory. Before dropping the bomb, he gives context by saying, "Screen Rant asks the question America cares about most (not): Who is the greater villain, Randall Flagg or Pennywise." The use of "(not)" indicates that this may not be a totally serious statement, but still, there's plenty of precedent to suggest he was being earnest. Could Pennywise and Flagg really be one and the same? Let's investigate.

Two Legendary Antagonists

Pennywise the Dancing Clown, the nightmare-inspiring jester who was immortalized on screen by both Tim Curry and Bill Skarsgard, originated in King's wildly popular 1986 novel "IT." The sewer-dwelling, fear-eating creature plagues the town of Derry every 27 years, but his mythology runs much deeper than a simple clown costume. Before he was Pennywise, he was a shapeshifting entity that crash-landed on earth millions of years ago in an asteroid. He's essentially a devil-like representation of the world's evil, one that finds his equal and opposite in the form of Maturin.

Maturin, another prominent figure in King lore, is a giant turtle that essentially created the world as we know it. King didn't actually come up with the World Turtle idea; several religious traditions, including Hinduism and those of Lenape Native Americans, actually include a turtle in their creation myths. Maturin appears not only in "IT," but also in "The Dark Tower." These books imagine Maturin as one of twelve deity-like beings that guard what essentially amounts to metaphysical pillars for our known world. "The Dark Tower" series is also home to the other half of King's equation, Randall Flagg.

Flagg first appeared by name in another of King's doorstop-sized books, the 1978 classic "The Stand." In the apocalyptic novel, he's a cult leader-like figure, drawing in the masses to create a violent, fear-driven society of his own. Although "The Stand" invented the character, King's longstanding fantasy series "The Dark Tower" deepened his backstory considerably. In most incarnations, Flagg is a sinister sorcerer who embodies an evil as deep as Pennywise's, albeit with a slightly more human face.

Overlapping Evils

Pennywise and Flagg are King's greatest and most enduring villains, and both have often crept beyond the pages of the books they first appeared in. References to ominous events in Derry or to Pennywise's insanity-inspiring "Deadlights" have appeared in several of his novels, with the latter popping up just last year in the book "Later." The creature also bears some resemblance to a villain called The Crimson King, who employs the Deadlights in "Insomnia" and "The Dark Tower" series. Meanwhile, Flagg has appeared, sometimes under different names, in at least nine of King's novels. If the two major villains were a Venn Diagram, the overlapping section between them would be the Macroverse, a sort of metaphysical realm from "The Dark Tower," where both Pennywise and Maturin seemingly dwell.

All King-verse geekery aside, the author seems to encourage cross-text readings. In February, King sat down with /Film writer Eric Vespe and former /Film editor and friend of the site Scott Wampler on their long-running podcast "The Kingcast." The pair asked him if it's possible that several major King villains, all of which feed on emotions, are of the same species. King revealed that he doesn't conceptualize those three bad guys -- in this case Pennywise, "The Dark Tower" villain Dandelo, and the force from "The Outsider" -- as the same, but that "everybody's got to eat," including monsters.

The hosts of "The Kingcast" and other King aficionados are clearly on to something by connecting the dots between King's villains. Despite the impassioned fan response, King hasn't followed up on his bombshell tweet, but he doesn't need to. If you take away the aliases, intertextual references, and complex metaphysical lore that make Pennywise and Flagg who they are, what you're left with is evil. They're two bone-chilling embodiments of the worst qualities a person could ever imagine, turned even scarier by their seemingly unstoppable power. If Pennywise and Randall Flagg are the same entity, it's a thing as primal and timeless as a scream in the dark.

Read this next: All 59 Stephen King Movies Ranked From Worst To Best

The post Stephen King Shares Surprising Theory About His Greatest Villains appeared first on /Film.

(Welcome to The Daily Stream, an ongoing series in which the /Film team shares what they've been watching, why it's worth checking out, and where you can stream it.)

The Movie: "Hard Ticket to Hawaii"

Where You Can Stream It: Tubi

The Pitch: "Hard Ticket to Hawaii" may be nothing less than the best B-movie ever made. It is the "Die Hard" of schlock and the "Bicycle Thieves" of gratuitous nudity. Imagine Ingmar Bergman's "Cries and Whispers," but Harriet Andersson and Ingrid Thulin are played by Playboy centerfold models, Liv Ullmann is a hunky dumb jock who can't shoot straight, they're actually spies on the island of Molokai, the dead sister's message from beyond the grave is a series of breathy sex advice radio broadcasts with secret spy codes in the dirty talk, and they have to stop a diamond shipment intended for a local drug lord. Also Erland Josephson is a radioactive snake that can give you cancer by biting you. OK, maybe "Hard Ticket to Hawaii" is nothing like "Cries and Whispers," but it certainly is worthy of attaining the same level of artistic and cultural clout as the 1972 classic.

Why It's Essential Viewing

Director Andy Sidaris got his start in filmmaking via his connections to the world of televised sports. He filmed Olympic events, car races, "The Wide World of Sports," and a 1969 documentary feature film called "The Racing Scene" about actor James Garner's interest in fast cars. In the 1970s, Sidaris expanded into the world of B-movies with the Roger Corman-produced action/sexploitation film "Stacey!" Portions of "Stacey!" were later repurposed for Sidaris' next film, 1985's "Malibu Express," which would kick off a 12-film cycle of what would eventually be called the L.E.T.H.A.L. Ladies series. 

The second film in that series was 1987's "Hard Ticket to Hawaii," a sublime, almost philosophical experience that seems to innately and profoundly understand what exploitation movies are supposed to offer. Not since the gory days of Herschell Gordon Lewis' "Wizard of Gore" (1970) or the ultra-violent days of Brian Trenchard-Smith's "Turkey Shoot" (1982) has the function of cinema been so skillfully accepted. Critics may speak to notions of cinematic art and the glories of shared catalytic emotional elevation via cinema's dreamlike architecture, but at the end of the day, we must accept that we also have a lizard brain that gets off on dumb jokes, rocket launchers, and brazenly uncovered human bodies. If the medium of film is meant to capture our dreams, Andy Sidaris underlines that our dreams are often trashy, ignoble sex-and-power fantasies. That we long for characters who do their best thinking topless in a jacuzzi. That we thrill at razor-lined Frisbees, and blow-up dolls that are exploded in midair by a rocket launcher. 

The Story

The setup is perfect: Donna (Playboy playmate Dona Spier) and Taryn (Playboy playmate Hope Marie Carlton) are part of a secret organization that fights crime on the Hawaiian island of Molokai. As a front, Donna and Taryn deliver freight and give rides to tourists in their Cessna, but are secretly foiling the plans of local drug- and weapons-runners. Because their job is secret, the dynamic duo has to received their orders in code over a public radio station run by Edy (Cynthia Brimhall), who buries secret codewords into the dialogue from her call-in sex advice line. Aiding Donna and Taryn is a shirtless bohunk named Rowdy Abilene (Ron Moss), the latest in a long line of Abilenes who can't shoot straight. The L.E.T.H.A.L. Ladies series will ultimately feature four or five members of the Abilene family, all of them oiled and hunky. In a subplot, Donna and Taryn have to keep an eye out for an escaped lab animal: A radioactive snake. The snake plays less into the plot than you might think. The snake will eventually get its fangs shot off. 

There are kidnappings, smuggled diamonds, unconventional use of nunchaku (dear readers ... there are nunchaku), and a cute cameo from the director himself. Sidaris appears in a diner, trying to convince a girlfriend that he is done ogling women. A busty waitress approaches, leading to Sidaris ordering "a pair of coffee." A lascivious dad joke for the ages. By the end of "Hard Ticket to Hawaii," a large vehicle will explode. 

Sidaris established many formulae in this movie that he would re-use in the subsequent 10 films in his series. The lead characters, for instance, would always be a pair of women from L.E.T.H.A.L., invariable played by magazine models. Other points: Always include at least two shower scenes, cast Rodrigo Obregon in your movie, show off that you have access to light planes and yachts, and then blow them up. 

The Wholesomeness Of Andy Sidaris

Despite operating from a exploitational ethos, there is something weirdly wholesome about Andy Sidaris' films. His whole L.E.T.H.A.L. Ladies series is very bright and fun, without moments of genuine pain or darkness. His women are never portrayed as helpless victims, and their nudity is presented as something they enjoy doing; there is less of a voyeuristic aspect than in most movies of this type. In the rare event when a L.E.T.H.A.L. lady has sex (the nudity is usually relegated to showers and jacuzzis), they are the ones in control. What's more, Sidaris' films take place in a moral universe. There are criminals and bad guys, but very occasionally they are apprehended and convinced to work with the protagonists. Everyone in redeemed in Sidaris movies, and no one is corrupted. For example: Erik Estrada plays the villain in the fifth L.E.T.H.A.L. movie, "Guns." In the following film, "Do or Die," he has joined Donna and her new partner Nicole (Roberta Casquez) to stop an evil Pat Morita. 

In the eighth and ninth films, "Fit to Kill" and "Enemy Gold," B-movie legend Julie Strain will appear as villains named Blu Steele and Jewel Panther, respectively. By "The Dallas Connection," however, Strain will have drifted over to the side of right. 

Sidaris movies take place in a world of drugs and crime, but are almost Roddenberrian in their optimism for the future. Yes, there are always criminals to be stopped, but all it will take is the pure hearts of bikini-unclad spies and the oily charms of a few of their sidekick beefcake boys to convert even the most hardened criminals to righteousness. The ones that cannot be redeemed will explode in a Cessna or get razored in the throat by a Frisbee. 

Read this next: The Daily Stream: O Brother, Where Art Thou? Was The First Massive Success For The Coen Brothers

The post The Daily Stream: Experience the Glory of Hard Ticket to Hawaii appeared first on /Film.

The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences Board of Governors has handed down its punishment to Will Smith for slapping Chris Rock at the Oscars, and they did not go easy on the "King Richard" actor for his behavior. The Academy has ruled that Smith is to be banned from the Oscars for ten years. He will not be allowed to attend the event, or any associated events from the organization, for a full decade.

The news was reported by Variety, with the outlet stating that the board held a meeting Friday morning to discuss the matter and ultimately arrived at this deliberation. In a statement, the Academy said the following:

"Today, the Board of Governors convened a meeting to discuss how best to respond to Will Smith's actions at the Oscars, in addition to accepting his resignation. The Board has decided, for a period of 10 years from April 8, 2022, Mr. Smith shall not be permitted to attend any Academy events or programs, in person or virtually, including but not limited to the Academy Awards."

It should be noted that Smith had already resigned from the Academy following the incident, which was broadcast on live television to the shock of viewers and those in the room. Smith later went on to win the Best Actor Oscar that night for his work in "King Richard." The Academy also thanked Chris Rock for his composure, given the situation.

"We want to express our deep gratitude to Mr. Rock for maintaining his composure under extraordinary circumstances. We also want to thank our hosts, nominees, presenters and winners for their poise and grace during our telecast. This action we are taking today in response to Will Smith's behavior is a step toward a larger goal of protecting the safety of our performers and guests, and restoring trust in the Academy. We also hope this can begin a time of healing and restoration for all involved and impacted."

So What Happens Now?

In the Academy's full statement, they also classified Smith's response to a joke about his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, as "unacceptable and harmful behavior," while adding that "we did not adequately address the situation in the room. For this, we are sorry." In making this decision, Smith gets to keep his Oscar, but the ripple effects of the punishment will be felt for years to come -- and perhaps even as early as next year's Academy Awards.

To that end, Smith is starring in "Emancipation," a drama about a runaway slave, that was directed by Antoine Fuqua and was acquired in a massive deal by Apple TV+. It is heavily expected to be in the Oscar race next year, and Smith will be a big part of the equation. What happens if he earns an Oscar nomination? What if he wins? As it stands, there doesn't seem to be any ruling that he cannot win in the next decade -- he simply will not be allowed to accept the award in person at the ceremony. This also now sets a precedent for "unacceptable and harmful behavior" by members of the Academy and could establish a baseline for punishment in the future. This is, to say the very least of it, a big deal, and a situation that will surely continue to evolve.

Read this next: /Film's Top 10 Movies Of 2021

The post Will Smith Banned From the Academy Awards for 10 Years appeared first on /Film.

In this scary-as-hell scene captured by a Ring doorbell camera, we see a woman walk out of her front door with two young girls. As she gets close to the sidewalk, she spots something off-camera that makes her visibly startled. She screams something unintelligible. — Read the rest

If you have already read the cult series of novels by Robert Jordan and watched the TV series released lately, now it’s time to dive even deeper into the rich high fantasy universe.

The Wheel of Time is a classic FPP game with RPG and strategy elements. You join Elayna Sedai, Keeper of the Chronicles of the White Tower, who has been tasked with founding 4 ancient seals that keep the Dark One from taking control of the world.

The upcoming Netflix film "Metal Lords," written by "Game of Thrones" co-creator D.B. Weiss and executive produced by fellow "GOT" alum David Benioff, will hit the streaming service on April 8, 2022. It's the story of metal fan Hunter (Adrian Greensmith) and his friend Kevin (Jaeden Martell), who start a band named Skullf***er. (If I could put a horns emoji here, I one hundred percent would.) They need a bassist, but instead find cello player Emily (Isis Hainsworth), who joins them for the Battle of the Bands. As a metalhead myself, I cannot recommend this lovely movie highly enough. It was produced by Rage Against the Machine guitarist Tom Morello, features actors Brett Gelman and Joe Manganiello, and also contains music from "Game of Thrones" composer Ramin Djawadi. 

Analesa Fisher ("Pretty Little Liars," "Chad") plays the role of Kendall, a young woman who isn't comfortable in her own skin. Through a connection with another outsider, she learns that fitting in doesn't have to be your goal in high school, and that being yourself is much better than being the same as the rest of the crowd. I got to speak to Fisher about not only this film that I adore, but their introduction to metal, how D.B. Weiss has mentored them in their acting and writing career, and how they and Weiss got the cast into an ongoing game of Dungeons & Dragons. 

'It's Okay To Be Different And To Be Yourself'

["Metal Lords" is] a feel good movie, and I feel like everyone really needs that right now. So I'd love to hear your thoughts on the story of "Metal Lords" and the message.

Absolutely. Yeah. I completely agree. I mean, just the sheer theme of it being about outcasts trying desperately to make their mark on the world is what makes it, I think, so fun. It really centers around the two teenage outcasts, Hunter and Kevin, who are struggling to form a metal band in a high school that's filled with other struggling high school kids that are desperately searching to form their own identities. So I think it just does a fantastic job at using metal music as a catalyst to kind of portray that theme that is metal music, which is like truth to power. It's okay to be different and to be yourself. And everything is going to work out in the end.

I'm a huge metalhead, so I really appreciate this. So tell us a little bit about Kendall and her interaction with Kevin.

So Kendall, she's one of those characters that I think a lot of people can relate to being in high school, and you don't have a lot of options for finding your people, necessarily. She's kind of found herself in the outs of this popular group. Not necessarily wanting to be there, but not having any other place to be and having no idea who she is herself.

So in the beginning, when she meets Kevin, you can see how much anger she has about the place that she's stuck in the world. Then she watches as Kevin becomes his full self -- becomes a person that she didn't think that this nerdy kid could ever become. And it's through that entire transformation that she's able to see, "Holy Toledo, I can be myself, too. And I can embrace the things that I like that maybe other people might think are different. Because this kid did it, so why can't I?"

'We Play Dungeons & Dragons Together All The Time'

There is a scene at the party where [Kevin is] staring at her a little, and she just seems very upset by it. And wow, I think everyone's going to connect with that particular scene. Did you connect with that, too?

Oh yeah, that was one of my audition scenes, and it came way too easily for me. Just like, "You can't possibly be looking at me because you like me. There's no way. You're making fun of me. Leave me alone." I love that, especially with D.B. [Weiss] there, he really reinvented the idea of meet-cute in this movie. I think he did a really good job with that.

That's a perfect way to put it -- a reinvented meet-cute. I love that. So, you got to work on a project with a showrunner from "Game of Thrones." How much interaction did you guys have?

A lot. A lot. A lot. D.B and I actually, I mean, I pinch myself every morning, but I am so unbelievably grateful for him because through this entire process, he's become a fantastic mentor on and off screen to me. I would not have three books written right now if it weren't for him. He is always answering my emails to give me notes. He would read chapters. We play Dungeons & Dragons together all the time. We bonded over the nerdiest things in the world. When we were in Portland, I went out to like a game store and I got him like metal dice and wrote "Metal Lords" all over it so that he could use those in the next game he plays.

Everyone thought that it was going to be so intimidating, I think, to work with D.B and Benioff. But the second that you're in a room with them, you realize that these are just two normal guys who are absolute nerds for things like Dungeons & Dragons and "Metal Lords," or just metal music and all things that are just fun in life. And I love hanging out with them.

I love that you've play D&D, because I also play D&D. So I have to ask: what class do you play?

My favorite character -- we're in a campaign right now that has been running for about four years. And I am playing a Shifter Druid who has very low, common ability.

I do want to ask your thoughts about CODA winning Best Picture at the Oscars, because I know you're fluent in ASL.

I'm unbelievably astounded. This year alone, I think that there were some movies, even that didn't get as much attention as they should have. "Sound of Metal," for example, was another fantastic one that came through. I think it was last awards season, which had a ton of deaf actors in it. 

Any time that community is being seen fully and aware for themselves, it makes me just absolutely beam with joy, because there's very little of it. I think that Hollywood still has a really long way to go, and I am hoping that "CODA" is a huge catalyst for that. What I would like to see is deaf protagonists, and making hearing-abled children, hearing-abled siblings, hearing-abled best friends, be the secondary characters. That's what I personally would really like to see. But I think we're heading in that right direction.

'We Had To Listen To It Maybe 700 Times While We Were Filming'

As a metalhead, there's some really great music in here. Is this type of music something you listen to, or did you discover anything new?

You can listen to the "Machinery of Torment," which is Tom Morello and D. B. Weiss' genius, mixed together there. It's out on Apple Music and Spotify right now. And then that song became one of my favorite songs ever, I think. We had to listen to it maybe 700 times while we were filming. Never got bored of it. It was like, "Run it back." And we just all start jamming and head banging, and I found a new love for it. I was not a metal fan before, but now it's kind of like with the rest of my music case: If I find a song I love, I will play it till it's dead. And "Machinery of Torment" is one of those songs for me.

I'm the same way with music. The Battle of the Bands scene looked like so much fun. What was that like to shoot?

It was awesome. The coolest part about that in particular, because of COVID, we had to be sequestered a lot, separated as much as possible just for the health and safety of us, as well as slowing the spread. But with the Battle of the Bands, it was a two story auditorium that we were filming in. So anytime that they were filming the band, for example, everything was turned around on the stage. We all got to go up on that second story balcony and just jam out to the super loud music and watch all of the metal kids just bang on their instruments with the soundtrack blaring throughout the auditorium. And we took about a week to film that. So every day showing up to set was just awesome. We're like, "Yes, we get to do more raging today."

'I Want To Learn How To Play So Badly'

I was going to ask you about filming during COVID. So what did you guys do to keep yourselves busy when you were all quarantined?

So pretty early on, we realized that we weren't going to get to bond like a normal cast does. Normally what we end up doing is we go out to dinners a lot or we go bowling, or we end up having literally cast-sanctioned activities that either production provides for us, or we kind of do by ourselves else. But we didn't have that. And so pretty early on, it was actually D.B. and I's idea to put together virtual D&D games for us to play. So I have a very good friend who's a dungeon master. She works with Freddy Prinze, Jr. She's so fantastic. And she came on and we would all get on Zoom. We'd organize it every couple of weeks to play a D&D game together.

She would always incorporate "Metal Lords" somehow. I think in our first game, it was that we were all on set and D.B. found this mysterious orb. And then when he tossed it to, I think it was Jaeden or something, we all got transformed into this D&D world and had to fight off all these bad monsters. So it was really cool because D.B. and I specifically were pretty much the only two who had ever played D&D, who were versed in it. So we ended up getting to teach this whole cast how to play Dungeons and Dragons and use D&D Beyond. We did that a couple of times, and I think we have one more coming up that we're going to play to ring in the movie coming out.

And you have a musical theater background from what I read. Was that part of the appeal of this movie for you?

It definitely was. Kendall doesn't have as much to do with the musical side of it, but any time that I could be a part of musical movies or anything that has to do with music, I get very excited because I grew up doing musicals. And I miss it a lot. Every now and then I'll get auditions for musicals and I have to weigh how much I want to do it or how much work it might be to take a step back from TV and film. But I do think about it every time, because I desperately miss that world. But I'm very excited specifically about "Metal Lords," and very jealous of Jayden's character because he plays the drums. I'm a huge fan of the drums and I want to learn how to play so badly.

'I Can Step Away And Say That I Am Proud Of It'

I'd love to hear a little bit about your books ["The Only Series"].

I don't know how to describe how shocked I am that I was able to do it and that I can step away and say that I am proud of it. Because I've been writing for about eight years. I have written everything from being a ghost writer on movies, to writing my own features, to adapting books, to adapting Broadway plays, to writing animated shows, to doing the pitch grind, doing everything. And I just decided one day I wanted to learn how to write a book, and it became this really cool series. It's close to my heart.

So I'll give you a little spiel here. It's essentially a young adult book series about three teenage girls from three different time periods that are overcoming a specific traumatic event. So if you think like the "Fear Street" trilogy on Netflix or anything like that, it follows three teenage girls through the three different eras. So one of them is kidnapping era of 1991, the MySpace and mental health challenges of the year 2005, and the uncertain future of beyond in the year 3001. So it's an attempt to give young girls a place to go when they're hurting.

It ties together themes of sexual assault, mental illness, abusive relationships, loss, love, and growing up across three different genres. So whether a teenage girl is really into true crime thrillers or grounded high school romances or epic fantasies, there will be something on the shelf that they can take down and go through a journey where somebody is overcoming a lot of traumatic things that happen to young teenage girls throughout a book. But see it come to fruition, and see the protagonists either get help or seek the help that they need in order to get through that and lead a full life. It was something I didn't have when I was younger and something that I really want to give to the world. So that's why I wrote it.

"Metal Lords" hits Netflix on April 8, 2022. 

Read this next: The 19 Greatest Movie Couples Of All Time Ranked

The post Metal Lords: Analesa Fisher on Metal, Fitting In, and Playing D&D with D.B. Weiss [Interview] appeared first on /Film.