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A Toshiba fab in Japan is now shut down thanks to a 6.6 earthquake which hit them over the weekend, damaging buildings and injuring employees.  The Oita semiconductor plant specialized in…

Mob movies are a popular subgenre of crime cinema that centers around the world of gangster organizations and their operations, and often shed light on the dangerous lifestyles of morally complex characters. Although the genre is commonly associated with the notion of the American mafia, there's a diversity within the protagonists of these films. Mob movies focus on different ethnic groups and their criminal organization, and there's a broad range of international favorites that stand alongside the American classics.

Each generation seems to have its own era of great mob movies, and the perceptions of what the mafia's role is have changed along with the culture. The exciting world has fascinated moviegoers since the 1930s, where films like "Scarface" and "The Public Enemy" shocked the general public with their bleak subject material. Many of the mob movies released in the decades since are now known as classics, and several are rated among the greatest films ever.

Some mob movies are more character-based, while others are heavier on their action sequences. Narrowing down the entire history of the genre is no easy task, and many great films, unfortunately, had to be left off the list. However, any cinephile interested in hitting the classics needs to see these mob movies.

The Godfather

If you ask any film professor about the most essential films of all time, chances are "The Godfather" is near the top. Often cited as the best film of all time (alongside "Citizen Kane"), Francis Ford Coppola's 1972 gangster epic changed the way the mob was depicted forever. Adapting the pulpy material of Mario Puzo's popular novel, Coppola crafted an epic American tragedy about family dynamics and the faded illusions of the "American Dream." The film celebrates its 50th anniversary in March, and it's still just as haunting, entertaining, and thoroughly impactful as it was upon release.

"The Godfather" features one of the greatest film ensembles ever. Mafia patriarch Vito Corleone (Marlon Brando) prepares for the upcoming wedding of his daughter Connie (Talia Shire) to Carlo (Gianni Russo) while navigating his relationship with the other mafia families. Vito seeks a closer relationship with his son, Michael (Al Pacino), who remains a relative outsider in the family having served in the war. While Vito loves his wild son, Sonny (James Caan), and his adopted child and business manager, Tommy Hagen (Robert Duvall), he sees Michael as his true heir. When Vito is injured in a botched assassination attempt, Michael is forced to take control of the Corleone family business. He begins his transformation into a ruthless gangster like his father, learning that he values family loyalty above any other thing.

The Godfather: Part II

Truly great movie sequels are relatively rare, and the expectations are intensified if a film is following up a beloved classic. The number of sequels to all-time great films that manage to stand alongside, or even surpass, their originals is a rare group; films like "The Empire Strikes Back," "The Dark Knight," "Aliens," "Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers," "Terminator 2: Judgment Day," and "Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior" are all contenders. 

However, no sequel completes the saga while providing insight on past events quite like "The Godfather: Part II." Coppola's epic continuation of the Corleone family saga is both a continuation of the story and a window into the past; the film serves as both a sequel and prequel to the 1972 original, telling the intertwined stories of Michael Corleone's expansions of the family business and the journey of a young Vito (Robert De Niro) as he immigrated to the United States from Italy.

Over an epic 200 minutes, Coppola continues his commentary on the faded illusions of the American Dream by showing the corruption of two generations of men who both initially believe they are doing the right thing. Michael sees himself as protecting his family and ensuring their future, but he's haunted by the lie he told to his wife Kay (Diane Keaton) at the end of the first film. Vito enters the new country with hopes of building a better life, but he begins to build his crime family empire.

Goodfellas

Martin Scorsese is an instrumental figure within the mob movie genre, and many of the modern perceptions of what constitutes a great gangster movie can be traced back to the advances that Scorsese made within the genre. Scorsese has often returned to the mob movie world; he first gained his reputation as a great filmmaker with "Mean Streets," and received some of the greatest accolades of his career with "The Departed." However, no Scorsese gangster movie is quite as iconic as "Goodfellas." Another classic that hasn't aged a day, "Goodfellas" explores the life of a young boy as he's drawn into the seductive mafia world and watches it transform his life.

Henry Hill (Ray Liotta, played in childhood scenes by Christopher Serrone) reflects that "As far back as I can remember, I always wanted to be a gangster." As a young child growing up on the streets of Brooklyn, Henry begins skipping school to work jobs for local gangsters, and he's taken under the wing of the eccentric Tommy DeVito (Joe Pesci) and powerful Jimmy Conway (Robert De Niro). Henry grows into an elite member of their family; outside of their business of shipping illegal substances, the mob celebrates every weekend and holiday together with their families. When Henry falls in love with Karen Hill (Lorraine Bracco), she also gets entrenched within the culture.

The stakes are dramatic, but Scorsese incorporates a lot of humor within the film. However, he doesn't absolve the characters of their crimes, as they face dire consequences.

Eastern Promises

Although many of the most famous mafia movies of all-time center on the American mob, David Cronenberg's 2007 epic "Eastern Promises" sheds a light on the elusive world of the Russian mob and the attempts by British espionage agents to infiltrate that tightly wound business. Cronenberg's family saga is an epic tragedy that features not one, but two of the most effective plot twists in mob movie history. It was able to show a range of perspectives on the mob world by following both insider and outsider perspectives.

British midwife Anya Ivanovna Khitrova lives with her parents in London as she contemplates her recent marriage. While working an overnight shift, Anya tries to save the life of the 14-year-old prostitute Tatiana (Sarah-Jeanne Labrosse). While the girl dies, Anya is able to save her infant child and uncover her secret diary. Seeking a translation of the text, Anya finds the seemingly friendly shopkeeper Semyon (Armin Mueller-Stahl), not realizing he is head of a Russian mafia family. Semyon's enforcer Nikolai Luzhin (Viggo Mortensen) befriends Anya and attempts to protect her as he rises within the family. Semyon has faith in Nikolai, as his own son Krill (Vincent Cassell) is irresponsible and not suited for leadership. Krill sees Nikolai as a friend, but fears that his father will not make him his heir.

"Eastern Promise" slowly reveals its twists, but it also features truly disturbing moments of violence. Nikolai's nude bathroom brawl, in particular, is a shocking and brutal fight.

The Untouchables

There's a fear that sometimes mafia films can try too hard to humanize gangster characters, and as a result the audience may end up sympathizing with violent men who have done truly horrible things. However, some of the best mob movies are those that focus on the law enforcement officers that attempt to bring these dangerous criminals to justice. Based on the 1957 novel of the same name, Brian de Palma's 1987 classic "The Untouchables" tells the true story of the Chicago cops that brought down the notorious Al Capone (Robert De Niro). De Palma has experience working in the horror and thriller genres, and here he combines flashy stylistic flourishes with a more classic version of the old-school gangster epic.

A tragic bombing claims the life of a young girl and intensifies the public pressure to put and to violence on the streets of Chicago. The Bureau of Prohibition agent Eliot Ness (Kevin Costner) launches an investigation into Capone, but he's deceived and publicly humiliated when a shipment he thought contained alcoholic beverages is just filled with umbrellas. Eliot is approached by the mother of the girl that was killed, inspiring him to put together a crack squad of elite cops to track down Capone. He enlists veteran cop Jim Malone (Sean Connery), cocky young marksman George Stone (Andy Garcia), and the analyst Oscar Wallace (Charles Martin Smith). The film focuses on the different practices of these men and how they bond over their investigation.

Donnie Brasco

While you might not initially think of the mob movie genre as one that can be emotionally impactful, truly great mafia films can find the essence of human tragedy within a violent world without descending into melodrama. Gangster characters don't always relate their feelings well and are often characterized as hyper-masculine, but that doesn't mean that they are emotionless. 1997's "Donnie Brasco" is a thrilling undercover thriller, but it's also a deeply heartbreaking film about a man trapped between two worlds. Based on a true story, the film follows FBI agent Joe Pistone (Johnny Depp) as he goes undercover within the Bonanno crime family in New York City during the 1970s under the alias "Donnie Brasco."

It's challenging for Pistone to establish himself as a believable hoodlum, but he's able to fall under the wing of aging gangster Lefty Ruggiero (Al Pacino) and gain his trust, becoming one of his right-hand men. Lefty begins to not just respect Donnie, but accept him as part of his family, viewing him as a son. It creates a difficult situation for Pistone; he has a rough marriage and struggles to raise his children, and while he doesn't want to get too connected to the men he's charged with bringing down, Lefty is showing him love when no one else would. Depp and Pacino would both later be known for their more over-the-top and eccentric performances, but they both give more emotional performances for a heartbreaking story.

The Irishman

Martin Scorsese returned to the gangster genre in 2019 with the reflective and emotional gangster epic "The Irishman." The film features characters similar to those Scorsese has depicted throughout his career, yet it bears the unique distinction of following them for their entire lives as they begin in prominence only to watch their families slowly dissolve and lose touch. Scorsese utilized groundbreaking computer-generated imagery to digitally de-age (and age-up) his actors in order to show them throughout their lives.

Frank Sheeran (Robert De Niro) is an Irish-American veteran of World War II who works as a union truck driver in Philadelphia in the 1950s. Sheeran begins working for a mafia family fronted by Angelo Bruno (Harvey Keitel) and befriends the gangster Russell Bufalino (Joe Pesci), becoming his close ally. Due to his Irish heritage, it is hard for Sheeran to gain acceptance within the Italian mafia, but Russell works to give him jobs such as contract killing that will raise his prominence within the family. They begin a smuggling operation with Jimmy Hoffa (Al Pacino), head of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, in order to crush Hoffa's competition.

The tragedy of the film is watching Sheeran grow his family and then watch them pass him by, and all three central performances are very emotional. De Niro tries to connect with his daughter Peggy (Anna Paquin) when she's older, but she remembers how absent he was as a father. Pesci is also remarkably restrained.

Road To Perdition

Sam Mendes's gripping 2002 adaptation of the DC graphic novel by Max Allan Collins and Richard Piers Rayner is an emotional, generational story of the troubled relationship between fathers and sons. It's a tragic depiction of fragile masculinity and how mafia men are forced to give up their sense of family, and the dangers of trying to escape this dangerous lifestyle. It's a gloomy, yet completely gorgeous film featuring incredible cinematography from the late great Conrad L. Hall and one of the best scores of Thomas Newman's career. Mendes crafts a slowly-paced film that can still explode with tension and shocking violence.

Michael Sullivan (Tom Hanks) is one of the top hitmen within the Irish mafia under the boss John Rooney (Paul Newman) in the midst of the Great Depression. Rooney sees Sullivan as a close ally and considers him to be like a son; Rooney's actual son, Connor (Daniel Craig), is a wild and unpredictable hooligan who has only disappointed his father, yet still desperately seeks his approval. Sullivan knows that his violent history would prevent him from ever truly being redeemed, but he wants to save his son Michael Jr. (Tyler Hoechlin) from falling into the same path. He takes his son away from the family business and tries to bond with them, but the father-son duo is pursued by Rooney's forces and the idiosyncratic assassin Harlen Maguire (Jude Law). It ends with a shocking and heartbreaking conclusion on the perpetual state of violence.

Casino

It was certainly a challenge for Martin Scorsese to reapproach the mob movie genre after "Goodfellas" became so iconic, as it would be hard for him to craft another film that could stand up to his instant classic. However, 1995's "Casino" proved itself to be a great mafia movie in its own right. While "Goodfellas" fans will certainly enjoy "Casino" for its similar tone and aptitude for violence and dark humor, the film takes a different approach to the genre and explores the fascinating world of the Las Vegas casino scene. Scorsese is known for his epic runtimes, but "Casino" is so constantly entertaining that the 178-minute runtime simply flies by.

Based on a true story, "Casino" follows the Jewish-American sports handicapper Sam Rosethein (Robert De Niro) when he's sent by the Chicago mob to oversee gambling operations in Las Vegas. Sam arranges for a smuggling of funds to the mafia and the influence of game outcomes. The mob also dispatches made man Nicky Santoro (Joe Pesci) to help protect their operation, and Sam slowly grows accustomed to a life on the fast-paced Vegas scene. He meets a prostitute named Ginger McKenna (Sharon Stone), falls in love with her, and the two marry. However, Ginger is unpredictable and causes unforeseen trouble within Sam's life. He also struggles with the pressure to appease local politicians who have a stake in the games. De Niro gives a steely performance, and Pesci has a blast as an eccentric loudmouth character.

Carlito's Way

Brian De Palma always creates an interesting tone with his crime films, which combine well developed characters with more elaborate stylistic flourishes. "Carlito's Way" is a fascinating look at a gangster's career that features one of Al Pacino's best performances ever; Pacino is known for giving exaggerated performances and can often be quite hammy, but he's remarkably restrained here in his role as Puerto Rican gangster Carlito Brigante. There are obvious similarities within De Palma and Pacino's other famous collaboration, 1983's "Scarface," but "Carlito's Way" is the stronger film.

Carlito has lived a life of violence and decides to go straight and retire to the Caribbean with his girlfriend Gail (Penelope Ann Miller). Carlito's best friend and closest accomplice is his lawyer, David Kleinfeld (Sean Penn), a wild man who's addicted to drugs and prone to shocking bits of rage. Carlito's attempts to escape are threatened by the competition of the Italian mafia, and David's obnoxious behavior causes conflict with Bronx gangsters.

Killing Them Softly

Occasionally a new film will establish itself as a future classic worthy of becoming an all-time great, and Andrew Dominik's experimental 2012 mafia film "Killing Them Softly" is a film that could only exist within the 21st Century. Set amidst the backdrop of the Presidential Election and American financial crisis of 2008, the film explores how the robbery of a mob fronted card game causes a string of events that disrupt the ecosystem of the mafia. It's a film that gradually shows the ripple down impact of one crime.

Markie Trattman (Ray Liotta) runs a series of card games, but the mafia keeps a close eye on him due to a past false robbery that he staged. Markie is disturbed when the robbers Frankie (Scoot McNairy) and Russell (Ben Mendelsohn) rob his game, as he fears he'll be accused of setting them up. The mafia sends hitmen Jackie (Brad Pitt) and Mickey (James Gandolfini) to take out Markie, Frankie, and Russell. Jackie and Mickey share a brief, heartbreaking conversation when Mickey becomes aware he's going to have to serve time.

The French Connection

1971's "The French Connection" isn't only one of the most essential mafia films ever made, but one of the most beloved action films, as well. The remarkable car chase sequences are among the best ever filmed, and the film tells an electric story of an investigation that more than justifies the exciting setpieces. Director William Friedkin creates a film with almost documentary-esque precision, following the cops as they piece together clues about a French heroin operation that is taking over New York.

Gene Hackman delivers one of the best performances of his career as NYPD Detective Jimmy Doyle, who teams up with fellow officer Buddy Russo (Roy Scheider) to track down the chief French smuggler Alain Charnier (Fernando Rey). Charnier plans to bring a massive shipment onto the coast within two weeks, and both Jimmy and Buddy know it gives them a strict timeline to stop the sale before a new wave of narcotics takes over New York. It becomes a personal vendetta for Jimmy as Chanier eludes his pursuits; Rey creates a detestable screen villain.

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

The post The 12 Best Mob Movies You Need To See Immediately appeared first on /Film.

Apple is well ahead in its transition phase from using Intel chips to its custom silicon. While Apple has made great strides with its new M1 Max chip in the new MacBook Pro models, Intel claimed that its latest chips are faster than Apple's. However, it all boils down to independent tests and what the benchmarks reveal. With that said, the latest benchmark results reveal that Intel's Alder Laker Core i9 chip beats Apple's M1 Max chips. While Intel's claims are true, there are certain downsides. Scroll down to read more details on the subject.

Intel's 12th-Generation Alder Lake Core i9 Chip Outperforms M1 Max in 16-Inch MacBook Pro But it is Way More Power Hungry

The latest benchmark tests were conducted on the MSI GE76 Raider Laptop. As noted by Macworld, early benchmark results of the Alder Lake Core i9 chip confirm that it is more powerful than the M1 Max chip that powers the new 16-inch MacBook Pro. The Geekbench 5 results appear to show that the MSI GE76 Raider, housing the Alder Lake Core i9-12900HK, has an average multi-core score of 12,707. On the other hand, the M1 Max chip features a multi-core score of 12,244. In comparison, the Core-i9 processor is 4 percent faster than the M1 Max chip.

Geekbench is a general, overall usage benchmark that we use to test all of Apple’s chips in Macs and iPhones. In Geekbench 5’s multi-core CPU test, the Alder Lake Core i9 has a 5 percent lead over Apple’s processor. In the single-core test, Alder Lake’s improvement was 3.5 percent. That’s basically a draw. Alder Lake has a slight edge, but it many cases, you won’t even notice a difference.

Take note that the MSI GE76 Raider draws power from the wall while running the CPU-only Cinebench R23 benchmark. It was measured by PCWorld that the Core i9 processor was consistently resting in the 100-watts bracket and also jumped up to 140-watts at times. However, AnandTech found that Apple's M1 Max chip in the MacBook Pro models used only 40 watts, in comparison.

In terms of graphics, when you couple the Alder Lake Core i9 chip with NVIDIA's expensive RTX3080 Ti GPU, the differences are massive. It received an OpenCL score of 143,594 against the M1 Max's score of 54,774. However, if you consider the onboard GPU then Intel's score drops to 21,097.

Since the MSI GE76 is power-hungry, PCWorld has found the machine to last nearly six hours with offline video playback. In contrast, Apple advertises the 16-inch MacBook Pro to last up to 21 hours for offline video playback. Moreover, we also have to consider the massive difference in display technologies used by the machines, In terms of design, the GE76 is a chunky machine with a 17-inch display and weighs nearly 6.5 pounds. The new 16-inch MacBook Pro is 4.8 pounds.

This is all there is to it, folks. Share your valuable insights with us in the comments section below.

The post Intel’s Alder Lake Core i9 Chip Beats Apple’s M1 Max in Latest Benchmarks, But Consumes More Power by Ali Salman appeared first on Wccftech.

The White House wants the government to adopt a security model called Zero Trust within the next two years. The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) released a finalized federal strategy that lays out the initial details of the shift.

It told agencies to each designate a strategy implementation lead within 30 days. Agencies were given 60 days to submit an implementation plan to the OMB and Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA). 

"This memorandum sets forth a federal Zero Trust architecture (ZTA) strategy, requiring agencies to meet specific cybersecurity standards and objectives by the end of fiscal year (FY) 2024 in order to reinforce the government’s defenses against increasingly sophisticated and persistent threat campaigns," OMB acting director Shalanda D. Young wrote in the memo. "Those campaigns target federal technology infrastructure, threatening public safety and privacy, damaging the American economy and weakening trust in government."

The Zero Trust approach is based on the notion that local devices and connections can't be completely trusted. Users need to be authorized, authenticated and continuously validated. Organizations usually have control over Zero Trust setups, and users and devices are often only granted access to essential data, apps and services.

Google offers a Zero Trust solution called BeyondCorp. Last week, a company called Sikur revealed a smartphone it designed using Zero Trust principles.

The release of the strategy follows an executive order President Joe Biden signed last year with the aim of improving the country's cybersecurity, as well as a draft strategy that the OMB published in September.

The finalized strategy lays out a vision for the government in which staff have "enterprise-managed accounts, allowing them to access everything they need to do their job while remaining reliably protected from even targeted, sophisticated phishing attacks." The devices would be continuously monitored and each agency's system would be isolated, with reliable encryption for internal network traffic and sending data to other agencies.

Under this approach, enterprise applications would be tested internally and externally before staff could access them over the cloud. The OMB also said federal security teams and data teams would work together "to develop data categories and security rules to automatically detect and ultimately block unauthorized access to sensitive information."

The strategy directs agencies to harness strong, phishing-resistant multi-factor authentication, perhaps using physical methods like Personal Identity Verification cards. The OMB also told agencies to have a full inventory of devices that are authorized and used for official business and to make sure they meet CISA standards.

The White House cited the Log4j vulnerability that recently emerged as the latest proof that "adversaries will continue to find new opportunities to get their foot in the door."

"This strategy is a major step in our efforts to build a defensible and coherent approach to our federal cyber defenses,” national cyber director Christopher Inglis said in a statement. “We are not waiting to respond to the next cyber breach. Rather, this administration is continuing to reduce the risk to our nation by taking proactive steps towards a more resilient society."

Life in a galaxy far, far away sounds pretty great, but that's without considering the more mundane aspects of existing in the "Star Wars" universe. If you have your own starfighter or are a member of a fleet, you're fine, but what about the rest of the regular rubes who are forced to fly commercial? In "The Book of Boba Fett" chapter 5, fans were given a very relatable glimpse at what day-to-day life in the "Star Wars" universe might be like. It turns out that even if you're one of the coolest bounty hunters in the galaxy, you still have to deal with the intergalactic TSA. 

Minor spoilers for episode 5 of "The Book of Boba Fett" from here on out.

Relatability In A Fantasy World

In the fifth episode of "The Book of Boba Fett," we follow the Mandalorian Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal) as he tries to find his way back to the infant Grogu. The Mando's Razor Crest ship is long gone, and he doesn't exactly have a good way to get around the galaxy, which means he's forced to board a commercial flight. His time in the spaceport is full of the awkwardness of our own reality, including an uncomfortable elevator ride with a stranger, a security droid that refuses to let Djarin on board before taking off all of his weapons, and a whole load of people staring at him while he disarms. Anyone who's ever had to step aside in the TSA line to be patted down or have their bag inspected knows the strange combination of embarrassment and annoyance that comes with having a crowd of strangers stare at you in a vulnerable moment. Even Djarin seems a little unsettled, and he tells the droid that he knows exactly what he's handed over and expects to get it back. Just imagine if your luggage was lost, but it was full of irreplaceable Mandalorian weapons and artifacts and not just your socks and undies. Oof.

Where's The In-Flight Movie?

Once Djarin boards his flight, it looks pretty similar to our own commercial flights. There's a lot more headspace and legroom, but given that they're traveling through outer space and not just the stratosphere of a planet, that's a darn good thing. They also don't have to worry about aerodynamics the same way as jet planes, which gives them a lot more space to work with. The seats are still pretty close together, however, and Djarin is lucky that he has a kid in front of him instead of behind him. There's an adorable young Rodian in the seat in front of him, peeking over backwards before his mother tells him to get down and stop staring. It's incredibly human and ridiculously cute, and since Mando is missing his own little green guy, it's all the sweeter. Besides, he could have had a young Wookiee sitting behind him, kicking the seat and roaring, which might be the most terrifying thing in the "Star Wars" universe. 

Djarin's flight is a quick one, so we don't get a chance to see what kind of in-flight snacks are offered, or if they had an in-flight holographic movie available for viewing. Can they serve space peanuts, or do they have to worry about alien allergies? Can Djarin get some of those little bottles of booze to take with him to Tatooine? He might need it.

Pulled Over By Space Cops

Things don't get much better for Djarin even after he gets his own ride. He takes his new ship out on a test run, and is almost immediately pulled over by New Republic officers in X-wing fighters. They inform him that he was going way too fast near the commercial liner just leaving the planet, and they also don't love the fact that his registration doesn't match the ship's parts. When one of the officers questions Djarin about some of his previous exploits on Tatooine, our hero speeds off, leaving the X-wings in his metaphorical dust. The younger officer asks if they're going to report the incident, and is summarily asked if he really wants to go back to headquarters to fill out paperwork all day. Even in a galaxy far, far away, cops want nothing to do with bureaucracy. At least it works out for Djarin, and he's able to get back to Mos Eisley without incident. 

These tiny moments don't seem like much, but they help make the characters within this wacky universe feel more relatable. One thing that has made the "Star Wars" shows unique is the more grounded take, focusing on individual character stories instead of a giant overarching mythology. I love it ... as long as we never have to see the interstellar DMV. That's just a little too real for me. 

New episodes of "The Book of Boba Fett" debut Wednesdays on Disney+.

Read this next: The 20 Best Clone Wars Episodes Ranked

The post The Star Wars Universe is Cool Until You Have to Fly Commercial appeared first on /Film.

It's a matter of when, not if.

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Panos Panay, Chief Product Officer of Windows + Devices at Microsoft, has today announced that the upgrade offer to Windows 11 is beginning to enter its final phase of availability way ahead of the initial plan. This puts "us ahead of our initial plan of mid-20221," Panay said, adding:

Windows 11 is driving increased engagement with people spending 40% more time on their Windows 11 PC vs Windows 10. The multitasking and productivity advantages of the Windows PC are being used more than ever with nearly half of Windows 11 users using the new Snap Layouts.

If you are using Windows 10, you can use the PC Health Check app to determine if your device is eligible for the upgrade. Check the complete list of requirements to determine eligibility. If your device is eligible, open Windows Update and select Check for updates. Once the upgrade is ready for your device, you will see the option to download and install.

Your Windows 10 device should be running version 2004 or later, and have installed the September 14, 2021 security update or later, to upgrade directly to Windows 11.

New Windows 11 experiences coming soon

Microsoft is today making the preview of Android apps on Windows 11 available to Windows Insiders in the Release Preview Channel. A public preview is planned for next month.

Panay said that next month the company will bring new experiences to Windows that include a public preview of "how you can use Android apps on Windows 11 through the Microsoft Store and our partnerships with Amazon and Intel."

Next month's promised new features also include taskbar improvements with call mute and unmute, easier window sharing, weather in the taskbar. Windows 11 taskbar missed quite a few features with the operating system's original release. Microsoft continues to work to improve it on the new OS. The upcoming updates will also introduce redesigned Notepad and Media Player apps.

"In the last two years, Windows has seen a 6x increase in people using communication and collaboration apps like Cisco WebEx, Slack, Microsoft Teams, and Zoom," Panay said. He also revealed that Windows 10 and Windows 11 now run on 1.4 billion monthly active devices, with overall time spent on Windows up 10% over pre-pandemic levels.

- Relevant: how to skip the line and upgrade to Windows 11

The post Windows 11 Is Designated for Broad Deployment – Enters Its Final Phase of Availability by Rafia Shaikh appeared first on Wccftech.

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Crysis is set in a post-apocalyptic world where the Ceph ran rampant over the Earth; we are in a semi-post-apocalyptic world where crypto-bros ran rampant over the GPU market leaving only overpriced…

If you eat chicken eggs, you probably have a shell color preference for reasons you can’t explain. Some people only buy brown eggs because they believe they’re “healthier” or more “natural” than white—but is that based on anything more than marketing? What makes an egg white, brown, green, blue, or pink, and does it…

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"The Book of Boba Fett" is set on the sandy desert planet of Tatooine, and that means getting to see more of its regular residents, like the Tusken raiders, rancors and their handlers, and the Hutts. The series has also given us a bunch of information on the planet's bright-eyed brown-hooded thieves, the Jawas. After a gang of off-world Jawas gave Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal) a tough time on "The Mandalorian," the Tatooine Jawas of "The Book of Boba Fett" robbed Fett of his armor, leaving him on the sand in his space undies. On top of teaching us that Mandalorians (and their offspring) are no match for these silly sand rats, in Chapter 5 of "The Book of Boba Fett," we learn that they totally have sex, sometimes with humanoids. 

In the episode, Djarin returns to Mos Eisley and meets back up with his old comrade Peli Motto (Amy Sedaris), who wants to sell him a new spaceship to replace the destroyed Razor Crest. While he's there, Motto explains that she gained some of her knowledge about spaceship mechanics from dating a Jawa, and later gets hit on by another Jawa. That's right, "The Book of Boba Fett" has a Jawa trying to get into someone's pants. The Rule 34 fan artists out there are going to have a field day with this one. 

What's Sex With A Jawa Like?

Motto tells Djarin that she once dated a Jawa, and that they were rather furry under their cloaks. Fans have been trying to figure out exactly what Jawas look like for decades, with many believing that they are similar to bipedal rats. Originally creator George Lucas developed them as a rat-like species, but the look was too theatrical and they decided to cover the creature's faces and go for the distinctive glowing eyes instead. In Chuck Wendig's "Aftermath" book, Red Key Raiders gangster Adwin Charu even says that being around them is like smelling a whole horde of wet rats. Jawas communicate partially through scent glands as well, which is a very rat-like thing to do. Rats are notorious for their ability to reproduce quickly and in high numbers, which would explain the sheer number of Jawas wandering the galaxy when other species don't seem quite as successful. Not only do Jawas f***, but they apparently do it fairly successfully. 

This brings us to the intergalactic interspecies erotica of it all. There are a lot of different species with all kinds of anatomy in "Star Wars," and that means there is potential for a lot of weird sex. A person could theoretically have nookie with a Wookiee, bone a Bothan, or have a ménage à trois with some Mon Calimari. Donald Glover, who played space playboy Lando Calrissian in "Solo: A Star Wars Story," was on the money when he asked "how can you not be pansexual in space?" An open mind could lead to extraterrestrial ecstasy, after all. Just make sure you practice safe sex, because there's no telling what kinds of STIs you might get from sleeping with these furry little scrap scavengers. 

New episodes of "The Book of Boba Fett" debut on Wednesdays on Disney+. 

Read this next: 14 Greatest Romance Films Of All Time

The post The Book of Boba Fett Confirms That Jawas F*** appeared first on /Film.

In their most recent magazine issue, FANGORIA officially announced the nominations for its 2022 Chainsaw Awards, and horror fans everywhere can currently cast their votes HERE for their favorite films, television series, directors, artists, and more that kept us all thrilled, chilled and entertained throughout the course of 2021. Winners will be celebrated later this year during a yet-to-be-revealed Chainsaw Awards event.

The 2022 Chainsaw Awards Nominees include fan favorite films such as James Wan’s Malignant, Candyman from Nia DaCosta, and Edgar Wright’s Last Night in Soho, as well as indie hits like Werewolves Within from Josh Ruben, Rose Glass’ Saint Maud and Censor from Welsh filmmaker Prano Bailey-Bond.

2021 was also a big year for televised horrors, too, with the release of shows such as Chucky from creator Don Mancini, Mike Flanagan’s Midnight Mass and the hit anthology series Creepshow which all were honored with nominations, and this year sees the Chainsaw Awards adding a Best Documentary category for the first time ever as well.

“Horror is always fertile ground for excellence, and 2021 offered an embarrassment of riches,” said FANGORIA Editor-in-chief Phil Nobile Jr. “Most of the voter feedback this year has been how hard it was to pick a favorite in any category. We concur.”

All of the 2022 Chainsaw Awards are chosen by the horror community, and everyone can cast their vote now HERE. Voting for this year’s Chainsaw Awards will close on Thursday, March 31st at 11:59 PM EST.

Here’s a full list of the 2022 FANGORIA Chainsaw Award nominees:

BEST WIDE-RELEASE MOVIE

Malignant

Candyman

Last Night in Soho

The Night House

A Quiet Place Part II

BEST LIMITED-RELEASE MOVIE

Come True

Hurt

In the Earth

PG: Psycho Goreman

Werewolves Within

BEST FIRST FEATURE

Censor

My Heart Can’t Beat Unless You Tell It To

Saint Maud

The Stylist

The Vigil

BEST STREAMING-PREMIERE MOVIE

The Boy Behind the Door

Fear Street: 1666

Lucky

The Power

Violation

BEST FOREIGN-LANGUAGE MOVIE

Detention

The Feast

Lamb

The Queen of Black Magic

Titane

BEST SERIES

Brand New Cherry Flavor

Chucky

Creepshow

I Know What You Did Last Summer

Midnight Mass

BEST LEAD PERFORMANCE

Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Candyman

Niamh Algar, Censor

Morfydd Clark, Saint Maud

Barbara Crampton, Jakob’s Wife

Rebecca Hall, The Night House

Thomasin McKenzie, Last Night in Soho

Agathe Rousselle, Titane

Madeleine Sims-Fewer, Violation

Julia Sarah Stone, Come True

Anya Taylor-Joy, Last Night in Soho

BEST SUPPORTING PERFORMANCE

Luke David Blumm, Son

Jennifer Ehle, Saint Maud

Larry Fessenden, Jakob’s Wife

Vincent Lindon, Titane

Diana Rigg, Last Night in Soho

Bill Sage, Wrong Turn

Millicent Simmonds, A Quiet Place Part II

Jeremy T. Thomas, Antlers

Suzanne Voss, Dementia Part II

BEST DIRECTOR

Prano Bailey-Bond, Censor

David Bruckner, The Night House

Anthony Scott Burns, Come True

Julia Ducournau, Titane

Rose Glass, Saint Maud

Edgar Wright, Last Night in Soho

BEST SCREENPLAY

Prano Bailey-Bond & Anthony Fletcher, Censor

John Hsu, Fu Kai-ling, Chien Shih-keng, Detention

Ben Collins, Luke Piotrowski, The Night House

Rose Glass, Saint Maud

Madeleine Sims-Fewer, Dusty Mancinelli, Violation

BEST SCORE

John Carpenter, Cody Carpenter, Daniel Davies, Halloween Kills

Electric Youth, Pilotpriest, Come True

Ben Lovett, The Night House

Clint Mansell, In The Earth

Tom Schraeder, CJ Johnson, Hurt

BEST MAKEUP FX

Tara Brawley, Hurt

Mark Coulier, Blood Red Sky

Francois Dagenais, Spiral: From the Book of Saw

Christopher Nelson, Halloween Kills

Oriane de Neve, CLSFX Atelier 69, Kandisha

BEST CREATURE FX

Barrie Gower, The Green Knight

Robert Kurtzman, Black Friday

Legacy Effects, Shane Mahan, Antlers

Magee FX, Gaslight Studio, V/H/S/94

MastersFX, Steven Kostanski, PG: Psycho Goreman

BEST COSTUME DESIGN

Lizzie Cook, Candyman

Odile Dicks-Mireaux, Last Night in Soho

Eulyn Colette Hufkie, Bingo Hell

Chieko Matsumoto, Prisoners of the Ghostland

Neil McClean, Slumber Party Massacre

ACHIEVEMENT IN NON-FICTION

The Last Drive-In with Joe Bob Briggs

Elvira’s 40th Anniversary, Very Scary, Very Special, Special

The Boulet Brothers’ Dragula

BEST DOCUMENTARY

Woodlands Dark and Days Bewitched

Mail Order Murder

Dark Shadows and Beyond: The Jonathan Frid Story

BEST KILL

Chosen by write-in votes.

 

The post [News] File Your Vote for FANGORIA 2022 Chainsaw Awards appeared first on Nightmarish Conjurings.

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Tesla is the current king of electric cars. It beat numerous automakers with over 100 years of experience at their own game. However, even if electric cars are the future, they're not immune to damage and wear and tear.

Doctors have discovered an "antibody signature" that can help identify patients most at risk of developing long Covid, a condition where debilitating symptoms of the disease can persist for many months. From a report: Researchers at University hospital Zurich analysed blood from Covid patients and found that low levels of certain antibodies were more common in those who developed long Covid than in patients who swiftly recovered. When combined with the patient's age, details of their Covid symptoms and whether or not they had asthma, the antibody signature allowed doctors to predict whether people had a moderate, high or very high risk of developing long-term illness. "Overall, we think that our findings and identification of an immunoglobulin signature will help early identification of patients that are at increased risk of developing long Covid, which in turn will facilitate research, understanding and ultimately targeted treatments for long Covid," said Onur Boyman, a professor of immunology who led the research. The team studied 175 people who tested positive for Covid and 40 healthy volunteers who acted as a control group. To see how their symptoms changed over time, doctors followed 134 of the Covid patients for up to a year after their initial infection. When Covid strikes, IgM antibodies ramp up rapidly, while IgG antibodies rise later and provide longer-term protection. Blood tests on the participants showed that those who developed long Covid -- also known as post-acute Covid-19 syndrome (Pacs) -- tended to have low levels of IgM and the antibody IgG3.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Pdf manual - infos about B.E. (for vtmb + up 11.0.6 plus) - it's also inside the mod - 100 mb

Guerrilla Games has released Horizon Zero Dawn PC update 1.11.2, and we’ve got you covered with the release notes.

The new update is available now for download on PC and aims to improve VRAM management. In addition, this patch addresses several issues while using NVIDIA’s Deep Learning Super Sampling tech (DLSS) and AMD’s FidelityFX Super Resolution (FSR) technology.

Down below you'll find the official release, as released by the developer.

Horizon Zero Dawn PC Update 1.11.2 Release Notes

• Improved VRAM management when changing resolution or upscale mode, which could cause performance issues that were only fixed by restarting the game
• Fixed various assets using the wrong quality level while using DLSS/FSR
• Fixed visual artifact issue when clipping the camera through a surface like pushing against a wall (ie with large FOVs or ultrawide screens) while using DLSS/FSR
• Fixed visual corruption and reduced foliage flickering issues on certain AMD GPUs

Horizon Zero Dawn is available now for PC, PlayStation 4 (and PlayStation 5). The title was originally released on PlayStation 4 back in 2017. The game's PC port was released in 2020. A sequel, Horizon Forbidden West, is slated for a release next month on PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 4.

Upon its release in 2017, the new IP from developer Guerrilla Games managed to sell over 2.6 million copies in two weeks.

"We knew Horizon Zero Dawn was going to be something special, so to see the incredible critical reaction to a brand new game world translate into this level of sales is really gratifying," said Shawn Layden, then Chairman of SIE Worldwide Studios. "Guerrilla has created a game that is nothing short of exceptional, and the reaction we have seen from fans – from hours and hours of gameplay streaming to endless photo sharing – shows just how impactful it has been."

"We're thrilled that Horizon Zero Dawn has been embraced by critics and players alike. Developing the game was a labor of love, so it's extremely satisfying to see that it elicits the same passion and enthusiasm from the gaming public that we felt during its development," said then Guerrilla Managing Director Hermen Hulst (now PlayStation Studios head). "This is only the beginning of Aloy's story and our exploration of the world of Horizon Zero Dawn, with the team already hard at work on an expansion to the story."

 

The post New Horizon Zero Dawn PC Update 1.11.2 Improves VRAM Management and Addresses Several Visual Issues While Using DLSS/FRS by Aernout van de Velde appeared first on Wccftech.

Chapter 5 takes a slightly different approach from previous episodes, and it's amazing.

The Steam Deck is almost here, and Valve is busying itself with the final launch preparations for its handheld gaming PC, including updates to its own library of classic games. The developer has already turned its attention to Half-Life 2, deploying its largest patch in over 10 years. However, a more recent update found in its beta branch reveals Valve (much like The G-Man) still has plans for Gordon Freeman.

As spotted by gabefollower, Half-Life 2 now features a refreshed user interface that’s undoubtedly made for the Steam Deck. The text in the game’s main menu and in-game HUD is larger, with the latter featuring bigger selectable areas to accommodate touchscreens and the portable PC’s touchscreen.

Half-Life 2: Episode 1 & 2 have also received this same update, and it’s possible that we could see other Valve favourites like Team Fortress 2, CS:GO, and Portal get similar overhauls.

Few vestiges of the past convey the same sense of kitschy, Seinfeld-era charm like an office fax machine. You might not believe it, but there are still thousands of fax machines still standing and serving nationwide. Why?

After saving hard for months, you’ve finally got the new PS5 and can’t wait to explore the amazing gaming features it brings forth. But what should you do with your old gaming console? Hang on to it and revisit it from time to time, or toss it in your box of old stuff and focus on the new?

Wherein we discuss our 13th birthday, Peacemaker, Star Wars: The Book of Boba Fett, The Eternals, Walkbout Mini Golf, the big Activision Blizzard news, Wordle, and Final Fantasy Pixel Remaster. Starring Ryan Scott, Justin Haywald, and Ryan Higgins.

Long-time Slashdot reader shoor shares a report from Ars Technica: The refreshing kombucha tea that's all the rage these days among certain global demographics might also hold the key to affordable, environmentally sustainable living membranes for water filtration, according to a recent paper published in the American Chemical Society journal ACS ES&T Water. Experiments by researchers at Montana Technological University (MTU) and Arizona State University (ASU) showed that membranes grown from kombucha cultures were better at preventing the formation of biofilms -- a significant challenge in water filtration -- than current commercial membranes. Co-author Katherine Zodrow, an environmental engineer at MTU, led an earlier 2020 study demonstrating the feasibility of making sustainable living filtration membranes (LFMs) out of a bacterial cellulose network and the native microorganisms of a kombucha SCOBY (symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast) culture. Zodrow and her new collaborators made their membranes for this latest round of experiments the same way: by placing a SCOBY in a growth solution of sugar, black tea, and distilled white vinegar dissolved in deionized water. The researchers then placed the mixture in a temperature-controlled room for 10-12 days until a thick membrane formed on the mixture's surface. The grown membranes were stored in deionized water and used in experiments within eight days. The 20 liters of raw water samples for the experiments were taken from the three drinking water treatment plants in Butte, Montana: Basin Creek Reservoir, Moulton Reservoir, and Big Hole River. The water samples were then pretreated in accordance with standard practices at each plant. Both the LFMs and polymer-based filters, the researchers discovered, became clogged over time, causing them to flow and filter more slowly. The LFMs used in the experiments, however, showed between 19 and 40 percent better performance than their commercial counterparts on that score. The SCOBY-based LFMs were also more resistant to befouling. While biofilms eventually formed, fewer microorganisms were found in those films. Zodrow et al. sequenced the DNA of any bacteria and fungi in the SCOBY-based membrane and found that 97 percent of the bacteria present belonged to the genus Acetobacter. This is not surprising, since it's also the dominant bacteria in kombucha, but it may explain why the LFMs performed so well with regard to biofilms. As the name implies, a defining characteristic of this genus is the ability to oxidize organic carbon sources like sucrose, glucose, and ethanol into acetic acid, which is known for its antimicrobial properties. Acetobacter has also been shown to reduce or even remove biofilms, in keeping with the results of Zodrow et al.'s experiments.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Batman has one very important rule: he doesn't kill people. Through almost every iteration of the character, save for a handful of grimdark Frank Miller books, Batman is not a killer. His primary goal is justice, which in his mind involves throwing the criminals in prison or Arkham Asylum, where they usually end up breaking out and going on to do more crimes. 

In Matt Reeves' upcoming "The Batman," Robert Pattinson's version of Batman is a little bit grittier, but even he does his best to stick to the golden Bat-rule. In a recent interview with the French magazine Premiere, Pattinson explained his way of tackling the Dark Knight's complicated ethos, and it's going to make for a different, more complex kind of movie Batman. 

A Batman Consumed By Rage

Pattinson and Reeves have both been vocal about the darker tone of their version of the Caped Crusader, and Reeves has defended casting Pattinson despite the outcry of some Bat-fans. This version of Batman will be in his second year of crime-fighting, still trying to figure out his vigilante lifestyle. Pattinson explained that he thought of Batman as someone who used his nightly excursions to channel some deep-seated anger:

"There is this rule with Batman: he must not kill. It can be interpreted in two ways. Either he only wants to inflict the adequate punishment, or he wants to kill and his self-control prevents him from doing so! I imagined it that way from the rehearsal of the first fight, I thought it was funnier: something in him just wanted to slit the guy's throat! I told myself that if he spends his nights chasing criminals, it is impossible that he does not take pleasure in it. He suffers and it is a desire that overwhelms him. And by dint of knocking, his mind clears, he calms down, he reaches a state close to plenitude. I'm sure in this first fight, he manages to convince himself that every guy in front of him is the one who killed his mother (Laughs.) And so that allows him to vent all his rage. "

While most versions of Batman seem to avoid killing because they are only trying to dispense justice, this one seems to be out for revenge. His desire for bloodshed is what drives him, and he'll have to work hard to keep himself from becoming just like the villains he puts behind bars. This Batman is also a little more down and dirty, spending most of his time in the gutters. Pattinson shared that the only way he could play a superhero was if he was filthy:

"The interesting thing is that this Batman practically lives in the gutter. He's nowhere at home except on the street when he's wearing the suit. He lives a criminal life, but without committing crimes! I felt like I could get something out of that. Anyway, I could only play a superhero if he was really dirty!"

Complete with a grimy, grim superhero, "The Batman" is set to swoop into theaters on March 4, 2022. 

Read this next: Batman Movies Ranked From Worst To Best

The post Robert Pattinson Has Given Batman's No-Kill Code a Lot of Thought appeared first on /Film.

Yesterday President Biden remarked as to what a 'stupid son of a b*tch' Peter Doocy is, here Jen Psaki once again hands him the answer he was begging for, but not the one he wanted.

Biden was right pic.twitter.com/GBIjRNmUBO

— Acyn (@Acyn) January 25, 2022

Most of us will never get the chance to be a part of and influence "Star Wars" and, instead, will be enjoying it from afar with the rest of the fans around the world. But everyone once in a while, a fan gets the chance to live out their dream and become a part of a galaxy far, far away. Such is the case with actor Rory Ross, who plays one of the Tusken Raiders in "The Book of Boba Fett" and is also playing a Stormtrooper in the much-anticipated "Obi-Wan Kenobi" series. For him, the dream has come full circle in a pretty profound way.

Ross underwent some real hardships in his youth that ended up being tied directly to his love of "Star Wars," which ultimately informed his quest to become an actor in the first place. Now? He's living the dream and is actually a part of this iconic franchise, appearing in a project that fans have been waiting decades to see, and another one that might arguably be the most anticipated thing the franchise has produced in several years.

I recently had the chance to speak with Ross about his experience working on the shows. His devotion to "Star Wars" was made crystal clear right off the bat, as he showed up for our Zoom call dressed in full Jedi garb, ready to go. We discuss how he found his way to the franchise, the crazy level of secrecy that goes into being involved in this universe, what to expect from "Obi-Wan Kenobi," and much more.

"It Just Seemed Like A Scene From A Zombie Movie."

Man, I feel like I am way underdressed. You did the whole thing.

All good. It's all about the manifestation. You got to put it out there. So every time people see me, I'm trying to be the Jedi I want to be, as much as possible.

Well, you're a hell of a lot closer than I think most of us are, given what you're doing right now, man. I often tell people that I don't have memories that go back further than my love of "Star Wars." My mom was one of those people. She saw it like 14 times the year it came out, and then she indoctrinated me. t's a big part of my life. So anytime I get to talk to anyone associated with the thing I love so much, it's a big deal. That's how I came to it. What was your relationship to "Star Wars?" How did it enter your life, and what was your relationship to it before being a part of it?

My journey of "Star Wars" happened when I was about six years old. I grew up on a farm in Lockridge, Iowa. It was a very small farm. Well, small farm is 300 some acres, but we had emus, ostriches, and all these exotic animals, which was really cool. But what was crazy is, during that time period, I somehow contracted a rare fungus and my hair started just falling out. That was kind of scary. It was like "Oh, what's happening? I'm going bald. That sucks." What I came to find out was that my scalp was actually falling off.

What?!

My mom was literally grabbing pieces of my scalp and then trying to hide it from me, because she was like, "This is insane." She was freaking out. I remember we went to the doctor, our local doctor. He didn't know what the heck was going on. They were trying to be hush-hush about it and keeping me cool, giving me a lollipop or something like that.

Holy s***.

They sent a part of my scalp to the CDC in Atlanta, and '97 or so, somewhere in there.

A couple of years before "The Phantom Menace." Right on.

Yeah. So, they're trying to figure out what's happening, and then, all of a sudden, we got asked to come back in. They told us to go in the back entrance of the hospital, and it was a very weird thing. We show up, he takes us in the back door, and he just wraps my head into a towel, and he says, "You need to take him to Iowa City Children's Hospital. They're waiting for him. You're going to go to this entrance. Don't stop. Don't go home. Go straight there." And I was, I think, asking for McDonald's or something, and my mom was like, "No, we're going straight there."

God...

We get there, and it just seemed like a scene from a zombie movie. Because when we got there, it was hazmat suit people awaiting us. They took me into this room and went through this whole, weird decontamination process. I remember once they deemed that we were safe, in a sense, they were trying to give me an IV. And I had never seen a needle at that point, at least for myself. Maybe for the cattle and things like that, but I never had to have one come through.

I remember they were trying to get me to read "Curious George," and they're getting closer and closer, and then the nurse missed the vein. Then it was like, "Jigs up," and I felt so bad for my mom because she was trying to hold me down, and all these people are coming in, and I'm freaking out. In that first day, it was very traumatic. My mom went to the media library, and she brought "Star Wars: A New Hope." And that was my first foray into "Star Wars."

It was an amazing storytelling experience. Also, Luke and I both grew up on a farm, and both trying to figure our ways out into what's happening. Seeing his journey and just how he was able to overcome these insurmountable obstacles, that's what I needed right there. Because I had no idea what was happening. I mean, I was in the hospital for close to a month. I was in the infectious disease ward, and I remember they were kids that were with me that were getting better, but there were also kids that, that was it, that was the end of the line for them.

"I Want To Bring Hope And Inspiration To People, Just Like Luke Did For Me."

Man. That's heavy.

Yeah. I mean, and even at our age, anytime someone dies, it's a hard thing to deal with. But when you're so young, and you're feeling so full of life and thinking you're invincible, to all of a sudden see that that's not the case, at any point, that could be the end of the line for you, it's a pretty life-changing experience. When I left, I was like, "I don't know what I'm doing with my life, but whatever it is, I want to bring hope and inspiration to people, just like Luke did for me." That's something that has permeated throughout my life. I started leaving home I guess when I was 13. But when I actually left, I think I've been saying 13, but I think it was technically 15, so it's kind of a murky area. But it's partly because my stepdad and I, we really just started not getting along.

Same thing with my stepdad, that resulted in a similar exodus.

I could go further into that, but it's basically kind of like Uncle Owen, where you just don't see eye to eye. I tried to be a farmer, and that's really all you can be sometimes in Iowa. I tried to work in the farm, and feed the animals, and all that stuff, and try to be who he wanted me to be, or even be a cowboy. I rocked the cowboy boots and all this stuff. I was good at lasso, but man, I was terrible at horses. I broke my wrist on a horse. I got bit in the ass by a horse. Horses and I just weren't simpatico.

I officially left at 15. I needed a new beginning, a new life. I went to this private school in Washington. That was the only way my mom would let me leave. I paid 10 grand for my freshman and sophomore year each, and then 12 grand for my junior and senior year. While everyone else is getting to play and have fun, I'm over here working my butt off, working two different jobs and scholarships. It was very important to me.

Later on, going into college, I almost went into aerospace engineering. I did my first two years in mechanical engineering, went all the way to Calc 4. So I was doing close to ordinary differential equations, and parabolic arcs, and all that kind of stuff. I got to go to the jet propulsion laboratory here in California. It was my first time here, and I saw the Mars Curiosity rover. That was super cool. My name is on the rover. It's in space, on Mars.

Oh, that's incredible.

Yeah. It was super. But it was all, again, because of "Star Wars." "Star Wars" has just been such an amazing thing in my life. Then when I decided not to do the aerospace engineering and really focus on acting, again, just that life mission of how do I give hope and inspiration to people, that has been something that has been a huge thing. So ever since I've been an actor, I've been trying to make sure that 10% of everything I make has been going to... I've been doing donations to Charity: Water, which is an awesome organization that helps provide clean water for everyone out there. They're someone that I've been really following.

When I was in university, I shaved my head to a rainbow mohawk to help fundraise money to build bathrooms in Honduras. Because, again, with the whole fungus, I have a bald spot on the back of my head. And ever since all those surgeries happened when I was young, I always try to make sure my head was covered. I was embarrassed. So, I never wanted to be vulnerable again to that sort of an extent. And instead, I found a way of, how do I make this, that it is something that's going to give back?

I said if I raised $500, I'd shave my head into a rainbow mohawk, and we raised over three grand. And I was like, "Oh, I got to do it." So I rocked it out. "Star Wars" has always been something so important to me, so dear. To finally have that go full circle and be a part of an integral part of "Star Wars," maybe not as the Jedi that I'm hoping that one day I'll be able to try to imbue, but it's still been an amazing journey, and it's so awesome to get texts and things from people of how it's inspiring them in terms of following their dreams. As an actor, that's the greatest compliment I could ever receive.

"I Think There's Something To Be Said About When You Put Your Dreams Out There."

You go on this crazy journey, you abandon science in favor of arts and acting, obviously with "Star Wars" in mind. How does one become a Tusken Raider? Does Lucasfilm just call you? Do you audition to be a Tusken Raider? Because I'd understand if you're auditioning to be one of the biker gang from the third episode or something. But a Tusken Raider, I don't know. Was that just, you just luck out as the best background extra in history?

I wish it was a little bit more like, "Oh my gosh. I was selected out of this heavy pool." So there's Central Casting. They're the background talent [agency]. They do a lot of stuff on a lot of different shows. I remember getting a text from them, and it said "buccaneer." I was like, "Oh my gosh. This is amazing. I know what this is." Because I'm a sleuth, I've been following all the different code words and all that stuff. This is freaking "Book of Boba Fett."

You knew exactly what that was.

Oh, I knew what was up real fast. I was like, "Oh my gosh." Also, it said Turkey Raider. And I was like, "It's got to be Tusken Raider."

Yeah. That's pretty clear.

It was pretty easy to decipher. There's two things. One is, I think there's something to be said about when you put your dreams out there, when you're trying to manifest something. Once the universe knows what you want, it may not always go in the way that you might hope or perceive, but it definitely listens. I remember in February I was on the set with Tamera Mowry on this baker show. I was a stand-in, and we were just talking about dreams, and she was like, "Yeah, you got to put it out there." It was an hour after that conversation when I got the text from Central Casting.

That's amazing.

There's definitely something to that. The other thing is I got really fortunate because the outfit was originally fit for my buddy, Greg Kufera. He was taken in by John and Robert, and they actually designed it specifically for him, because he had been part of "The Mandalorian," and he was a Tusken Raider in that. They shot things out of order, and what happened is, I guess they had done the train scene and the robing scene pretty early on. But when production shut down and it came back, he wasn't available.

Oh s***.

So Greg and I are the same size, the same height, and everything else. So in that sense, it was selective - there's only so many people that are like that, and it just so happened we're both big "Star Wars" nerds. I remember getting fitted, the costume people were like, "Man, you are pretty similar to Greg. Not just in stature and everything else, but in mind." I was like, "Oh, okay. This guy seems cool to meet." It was fun to be able to meet him later on. But he got to do that really cool scene with Boba and making him a part of the tribe. Because they shot out of order, I got to do episode 1 and parts of episode 2, and that's why you see me first in that Tusken.

I am just a gigantic, gigantic "Star Wars" fan. Especially because you're filming on the Volume, it's this very interesting environment, does filming a gigantic "Star Wars" show destroy any of the mystique of it for you?

So, I want to say that the stuff that I primarily filmed for "Book of Boba Fett" was actually not on the volume.

Oh, so you were on location?

Yeah. We were on location. We had taken up this big parking lot and put railroad cars so that people couldn't see inside or know what was happening. I remember there were vaccinations happening right across from us, so we always joked about, "Hey, can we jump in line early, try to see if we can't get our COVID vaccine," because it was in February. But it was really cool because you see all the sand was literally there, the tents are there. So we didn't have that virtual aspect of being on the Volume and how they're able to project and make it extend out in that sense.

That sand was real. It got everywhere. I understand Anakin's frustration with sand after that, because it just was getting into boots, it was getting in the hair, and you're taking a shower and you're still finding it. But it was really cool. I remember that first day I was on set, it was just crazy because I'm understanding that this is Tatooine, and then I remember seeing the sun, but even though I'm only seeing one sun literally, because that's what we have, I could see the two suns. It was just a fricking cool experience, and I'm just like, "Okay. Okay," just taking it all and stride. Maybe breathing a little heavier than I should have been, but it was just fun.

Okay, so you're outside, on location. I know it's February, but how hot and intense is the costume? Because it's a full deal.

It is a full deal. I mean, you have multiple layers. Anybody knows that, for the most part, in order to preserve heat if you're cold, you put something on your head, so you have the mask on, and it's got multiple wrappings around that, so you're getting pretty hot. I think even in the actual desert tribes, like the Bedouin people, which is kind of what the Tuskens are representing a little bit, or where they brought inspiration from, but even in the desert, they will typically wear that, because you have the wind coming, so it keeps you cool.

Sometimes the wind didn't always make it, or it was hot wind. Man, that was miserable, because now you're not getting cooled at all. You're just sweating. You're just losing moisture at that point. That was a little difficult. But it was a small sacrifice for me of being a part of the world and just understanding the important part of the Tusken Raiders. Because we had only seen them a little bit in "New Hope," and we saw them as barbarians. Then we saw, obviously, in "Attack of the Clones" when Anakin goes to rescue his mom and he calls them savages. But then, to be here and to know this is exploring more of their society and culture, amazing.

"We're Just Trying To Make Sure That It's As Polished As Possible."

I understand there's things you can and cannot talk about. If I'm to understand this correctly, you are also going to be in the "Obi-Wan" show.

Yeah.

Are you going to be a Tusken as well? Because sometimes, the costume performer thing in "Star Wars," you get to wear multiple hats.

In "Kenobi," I've already been able to say publicly I'm a Stormtrooper.

Oh, hell yeah. That's awesome.

That was really, really fun. A really great time. I got to actually explore the Volume, so I do understand how that experience was. It's really crazy to see this panoramic screen and how they're able to basically, where the camera's pointing, it can either focus in or make it feel like they're walking and it's expanding out or contracting. But it was really discombobulating when you do a cross or something, or you're walking and you're doing whatever, that you cross in front of the frame and you're seeing one thing, and then all of a sudden, you go on the other, and it's not moving anymore. You're like, "Whoa." It just disorients you for a second. You're like trying to have your mind catch up, I guess, is the best way to say it.

So, for "Obi-Wan" specifically, every once in a while, there's something that'll happen in a fandom where everyone is behind it. I feel like every brand of "Star Wars" fan is excited for this "Obi-Wan" show. I know you can't say anything, but from your limited perspective, how excited should fans be about it, from an insider who was there?

It's going to be awesome. It's going to be really, really cool. Having the connective tissue between the prequels and "A New Hope," and just understanding where Obi has been and what's happening, story-wise, I think fans are going to enjoy that. It's just going to be a really great time. I think a lot of fans are like, "Where's the trailer? What's happening?" I think the big part of it is we're just trying to make sure that it's as polished as possible, so that when it comes out, it's not going to have that "Game of Thrones" moment, where there's a coffee cup in the corner that they missed or something like that. It's going to have a lot of love that's poured into it, and it's just going to hopefully blow people's minds and just really enjoy seeing what's been going on.

Okay. You're a Stormtrooper.

Right.

Did you film with Vader? Were you on set with Darth Vader?

[Silence]

You don't have to answer if you can't answer.

[Laughs] I'm like...

I don't want to get you in trouble.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

"It Was A Double-Edged Sword For Me."

Obviously, secrecy is a big part of "Star Wars." How intense is the secrecy from an actor on your level? How much stuff do you have to sign? Is there a sniper pointed at you right now?

I mean, you definitely sign a lot of NDAs, so that's why I have to be careful on talking about proprietary technology. Obviously, the Volume has already been explored in the "[Disney] Gallery" series, which I definitely recommend people watching that if they're curious about behind the scenes. Especially when it comes to "Kenobi," there hasn't been a lot out there. So that's why I'm like, "I'm a Stormtrooper. People are going to enjoy it. It's going to be a fun time."

I mean, you want to make sure that you're not spoiling anything, as well, for the fans. Because you imagine if someone knew about Grogu, or even Luke Skywalker [in "The Mandalorian]. That would be devastating to know beforehand. So I would never want to be the one that would give out any of those big things or anything like that, and just enjoy the show. I'm happy to talk with the fans and stuff like that. But yeah, got to be very careful what you do and don't say.

You're in Jedi regalia right now. It feels like once you're in the Lucasfilm family, you end up in the Lucasfilm family. You're a Stormtrooper. You're a Tusken Raider. Nobody's seen your face yet. You got a lot of potential opportunity down the road. What's the dream, man? John and Dave bring you in, and they're like, "All right, Rory. What do you want to do?"

My ultimate dream, honestly, especially because we saw Luke in "The Mandalorian" season 2, the finale ... I'm sure I'm not the only one that shed some tears and just being like, "Oh my gosh," seeing the X-Wing, and you're like, "That is Luke Skywalker." And then you see the green lightsaber ignite, and you're like, "Oh, Luke Skywalker in his prime. Oh gosh," freaking out. I would love if they end up showing it before the ransack of Kylo Ren and the Knights of Ren. If they showed Luke Skywalker's Jedi Temple, I would love to be a student in that. That's where I would love my face to be seen.

If there's a chance of the story going on because I go into the World Between Worlds or something like that, and then you find me past the sequel trilogy, or whatever it is, that would be amazing. That would be freaking awesome. Even just to have that moment and be able to share a word with Luke or something like that, but that's where I am now in canon as a Jedi, would be freaking amazing. To have that full circle and to have that story united with Luke, who gave me the hope that I needed in that desperate time would be fantastic.

Man, you know your s***. Dropping the World Between Worlds reference in there.

Oh yeah. "The Clone Wars" season 7, and seeing the Siege of Mandalore. I would love to see the purge and all that stuff. That would be awesome, understanding what's happened there and then seeing "Rebels." I am a big "Star Wars" fan, and on "Kenobi" and "Book of Boba Fett," I always had to be a little careful. Because I know a lot of different things because of my wide array of knowledge, if I accidentally say something to somebody, they might be like, 'Oh,' and then try to carry that on to somebody else. I was like, "Okay, I want everyone to just enjoy this." It was a double-edged sword for me, because then it was like, now I know what's coming, and so, as a fan, I'm like, "Ah, I can't enjoy it quite as much." But then maybe I will because I know it." It'll be interesting to see as it comes along.

"The Book of Boba Fett" returns with new episodes Wednesdays on Disney+. "Obi-Wan Kenobi" does not yet have a release date set but is expected to arrive this year.

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The post The Book of Boba Fett and Obi-Wan Kenobi Actor Rory Ross is Living Out His Star Wars Dreams [Interview] appeared first on /Film.

HBO Max's "Peacemaker" has been on everyone's lips since the show debuted earlier this month, especially the masterful opening credits sequence featuring a stone-faced dance number starring the entire cast. Some people weren't sure what to make of this sequence, but it only takes a handful of views to become absolutely obsessed with the mesmerizing movements set to Wig Wam's "Do You Wanna Taste It." We couldn't get enough of this opening and vowed to learn absolutely everything about it. Which is why we sat down (over Zoom, obviously) to talk with Charissa-Lee Barton, the brilliant choreographer behind the addictive dance we're all learning to do in our living rooms. 

Curious how the hell this dance came to be? Read on to learn absolutely everything that led to the best opening credits sequence of the year. Or maybe any year.

In The Right Place At The Right Time

You've choreographed so, so many things, did you ever imagine you'd be choreographing a dance for a James Gunn superhero series?

Never, never. Although, I... It's funny because in, I think it was around August or September of 2020, and so everything was pretty shut down, and no people were going anywhere, and my husband (actor Alan Tudyk) and I were in Vancouver. And I remember looking on a local website and it mentioned some of the things that are going on and there's a lot of show shoots, and I read James Gunn is in Vancouver and going, "Ah, cool. Wow, he'd be a really cool person to run into." And I had a kind of moment with it, as someone who loves his work, I thought that it'd be pretty neat. Plus, I was like, he doesn't know me, but I know Nathan Fillion who's known him for a really long time. And at the time I wasn't really fully aware that Alan [Tudyk] knew him either on a professional level. And so I kind of went, "Wow, there's some connections there, but who knows? But it would be really cool to know what he was working on." And then nothing came of it. But then three months later I was going to, well, through Zoom, pitch some ideas that I had for this dance to him. And I was just so crazy that it was like a seed was planted and then three months later, there I was talking to him, pitching to him through Zoom. It was a really cool little like, "Wow, that's interesting." I've always, you loved how he uses dance and how he integrates dance. I think that dance is generally underused. He's always been a person that finds a way to build it in. I guess the simple answer to your question is no way, I could never imagine getting to do this.

James Gunn Appreciates The Art Of Dance

I like that you brought up how he incorporates dance because I'm just thinking about all of his movies right now, and even in his strictly horror fare, there are a lot of people that will express excitement via dance, even if it's just something small. So yeah, he's definitely somebody who understands and appreciates that form of expression.

Yeah. And I loved that he used his own moves for Groot, for the Baby Groot dance. I remember seeing that and going "Wow, that's awesome. I don't know of any other director that would do that. All right. Neat."

Right? So just based on my own knowledge of looking at the dance, and this is obviously no shade to anyone that's in it, you were clearly choreographing for a group of people with a wide variety of experience. How do you begin that process of figuring out things that are accessible for all involved? Because it looks like some of them definitely have some dance experience and then some people are movers, not dancers.

Yeah. I had to be organized with it. So I started by doing my own research on all of them. And I dug as deep as I could into the internet to find any kind of footage or any kind of reference to dance or movement for all of them. So like Rizwan [Manji] I learned had studied at AMDA [American Musical and Dramatic Academy], and I thought AMDA, I believe, has some movement classes, at a minimum, some movement classes. So I know he's had some experience. So, great! Check! And then I saw Danielle Brooks on "Lip Sync Battle" and she kind of moves around the audience and I was like, "Oh, Danielle can MOVE. She can dance." She's got a natural ability that I was like, "Cool. That's great." I knew that Jen [Holland] was a gymnast. So I kind of went through the list and tried to get a sense of how comfortable or uncomfortable they might be with movement. But I also knew that for non-dancers to be told that they're going to do a dance and then show up to rehearsals is very intimidating.

"I Want You All To Look Good"

Oh, god, yeah. Yeah.

So I had to take a little bit of a psychological approach to it as well. Like when they would come into the room, my intent was setting the tone of the room and the energy of the room as calm, and fun, and really positive. So that if they walked in, and pretty much all of them walked in with a little bit of that tension of like, "I don't know what we're about to do, but learning choreography is not easy," I would set the tone right up the bat with like, "I've made this very attainable. And I'll show you what I've done so far, and it may look complex, but as we begin to break it down into its component parts, you'll find that it's actually a lot more attainable than you think." So I set that tone right off the bat and I was like, "Look, I'm very cognizant of it all and I want you all to look good." And I think that calmed everybody down right off the top. That, and I would like to mention, that they all showed up. What made a big difference was that they all showed up so committed to the idea and were so committed to learning and doing what they needed to do to get it.

I love that. It can be so scary, so I'm glad they really went for it.

I think that comes from just a level of being a pro, and they're all such pros, but it also came because they trust James [Gunn]. They have such a trust in him and his vision that I think it made it easier for them to then trust me, without really knowing anything about me. And that really smoothed the way. But having their commitment to the process was huge. It was huge. And I wasn't sure what to expect or if I could expect that. And that was another thing that I wanted to make sure, is also setting the tone that there's no room for, "Oh, I can't do that." It's, "You're going to do it and it's just a matter of finding a way to get there that's as painless, and as fun, and as hopefully joyful as enjoyable as possible." But then within that, we had very, very limited time because they're all in it, the whole show, so they were shooting all the time. I had to be very organized with it. And so I started with finding how the moves spent felt in my own body. So I listened to the song probably 100 times before I even moved, before I even started thinking about movement, it was all finding the deeper layers of the feeling of the song within the context of what James was looking for.

Yes, Alan Tudyk Knows The Choreography

Oh, fascinating.

Then I went into a room and I just started kind of like moving as simply as possible to find what felt appropriate in my own body. And then from there started kind of setting it while, keeping in mind that when I would start to get too complex, that I'd probably have to tone it down. But luckily I had my husband Alan present with me through a lot of it. Sometimes he would get home late and it'd be like 11 o'clock at night. I'd be like, "Hey, can you try something? I need to see if this is accessible to a non dancer." Because it is hard for me to gauge sometimes. And he was such a willing partner. He was able to really help me find that line. As I feel like he was an average, like the mid level actor-non-dancer-person.

Ha! I love that!

And then once I kind of established a foundation for it and had gotten feedback from James, from what I had filmed myself doing and what I had filmed Alan and I doing...so I could demonstrate "Here's what a dancer looks like doing it, and here's what a non-dancer/actor looks like doing it," so he could see. Once he sent feedback on that and he was like, "Yep, keep going," then it was scheduling the actors and I had each of them for about an hour. I got a really good sense within the first five minutes of working with them how quickly they were going to learn, how naturally they could move, and what they could and couldn't do, and then I went home and then I would modify it accordingly. But I didn't have to modify too much! They worked really, really hard to get to where I wanted them to get to, and that was really neat. That was really cool for me to watch them start with, like, "Oh my God." In some cases, "How? That looks really complicated!" and then to see them show up a couple of rehearsals later just nailing it was really exciting.

John Cena Had The Least Amount Of Rehearsals

Oh, that's so lovely. In addition to like, everything that I love, I'm also a huge wrestling fan. So I've watched Cena move since I was a child and I was like, "This is an interesting color on him! Okay."

So he, I actually had the fewest rehearsals with.

He's in like every scene.

He's in like everything and a really busy guy. He had just released a couple of books the same day that I had the first rehearsal with him. Which to me is really impressive. Anybody who writes and publishes a book is like, "Wow, that's, that's cool. That's awesome." So he was doing that. He was doing "Wipe Out," he was doing "Peacemaker..." the guy is really busy. So anyway, I had him for the fewest amount of rehearsals, but he's so smart, and he did the most in the title sequence! So it was like the least amount of time and he's doing the most...this will be challenging. But he was so smart that within the first rehearsal, he had already learned half of it. And we filmed it so that he could take the footage home and practice on his own whenever he could. And I don't know when he found the time to do it, but he did. And then showed up to that next rehearsal and had it. And then I taught him the rest and he was just so quick. It was really, really impressive, especially for someone who had never learned choreography like this.

Gunn Knew Exactly How He Wanted The Opening To Look

With the characters being introduced at different times, just what we see visually in that opening sequence where we start in these small groups, were you in charge of being able to separate the small groups or was that James' idea of the groups starting in different places before they all moved together?

Well, it started with what James wrote in the script, which was very clear. He wrote very clearly that if we open on Peacemaker standing in the middle of the space and he starts to do this weird dance and then Vigilante and Adebayo fold in. And then it became a little more general like "and then other people fold in" and so on. And then he wrote with very clear direction, they all do this weird dance with a straight face, no emotion. And then at the end, Eagly flies in and joins the group. So all of that was spelled out. I had some structure to work within, thankfully and the first thing that I did was read the scripts. And so I had a really good sense, I mean, read any of the scripts and you recognize right off the top, the tone. It's very, very clear what the tone is and he's such a brilliant writer. And so the context of what he had written for the sequence, and the tone, and personality of the show gave me boundaries. And then within that, so I knew this song. What was tricky was finding the edit of the song, because it was a title sequence so it had to be within a certain amount of time. We couldn't use the full song. So finding where to cut the song so that the phrasing of the song also allowed for the introduction of new characters. So once I found what that was and ran it past them, and everybody was happy with it, then I had this song structure to work with.

Gunn Knew Exactly How He Wanted The Opening To Look (Cont.)

And then it was just a matter of determining and working with James to determine who came in when. And I understood from having read the scripts, who the characters were, whether they worked together, what their relationships were like. An integral part of the process was working with sixteen professional dancers who were stand-ins for the actors as she choreographed much of the movement, before teaching it to the cast. The dancers were such pros and were up for trying ANYTHING and really helped bring my vision to life. And I knew that we wanted to do a big unison section at the end. 

So the unison at the end is kind of where I started knowing that everybody was going to do it and then kind of moved, I think to the beginning for John and then the trio, and then everything else just kind of filled in as we went along. But it was a complex process to find a that, because we were dealing with a time constraint with musical phrasing, wanting to introduce all of the characters in the proper way, while keeping it interesting, but simple enough that it's accessible. And then adding in a layer of musicality so that there was some syncopation in there. And then piecing it all together so that the energy continued to build. So there was a lot of planning and lots of experimentation to ultimately arrive at what we have.

The Dance Is A Variety Of Styles On Purpose

It looks so incredible, watching all the moving parts and I'm like, "This is so impressive to get all of this in motion." In the article that I had written, I tried my best to describe dance in a way that felt a little accessible to people who don't know anything about it, but I'm curious about the actual answer of where your inspiration came from in regard to the moves and the styles. What were you actually drawing from?

So many things, there were so many things. And it was, again, fun for me. Another thing that I'll say is that Simon Hat is one of the producers on the show. And I was in communication with him throughout the process, between him and James the most. And he was such a champion of the whole process. And I really valued that and appreciated it. And the trust from James, and the producers, and the entire creative team throughout gave me a lot of freedom and creative freedom to try things into experiment and to really get as creative as I could with it. Which isn't always the case. So the value of them going, "Yeah, go do it. You know what the constraints are and now go." And I felt their support through the entire process that also made a huge difference. So how that relates to the question you just asked is that it allowed me to kind of choose my own influences. And I wanted to kind of give a nod to a few different things. I started with tap and jazz in my own training when I was three and I continued that for years. And I was in competitions and things like that before I got into ballet, and then I focused pretty solely on ballet for a few years. So you can see in the piece those early influences of jazz. And jazz has continued, most of the stuff that I make has a lot of jazz influence. It's just sort of naturally how I move and what I like. So the jazz elements also are sort of a bit of a nod to Fosse with some of the hand stuff.

Inspirations Ranged From David Parsons To Little Big's 'Skibidi'

Oh yeah, I spotted that right away.

Obviously there's the tap in there with Mel Tuck at the end doing the footwork, that was really fun to put in there. I danced as an apprentice with a ballet company for a year and ballet has kind of had a big influence on everything that I've done ever since then, so getting that ballet element in there was really fun. And then a lot of the modern dance training that I got at Julliard had an influence in it. The [square arm] shape and that kind of stuff is very influenced by Paul Taylor and David Parsons's work. David Parsons, who I toured with for four years had a lot of this in there. There's actually a couple of moves in there that are influenced by one dance in particular that I did with Dave Parsons for years. It was a really fun, silly dance. The "Skibidi" video was also an inspiration.

Yes, yes! 

I love that video.

So do I.

There is this crazy video I always forget the name of, of this old, Italian singer who wanted to create a song that sounded like English, but he didn't know how to speak English, so he just made the whole song with sounds that to him sounded like English but it's gibberish.

That's so fun.

It's just an insane music video with dozens of people doing the craziest movements and the weirdest stuff. And although there's not a direct influence in the movement itself, the craziness of it, the weirdness of it, helped. Every now and again, I would watch it just to stay in that weird zone. So that had an influence. Yeah, so there was a lot, but ultimately it's rooted in what felt most connected to the music and to the quality of the show in my own body. (The video in reference is "Prisencolinensinainciusol," for those interested.)

"I Felt Good About My Own Work"

Ha! That's wonderful. My last question for you, I suppose, is how does it feel knowing that there are likely thousands of people, or maybe it was just me, who have been learning your dance in the living room? Because I can tell you a couple of other people at /Film were like, "I've watched it so many times. I think I know it now." And I am not opposed to starting a little Zoom dance team.

You should! That would be great! I was talking to a friend of mine, and I was like, "God, we'd love to see groups of people doing this together in their yard, or in the streets, or whatever, it would be great." It's wild. I felt really good about it. James was really happy. We shot it in one day, and after we shot it, I felt really good because James felt really good. I felt good about my own work but it's another thing to have the producers and the creator of the show happy with how it was done. And so I felt good about it from the day that we shot it until the day it was released. And I thought it would be well received even though it's really weird. But I didn't expect it to have the effect that it's had in terms of how much people seem to love it and want to learn it. I had hoped to do that. An early conversation that I had with the team was if we do this right people will want to learn it. And people won't want to skip the intro, and will find the layers in it, and keep watching it because they keep seeing new things. And so that's sort of the goal. So it's nice to know that, okay, we achieved that. But it is another thing to see the feedback and that people seem to want to watch it over and over and learn it.

"It Was A Dream Job"

Oh, totally.

And I think the thing that's most satisfying is I've seen a couple of people tweet about how much joy it brings them. And to me, that's the ultimate. Joy is such an elusive feeling. To have made something that elicits joy just through the observation or the doing of it is a really neat win. That's a really cool thing. It's a tricky feeling to sort of ignite. And I was in complete joy through the whole process. Even in the stressful, and there were some very, very stressful moments, there was always through the underlying, the foundation of this feeling of joy that sort of permeated the whole thing. So it's reflective of what the experience and the process was for me.

That's so, so wonderful.

Oh, and the other thing I'll say is that I obsessed over this. I worked on it for weeks and I was just obsessed with it–I was thinking about it when I fell asleep, when I woke up, I dreamed about it, throughout the day I was thinking about it or working on it. When we would take little breaks and watch a movie to try to disconnect from it all there was always a little machine running [in my head] to problem solve, and find new ways, and looking for other fresh new ideas.

Ha! I get that.

And so it's funny that some of the responses that I'm seeing are like, "Wow, I feel this sort of weird obsession with watching it." And there's a part of me that's like, "Yeah, I know that feeling." Because I felt obsessed with it when I was making it, when we were making it. Yeah, it's wild and I'm very, very grateful for James to have given me the opportunity to work on this show. It was a dream job and a career highlight, and he's wonderful, and everybody, the cast, I'm just in love with the cast. It was really a neat project to work on.

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The post Peacemaker Choreographer Explains How That Amazing Dance Sequence Came Alive [Interview] appeared first on /Film.