When Jersey City needs to be saved, Kamala Khan, aka Ms. Marvel, screams ‘Embiggen!’ to engage her morphogenics.
That word is now forever stamped in the pages of the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, as part of 850 additions, made to its definitions book. Embiggen, itself, is defined as, ‘To make bigger or more expansive’, which Khan does regularly! In fact, to announce the addition, the dictionary’s official twitter tweeted out a GIF of the character squaring off against Hulk.
“I can’t claim to have invented the word ’embiggen’,” Said Co-Creator G. Willow Wilson. “But I’m thrilled to have been a vector for its current popularity. I can remember the exact moment it first slipped out when I was attempting to describe the way I envisioned Kamala Khan’s powers to Sana Amanat. It was such a convenient, cheerful little verb. From that day on, it made its way into every single Ms. Marvel script.”
If you are unfamiliar with the character, Kamala Khan was exposed to Terrigen, from which she garnered morphogenetic abilities to stretch and expand or compress her body into different shapes and sizes. Upon learning of her gifts, she became a superhero in hopes of achieving things much bigger than herself.
“I’ve often thought ‘it’s a shame this isn’t a real word, because we don’t really have another English verb for ‘get big fast’.’ And now it is a real word. The dictionary has spoken. The English language has been embiggened today,” Proclaimed Wilson.
This series will be a brief, semi-comedic review of the CW superhero shows. You can check out last week’s review post here. The only shows discussed will be ‘Arrow’, ‘Flash’, and ‘Supergirl’. There WILL be some spoilers discussed, so only look at the reviews you’re up to date on!
There was no new episode of Supergirl this week. Hopefully Kara’s resting peacefully, conveniently dreaming of whoever the third Reign Sister is.
The Flash, “Subject 9” (Feb 27th)
This actress deserves way better than a country violinist with an absurd Southern accent (copyright CW)
Everyone in The Flash is obsessed with the new meta, and it’s not healthy for ANYONE. Ralph falling so completely head-over-heels comes too fast, and he’s got an almost completely different personality this episode. The Thinker body-hopping yet again is so comical, it’s starting to ruin a perfectly scary villain. The “cerebral inhibitor” should’ve come up way sooner, and having to watch the bland Harry/Cecile side-plot makes it even worse. This episode’s only strength is the promise of potentially watching one of Joe’s crazy cool action movie dreams one day.
SCORE: 6.5/10 Damp Futons
Arrow, “Collision Course” (Mar 1st)
The OG team is finally in full spotlight (copyright CW)
This episode heralds ARROW moving in a new direction, or spinning its wheels. The conflict between the A and B team heroes hasn’t been interesting for weeks. They’re still using the same arguments against each other as to why they can’t trust each other. ARROW’s mini-CIVIL WAR took far too long to come to fruition. Quentin doesn’t help much – how does he think no one would find Laurel, but the person with no powers or tech found her easily? All the elements in the episode make sense, but none of the conflict comes naturally, except for the initial conflict in Team B’s base.
SCORE: 6.5/10 Bearer Bonds
WEEKLY WIN TALLY:
The Flash: 6 Weeks
Supergirl: 4.5 Weeks
Arrow: 3 Weeks
What show did you think won the week? Does Legends of Tomorrow or Black Lightning take your vote? Let us know in the comments below!
The Florida Renaissance Fair is going strong in South Florida, and it’s a pop culture experience unlike any other. Yes, that’s a bit of hyperbole, but renaissance fairs, while built around the same concept at its core, offers a much different experience. And let’s be clear, I’m not here to say one is better than the other. Like any good role-playing game veteran, I know there are tradeoffs to everything. Advantages and disadvantages. But the Florida Renaissance Fair, and other events like it all around the world, offers a sense of immersion as its greatest advantage.
At the Florida Renaissance Fair, the path through the booths is winding through Quiet Waters Park beneath a natural canopy of trees.
If you’ve been to a comic-con or Buffy-con or Horror-con, but not a RenFair, let’s touch on the similarities. One: People. Lots and lots of people. The Ren Fair draws a large crowd of patrons seeking mead and giant turkey legs. Case in point:
VICTORY!
Two: Booths. The market is strong with every convention, and so you’ll find rows of booths selling all manner of wares. In a lot of cases, you may even see the same couple selling handcrafted jewelry at a geek con and the ren fair.
After the market aspect of things and the general behind-the-scenes logistics of putting on a big event, that’s where similarities end. At the Florida Renaissance Fair, the path through the booths winds through Quiet Waters Park beneath a natural canopy of trees. The sun shines bright, which, scientifically speaking, does a lot more for a person’s health and happiness than fluorescent lights.
The outdoors create such a vivid canvas for Ren Fair
organizers to paint an immersive experience.
The outdoors create such a vivid canvas for Ren Fair organizers to paint an immersive experience. It all begins at the gates made to look like those of a castle or fort. Instantly, the cosplay is apparent, but at a Ren Fair, these people live their charaters. Speaking in character, players at the Ren Fair create a wonderful balance of modern-day event and other-worldly existence. It’s easy to lose yourself in the sight of two knights arguing over the right to a fair maiden’s heart while a harp player plucking away for the people.
Vincent Vallo, an artist and longtime cast member at various festivals of this kind says “During fair hours, we absolutely avoid using cast members’ real name and especially greeting them casually. We definitely bow to cast who are portraying the Royals, the nobles and the Cardinal Borgia and his daughter.”
The Florida Renaissance Fair doesn’t have video games, but …”
The immersion and melange of fantasy and reality are ever-present. Only at a Ren Fair will you find an accordion player, dressed as if he stepped out of the 17th century, entertaining the crowd with a rendition of the Legend of Zelda theme song.
The Florida Renaissance Fair doesn’t have video games, but it has the Cirqa Brava, an acrobatic show with two flexible and funny women. The high-flying pair got started just moments after the end of an epic jousting event. And to be clear, this isn’t some wanna-be joust with foam weapons and faux horses. The joust here is as real as it gets, with riders on majestic steeds using real weapons. A Royal Court looks on, as does a crowd of thousands.
The immersion created by the Ren Fair features
a level of detail both large and small.
As both an artist, patron, and now cast member, the inspiration at Ren Fair is everywhere “You see all these talented and seasonal people at the festival; you can’t help yourself to be imaginative. Everyone encourages each other to grow.”
The immersion created by the Ren Fair features a level of detail both large and small. Archery displays and falconers mesmerize audiences and teach a bit of history. Patrons pack seats, giant turkey legs in hand, to watch some live theatre that is telling stories of great heroes, or, sometimes, not-so-great ones.
Instead, the Ren Fair keeps you feeling happily lost in time.
The sights around the Renaissance Fair are enough to keep things interesting. But the sounds add a rich layer. At a typical convention, what you hear is a mix of crowd grumblings echoing off the walls and, sometimes, songs from various booths mixing togeter into a sonic soup with too many flavors. At a Ren Fair, nature adds the first layer of sound, but musical acts, playing old-timey songs of yore or even remixed pop hits add another layer.
You might be thinking, ‘but most geek conventions have musical acts too.’ Sure, at a specific time and place. Here, the music is a consistent part of the experience. It’s in the air. But it never becomes a clutter of noise. Instead, the Ren Fair keeps you feeling happily lost in time.
Immerse yourself in an experience that leaves a lasting impression. “I do think medieval, renaissance and pirate festivals will continue to entice people’s appetite and curiosity.” Vincent is right. The allure of escapism is strong in humans, and the Red Fair feeds that inner desire in a way that VR is still decades away from replicating.
The Florida Renaissance Fair continues until
March 25th, 2018 in South Florida.
Emily Blunt knows how to make one hell of an entrance!
While celebrating the best films of last year at the Academy Awards, Disney took the golden opportunity to tease its upcoming Mary Poppins sequel/reboot, Mary Poppins Returns. The studio released the first teaser for the film during a commercial break on Sunday.
In the teaser, we see a pretty nasty storm consume the streets of London and suck a young boys kite into the sky. Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Jack helps to retrieve the kite from the thundering skies, only to realise that Emily Blunt’s Mary Poppins is attached to the end of it. We then get a better look at Blunt as the iconic nanny, as she admires her reflection and admits that it’s good to see herself again.
Watch the teaser below:
“Mary Poppins Returnsstars: Emily Blunt as the practically-perfect nanny with unique magical skills who can turn any task into an unforgettable, fantastic adventure; Lin-Manuel Miranda as her friend Jack, an optimistic street lamplighter who helps bring light—and life—to the streets of London; Ben Whishaw as Michael Banks; Emily Mortimer as Jane Banks; and Julie Walters as the Banks’ housekeeper Ellen; with Colin Firth as Fidelity Fiduciary Bank’s William Weatherall Wilkins; and Meryl Streep as Mary’s eccentric cousin, Topsy. The film also introduces three new Banks’ children played by Pixie Davies, Nathanael Saleh and newcomer Joel Dawson. Angela Lansbury appears as the Balloon Lady, a treasured character from the PL Travers books and Dick Van Dyke is Mr. Dawes Jr., the retired chairman of the bank now run by Firth’s character.”
“The film is directed by Rob Marshall from a screenplay by David Magee and screen story by Magee & Marshall & John DeLuca based upon The Mary Poppins Stories by PL Travers. The producers are Marshall, DeLuca and Marc Platt with Callum McDougall serving as executive producer and the music is by Marc Shaiman with songs by Shaiman and Scott Wittman.”
WINNER: BEST PICTURE – THE SHAPE OF WATER; Guillermo del Toro and J. Miles Dale, Producers
GUILLERMO DEL TORO: Thank you, thank you very much. Growing up in Mexico as a kid, I was a big admirer of foreign film. Foreign film, like “E.T.”, William Wyler, or Douglas Sirk, or Frank Capra. And a few weeks ago Steven Spielberg said, if you find yourself there, find yourself in the podium, remember that you are part of a legacy, that you’re a part of a world of filmmakers, and be proud of it. I’m very, very proud. I want to dedicate this to every young filmmaker, the youth that is showing us how things are done. Really they are. In every country in the world. And I was a kid enamored with movies, and growing up in Mexico I thought this could never happen. It happens. And I want to tell you, everyone that is dreaming of a parable(?) of using genre or fantasy to tell stories about the things that are real in the world today, you can do it. This is a door, kick it open and come in. Thank you very much.
J. MILES DALE: This movie… [music begins to play]
JIMMY KIMMEL: What did you want to say? I’ll tell them.
J. MILES DALE: I just wanted to say that, this Guillermo, it’s his heart. And it’s everything. We thank him for letting us be a part of it.
BACKSTAGE INTERVIEW
Q. [Speaks in Spanish.]
A. [Speaks in Spanish.]
Q. At the Golden Globes I asked you about how you balance the light and darkness and you said, “I met somebody.”
A. (Guillermo del Toro) Yes.
Q. And you created a meme that’s gone all around the world and affected millions of people. So the question is how do we keep that ‑‑ how do we help you keep that going? How do we stop the scapegoating of Mexico and really reaffirm your unique and magnificent culture?
A. (Guillermo del Toro) I think every time we can demonstrate in any forum, be it sports, science, art, culture, anywhere, what we have to bring to the world discourse, to the world conversation, is extremely important, and it’s extremely important when we do it to remember where we’re from, because it’s honoring your roots, honoring your country. Now I’m going ‑‑ my next stop is I’m going to see my mom and my dad this week. I’m going back home with these two ‑‑ with these two babies.
Q. Love it.
A. (Guillermo del Toro) Thank you.
Q. Congratulations. You spoke fondly about Fox Searchlight on stage, and I wonder if you know anything about the studio’s future? Have you talked to anybody at Disney about it? Have they reached out to you? What can you say about that?
A. (Guillermo del Toro) As they say here, it’s above my pay rate. Way above my pay rate. But what I know is I’m continuing conversations with them about future projects, you know, and you form bonds with a studio, but you form bonds with individuals, with people that support you. And whatever that I ask for, it goes or stays, you continue creating.
Q. How is this a victory for Hollywood North and the production going on in Canada? So much of this was done in Toronto.
A. (Guillermo del Toro) I will let Miles answer that, too. What I will say when we started this, Miles and I, we talked very, very seriously about creating this movie with heads of departments from Canada. We wanted to ‑‑ you know, I’ve been there working for more than half a decade continuously, and I wanted to ‑‑ we wanted to show the talent and showcase the talent of the HODs in Canada and make it something where you don’t go and use a rebate and escape. You know, you go to use the talent, you go to have the artistry, you go to have the complicit creation with everybody there.
A. (J. Miles Dale) Yeah. As Guillermo said, we’re very proud of the Canadian talent. And, you know, 30 years ago when the business just started up there, the people up there began to learn from the best in the world, and now they are some of the best in the world. So we are committed to using those people all across the board on the film and we think it’s a great moment for Canadian filmmaking. Obviously, you know, many more Oscar nominations than any other film for Canadians. So, we feel like it’s a real watershed moment and we’re very proud.
Q. In Toronto when we talked before the movie was released, you said that you didn’t dare to dream about the Oscar, but if you had the chance you wouldn’t dare to write a speech and prepare that. So my question is: Did you do it? Did you write it? Did you think about doing it? And what did you have left to say?
A. (Guillermo del Toro) The only time I wrote a speech was on the beginning, and I pulled out the paper and I couldn’t read it and, you know, I was sweating into my eyes, and I started just speaking from the heart. So, what I wanted to do ‑‑ what I did here is the same. I thought, you know, I’m going to get there, and if I have a little piece of paper and I count down, it’s horrible because you see the numbers. So just talk about what you’re feeling at that moment.
Q. Do you have anything left to say that you have?
A. (Guillermo del Toro) Oh, yes. I have a lot. I have a lot of cousins, man.
Q. You can thank all of them.
A. (Guillermo del Toro) Yeah, I did.
Q. Guillermo, congratulations on your victory.
A. (Guillermo del Toro) Thank you.
Q. I work for the Baltimore Sun, and while we’re very happy and proud to have been the setting for your movie, I’m wondering why it is ‑‑ why did you choose Baltimore?
A. (Guillermo del Toro) You know, I fell in love ‑‑ when I was a kid I fell in love with one of the primal trilogies in cinema for me, Barry Levinson’s Baltimore trilogy, you know, and I loved the setting. And I know we screwed up with the accent. I’m very, very, very aware with that, but what I wanted was to capture that flavor. You know, it’s such an interesting mixture, the Catholic, the industrial, how near is to the ocean, all those things, and for me it was mythical. Levinson invented so many things in those films, and particularly important for THE SHAPE OF WATER was the TIN MEN and the Cadillacs in TIN MEN and how they represent America, and that isn’t there. You know, I think that those three films, AVALON, DINER and TIN MEN are fabulous landmarks of American cinema. And then the John Waters, man.
WINNER: MUSIC (ORIGINAL SONG) REMEMBER ME from Coco; Music and Lyric by Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez
KRISTEN ANDERSON-LOPEZ: We were gonna go for the jet ski, but we’re from Brooklyn, so here we go. Thank you, guys, thank you, Academy. I really want to take a minute to look at this category of incredible nominated songwriters tonight. Not only are we diverse, but we are close to 50/50 for gender representation. When you look at a category like ours, it helps us imagine a world where all the categories look like this one.
ROBERT LOPEZ: Thanks to Lee, Darla and everyone at Pixar for letting us be a part of this important celebration of Mexico, music, and family. Thanks to everyone who worked on and performed this song. And a shout out to our “Frozen” Broadway family on Broadway that just finished some previews.
KRISTEN ANDERSON-LOPEZ: Most of all we thank our family, the Andersons and the Lopezes, and our daughters Katie and Annie here with us tonight. Your love and creativity inspire everything we do.
ROBERT LOPEZ: But this is not for you, this is for my Mom who passed away. Everyone who knew her will always remember her.
WINNER: ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE – GARY OLDMAN Darkest Hour
GARY OLDMAN: Well, my deepest thanks to the Academy and its members for this glorious prize. I owe this and so much more to so many. I have lived in America for the longest time, and I am deeply grateful to her for the loves and the friendships I have made and the many wonderful gifts it has given me: my home, my livelihood, my family and now Oscar. The movies, such is their power, captivated a young man from South London and gave him a dream. And Douglas Urbanski, my dear, dear friend, and brother, you have helped keep that dream alive. Joe Wright, thank you for this. It only took 20 years for us to work together, but it was well worth the wait. Thank Kazu, Lucy, David for your artistry. Thank you, everyone, at Working Title and Universal Focus for your herculean efforts and support on this film. Thank you, Eric Fellner, Tim Bevan, Lisa Bruce, Anthony McCarten. Danny(?) and her amazing team, and of course, Jim Osborne. I would just like to salute Sir Winston Churchill who has been marvelous company on what can be described as an incredible journey. And my wife Gisele, traveling that road with me and being at my side. Thank you, Alfie, Gullie, Charlie, William. My remarkable, remarkable fellow nominees and my dear friend out there, Denzel. And obviously, I’m not going to win the ski. I would like to thank my mother who is older than the Oscar. She is 99 years young next birthday. And, she is watching this ceremony from the comfort of her sofa. I say to my mother, thank you for your love and support. Put the kettle on, I’m bringing Oscar home.
BACKSTAGE INTERVIEW
Q. You asked Kazu makeup artist to work with and why do you think he’s special? Computer graphic can’t replace his work.
A. Do I think the computer graphic can replace his work?
Q. Yeah.
A. I hope not. You know, the ‑‑ the clothes, makeup and clothes are the things that ‑‑ are the closest things to the actor. And they actually touch the actor. And they are the first people that you meet in the morning and they are really ‑‑ they are vital individuals that you interact with to ‑‑ I’ve done motion capture and you are in a gray void with no costume, and they then CG it on you later. So to lose that kind of connection, you know, we really ‑‑ we worked as a team. And plus, it’s always easier, I think, to throw something out because something new comes along. You know, just because you can. I mean, he’s a consummate artist and it was really my ‑‑ once I had stepped off the ledge, as it were, with Joe Wright, I said to Joe, it’s contingent on getting Kazuhiro because, for me, he was really the only person on the planet that could have ‑‑ that could have pulled it off. I mean, I think he delivered. Yeah.
Q. It’s been almost a year since we were in Vegas, and you said if you ‑‑ if they will offer the Oscar, you wouldn’t say no. So what it really means to finally get it?
A. I didn’t say no.
Q. What it means, what it means for you an Oscar, to win an Oscar?
A. I think for this role, it’s got a sort of special ‑‑ it feels like it has a special significance. I can’t say what it would be like to win an Oscar in any other year. But winning an Oscar for playing arguably one of the greatest Britons who ever lived. To win it for playing Winston makes it doubly special. Does that make sense? And this film and this company of actors and Joe, working again with Sarah Greenwood and Jacquie Durran and those actors on the set, it was a very ‑‑ it’s been an unforgettable experience and a highlight of my career.
Q. What is it like for you meeting so many young actors and young filmmakers that have looked up to you in their youth and throughout their career and are getting to share the stage with you tonight?
A. I think we are ‑‑ the thing that I ‑‑ one of the lessons that I learned from ‑‑ from John Hurt, the late John Hurt, God bless him. When I was a younger man, went to the cinema, I looked up at, you know, Albert Finney and Tom Courtenay and Alan Bates and Peter O’Toole, and Alec Guinness, Peter Sellers, they were all sort of my heros. We are links in a chain, you know.
I’m thrilled for Chalamet. He’s a lovely kid. I mean, he really is. He’s a kid. And he’s a charmer. Hugely talented. And I said to him tonight, in the words of Armie, You will be back. You know, he’s got ‑‑ this is probably it for me. He’s got years. He’s got years yet.
Q. Hello.
A. I feel like I’m playing bingo. One and four, 14, two and two, or 22. One, one, legs 11 (whistles). Go on.
Q. This movie seems to be a lot about facing up to great fears and great obstacles. Do you think people can relate to that in their lives apart from, like, politics and stuff like on a personal level so they connect to it in the movie?
A. We all have ‑‑ I think we can all relate to ‑‑ I mean, Joe has said that there’s part of the movie that is about doubt. But those insecurities and fears, we do things ‑‑ we want to do things with the best intentions. I would like to give people the benefit of the doubt and say that they are motivated by a good heart, and, you know, they have the best intentions. You know, but when you are in a position like, I think, Winston is in like he was in 1940, we see in the movie he sends 4,000 men to their death to save 300,000. And when you are in that big chair, making those decisions, though in war, those are the types of things ‑‑ those are the types of decisions that you have to make, and then of course I don’t know how you then sleep soundly in your bed on the evening of the day when you sent 4,000 innocent men to their death. But you walk ‑‑ you walk in those shoes. And I think that we can all ‑‑ we ‑‑ not that extent, but, you know, most people, I think, you know, in the audience, they have got financial worries. They have got children. They are trying to put the kids through college or they have illness or sickness in their family. We’ve all got ‑‑ and certainly, I know that I, you know, there are regrets and things. And you ‑‑ you know, that’s the worst thing you can do as an artist is you can edit yourself and second guess, but I still sometimes have that little demon on my ‑‑ that little voice talking to me like that kid, you know, Mrs. Torrance.
Q. If Winston Churchill were alive today, what advice would you think he would give the leaders of the world?
A. Oh, my heavens. He would probably ‑‑
Q. Impeach Trump?
A. He would what?
Q. Impeach Trump?
A. Maybe. My God, he would give him a good talking to, wouldn’t he?
Q. What would he say?
A. Well, none of them look at history. He was a big believer that you’ve learned ‑‑ that you’ve looked at history to move forward. There’s an ‑‑ actually, there’s an interesting thing. There was sort of a survey done, and the children were asked about Winston Churchill, and not just ‑‑ I’m not talking about nine or ten‑year‑olds, I’m talking about, you know, young, young sort of college people. And a great many of them thought that he was either a soldier in the First World War or he was a dog in a TV commercial in Britain, and there is a TV commercial called Churchill, and it’s a bulldog, and he talks. It’s an insurance company called Churchill. And we don’t ‑‑ we don’t teach history anymore, do we? They don’t know anything about it.
Q. Thank you for making it come alive.
A. Thank you, yeah.
WINNER: ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE – FRANCES MCDORMAND Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri
RANCES MCDORMAND: Okay, so I’m hyperventilating a little bit. If I fall over, pick me up cause I’ve got some things to say. So I think this is what Chloe Kim must have felt like after doing back-to-back 1080s in the Olympic halfpipe. Did you see that? Okay, that’s what it feels like.
I want to thank Martin McDonagh, look what you did. We are a bunch of hooligans and anarchists but we do clean up nice. I want to thank every single person in this building. And my sister Dorothy. I love you, Dot. And I especially want to thank my clan, Joel and Pedro “McCoen.” These two stalwart individuals were well-raised by their feminist mothers. They value themselves, each other and those around them. I know you are proud of me and that fills me with everlasting joy.
And now I want to get some perspective. If I may be so honored to have all the female nominees in every category stand with me in this room tonight, the actors – Meryl, if you do it, everybody else will, c’mon – the filmmakers, the producers, the directors, the writers, the cinematographer, the composers, the songwriters, the designers. C’mon! Okay, look around everybody. Look around, ladies and gentlemen, because we all have stories to tell and projects we need financed. Don’t talk to us about it at the parties tonight. Invite us into your office in a couple days, or you can come to ours, whatever suits you best, and we’ll tell you all about them. I have two words to leave with you tonight, ladies and gentlemen: inclusion rider.
BACKSTAGE INTERVIEW
A. Thank you. Don’t give me any more attention because it will all go to my head.
Come on. Ask away. I’m ready. I’m ready.
Q. Right here. Margot. I mean Margot ‑‑ Frances. Sorry. Right here.
A. No. My name, Marco, call me Marco, that’s fine. I don’t know who that is.
Q. Please explain your comment at the end, the two words “inclusion rider.”
A. Right. I just found out about this last week. There is ‑‑ has always been available to all ‑‑ everybody that get ‑‑ that does a negotiation on a film, an inclusion rider which means that you can ask for and/or demand at least 50 percent diversity in not only the casting, but also the crew. And so, the fact that we ‑‑ that I just learned that after 35 years of being in the film business, it’s not ‑‑ we’re not going back. So the whole idea of women trending, no. No trending. African Americans trending, no. No trending. It changes now, and I think the inclusion rider will have something to do with that. Right? Power in rules.
Q. I want to ask you about a bit of a follow‑up to that question. The tone of the evening, obviously it’s about awards, but there was certainly throughout the evening the idea that this was a different Oscars than in the past because of what has happened since October.
A. No. It actually was ‑‑ it happened way before that. I think that what happened last year, you know, with MOONLIGHT winning the best picture, that’s when it changed. And it had to be acknowledged. That had to be acknowledged, and it was acknowledged in the best possible way. Not just by, you know, fixing the mistake, but actually recognizing that that won Best Picture. MOONLIGHT won Best Picture of 2017.
Q. It was about the idea that this evening was sending a message because of the activities that have happened and the revelations and women being brave enough to speak out since October. Did you feel that was handled properly and enough this evening?
A. Well, yeah. You know, it was really interesting because like I said, feeling like I was Chloe Kim doing back‑to‑back 1080s in the halfpipe, I was ‑‑ I don’t do everything. As you know, I don’t show up all the time. I only show up when I can and when I want to, but I was there at the Golden Globes and it’s almost like there was an arc that started there. It doesn’t end here. But I think publicly as a commercial, because that’s what we are, this is not a ‑‑ this is not ‑‑ this is not a novel. This is a TV show after all, but I think that the message that we’re getting to send to the public is that we’re going to be one of the small industries that try to make a difference. And I think $21 million in the legal defense fund is a great way to start. And the commission that’s being headed by Anita Hill, that’s really smart. See, we didn’t just ‑‑ we didn’t just put out commercials about it. We actually started a conversation that will change something.
Q. Okay. THREE BILLBOARDS has started a movement. Have you seen the billboards all over the world?
A. Oh, are you kidding? Off the screen and on to the street. Really exciting.
Q. Talk about that. I want to hear what your comment is about that.
A. Well, you know, recently my husband and I were in London at the BAFTAs, and we went to the Tate Modern and we saw an exhibition about the Russian Revolution ‑‑ Russian Revolution and the propaganda that was used. Now, that revolution did not go so well, so we don’t want to think too much about that. But the red and black is a really, really good choice. And Martin McDonagh knew that. He was involved in the choice with the ‑‑ with the set design of the film to use that kind of iconography, and I think that idea that activists are taking that kind of statement and putting it out there ‑‑ billboards still work. They still work. So I think that it’s really exciting. It started actually with the Grenfell Tower fires investigation. Then it leapfrogged to the Miami gun control situation. It was outside the UN about the Syrian situation. You know, it’s a kind of ‑‑ that’s the kind of power that an image can have. And that’s what we’re making. We’re making powerful images.
Q. Actually, THREE BILLBOARDS just released in China three days ago.
A. Yes, and? And?
Q. It’s a very American movie. What would you like to say to Chinese audience?
A. Well, I would like to know are they going to see it? Are people going to see it?
Q. Now it has over one million ‑‑ $1 million.
A. Okay. We need to get a little bit more people to the cinema. I don’t know how to do that, but maybe you can help. I don’t know, what would you like me to say?
Q. What would you like to say?
A. I think that it is not America. It does not represent America, but it represents a really good conversation about compassion and ‑‑ and inclusion. How about that?
WINNER: CALL ME BY YOUR NAME – Screenplay by James Ivory
JAMES IVORY: Well, I’ll try and keep it — I’ll make it as fast I can, before the music plays. My rule number one for a screenwriter who adapts a novel, is first thank the author. Andre Aciman, who wrote the story about first love, and who’s here tonight. A story familiar to most of us, whether we’re straight or gay, or somewhere in between, we’ve all gone through first love, I hope, and come out the other side mostly intact. Though maybe not without the benefit of loving parents, like the Perlman’s in this film. I want to thank our sensitive and sensible director, Luca Guadagnino, as well as my neighbors in Upstate New York, Peter Spears and Brian Swardstrom who offered me this job. Of course, I want to thank the film’s wonderful emotion-filled actors, I wouldn’t be standing up here tonight without their inspired help. And I wouldn’t be standing up here without the inspired help I received from my life’s partners who are gone, our writer Ruth Jhabvala, who received this award twice, and our fearless producer Ismail Merchant. Working with them for close to fifty years at Merchant/Ivory led me to this award. And my profound thanks to the members of the Academy. In voting for me, you are remembering them. And finally, my thanks to Sony Classics, to Michael Barker and to Tom Bernard for getting behind this film in such a princely way. Thank you very much, everyone.
BACKSTAGE INTERVIEW
Q. Congratulations on not only being the oldest Oscar male winner, but also the winner ‑‑ the oldest winner overall in Academy’s history. So how does it feel?
A. Well, imagine how it would feel. I mean, being 90 years for anything that you would do is extraordinary. But to be here having won the Oscar at that age, this seems as like a hiccup in nature, possibly, something like that. But it feels great, and it certainly feels good ‑‑ it feels good to be holding on to that Oscar ‑‑ it’s my Oscar ‑‑ for the first time. I’ve been nominated before, but never won. I once had ‑‑ received an Oscar for Ruth Jhabvala, and I walked around with hers, but it was not mine. So, it’s a very good feeling. And I’m glad it was ‑‑ particularly, I’m glad it was an Oscar for writing. I’m not exactly new to that. I mean, I worked on many of our film scripts. I’ve co‑written scripts before, films of ours that were produced, but I’d never written one from ‑‑ you know, right from the first lines up to the end and seeing it produced.
Q. You say thank you to Luca Guadagnino, and I’m wondering what was in that book that made you feel like you wanted to adapt this particular book? And what was it like working with Luca Guadagnino?
A. Well, the first interest for me was the fact that the film was going to be made in Italy, because Italy is a country that I love, and as you know, I made A ROOM WITH A VIEW THERE, and I’ve also made ‑‑ worked on other films there. I loved the idea of going to Italy and making a film. And ‑‑ so ‑‑ and then the story naturally had a good amount of personal relevance for me. And so that was ‑‑ that was interesting, of course. But it just generally was a project that I liked, and I liked the people that were involved in it.
And as for Luca, I never ‑‑ and I never was around on the set while he was working because I stayed in New York while they shot, but we had many, many meetings about what we were going to do, or what I wanted to do, in many cases, I mean there were certain things ‑‑ big things I wanted to do with the novel. I wanted to cut off the ending of it and drop a chunk of it later on and all this other thing. So, he was always very agreeable and reasonable about what I wanted to do and he had some good ideas of his own. And those have come into the script. So it was ‑‑ you know, it was good working with him, and good being in Crema where he lives, in that part of Italy, which I don’t know too well. It’s fairly near Milan.
Q. This is obviously such a specific LBGTQ story, but there’s a sort of universality to it, too. I think everyone can kind of see themselves in it a little bit. And what do you think makes the love story so universal, and then how do you think everyone is able to connect to it so powerfully?
A. Well, I think it’s ‑‑ it’s the whole idea of a first love, one’s first strong love, which may have gone badly, that has gone badly for many people, but you survive and you go on to other loves, hopefully. I think that’s what’s ‑‑ it’s a universal situation, first love and how ‑‑ how we feel about it, whether it ‑‑ it’s made us unhappy or joyous, whatever, that is universal and a subject matter that everyone everywhere can, you know, identify with.
Q. People keep talking about your age. Was it fun to write from that young man’s first love point of view? It’s awhile since you had first love. So was it exciting? Was it easy? Was it thrilling to write, to ‑‑ you know, [inaudible] that atmosphere?
A. Yeah. I think that’s why I’m here. I think it was, in fact, a rejuvenating experience somehow. It wouldn’t be like ‑‑ there are other kinds of books you might adapt. It wouldn’t ‑‑ it wouldn’t be like that. I think, one, in a sense emotionally, and in your memories you do relive your own ‑‑ your own life at that time, late teenage. I think about it ‑‑ I still think about it all the time. I don’t have to be writing a script to think about when I was a teenager.
Netflix dropped the first teaser for the final season of House of Cards Sunday night. There isn’t much there, but the music to the show remains creepy, even more now.
The sixth season returns this Fall, watch the trailer below.
House of Cards stars Robin Wright, Michael Kelly, Diane Lane, Greg Kinnear, Jayne Atkinson, Patricia Clarkson, Cody Fern, Constance Zimmer, Derek Cecil, Campbell Scott, and Boris McGiver.
