DearEvette

He's been with Britneysince 2016. He's only ever known her under the conservatorship. I wonder if he just didn't know who she was when she was able to make decisions for herself? I mean people are fundamentally themselves and if you've been in a relationship with someone for seven years hopefully you get to know them. Maybe he was just used to the medicated, controlled, circumscribed Britney and couldn't deal with the free one. I;d be a lot more sympathetic toward him if he didn't make noises about the prenup and threatening blackmail. That just reeks of opportunism.

I had a fancy grilled ham and cheese. Fancy because the cheese was brie and the ham was prosciutto and there were some caramelized peaches and jalapeno jam involved as well.

Ooh, They are doing the Gethsemane Brown mysteries. This is a really good cozy mystery series that have ... I think 5 books out now. It was a great discovery for me when I stumbled upon the first one. I'll check it out because I love the books, but not super crazy about the casting. No Shade to Tamera, I like her fine,but she is not the Geth I see in my head. But that is what you get when you headcast while reading books, LOL. And this is Hallmark and they have a stable of go-tos all the time. But I wish they'd branch out a bit. In my head Gethsemane is more like a Jessica Williams or a Aja Naomi King. And it is steeped in all things Irish. I like that they have an Irish actor playing Eamon. But the guy playing Francis... nope. Everyone except Geth is Irish. I am curious to see how they adapt this. Geth is a really interesting character on page.

There is an unconfirmed rumor floating around twitter that the reason the AMPTP is willing to go back to negotiations is because Netflix is leading the charge. Apparently they are anxious to get Stranger Things back to production. Like I said only a rumor. But I can understand if it is true. Even if there is a time jump, the age and appearance of the main cast might well influence how much of a time jump they need to have. For instance, Priah Ferguson who plays Erica was 14 playing an 11 year old last season. She'll be 17 in October. So yeah time is not their friend on this.

Airdate: 08/08/2023

This is a good point. It is also how Issa Rae approached a recent appearance on one of the morning shows. It was probably booked way in advance as part of the Barbie publicity push or possibly the new Project Greenlight season on HBO. But instead of cancelling she chose to instead use her time to talk about the importance of mentoring in the business and how she got started. No coy references to any projects, she just talked about other things.

The Roseland Ballroom/Lindy Hop scene in Malcolm X. The music, the energy...it was exhilarating to watch on the big screen. I remember we broke out in spontaneous applause in the movie theatre.

Yeah, even if SAG doesn't sanction him, some of the people I saw condemning him publicly on Twitter* were showrunners. While he may have brought some attention to his current show, it might have hurt his long game. *I am not using he new name because it is stupid.

We've been adding a little vinegar (either white or apple cider) to our egg boiling water and then running the eggs under cold water after. The shells just seem to slide off now. I was way to many years old before I learned that. LOL.

It isn't necessarily about who owns what but how revenue is generated across the different platforms and what the writing process is. Broadcast gets revenue from ads. And the ad rates for broadcast shows are set during the upfronts (which I don't remember if they even happened this year?). Meanwhile streamers are subscriber based and are backed by tech giants (Netflix, Amazon and Apple) Writers rooms are different in Broadcast and streaming also. Broadcast has full writers rooms and since most network shows have 20-22 episodes I've read that is like 45 weeks of regular employment for writers. Whereas the trend in streamers is to have what they call mini-rooms which consists of only a few writers and to have them bust out all the scripts within weeks. And of course streamer 'seasons' an be anywhere from 6-12 episodes. Broadcast also feels affects of the strike mych faster. The late night shows had to go dark immediately. So immediate lost revenue. Whereas streamers don't have those daily type shows. And then we get to the Soaps. Soaps are already on life support with only, what , like 4 of them left? With the last writer's strike being considered a contributing factor to the demise of the other soaps. The soap actors are on a different contract so they are contractually obligated to report to work still. and since they don't go on hiatus like primetime, their need for new scripts is much more immediate than primetime shows. But most of the writers are WGA. Hence the we get a soap like GH soliciting non-WGA writers to write. Here is an article from Deadline that talks about the differences.

It looks like the AMPTP is actually making some moves to go back to the bargaining table with WGA. Sounds like there is dissension in the ranks of the AMPTP. Which makes sense. What works for streamers like Disney, Netflix and HBO Max * doesn't necessarily work for Broadcast. Yup.

Stephen Amell's statement is pretty tone deaf. Here is a man who got into a profession with a strong union. Got lucky enough to get cast in a show that ran for 7 years. And because of the work his union has done in the past, he reaps the rewards: guaranteed minimums, the residuals, health insurance etc. But he is too selfish to understand that in order to keep those rewards and benefits you have to sacrifice. It isn't only words, but his actions speak louder. He is was coyly promoting the new season of his show on his social media. Disingenuously standing in front of a big billboard advertising 'Heels' and saying "I am allowed to be proud of the work I do ( while holding a phone camera so that the billboard is prominently displayed." All for a streaming show that gets very little hype. If the cast of Oppenheimer can walk off a red carpet he can restrain himself from standing in a parking lot in front of a billboard. Also going to a Con. There is a clip floating around of him on a panel saying what he is allowed to talk about (Per SAG-AFTRA rules you can't speak about past, present or future work done on struck projects) and then he says 'I am not allowed to talk about Arrow," after which he pauses and then says 'You know what, just fuck this, let's go." I've never really liked the guy, he gave me smug asshole vibes in the few times I ever saw him during Arrow's run. But I never gave him a second thought. Now I actively dislike him. Also I am glad people are reporting is ass to SAG. Here's hoping he gets some sanctions because that just looks so flagrant.

Yeah, Pee Wee's Big Adventure was one of those movies that when it first came out you thought was gonna be bad in a low budget 'how did this get made?' way, but turned out to be really quite good, both from a storyline and writing perspective.

Paul Rubens, aka Pee Wee Herman has died after a long battle with Cancer. https://tvline.com/news/paul-reubens-dead-cause-of-death-pee-wee-herman-obituary-1235021343/

Right? The number of grown ass men with full ass beards who were pressed about Halle would have been funny if it weren't sad. They knew they didn't care about a Disney mermaid.

Ashley Nicole Black (who wrote for A Black Lady Sketch show and Ted Lasso) had a funny 'pitch'

I liked this. No it isn't the original Justified but that is ok. It would be weird to have Boyd and Tim just roll up to Detroit just to see them again. I like that the motivations we saw from the two main criminals -- the guy who was trying to kill the judge and the guy who actually killed the judge -- is that they are just garden variety criminals. One of a bit of a doof but he was mad at the judge for sleeping with his ma. The other one -- the main villain -- was more sinister and obviously a career criminal, but he was just an asshole with impulse control issues. I like that they don't fall into the tv trap of being these super clever, super rich,Moriarty types that have a Dr. Evil plan and a lot disposable minions they send out to do their bidding . I gather we can thank Elmore Leonard for that. Who in wardrobe hates Aunjanue Ellis? She is an attractive woman and a year younger that Timothy Olyphant and yet that hair and outfit in court were not flattering and made her look older. She did look better when she was hanging in the bar and in the 2nd episode in her office, but her outfits were still kinda mumsy. As far as Willa goes, I have two problems: The character of Willa. I have a hard time believe that the daughter of Raylan Givens would not have been taught to have a better danger Spidey sense. Also there is the teenager who does regular teenager dumb things and then there is a teenager who sits in a courtroom and laughs out loud at cat videos, disrupting the proceedings. My SIL works for a Federal Judge and took my son when he was 10yo to work with her one day and he got to sit in the courtroom. Even at 10 he knew then how to act right and respectful in a courtroom. And then there is the actress. Man she is giving nothing. If she had auditioned for the part and her last name wasn't Olyphant, I do not believe she would have been cast. She is just a block, imo. Also, she doesn't have a good performer voice. There is a reason some silent movie era actors couldn't transition to talkies. She was giving Lina Lamont (ref: Singing in the Rain). But that said, I like the whole vibe and Timothy Olyphant has slid back into Raylan's skin effortlessly. And, weirdly, even though I think the main bad guy is an asshole and won't be sorry if he dies in a hail of bullets in the end, the actor plays him well with a kind of oozy charm that I can't get too mad at.

Even without a big apology Sinead has been vindicated 1000x over. And anybody who participated in shaming her knows it even if they don't want to admit it. It is sad that she was never able to professionally recover in the manner she should have, but that is more on a puritanical and hypocritical industry than it is on her. So, go on with your bad self, Sinead! RIP.

All the think pieces. So many think pieces....

re: Pickled eggs in beet juice. The first time I had them was also with my then boyfriend, now husband's family. His mom is also from Pennsylvania and of German descent. Unfortunately they never grew on me. But they are still a staple at holiday meals esp. Easter. It is kind of a running joke in the family that none of the in-laws (me or my brothers-in-laws who are married to my husband's sisters really like them). My mother-In Law brings out this big pickle jar with the eggs in the beet juice and her kids (my husband and his sisters )are all yay! Meanwhile us in laws --are all 'Um, yay?' I am African American, one Bro-in-Law is Northern Italian and the other is French-Canadian so they were completely new to us until we married into the family.

One of my favorite and imo one of the better tv episodes re: colorism is the Season 1 episode in Dear White People that focused on CoCo. In the original movie, Coco was presented as this blonde weave, fake blue eyed dark-skinned girl who was not really given any context (she was played by Teyonah Parris). Whereas the light skinned biracial Sam (played by Tessa Thompson) was centered in the movie and her embracing of her blackness is given all the nuance you could want. ironically, of course, this set up is textbook colorism with the light skinned woman given all this agency and centering, and the dark skinned woman is kinda reduced to a self-hating one-dimensional character. In the tv show, that gets redressed fabulously. For one, the tv show version of CoCo (played by Antoinette Robertson) is soooo complex and brilliantly conceived. IMO, she got the best character development and writing. And her episode (all the characters got their own character centered episode in season one) was about how colorism affected her. But also it puts into perspective how colorism has benefited Sam (played by Logan Browning) in ways that Sam never realized. It is a nice bit of writing because CoCo is 100% aware of what is going on but Sam's light skinned privilege blinds her.

Not just real estate. There are so many places affected with the kibosh on promotion -- venues, food workers, florists. Even the fashion industry since big stars can't wear your pretty clothes on the non-existent red carpets. Award shows. I'd be flabbergasted if this went on through the end of the year, but if it does... Award season gets into full swing starting Jan-Feb. It will already potentially affect the Emmys since that one is coming up. And then as @Spartan Girl posted above, we get to delaying releases. How many films are in the can ready to go? How long can they delay releases? Theaters were hard hit by Covid and are just now starting to see some returns, this would definitely hurt them. One thing I think is cool that I am hearing is about Comic-Con. I mean yeah some people are kinda bummed they won't be seeing the big stars in Hall H. But a LOT of what I am hearing is that people are not fussed and that the lack of stars makes it feel more what it used to be -- an actual convention for comic book nerds.

Agreed. If I hadn't known that was Ai, I would have thought the person was a trolling. It is giving "tell me you don't really watch the show.' It 100% reads like an essay prompt. The writing is too formal for a colloquial chat forum. Something about it is just a little off and doesn't quite pass the smell test. Even the given examples are too broad and doesn't make me feel like the 'person' actually watched the show. They honestly read like the person cribbed something from a character bio. But the biggest tell of all it the lack of 'I feel' throughout the post. Look on any message board or forum especially when the subject skews toward the negative opinion and you'll see a lot of 'I' in there. That is because to post on something you like, or especially something you dislike, requires a level of personal engagement and passion. Also in human nature, especially on public forums and social media, people feel they have to justify why they dislike something so the receipts would be littered all throughout.

I made grilled barbecue chicken paninis. Wegman's Tuscan garlic bread, shredded slow cooked chicken in my own barbecue sauce, provolone cheese, baby spinach, and caramelized onions. Side of sweet potato fries served with hot honey dipping sauce.

If nothing else, the strike is an educating me on a lot of things. So many actors are pulling back the curtain, so to speak, on the economics of being a working actor. And I am not talking about the Tom Cruises and Julia Robertses and not even the newbie or background actor. But the regulars on tv shows that have nice runs or supporting in fairly well known movies. They aren't getting headline articles written about them or are even top five on the call sheet sometimes and you may not even be able to quickly recall their names, but they are the 'Hey It's That Guy!' type actor that you see in movies or tv shows all the time. DB Woodside has a nice series of tweets where he talks about the economics of living in LA but working in Canada and how little assistance actors get to find a living situation. Michelle Hurd has a nice interview video about how the industry has changed wrt to the concept of an actor's quote. Or the fact that acting is the one of the few jobs where years or seniority in the field don't translate to a higher basic quote. Honestly this brings that whole Geoffrey Owens (from the Cosby show) working at Trader Joe's (where he qualified for health insurance) into perspective. Others have also talked about shady Hollywood accounting practices where part of the actor's salary comes from profit of the film, but they don't see that part of the money because the studios claim that the films actually lose money year over year, so there is never a profit. John Cusak has tweeted about this. Also how actors have had to sue to get their share. Going back to Jame Garner and the Rockford Files. Also the entire cast of My Big Fat Greek Wedding (minus Nia Vardalos) had to sue because the studio said the film did not turn a profit (it was made for less than $6 million but made over $350 million, mind you). And finally, I learned about Tree Law. Which has been a fun rabbit hole to go down. Apparently Universal brutally trimmed back a bunch of ficus trees (honestly those trees look like someone took a hacksaw to them) where SAG/WGA was striking to lessen the shade cover. That opened a can of worms because there are laws about who, what, and when trees owned by the city can be trimmed.