MicheleinPhilly
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Posts posted by MicheleinPhilly
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I thought this was a bit of a mess. I had never heard of this group before and this series did not prompt me to go down the rabbit hole which is usually what happens with cult documentaries.
It seemed very unfocused and unfinished.
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2 hours ago, peachmangosteen said:
Ugh, Rob. I don't care to see him for the 1000th time.
I stopped watching Survivor AGES ago and I still think I've seen him play that like 3 times. Does he do anything else besides competition shows?
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I know Rob Mariano and Bob Harper. 👵
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18 hours ago, SoMuchTV said:
I just finished this, and what surprised me was that they were loading the full price of a ticket onto what’s basically a gift card. I never really looked into it when it was big, but I just assumed they had some kind of deal with theaters for discounted tickets in exchange for increased traffic (and concession sales).
Still not a movie-goer, but I’ll have to at least look into how the revived system works.
I looked at it after I finished watching the doc. It looks like each month you get a certain number of "credits" depending on how much you pay. Those credits can then be redeemed for movie tickets. I didn't do a deep dive but assume you can get a better value if you're going to a Wednesday matinee 3 weeks after release rather than going on Friday night of opening weekend.
I have no idea how they determine the formula for credits though or whether it's a good deal for frequent moviegoers.
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Vanity Fair's Awards Insider email has this:
QuoteOne of those big end-of-May finales? Max’s Hacks, which has accomplished the rare feat of gaining in both buzz and acclaim with its third season, airing a full two years after its second. By all accounts, the Jean Smart vehicle is the best it’s ever been right now, which has blessedly thrown some chaos into a comedy race most assumed would be fully dominated, once more, by The Bear. (It helps that Hacks is, ahem, a bit more of an actual comedy than the reigning champ.) I moderated a Hacks FYC event last night (which included a screening of the terrific finale) at the Television Academy theater before a packed, ecstatic house—a testament to just how much enthusiasm is swirling around the series right now. It helped that Smart; her onscreen foil, Hannah Einbinder; and guest stars including Kaitlin Olson and J. Smith-Cameron were ridiculously charming onstage. And that season four had just officially been greenlit, giving the occasion an extra air of celebration.
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3 hours ago, Blakeston said:
Hannah really was incredible, but I can't support her winning anything in the supporting category, when she's so clearly a co-lead.
The guest acting categories will be interesting. There were a ton of great guest stars this season. I suppose J. Smith-Cameron is the frontrunner, though, as Kathy had memorable scenes in more than one episode.
Speaking of guest stars...ever since the episode with Christopher Lloyd as Fatty Arbuckle's grandson, I've been waiting for someone to mention how Jack Danby is way too thin to play Fatty. I guess it was just a commentary on how badly stars want to do "transformative" roles and wear prosthetics and fatsuits.
If The Bear can win Emmys in Comedy Series, I have no problem with Hannah being nominated/winning in Supporting. Category shenanigans drive me bonkers but that's the game.
Speaking of, if anyone other than Jamie Lee Curtis wins for Guest Actress in a Comedy Series this year, I'll eat my hat.
But I digress. 😊
I loved everything about this episode. Seeing Ava finally exhibiting a bit of backbone was immensely satisfying for me and I can't wait to see how this impacts their dynamic going forward. I 100% saw a bit of "Good for you" on Deborah's face in that meeting. Their chemistry is just off the charts and I'm excited for the next chapter.
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42 minutes ago, sugarbaker design said:
Not all of us, I swear!
Oh, I know. 😉 I'm probably a little TOO precious about it but big, event movies that you MUST see in the theater don't hold all that much appeal for me anyways so I don't feel that I'm missing much by waiting for streaming.
The last movie I saw in the theater was Tár and a couple 3 or 4 rows behind me talked throughout the WHOLE FUCKING THING. 😤
But if you are a movie fan, I definitely recommend checking out this doc.
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I found this fascinating and infuriating in equal measure. I was never a MoviePass subscriber but the concept always interested me. Had it been a thing 10 years earlier, I definitely would have been a devotee.
Hamet and Stacy are real visionaries and the fact that Ted and Mitch swooped in, took over, took credit, and took all of the money had me foaming at the mouth. They're both scam artists who epitomize the dictum "mediocre white men failing up."
I'm thrilled that Stacy got his company back. Still won't subscribe as I generally think the moviegoing public are self-absorbed assholes who can't sit down and shut up for 2 hours, but good on him.
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I will be SHOCKED if this gets picked up for a 3rd season. I love Maya but sadly, I just think it has run its course.
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I waited until 7 episodes were up before I started this and I'm glad I did. I don't know that I would have finished it had I watched it week to week. Like the book, I found it entirely too long.
I completely disagree with the decision to center the narrative from Rebecca's perspective even though I do like Riley Keough. It was very jarring when I started the series because I thought, "Wait, what are they doing?"
The "humanization" of Warren was completely gross and overdone. I can't even recall if she was such a Warren apologist in the book. But I didn't really care for the book so... 🤷♀️
I thought Lily Gladstone was really underutilized in this. Archie Panjabi was naturally fantastic, but I would expect nothing less from her.
Teenagers, especially these teenagers, are vile twats. News at 11.
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On 5/23/2024 at 1:56 AM, 30 Helens said:
I don't know if this adaptation was a ratings success, but I hope it did well enough that more Highsmith works will be considered. I would love to see more versions of the other Ripley books, and I would be especially interested in Steve Zaillian's take on Strangers on a Train.
Bravo, brava to everyone involved. This one will stick with me for a long time.
I've read that it has not been and was also VERY expensive to produce. I'm hoping it gets nominated for and wins a boatload of Emmys and other awards to convince Netflix to stick with it. But I'm not optimistic.
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My biggest takeaway from this was why doesn't the Christian lady flush the toilet after she pees? 😖
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3 hours ago, iMonrey said:
I can't imagine why they invited a football player to deliver their commencement address. The college isn't his alma mater. And I skimmed through the transcript of it and came away with the distinct impression someone wrote it for him. Apparently he's an outspoken Catholic who has delved into political issues in the past, and it's a Benedictine College. So I guess nobody should be too shocked a Catholic believes Catholic things.
Someone on this site - I want to say it was in the NFL thread- posted a link to a statement released by the Benedictine nuns. They blasted him.
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The aerial shots of those corn mazes were amazing, but seriously anxiety inducing. I would have a full blown panic attack if I ever tried to navigate one of those.
Obviously corn is grown in many places but I've always wondered just how much of the political shenanigans surrounding corn have to do with Iowa being the "first in the nation" when it comes to primaries. Obviously the big agro corporations have armies of lobbyists working on their behalf as well but to me it always comes across as disingenously as attending the State Fair or shaking hands in a diner.
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1 hour ago, Badsamaritan said:
Mr. Morton can get the fuck on, I'm positive he's the reason his marriage ended and not because they worked together.
THIS!
The whole time I was thinking "No one is coming to your barbecue anyway because you have no friends, you PITA!"
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I was howling throughout that entire relay race. And I totally thought the monkey bars was the last leg with the way Janine was celebrating so I nearly fell off the couch when Melissa?? (I'll have to rewatch it) told her to stop dancing.
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Quote
The Cast of Baby Reindeer Speaks Out: “You Have to Practice Self-Preservation”
Netflix’s phenomenon is stirring up both rave reviews and real-world controversies. The stars of the series joined Vanity Fair for a frank chat about everything that’s got the world talking.
BY DAVID CANFIELD
MAY 15, 2024
https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/story/baby-reindeer-cast-exclusive-postmortem-awards-insider
QuoteDuring his 10-hour flight from London to Los Angeles, Richard Gadd decided to catch up on the 250 or so unread messages on his phone. He’s been inundated since his Netflix series, Baby Reindeer, reached phenomenon status last month. After stepping off the plane and clearing customs, he then encountered a huge mob of fans. He wondered if someone famous had been on his flight. Then he saw what they were all holding: printout posters of his Baby Reindeer alter ego, Donny Dunn. “They were going crazy,” Gadd says. He signed as many as he could. The crowd followed him as he left.
“It feels like you’ve left your living room window open and there’s a cacophony of people shouting into it,” Gadd says later from a stuffy West Hollywood conference room. “You have to practice self-preservation [in] moments like these.”
No kidding. As Baby Reindeer, a small-scale British production that was not heavily promoted, has amassed tens of millions of views around the world, crashing this year’s Emmy race in the process, it’s put Gadd and his costars Jessica Gunning and Nava Mau—sitting on either side of him on this sunny Wednesday afternoon—under a microscope. The series is based on Gadd’s actual experience, following a struggling comedian and bartender whose own traumatic past leads to a dangerously toxic dynamic with his stalker, named Martha and played by Gunning in the show.
The empathetic, darkly funny approach to two vulnerable characters finding hope and despair in each other has resonated globally. It’s also caused controversy, as the scale of the show has led viewers to try tracking down the real-life stalker as well as the powerful TV producer who sexually abuses Donny.
Gadd and company have just completed a glitzy photo shoot and are still giddy from the previous evening’s celebratory Baby Reindeer For Your Consideration event. At the same time, a Scottish woman named Fiona Harvey has come forward to claim she was the inspiration for Martha, announcing that she will be speaking out in an extensive video interview with Piers Morgan. (In that interview, which happened after I spoke to Gadd and his costars, she called Baby Reindeer “defamatory” and argued that Gadd is “obsessed” with her. Netflix’s UK policy chief Benjamin King reiterated on Wednesday that the streamer and producers took “every reasonable precaution in disguising the real-life identities of the people involved in that story.” Vanity Fair has reached out to Gadd for comment.)
Since Reindeer’s premiere, Gadd has consistently said that he cannot and will not talk about the basis for Martha, while emphasizing that the real and fictional versions of her are substantially different. “I think it does a disservice to the art,” he says of the audience’s desire to find the inspirations for Reindeer’s characters. “I’ve spoken out publicly against it and said that I wanted to stop. I think that did have an impact.”
Would he have done anything differently, I ask, if he’d known the show would get as big as it has? “I can’t police the internet, and no matter what I would’ve done, you just don’t know how people are going to react to things. You can never predict the future,” he says. “You can’t second-guess yourself, or spend the creative process second-guessing yourself.”
For everyone involved with Baby Reindeer, the last month has been a lot to take in. “I have had to remind myself that I am not an infinite resource, and I actually am better able to do my work and serve my purpose by protecting my energy and practicing strong boundaries,” says Mau, who plays Donny’s girlfriend, Teri. “But it has overwhelmingly been an outpouring of love that I’ve received from people in all places.”
Mau’s nuanced performance grounds the series, with Teri navigating her affection for Donny as his trauma bubbles to the surface—and the ire of Martha once she becomes aware of the relationship. While Teri doesn’t figure prominently into the series’ endgame, Mau felt a sense of closure after filming a scene that did not make the final cut of the show. In that sequence, Teri leaves Donny a voicemail months after they’ve parted ways, telling him she’s watched his viral video—in which he reveals being sexually assaulted in a stunning stand-up monologue—and that she hopes he is finding peace. “It was a very nuanced, loving, clear, and adult and healed message,” Mau says.
Gadd shares a chunk of Teri’s dialogue from that scene with me: “‘I just wanted to say I saw how much you struggled, and I hope how much you’re going through right now helps you reach some sort of peace in your life. I’ve met a new man now, so don’t call me back. I thought I should let you know. Anyway, good luck, darling. Enjoy it.’” Gadd decided not to include that scene in order to maintain a level of surprise and heartbreak in the edit. We learn about Teri’s future more subtly without that extra context. “You have to kill your darlings,” he says.
It’s one of many specific Baby Reindeer beats that have generated discussion and speculation. Gunning, a British TV veteran who breathes searing life into Martha, has focused largely on defending her polarizing character. “Last night after the event, quite a lot of people were going, ‘You terrify me.’ And I’ve got this really fierce protection of her where I’m just like, ‘She isn’t scary, though!’” the actor says. “But then, of course, I see the show and I forget the bigger picture.”
Gunning is not on social media, but has been confronted with viewers’ opinions in public: “The other day I was walking down the street and I looked like Martha, [because of how I had my hair]. And a lady stepped in front of me and just screamed in front of my face.”
She has adamantly resisted the labeling of Martha as a villain—and labels are something that Gadd has generally hoped to eschew in the making of Baby Reindeer. Another example is Donny’s (and by extension, Gadd’s) sexuality, which is depicted as a profoundly confusing journey in the aftermath of the assault. (An otherwise positive NPR review claimed “the series repeatedly and clumsily conflates the horror of abuse with the simple fact of queer sexuality.”) Gadd, who identifies as bisexual, hoped to honor the many people who experience their sexuality as indefinitely unclear.
“A lot of people don’t fit into gay, straight, bisexual—they actually go through life questioning and wrestling with it almost the whole time,” he says. “When I was going through everything in my early 20s, I remember fundamentally feeling confused: ‘Okay, today I’m going to go down the street and I’m going to be straight today.’ ‘Okay, that didn’t work, I still don’t feel good, so I’m going to get up and I’m going to be gay today.’ ‘Okay, I’m going to get up and I’m going to be bi.’ None of the labels sat right with me.” Of Donny’s particular path, Gadd says, “When it comes to his sense of self, there is no clear answer and definition. Donny struggles with himself in every single respect…. Offering a lack of clarity around that area might provide comfort to people who spend their lives in a state of uncertainty.”
The last time Gadd, Gunning, and Mau were together in person was the night before Baby Reindeer hit Netflix. “Little did we know,” Gunning says, and they all laugh. It’s clear the trio find great comfort in one another as the spotlight settles on them in a way none of them have ever experienced before. Mau reflects on that premiere event, the pride she felt just in the show that they made together: “We watched it on the big screen, and it was special. That felt like, ‘Okay, we did it.’”
Before Baby Reindeer came out, Gadd tells me he had a little less than 4,000 followers on Instagram. He’d feel excited if a post generated more than 100 likes. He chuckles to himself at this month-old version of himself, naive to just how quickly and intensely things can change. He notes that he’s since turned the comments off on his account. That intrigues Gunning, who, again, is not on social media. “How does it work? You can turn comments off, or you can turn notifications off, and it doesn’t keep pinging?” she asks. Gadd nods: “Instagram is quite good in that way.”
Each of these actors has, in their own way, communicated the need to protect themselves amid so much scrutiny. They are riding high off of the prospect of awards attention, rave reviews, and the even shinier career opportunities awaiting them. This is life-changing stuff, in ways both thrilling and potentially unsettling. “Despite sharing my deepest vulnerabilities with the world, I do actually like to keep up a certain level of privacy,” Gadd says. “I’ve been letting it come in when I feel prepared for it.”
He points out his phone again. “It’s back up to about 150 unread messages now already,” he says—in roughly 24 hours. “So yeah, it’s been crazy.”
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For some dumb reason, the whole "Ainsley stuck in the Dubai airport" thing made me laugh A LOT. I think it's because I don't really see her purpose in the show so seeing her just camped out and being on a first name/dining buddy basis with the security agent just seemed so on brand for her.
I don't see an iota of romantic chemistry between Molly and Arthur but know they are probably endgame. He's sweet and kind and supportive and comes across as a big, dumb puppy dog and I think that's what makes him attractive to her since she was married to the opposite.
And despite Willa seeming very nice and normal thus far, if someone that I was dating for a few weeks sent me like 20 text messages when I had only been gone for a day, I'd be peacing out VERY quickly.
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Respectfully, I disagree. I'm not someone who sought out any details about the real life circumstances portrayed in the series (and I refuse to give clicks to Piers Morgan and that nutter) and I don't think Gadd owes anyone anything by way of explanation.
Take it for what it is or don't, but the bottom line is that she's bringing more unwelcome attention to herself with her shenanigans. She could have remained largely anonymous and I don't think Gadd owes her a damn thing.
I still found the whole series incredibly impactful and appreciated it for what it was. I wish the media would stop giving her the attention she so desperately craves.
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I wasn't going to watch this until the whole season was available because I'm terribly impatient. But I needed something funny and caved last night.
My lord, I didn't realize how much I had missed this show. Deborah and Ava are probably my favorite duo on television right now. Their chemistry is just off the charts.
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On 5/5/2024 at 12:53 PM, Crashcourse said:
For me, this show lost some of its appeal when I found out that it's filmed in LA--not Philly. So, I feel like the Philly jokes and references are a hoax.
Quinta Brunson was born and raised in Philly. It's not as if the jokes and references aren't genuine.
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Gregory, I say this with all due respect: SHIT OR GET OFF THE POT!
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I found this show to be incredibly compelling but it also made me wildly uncomfortable. Knowing it was based on a really messed up true story made me feel like a voyeur. Had the writer/star not been the actual person this all happened to, I would have found it really gross and exploitative, but I give him a lot of credit for putting this all out there. Having said that, I hope that he is getting the help that he needs because in many ways, he is as messed up as "Martha."
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On 4/16/2024 at 7:02 PM, annzeepark914 said:
Is there such a beverage as an orange creamsickle? Without alcohol in it? I'm looking for something similar to Starbucks Pink Drink, but is a creamy orange creation. It would taste like a liquid version of those Creamsickles I loved as a kid. I've been searching but everything has lemon-lime soda in it 🧐.
There is a beer/wine shop around the corner from me that has a slushie machine in the spring/summer months. The slushies themselves are non-alcoholic but they will add shots of alcohol if you want. The flavors rotate and one of them is orange creamsicle. I always ask the owner to text me when it comes up in the rotation because I love it so much. Takes me right back to summers in my childhood. Well, minus the vodka. 😉
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Media Talk About Abbott Elementary
in Abbott Elementary
I am currently watching this really lovely 1 on 1 conversation with Quinta and Jennifer Aniston for Variety's Actors on Actors series. It's so wonderful.
https://youtu.be/3iIgcU2sr4I