Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019; d. Quentin Tarantino)
I like it more every time I see it. I’ve seen it maybe 7 or 8 times.
Desert Fury (1947; d. Lewis Allen)
I adore this messed-up homoerotic Technicolor fever-dream. I wrote about Mary Astor’s wardrobe in this, as you do.
The Boys, Season 3 (2021)
I was in Chicago last month, and we had a great lazy day watching the entirety of The Boys, Season 3. I’m so happy to actually share this with someone in person! Season 3 had, hands down, one of the grossest moments I’ve ever seen – and I’ve seen a lot – including a close-up of a butthole. Like, Kripke, WHY are you doing this to me. This is some raunchy shit. Jesus. But also, deep, painful, honest. It’s a wild mix. Season 3, for me, was all about Jensen Ackles (who is incredible), as Soldier Boy, the PTSD-rattled American soldier coming out of a cryogenic state into the touchy-feely world of 2022, wondering why everything was different. It gave Jensen the opportunity to play to his strengths: toughness Band-aid-ed over sensitivity, uneasiness, humor, the whole thing. So it was awesome to see Jensen at play in this weird raunchy X-rated world. But, for me, Season 1 is the keeper of this thing. Anthony Starr, too, is EERIE and I would love to know how he even began to approach this role: he blows me away. Madness: true madness.
Kansas City (1996; d. Robert Altman)
It’s been a long time. I saw this one in the theatre. As always, Altman provides a rich interwoven fluctuating tapestry, of sounds and voices and atmosphere, great actors. This one feels personal, due to Altman’s growing up in Kansas City in the era in which the film takes place. I really love this one, and I feel so fortunate I was an adult in an era where you could look forward to a new Altman film every couple of years. I wasn’t seeing Altman movies in the 70s, but by the late 80s and into the 90s, it was still happening. It was always an event, a new Altman film.
Both Sides of the Blade (2022; d. Claire Denis)
I keep thinking about this one. I reviewed for Ebert.
Dopesick (2021)
This was a re-watch. It’s fantastic if you haven’t seen it.
Elvis comeback special (1968; d. Steve Binder)
It’s so important. I have the deluxe box set, so I watched all the out-takes too, all the false starts: watching him at work in this insanely pressurized situation.
She Will (2022; d. n Charlotte Colbert)
This was fascinating and intense. I reviewed for Ebert.
Supernatural, Season 11, episode 8, “Just my Imagination” (2015; d. Richard Speight Jr.)
Summers are normally hard for me. The days are too long. My circadian rhythms get messed up. So I turned to comfort food and watched three of my “comfort food” Supernatural episodes in a row. There are way more on that list, but these ones are like well-worn blankets. They always work. This one: “So let’s say Bozo is legit. Which … okay … Crazy Town … but okay. How is that our problem?” This line reading will never EVER not be funny to me.
Supernatural, Season 9, episode 7, “Bad Boys” (2013; d. Kevin Parks)
Season 9. Ah. I felt very alone in my love of this season, and I guess I still do. It’s one of my favorite seasons, since the majority of the arc has to do with the brothers’ relationship. The whole “I don’t like Sam because he’s mean to Dean” thing is very uninteresting to me. What interests me has always been the relationship, its sick and twisted closeness, the loyalty, and how this loyalty brought about super questionable choices on both sides. I feel like Sam had every reason to call Dean to account for what Dean did. Dean needed to suffer like that. AND I felt like Season 9 burrowed down to the very heart of what was going on – what has ALWAYS been going on – since Season 1 – and the moment in the hotel room (“Shadow”) when Sam says he’s looking forward to it all being over, and he’d like to go back to school. The final scene in “The Purge” is almost the same scene, and yet … it’s so much worse, because it’s 7 years later. Nothing has been resolved. Sam is just more resentful, and Dean is still in denial about just how much he has sacrificed and how fearful he is of being alone. I love that emotional continuity. I don’t even know what else happened in Season 9, to be honest. All I remember is Dean being so upset he grew a beard. I loved it. “Bad Boys” is so crucial for me, in the brothers’ arc, AND it is kind of wild to think just how much the show went off the rails, so much so that it didn’t even seem interested in exploring the brothers’ relationships anymore, OR the personalities and traumas of the two main characters.
Supernatural, Season 10, episode 12, “About a Boy” (2015; d. Serge Ladouceur)
The look on Sam’s face as he watches Tween Dean walk around the motel room, packing up ammo. It makes me laugh every time.
What Do We See When We Look at the Sky? (2021; d. Aleksandre Koberidze)
My God, this movie! This is my favorite movie this year so far. Georgian filmmaker Aleksandre Koberidze has crafted a haunting and unique story about two people who meet by chance in the street, run into one another again by chance, and he asks her out for coffee. The following morning they both wake up and they have been transformed into different people. They are the same people inside, but their exteriors are different. Now they will no longer recognize one another. They have lost one another in the crowd. Okay? You got that? This film is amazing, I highly recommend it.
How to Please a Woman (2022; d. Renée Webster)
What a fun movie! It makes me want to run out and have sex all over town. Or, in just one spot. It doesn’t matter. I reviewed for Ebert.
The Lincoln Lawyer, Season 1, episode 1, “He Rides Again” (2022; d. Liz Friedlander)
Mum recommended this to me. So far I have only watched the pilot, but I ADORE it.
Elvis (2022; d. Baz Luhrmann)
I don’t even want to say how many times I’ve seen it. I live within walking distance of a 100-year-old movie palace, and so I’d be like “fuck it, there’s a matinee in 20 minutes, let me pop over.” I am working on a piece about it, but my main reasoning was: This movie is going to disappear from theatres, and who knows when I will get the chance to “see it big” again. What else have I got to do with my time.
Resurrection (2022; d. Andrew Semans)
Rebecca Hall and Tim Roth: an amazing pairing. This is a nervous breakdown of a movie. I reviewed for Ebert.
What’s Up, Doc? (1972; d. Peter Bogdanovich)
During my family’s annual vacation on the lake up north, we watched the family favorite, What’s Up, Doc. Jean brought her projector, we tacked a sheet up on the porch wall, and gathered around, all the kids, all the grown-ups. Hilarity. The age range of the audience was 80 years old to 6 years old. Thank you, P-Dawg.
The Most Hated Man on the Internet (2022; d. Rob Miller)
This is a sickening story. Diabolical sociopath. New docuseries on Netflix.
Definitely looking forward with much anticipation to your future piece and insights on Baz Luhrmann’s ELVIS. I hope everything is going well, Sheila. I’m enjoying your writing, as always.
TY – hi!! I just started a full time job and have been barely home for the last month – I’ve seen the movie I don’t even want to admit how many times. I WILL write on it – and I thank you for your interest and support! Hope you are well!
I think Once Upon a Time in Hollywood may be Tarantino’s best, most mature movie. I used to reflexively say Pulp Fiction was one of my favorite films, but I don’t do that anymore, because I don’t think it’s even Quentin’s best (or even 2nd – Inglorious Basterds is probably tied in my mind with Pulp, at least).
Not that it matters. But the way Once Upon a Time in Hollywood continues to appreciate in value to me is pretty remarkable for a movie that is only 3 years old. I think it’s in the cannon already.
Two thoughts, and I have many. The Easy Peasy stuff. It’s easy to look at Leo and wonder how much of him is in Rick Dalton. He’s probably the biggest movie star of the last 30 years not named Tom Cruise. But he’s 45 years old when he filmed this. And the “hot new thing” Margot Robbie is on his heels, if not already zipping by. Leo’s acting in this scene is some of the best he’s ever done in my opinion.
And Julia Butters as Trudi! In the same way that Cathy Moriarty had to rise to the occasion for Raging Bull, imagine being 10 years old and not only having to act with Leo, but kind of own him in the scene. She’s amazing.
But the better question than how much of Leo is in Rick, is how much of Tarantino is in Rick? Tarantino is also aging, maybe worried about his place, and if he still has his fastball. And this melancholy gives this movie a depth that his other movies have been accused of lacking. To the extent he has detractors, they say his films are all surface, their just to excite and entertain (as if that’s bad, or easy to pull off. It’s also false in my opinion, but anyway). In that way I think Tarantino has aged into an interesting thematic time of his career. I hope he keeps making movies. This movie seems to be just a great “hang out” movie, and it is, maybe the best ever. But it also has a real depth. It lingers.
The second point is a moment in what has become my favorite scene in the movie, when Rick and Cliff watch Rick’s FBI episode. All the movies/TV shows/commercials within the movie crack me up, every single one. But the FBI is the best. And when they’re watching the credits, and Norman Fell comes on, Cliff says “strong”. I love that Cliff appreciates Norman Fell’s work on FBI.
It’s the kind of moment that I probably didn’t notice the first few times watching it, but I love it so much now. Cliff and Rick LOVE movies and TV shows. They really do. Rick wants to do well so badly when he acts. He can barely take the pressure. It’s NOT about just staying relevant and paying bills. It’s about the ART too for these guys. I love that moment. I love this film.
// the way Once Upon a Time in Hollywood continues to appreciate in value to me is pretty remarkable for a movie that is only 3 years old. //
I totally agree. I felt the same way about Zodiac. I instantly wanted to see it again and again. And I continue to watch it with regularity and it never gets old.
// Leo’s acting in this scene is some of the best he’s ever done in my opinion. //
Oh, 100%. There was an incredible interview with him at Yahoo Movies, of all places – one of the most in-depth pieces I’ve ever seen on him – I should print it out and save it, because … Yahoo Movies doesn’t sound all that secure, tbh. And he talked about his approach and how he worked on this – how he submerged himself in the careers of all the people Tarantino loved (he was turned on to Ralph Meeker through this process. The more people turned on to Ralph Meeker the better). But one thing I thought was so interesting – the interviewer asked – basically a question that could seem rude, but however the person formulated it it wasn’t – basically: you became so famous so young, how could you “relate” to a guy like Rick? And Leo gave this really thoughtful answer – both conceding the point – yes, I hit it big young – but also saying that things like blowing your lines, or feeling insecure – every actor feels those things – so he just expanded that out to be all-encompassing. SO SMART.
I’ll see if I can find the link to that interview. I was really impressed. It was all about PROCESS and actors are almost never asked about process.
// And this melancholy gives this movie a depth that his other movies have been accused of lacking. //
Absolutely. You’re not going to make the same movies the same way as you get older. I mean, look at Scorsese. Or PTA. they are changing. Their work is always personal. They are looking forward – not backward. It’s like the Elvis fans who wish he just kept doing the 1950s rockabilly stuff over and over – they don’t like the ballads, the gospel, the crooning. But … if he just kept doing the 50s stuff into the 60s – he’d be a nostalgia act. He was very very conscious of not wanting to repeat himself – and if he DID cover his own songs, he would do them in a new way.
What is startling to me about Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is its vulnerability. Its ache of melancholy. I love QT but “vulnerability” is not really his thing (historically) – and neither is any ache of nostalgia. That’s Richard Linklater’s territory. QT is different. And that’s fine. I love QT for who he is. But this … there’s a whole new TONE in Once Upon a Time – that yes, feels personal, and feels almost like he’s not in control of it (which is a good thing). It’s seeped out. The same thing happened with Zodiac. Fincher grew up in San Fran area, he grew up during the time of the murders – this was the story of his childhood and its atmosphere – and you can FEEL that.
// I love that Cliff appreciates Norman Fell’s work on FBI. //
I absolutely love that scene.
Have you read the novel yet?
Found the Yahoo interview with Leo!
https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/leonardo-dicaprio-once-upon-time-185652806.html
I also heard recently that when Austin Butler was announced as going to play Elvis in Baz Luhrmann’s movie – Leo picked up the phone to call him and give him tips and support about working with Baz. Basically saying “he will put you through your paces, he will exhaust you, you will never work as hard as you will work on this, and it will all be worth it – but just get ready.” Basically an unsolicited pep talk for this newbie actor – and it meant so much to Butler, who had been quietly obsessing by himself all through lockdown on getting ready to play the role.
I think Leo reaching out – unsolicited – says a lot about who he is.
There’s all this bullshit floating around about how he dates 19 year olds – any time you post about him someone says “I wish he would get a girlfriend his own age.” Why is it your business? Mind your business, bitch. Unless the girl is 15 years old, it’s nobody’s business.
It’s so GROSS. I don’t care about who he dates. Him calling up Austin Butler to give him support on what his life was about to become tells me all I need to know.
Wow, that interview was amazing!
DEADLINE: One might imagine Tarantino being precious about his dialogue and scenes, and the expectation you do it as he wrote them…
GREAT QUESTION! This is the question I’ve been dying to hear the answer to. How do you give NOTES to Tarantino? I love Leo’s reply.
DICAPRIO: I will absolutely say that that is simultaneously true. When there is a scene that he has in his head, you hold it as a modern-day type of Shakespeare dialogue. But if there’s a scene that is in his head that is written a specific way, you say those lines as they’re written. But then there’s also simultaneously the leniency to be able to go off and do your own things.”
That give and take, the elbow grease and hard work required to dive into the character together, to dig deep and explore. That’s great. There is a mutual trust that brings out the best in both of them.
Re: His big break (That Boy’s Life)
DICAPRIO: ….. I had a couple more episodes to do, contractually. Here they let this 15-year-old go do this film that I was lucky enough to get. I mean, are you kidding me? Without that opportunity, I don’t know. I don’t know what my career would’ve been, so I am thankful at how goddamn lucky I was. And appreciative, too. I mean, as an adult you say, goddamn am I appreciative.”
I can see why he wants to give back to young actors like Austin Butler. He knows how much people like Alan Thicke and Robert De Niro helped him. And his love of the art form.
“In preparation for This Boy’s Life I gave myself a weird at-home tutorial on cinema history. At 15 years old, I said, OK, I have this one ticket and I know this is my opportunity. And I’m going to lock myself away for months at a time and just watch VHS tapes obsessively.”
I love this. His whole self awareness, and understanding of the business at such a young age was pretty remarkable. I don’t want to quote the whole thing at this point but his stuff on James Dean was really insightful.
Re: his personal life. There are plenty of people throughout Hollywood history that we could say are bad people, and Leo is obviously not one of them. He devotes his free time to saving the planet (“Saving the planet? The planet will be fine. It’s the people that are fucked!” – Carlin) and endangered species. And he his self aware enough to understand what he wants, and is never caught up in a scandal, and doesn’t seem concerned about trying to follow conventions to please others. That’s about as mature as it gets in my book. And who is anyone to knock him? In the immortal words of Adam Sandler in Funny People : “It’s easy to be faithful when nobody wants to fuck you.” I think Leo has handled being Leo incredibly well.
Thanks for the reply. I have not read the book. I need to read more.
No pressure! lol Just asking! It’s a fun read and not at all what I expected. The whole Manson thing takes up maybe a page and a half. The rest is a tribute to that whole world and deepening the characters of Rick and Cliff. :)
Re: the novel, Sheila, how did you feel about the incorporation of criticism into the narrative? That’s something that would generally fall right in my wheelhouse, so I was surprised on my initial read I felt it (the I Am Curious Yellow section, in particular) brought everything to a halt.
When I revisited it via the audiobook (Jennifer Jason Leigh’s reading is fantastic), I felt it all flowed together. I have yet to figure out exactly why but suspect it may be as simple as I wanted to get back to the plot on my first go around, but was better able to focus on the prose when I came back to it.
Jim – interesting – I think those sections you mention were some of my favorites – mainly because they were so unexpected!! // I wanted to get back to the plot on my first go around, // Me too! Once I stopped waiting for the plot of the movie to show up (lol) … I kind of just got into the swing of it. I think they’re definitely superimposed – giving QT a chance to pontificate (it makes me wish he would write a weekly film column – I’d love to hear more).
I loved mostly the revelation that Cliff Booth was seeing all this “weird” esoteric foreign stuff – His perspective was not provincial. He was a veteran. He’d seen the world. He’d drive out to the Valley or whatever to see a Kurosawa film – I really loved that detail – there were a couple details like that that deepened my sense of Cliff – things I never would have considered before. I didn’t even think “huh I wonder what kinds of movies HE likes” – and the book was surprising in that way, but it makes a lot of sense!
//Nothing has been resolved. Sam is just more resentful, and Dean is still in denial about just how much he has sacrificed and how fearful he is of being alone.//
“Sam hit a dog.”
I love season 9 although I barely remember the plots, but I know exactly what scene you’re talking about and how it ends on Dean’s face, and THAT expression.
It’s been a while and things have been crazy (and so have I). I hope you’re doing well, or at least ok. Summer is hard. After years of not daring going back into full Supernatural obsession mode, I’ve given in. I’ve recently bought the DVDs because on streaming services the music is all wrong and that won’t do, and I’m re-watching the whole show and re-reading your recaps. I’m in season 5. I’ve been thinking a lot you and the wonderful people discussing the show here (legs, racist trucks and tea cups, self pity, Sam and Latin, Dean and children, Henriksen’s dimples,…) It was glorious! Do you ever think of picking it back up?
It’s always a pleasure reading you. Take care, Sheila.
it’s really nice to see you around Lyrie, hope you’re doing alright these days. Isn’t it funny the way seasons get you. I am desperate for my winter to be done. It’s been a hard and endless one. I envy you your Kripke-era immersion! What glory days. I just saw a gif of Ruby2 that knocked me out for how gorgeous she is and how intense that whole storyline is.
// I just saw a gif of Ruby2 that knocked me out for how gorgeous she is and how intense that whole storyline is. //
so intense! It’s fun to remember the experience of seeing it for the first time. It was so upsetting and in such a beautiful way. Great story-telling.
Jessie! I’m so very sorry for your loss. No doubt this winter must so very hard.
I know, she was so beautiful! And bringing a warmth and some ambiguity that the first Ruby didn’t have – although I liked her too. I listened to the commentary for Lucifer Rising and Kripke is saying how Padalecki and Genevieve had worked on the scene the whole weekend and like… yeah… I’m sure they worked hard. All weekend. Ha ha!
I can’t believe how young they were! When I haven’t aged at all!
LYRIE. so good to hear from you!! It’s like getting the old gang together. Thanks so much for stopping by again!
// I love season 9 although I barely remember the plots, but I know exactly what scene you’re talking about and how it ends on Dean’s face, and THAT expression. //
Right?? It might be part of the hangover from being roofied – lol – but still … he’s just LOST and DEVASTATED and I am HERE FOR IT.
// I’ve recently bought the DVDs because on streaming services the music is all wrong and that won’t do, //
Really!! That’s not right. I remember that happened with Quantum Leap too – which had so much great period music in it – Ray Charles and stuff – and then boom, it’s turned into generic mush on streaming – and the whole feel of the series has changed.
// self pity, Sam and Latin, Dean and children, Henriksen’s dimples //
lol
there’s so much to discuss!!
Season 5! I did a re-watch of the whole thing in the first months of lockdown in 2020 – I was so beaten down by how bad the series was in those final years so it was great to go back and experience just how GOOD it was for so long!
That final moment of season 5 …. I remember GASPING the first time I saw it.
So good to hear from you.
Quantum Leap – my first obsession on a tv show. It was on TV, and dubbed, so I never got to see it in order and in its entirety. I was so invested in the emotional life of this huge tender man, ha! And I loved the relationship with Al, of course. I’ve been meaning to watch it as an adult, but I’m afraid I won’t like it as much. Just hearing the theme makes me tear up though.
//I was so beaten down by how bad the series was in those final years//
I stopped somewhere in season 12 and I don’t regret it. There’s enough good material for me to focus on that. Re-watching, I realize I already have less patience for stuff I didn’t dislike on my first viewings. I just started season 6, and the whole angel war annoys me. I don’t care. I know what it leads to and I hate it. Angel as trouts. Come on.
//That final moment of season 5 …. I remember GASPING the first time I saw it.//
But Soulless Killer Sex Machine Sam, now THAT I’m here for! I can’t wait for Clap Your Hands!
So good to hear from you. Congratulations on the new job!
Although nothing comparable to what Jessie and you are talking about by far, I’ve also found myself thinking a lot about some conversations about grief that happened around here these past two years. So many people seem to not understand that it affects us physically, cognitively? People going through grief themselves, sometimes – as so many of us have lately. There’s a denial, a lack of willingness to just sit with it… which… I don’t relate to. It has created strange divides.
I am so very sorry for your loss, and for your sister and the kids. I can’t begin to imagine.
Lyrie – // Soulless Killer Sex Machine Sam, now THAT I’m here for //
TOTALLY.
// I just started season 6, and the whole angel war annoys me. I don’t care. I know what it leads to and I hate it. //
Right. It’s so wild to see how the undoing of the series was there so early – how easily it tilted toward unimaginative “bureaucracy” heavens/hells – as opposed to something supernatural.
and what they did to Crowley was unforgivable – although he wore out his welcome for almost as long a time as Castiel did!
I’m so curious to hear your other thoughts as you move along.
Sorry for the long delay. I do try to keep up with comments!!
I’m almost certain you know this is coming, but just in case.
https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/0063112582/ref=ppx_od_dt_b_asin_title_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
yes! excited.
Sheila I’ve been very irregularly online for what feels like the greater part of the year (most sadly, my poor mum’s health deteriorated at the start of the year and she passed away two months ago) and I come back and you’re watching Supernatural! What a crop of fun episodes — how perfect is that actor as young Dean? Season 9 is the best, people are crazy not to like it. Operatic.
I don’t love The Boys tremendously but when it’s fun it’s fun and Soldier Boy and Homelander were never less than capital F Fun to watch. I wish the season had been structured differently so we could have had more Soldier Boy and more interactions between them.
What’s Up Doc is such a crowdpleaser, your viewing party sounds like tons of fun.
Always love to read your diary! I will have to get my act together and try to learn instagram so I can see what you’re up to. I hope the season is easing and being kinder to you!
Jessie – I am so sorry to hear about your mother. My deepest condolences for your loss. That is so difficult. I’m so sorry.
// Season 9 is the best, people are crazy not to like it. Operatic. //
totally agree. It’s emblematic of everything I loved about the show – not the plot, but the emotions and the relationship. I really don’t remember anything else about that season.
// I wish the season had been structured differently so we could have had more Soldier Boy and more interactions between them. //
I agree. I got a flashback to the super embarrassing SPN season finale where Dean as Michael flew in the air for some standoff with … I don’t even remember who – and it looked so … dumb. But in The Boys – the very same thing, with Soldier Boy and Homelander up in the air – it looked kind of cool.
It still makes no sense to me that superheroes – or angels and devils or supernatural beings – would waste time having fist fights, but I’ll let that slide.
// your viewing party sounds like tons of fun.//
it was so great. The kids love it so much. My niece Lucy was Eunice Burns for Halloween. She is being raised right! lol
// I will have to get my act together and try to learn instagram so I can see what you’re up to. //
I find that place easier to “be on” than Twitter – which … I decided to take a break a couple months ago and then never went back. I haven’t de-activated or anything – I just stopped going. I don’t know. I probably will go back and post things on occasion … but … I find that place mentally draining in a totally unhealthy way. No matter how I filtered my main feed so I only saw the people I like and love … other things came in. It’s designed that way. I just guess I can’t handle it. I do miss all the SPN people – although even that gets a little ….. heated. It’s been 2 years and people are still flinging around death threats! It’s so disturbing!
again, I am so sorry about your past winter and your family’s loss. My thoughts are with you and yours.
thank you for your kind condolences Sheila — I think often of your references to grieving in the Victorian era and how one should wear an armband for a year because it takes at least that long to ‘recover’ in any meaningful sense.
Instagram looks like a much richer platform for image + short/medium-form text, as opposed to the extreme brevity of twitter! there is a lot of toxicity and maladjustment on twitter it’s undeniable. or maybe it’s not maladjustment, it’s what the platform is designed for.
Congrats on your new full time job — sounds like a whirlwind!
// one should wear an armband for a year //
Yes! I am so about this. It’s a visible message to others that something has happened. It’s almost a warning. It lets people know something’s going on so they can adjust accordingly (if they’re good people, that is). My sisters and I were just talking about this recently. My sister lost her husband in 2020 – and her co-workers just did not deal with it sensitively. It’s like they FORGOT she just suffered a catastrophic loss. I don’t even know these people but I wanted to message them on Facebook. why are you piling work on my sister and scolding her for being disorganized? WTF is wrong with people.
Grief is just not understood. It’s so disorienting more than anything else.
I hope you have a lot of support!! I’m so sorry.
// it’s what the platform is designed for. //
Yeah, I really think that’s true. It’s also designed to keep people on there 24/7. which, again, is fine – if you’re into it. And can handle it. But I can’t.
ALSO, as a writer – I noticed that I would have brief flashes when I was writing something like: “I wonder how this will play on Twitter” or “Twitter is going to get mad at this one line”. That was really the final straw. I cannot have Twitter in my mind when I write. I can honestly tell when my fellow critics are writing FOR Twitter. It’s often full of hedging-your-bets – OR it’s preaching to the choir – neither are interesting.
I can’t have that in my head. Twitter – and its collective mindset – is hostile to any deviation from the status quo – and … that’s just bad to have in your head as a writer. I always tried to “do Twitter” in my own way – and in some ways it does work – I never go on the main feed, I stroll around to see what friends are posting, etc. I am NEVER rude. I just block people if they’re rude. There are parts of it I miss! I just cannot deal right now.
Always fun to read you :)
Someone asked Jensen (and Jared) at the con this weakend about their approach to scripts, here’s Jensen’s answer, just thought you might be interested :)
https://justjensenanddean.tumblr.com/post/692590826782654464/jensen-on-how-he-approaches-scripts-his-process
Merav – WOW. That was fascinating. I love how he memorizes at the very last minute. Or, he just absorbs it through doing the blocking rehearsal. He’s already done the real work before that.
Love that – thanks so much for passing it on!!
I love reading your thoughts about acting so I assumed you’d enjoy that, you’re welcome :)
I can listen to him talk about acting for hours. He should do something like Inside the Actors Studio. I’ll vote for you to host!
I tried to find Jared’s answer but couldn’t find it so it start here at minute 28 if you want to watch it. His and Jensen’s aprouches are very different.
I wish it wasn’t the last question, they seem to enjoy talking about this subject and it’s way more interesting than another prank questions.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M9qBRzeHSJM&ab_channel=Kreespa
Ooh, thank you!
Sheila! It’s so nice to think and talk about the show again!
The first times I watched it, I binge-watched. Now taking a bit more time, and knowing what’s to come to, watching seasons 7 and 8 made me sad.
First of all, why are they ORANGE? I miss the dark, colourless beauty of the first seasons. I also notice that I recognize some of the writers right away – sometimes it’s good (Ben Edlund!), but then there are the two duos… They’ve hurt the show so much, in my opinion.
Castiel shouldn’t be there. I love Misha Collins, I do, and I loved Castiel in the beginning, but they didn’t know what to do with him, it distracted us from the core of the show, I hate it. I would have left him in Purgatory. Less Castiel, more Benny! (just kidding)
I know Bugs and Bloodlines are not fan favourites, but I’d rewatch those episodes until the end of times if it meant I could erase from existence the episode where a Black woman is also a dog, and she fucks the white man she calls her owner? Like?! What the fuck?! The actress has to wear a DOG COLLAR!? Ross-Leming & Buckner, man… I can’t watch that episode, I feel such shame and second-hand embarrassment for everyone involved – I just fast-forwarded to the Impala talk scene, cause we wouldn’t want to miss that.
// It’s so wild to see how the undoing of the series was there so early – how easily it tilted toward unimaginative “bureaucracy” heavens/hells – as opposed to something supernatural.//
Yes to all of that, and Crowley, too. And with certain writers, there’s something in the tone that’s just very wrong. It sounds like SPN from afar, but… Honestly it reminds me of my grandfather when he had dementia – it was him, I still loved him, but it wasn’t really him.
Some great stuff, still – Sam’s mane is incredible in season 8! And the whole weirdness of them breaking up with their respective others, Amelia/Benny, and Sam’s break up is not even the most emotional… it is just so BIZARRE! I love that show when it’s WEIRD! Everyone is so harsh on Sam for just wanting to… not be married to his BROTHER? Weirdos.
No wonder shit hit the fan is season 9. I just started it, and I love it. I tune out the angel stuff (I just think about Benny, whose bones Dean didn’t burn).
It’s been interesting, re-watching after several years of thinking about it without watching it. The things that stuck and what I forgot. And what I see differently. I think I understand and love Sam even more now. And I don’t think I noticed the first time around that everyone keeps touching Dean’s face: demons, vampires, mom, Joe, Bobby,… EVEYRONE. People put their hands, lick him, smell him… Also more face wounds. That face! – everyone wants to do things to it. And I always wonder how much of it is in the script and how much isn’t.
I wonder when I should stop watching. I think I’ve seen some stills and gifs and I read a few things here back in the day, and it makes me cringe. I wonder if it would spoil it all for me or if I could forget it the way I forgot fanfic. I don’t know if I want to give The Winchester a try either. Will you?
// I recognize some of the writers right away – sometimes it’s good (Ben Edlund!), but then there are the two duos… They’ve hurt the show so much, in my opinion.
//
I so agree with you (and I’m sorry I didn’t respond to this when it came in! I started a full-time job end of August so … yeah. It’s been busy.
I think I didn’t really pick up on the fact that each writer had their own style/concerns, etc. until maybe my second or third time through. And it’s so clear now that the writers’ room was split. It was almost like two different shows. They needed those to drive the plot along – they needed those who could let off steam and bring in the silliness – but … how do those two things go together?? Know what I mean? sometimes it’s totally divided – you get whiplash going back and forth. The fact that so many fans dreaded episodes written by THE DUO says a lot.
// I can’t watch that episode, I feel such shame and second-hand embarrassment for everyone involved //
It’s shocking and disgusting – no one at that writers room table said, “Uhm … maybe we should re-think this?”
// Everyone is so harsh on Sam for just wanting to… not be married to his BROTHER? Weirdos. //
lol
// And I don’t think I noticed the first time around that everyone keeps touching Dean’s face: demons, vampires, mom, Joe, Bobby,… EVEYRONE. People put their hands, lick him, smell him… Also more face wounds. That face! – everyone wants to do things to it. And I always wonder how much of it is in the script and how much isn’t.
//
I know!! I think I said once he was penetrable and I’m so sorry for that – but it’s really true. He can be so tough – but one of the ways he is tough is somehow presenting himself to these creatures as bait – since he knows the effect he has on them. It’s wild. It’s so subtle that – in my opinion – I think it’s mainly what JA brings to it. I think he understands it – because it’s not really explicit in the writing, is it? Think about the small moments of reaction in What is and what will never be – when Mom touches him – it’s like his soul quivers. his eye slightly squints – we can SEE what it feels like him to be touched. That’s all JA – and maybe the better writers/directors started leaning into it.
You’re making me want to re-watch!
//You’re making me want to re-watch!//
Doooo it, do it, DO IT! haha
A few years ago I started re-watching but it wasn’t the right time. And I was super busy at the beginning of the pandemic, I couldn’t afford to lose my mind. Now’s the time – “I deserve something good in my life.”
I did a full re-watch in the early months of the pandemic. All of them. Even when it went off the rails. It was very disheartening – depressing – I couldn’t believe how bad it got – although there were always little moments here and there – mostly JP and JA related – the humor they always bring – that would elevate it. But the whole Ketch thing – UGH – and what they did to MARY was appalling. Samantha Smith is not a good actress. She was good when she played Mary – as ghost, apparition, flashback – because not much was required of her. The whole Darkness Big Bad thing was pleasing until … it wasn’t. I really thought they were going in SUCH a fascinating direction – I mean, talk about Dean being touched and what that does to him. He literally could not stand near her without being penetrated by her – even just emotionally. And then – splat – they ruined it.
I’m not sure about the Winchesters – I am ambivalent and I somehow feel like it’s not going to be good. That’s probably unfair of me.
I have totally enjoyed The Boys though!
//I’m not sure about the Winchesters – I am ambivalent and I somehow feel like it’s not going to be good. That’s probably unfair of me.//
So… until a few weeks ago it was a big no for me – the trailer made me cringe. But to be fair, I think it might have been the Wayward Thing ptsd lol. But since I’ve been re-watching, and especially with pushing through seasons 12-15 made me appreciate Robbie Thompson’s work even more than I used to, and I decided it was unfair of me and that I’d give it a try.
Listen, pilots are always a little weird – there is so much pressure on that one thing, you have to establish the mythology, actors who’ve just met have to create something… and with this fandom too, it’s a LOT pressure. There was a lot I liked about it, a lot I enjoyed – and a few things not so much, but nothing that was deal breaker for now (not saying anything to avoid spoilers, just in case). I’ve been pleasantly surprised by spin offs before – the first time I tried watching Angel, I really disliked it – season 1 is a MESS and I loved Buffy so much – they needed to find their sea legs. But as imperfect as that spin off is compared to its parent, when I finally went back to it a few years later, it touched me more, it is really dear to my heart. And the first time I watched Supernatural I thought “meh”, so I don’t trust my first impressions, I guess, ha ha! All that to say that there were enough good stuff in The Winchesters’ pilot that I’ll stick with it, I think. I even shed a tear, dammit! It will also be a palate cleanser since I’m watching season 15 now.
I will definitely check it out!
A friend of mine just auditioned for a vampire role on the Winchesters. I am crossing every finger for him.
Just kidding, still Lyrie, unable to take a hint!
I enjoyed season 9 immensely. I think the last seasons I watched (seasons 9, 10, 11) blend in together a little, I don’t know them as well. I did kind of tune out the angel storyline, because I really don’t care. I just saw the seeds of things I really dislike later on, and it annoyed me, but all in all, I think season 9 is my favourite of the post-Kripke years – and it doesn’t even have Benny, ha! I get that they needed other big bads or epic stuff or whatever to keep stories moving, but although I love the urgency of seasons 4 and 5, that was never the main draw for me. I love the monster of the week episodes so much better. Alex Annie Alexis Ann is such a gem, for instance! It says so much more about being human than any fallen angel. It’s such a fucked up fun house mirror, so many connections, it’s so murky and disturbing, I love it so much! And visually too, it’s moody, the dampness, the woods look suffocating. And the connections are left unsaid – part of what I was referring to about the tone, something that’s been slowly lost, where everything seems to have to be explicit later on – and I hate it, because it robs us of the complexity. And also because imagining things is always scarier/sexier than anything that can be shown, change my mind.
Also working class America is something I really miss with the upward social mobility with their legacy and the bunker. And I miss the weirdos too – I might be wrong, especially since I haven’t watched the latest seasons, but I miss all the characters like Ash, or Pamela, or Garth, and all the one-off characters that never felt generic. I mean, there’s still Charlie for a while, and I love her, but overall I feel like there aren’t as many of them.
And I actually love what that iteration of Castiel and what it brings out in both brothers, and in their relationship. He is softer, but still alien enough that he clashes with everything human, even if he keeps trying. I wish we’d explored more of Crowley and Castiel being human, it would have been so interesting – I love Crowley with Sam’s trials at the end of season 8 and would have eaten that shit up! Especially as Dean slowly loses his own humanity.
After having both Crowley and Gadreel INSIDE of Sam, Gadreel leaves some angelic… grace inside Sam? Ha ha, that’s nasty. The show was always obsessed with penetration (among other sexual things) but man, that scene where Gadreel and Crowley are INSIDE Sam, with Dean’s consent is… so disturbing. I was roaring with laughter, I was horrified, maybe a little turned on? Poughkeepsie! Drop everything and go! All the things I want from Supernatural, and that I missed later on.
About A Boy: I see what this is a comfort episode for you, Sheila. I love it, that young actor is so good! He has clearly studied JA’s mannerisms, but he manages to make them his in a way that makes it all very natural and credible, helped by JP of course – it must have been a trip for him. Both young actors in the episode are excellent.
So I’ve fallen down that hole long enough now that everything algorithm-run keeps suggesting SPN content, and it’s so funny because I’m basically where I was before I started watching the show. I keep seeing old Tumblr posts or more recent tweets about the show, and I see screencaps and captions, and I have absolutely no idea if it’s really from the show or not – and it’s bonkers anyway, of course. A lot of the discourse out there is just not my thing at all (probably why I keep coming back here, sorry), but I still find it fascinating – how polarized, how intense. It was all the Destiel and anti- crowds that drew me in, because I could not figure out for the life of me how 1/ the Dean Winchester I had seen in the pilot years go could possible elicit THAT kind of talks 2/ how people could disagree so much yet be so absolutely convinced. Now it’s different things but I’m still puzzled so I guess I’ll have to keep watching? I’m scared.
Second half of season 10, now! I never want it to stop! I want it to stop! help!
Clown College Colette. I am freakin DYING
// all in all, I think season 9 is my favourite of the post-Kripke years – and it doesn’t even have Benny, ha! I //
I am so happy to hear you say that. I totally agree. was there even a Big Bad in Season 9? Gadreel? I don’t even remember. To me, the Big Bad was the rift between the brothers. and how long they stretched it out!! Bold!
and I think ? that’s the season when Dean meets the psychic, who – I maintain – was his perfect match.
Because I am delusional.
I think the psychic’s name was Melanie? It was in Benny’s season, season 8! I love her, and of course I always think of you when I watch that episode. She had a great energy – smart, a sense of humour, no bullshit but open to new concepts, hot brunette… They could at least have had a fun couple of weeks, but Dean was too busy bitching about how Sam hit a dog and how he had to say “adios” to Benny, ha ha
I seriously need to see Ask Jeeves right now.
That cast never ceases to amaze. how much FUN did they all have??
I love that episode so much! Everyone is so good, those two women are so so funny! “right behind me”
“Come on in, darling, water’s warm” HAHAHAHA it SO doesn’t sound like Sam, he’s so uncomfortable, it kills me!
hahahaha they’re all so broad, so comedic. when they’re all clustered in the bathroom. “did anyone just pee a little?”
Sam being assaulted on the couch, lol
// lex Annie Alexis Ann is such a gem, for instance! It says so much more about being human than any fallen angel. //
Gosh, I know. That episode gets deeper and more layered every time I watch. It says everything about Dean without ever saying it explicitly. The sexual aspect of it is so disturbing – just like the episode when he became a vampire and was about to go be used sexually by the Alpha vampire – offering himself up like that … Ugh. This was all so NORMAL for him. I do remember JA saying something early on like “who knows what Dean had to do to keep food on the table when they were kids” – but in a tone that says he had considered all the options. and it’s THERE whether there’s language to support it or not.
// Also working class America is something I really miss with the upward social mobility with their legacy and the bunker. //
I cannot even express to you how much I agree with this. When the bunker arrived – it was at first this cool thing – but it should have been scrapped early on like the roadhouse was scrapped. If it doesn’t serve a purpose then get rid of it. When each episode opened in the bunker, with Sam and Dean sitting around reading … like WHAT THE FUCK.
// He is softer, but still alien enough that he clashes with everything human, even if he keeps trying. //
I love how he had no irony – which just put into relief Sam and Dean’s sense of irony. He was so literal – which provided so many opportunities for comedy.
But then they basically forgot what he was – human? angel? he has SOME powers but not others? Bah. Dumb. His fanbase was … scary at times … so I get why they kept him around, but it was at the cost of the whole damn show. There were times in later seasons when the episodes had not one sub-plat going on – but TWO. Member early episodes where it was just ONE PLOT? why are they splitting it all up like that? Castiel basically had his own show in later seasons – rare intersections with Sam and Dean – and then the rise of whatever her name is – the red-headed witch – who I maintain broke the show for good. As long as they had her on speed dial, they never had to figure things out for themselves. The writers just … forgot? That you need tension? That Sam and Dean are the heroes? ROWENA. that was her name. More than the bunker, she broke the show.
// that scene where Gadreel and Crowley are INSIDE Sam, with Dean’s consent is… so disturbing. I was roaring with laughter, I was horrified, maybe a little turned on? Poughkeepsie! //
hahahahaha
with streams of smoke flying in and out of each other’s mouths??
HOW did they get away with this? Sam was being raped by two “people” and Dean was like “Yup, let’s go for it.” WTF. and yet … it all made sense!
Oh Crowley. The show did you so dirty in the end. You deserved better.
//with streams of smoke flying in and out of each other’s mouths??//
YES! And one episode later (I think), Castiel extract the angelic cum with a syringe almost as big as a dick, and it’s like… Guys!!
I’m dying with laughter. This show was so STRANGE.
“He left some angelic grace in me.”
Hahaha what the FUCK!
lol
Oh is that what we’re calling it these days?
The whole damn show is about being inside other people – literally – without their consent. Or sometimes WITH.
It is a weirdo show, and because they were going pretty unnoticed – except for the intense fanbase – they got away with so much!
I’ve watched The Boys, and I don’t hate it – I love creators who have obsessions and keep revisiting them like Kripke does with shitty fathers, brotherly love, masculinity, etc. But I’m not invested emotionally, I don’t love any of them – except maybe Frenchie. I have no problem with swearing, and I’m not easily shocked, but for me there needs to be more, and I just don’t care about them. I do love what Antony Starr is doing and I’ll keep watching for that, probably. But overall, meh.
And I feel like it’s easy to see how Supernatural could have been much less interesting without the sensitivity of some of people like Singer, Manners, Gamble, Ackles,… It could have just been a couple of I-Love-The-Smurfs macho guys in a cool car. It’s lucky the swearing and the gore were left to the imagination.
Which is why nothing has shocked me in The Boys, yet. I’ve seen dicks and assholes before – yawn. (What I did love in the Herogasm episode was how several dudes mentioned how Frenchie would be bummed he missed it – how thoughtful of them, ha ha) However I can never fully process seeing Dean Winchester witnessing his mother holding his dead father, frenching her own father, who also happens to be the demon who will kill her 1o years later. Help!
You are so right that SPN is a very specific weirdo witches’ brew of sublimation and buried STUFF – some of which was never spoken – not once in the whole 15 years – the character stuff, backstory stuff – just who these guys were experientially and psychologically – the plot just doesn’t matter. Compared to SPN, the issues on display in The Boys are pretty stock – maybe because they are more explicit. But then you compare to something like Alex Alexis Annie (etc.) – where … I mean, not a word is said about the CLEAR connection between what the teenage girl has gone through and what Dean has gone through – not one verbal connection is made – but it’s there for the die-hards – we all picked up on it instantly. The clearest glimpse we ever got of what John did to Dean when Dean was a kid – what John made Dean do.
It’s like learning how to reaad – not just words on the page – but how to understand metaphor and simile and symbolism – you have to learn how to do that. SPN “taught us” how to watch it. You had to really listen for that subtextual subliminal things – it was so fun!
I suppose the Alexis Alex episode is up for interpretation but … I’ll go to the mat for my interpretation!
Never apologize for stopping by here. I love it!!
// It was all the Destiel and anti- crowds that drew me in, because I could not figure out for the life of me how 1/ the Dean Winchester I had seen in the pilot years go could possible elicit THAT kind of talks 2/ how people could disagree so much yet be so absolutely convinced. //
My “way in” was exactly the same!
When you started watching, what season were they on? I actually started during Season 9 – having no idea it would eventually be my favorite!
I started watching during the summer after season 9 – Dean was demon! Season 10 was when I started watching in real time.
And I remember when I found your blog, a Tumblr post linked to your recap of Everybody Loves a Clown! And I was so glad to find a space where I could relate to the conversations.
There’s so much more I want to respond to, of course! Since you’re inviting me, I’ll be back! It’s always such a joy to revel in the beauty, the drama, the silliness of Supernatural.
Yes, please come back! I don’t have the space/time right now to do a re-watch but it is just incredible to me how everything comes right back – the Jeeves episode for example – no matter how long it’s been since I’ve seen it. It’s incredible how this show STICKS to you.
Okay, so we were almost on the same timeline. I jumped on the bandwagon in S9 because of the Castiel superfans having a meltdown on Tumblr about episode 3 – so I had to see what the fuss was about. Little did I know I would get SO SUCKED IN. It didn’t take long!
Wait, why? That’s when he’s human – what did they react to – I don’t get it? Oh wait, is that when he bangs the reaper? Is that it?
The whole Destiel thing is very funny to me, because I get what they’re reacting to, I do. And listen, I love queer stuff, give me all the gays! lol And yeah, they have a strange relationship, the show definitely plays with that. “He’s in love. With humanity.” OK
But what I love in Supernatural is all the connections you can make that are implicit, that multiple, that can contradict each other, where you expect something from one brother and it happens with another, when roles are reversed, etc. Things being made explicit makes everything so SMALL – you can never represent what torture in hell can possibly be, Heaven, etc. GOD? I loved the idea of Chuck when it was just a seed – so many possibilities – but only as a facet, an aspect of god. When it becomes literal, so much is lost. And to me it’s the same for the relationship with Castiel – it’s complicated, it keeps shifting, it’s weird, it’s intimate, sometimes in a very comfortable way, sometimes really not (“don’t watch me sleep, it’s rapey.”), it’s romantic, except when it’s not, … Why the HELL would you want to make all of that smaller? If you want to see two hotties fuck, we have other shows.
I don’t know, maybe I’m just old and cranky.
And yeah, at first it was one the shows I was watching doing something else, kinda bummed I had to wait until season 4 to see Castiel, but Dead in the Water made me pay attention. And by Faith I was INVESTED – I was in love… with humanity, ha!
What’s fascinating to me is that I keep discovering new layers, identifying to new aspects of one or the other brother (new to me), seeing things that I didn’t notice before, whether it’s trauma/relationship things, or some bits of acting, etc.
// Oh wait, is that when he bangs the reaper? Is that it? //
Yes. and the world exploded. I had to see what the fuss was about! It’s wild to think how sex-less SPN eventually became – in such a relatively short time period – but it really shows (imo) the rise of a puritanical finger-wagging social media. all nuance and ambiguity kind of left – almost by stealth – although WE all felt it. My point being – it’s hard to picture that reaper episode ever existing even just 3 or 4 years later. The world changed and sex was no longer ever EVER funny.
// Things being made explicit makes everything so SMALL – //
This is so well said!!
I remember following some of the fandom wars post Season 9, episode 3 – I got so fascinated – and this one poor Destiel fanfic writer was like, “I don’t WANT to see my ship on the show. I like it in my head! Stop demanding they show it!” she was howling into the wind.
I really felt for her though – I could see the points on the other side, too – although I think Castiel and the whole Destiel thing eventually hurt the show -just because there was one reason Castiel was kept around so long and it was fear of his fanbase, lol. I liked the sexual implications btw Dean and Cas – but … it didn’t seem all that distinct to me – like I kept saying, Dean had sexual chemistry with everyone, including inanimate objects. their dynamic was FASCINATING those first couple of Castiel seasons – mainly because Dean suddenly felt for the first time like he was worth something (sob) – but then …. the shit hit the fan and the fans erupted and the showrunners got (understandably) terrified.
// Why the HELL would you want to make all of that smaller? If you want to see two hotties fuck, we have other shows. //
lol I know.
also we REALLY went through the looking glass when certain factions of that fandom basically made it into “if you do not ship this you are homophobic” – which … if you stop and think about it for literally two seconds make no sense. Both of those actors are straight, first of all. The weirdest thing were the fans who seemed to legit believe that the first three seasons – ie. pre-Castiel – were just preamble. I just did not watch the show that way!!
// Dead in the Water made me pay attention. //
You and me both. I could almost FEEL it happen!
and I know you stopped watching – but Castiel’s final scene – and … I can’t imagine you need a spoiler, but just in case – SPOILER ALERT – where he declares his love for Dean – finally – and Jensen basically looks confused (lol) – was just not the victory the Destiel people were looking for. Because then …. Castiel was barely mentioned again and (spoiler alert) wasn’t in the finale. Oh my God, Lyrie, people are still hurling death threats at each other over this.
And of course, I know that you know what they’re reacting to – I just mean that I very literally yell this to my TV from time to time, because I am mature (let’s see if I remember how to link). Or “Singer, WHY are they standing so close to each other?”
//Supernatural, Season 11, episode 8, “Just my Imagination” (2015; d. Richard Speight Jr.)//
“She’s got Sparkle on her face.” Thanks, Jenny Klein, for remembering that Supernatural is so good at hitting us right in the feels when it primes us with a whole bunch of silly first.
Sully is just too pure! And Weems – his solo! Immediately in love. I guess I have a thing for dudes with unironic mullets, because I still miss Ash.
I’m almost mid-season 11, and boy it hurts – not in a good way. Some tiny gold nuggets in a mountain of poop.
I love how Dean is so angry about Sparkle. and so angry about Sully. Jensen makes me laugh so hard in that episode.
I love Weems!! I love when he gets the news about his girlfriend – and he sobs – staring up at the sky – “SHE WAS MY GIRL.”
I know he’s in agony but it makes me laugh every time.