Happy Friday!

Enjoy some nerdy sillies I found.

Pop goes the Culture

So, there's still non-IT related media news. Who knew?

Most of it is the real-life equivalent of filler, though. Like, wanna know why the Lego Batman movie didn't have a live-action framing device? Because it was a side story and unnecessary.  Woo!

Also, the original Lion King director talks about his feelings about the remake. Spoilers, he's kinda medium about the whole thing.

Also, there may be a live action Akira! Or not! Who cares?

I really thought I was going to have more interesting pop culture stuff to blog about after taking a hiatus for so long. Maybe next time...

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Ok, seriously, in between when I originally finished this and publishing it, Jordan Peele announced he's developing a show about hunting Nazis in the 70s.

I also finished Steven Universe, so...that's gonna be an upcoming thing...warning you now.

WHAT THE

So, a funeral home was leaking a blood-like substance (most likely blood and formaldehyde). It was next to a cemetery and lasted for 20 minutes.

I worked for a funereal home. I've seen the room where the corpses are drained, and I never saw this much blood. With what I know I'll say it's really really weird that this happened, but it was likely a plumbing fluke. Still, what the eff.

In other news, people are still idiots. A dad tried to discipline his daughter by dressing like a clown then chasing her. Then he was shot at. And to top the sadness Sunday, the Dad said dicipline was hard since the kid's mom was in jail for stepping on/breaking the kids ribs.

Screw people. I need some better news.

Um...back to the graveyard, as a Michigan realtor advertised a cemetery-adjacent property as having quiet neighbors.

Ha. Ha. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH.

I needed that.

Stranger Things didn't win a (non-technical) Emmy

Booo.

But Bob's Burgers finally did!

But Steven Universe didn't.

But Adventure Time did!

But I didn't get to see any of this, because I was rehursing.

But Youtube has my back!

Until this link gets taken down.

But none of it matters, because as Colbert pointed out, the world is crumbling around us.

But people are trying to make things better!

I'm gonna watch TV. This has been draining.

The IT Spot: News round up

So, with Chapter 1 out of the way, it's time to start talking about the news, and what lies in store for chapter two. There's a lot to discuss, so let's sink our teeth in!

First, the good news: IT has broken the record for R rated Horror movie opening weekend, last held by Paranormal Activity 3. Yaaay! This is also great news for Chapter 2, which will hopefully get a larger budget as a consequence.

So, some people have dressed as clowns and then gone to see IT. That's only news because I'm amazed theaters have allowed people in costumes inside the movie.

Also, Stephen King has made an updated statement about that scene (not in the film, of course). A previous statement was "I wasn’t really thinking of the sexual aspect of it. The book dealt with childhood and adulthood –1958 and Grown Ups. The grown ups don’t remember their childhood. None of us remember what we did as children–we think we do, but we don’t remember it as it really happened. Intuitively, the Losers knew they had to be together again. The sexual act connected childhood and adulthood. It’s another version of the glass tunnel that connects the children’s library and the adult library. Times have changed since I wrote that scene and there is now more sensitivity to those issues. "

 Now, a little something to ease the tension!

Now King has added:  “...it’s fascinating to me that there has been so much comment about that single sex scene and so little about the multiple child murders. That must mean something, but I’m not sure what.”

Interesting.

As for the DVD release, it'll have a 15 minute director's cut. Also, Freddy Kruger almost popped up as one of IT's forms. As much as I love Freddy, that would have stolen the whole show; best they just had the poster.

As for chapter two, the producers have released some details, mostly about how Mike will be a bit more fucked up than his book counterpart. The Turtle may have more of an impact. Bill Skarsgard is returning as Pennywise of course, and filming is supposed to begin in January. No casting details yet.

For those of you who want to know more about the original mini-series, one of my favorite reviewers has taken it on. So far only 2 parts are up, but she's promised at least a 3rd. Check 'em out!

One sad item: a woman died at a screening, seemingly from a heart attack. My heart goes out to her family and loved ones.

Happy Friday

We call could use some joy. So enjoy!

This dog's name is Bellatrix LeSausage

Real life Lisa Frank cat!

Fall is in the air

Anyone who's met me knows I'm perpetually cold.

I live in Michigan. We have pretty chilly winters, so I come by it honestly.

Now we're getting the last of the good weather before it turns to mud and slush for the next 6 months or so. Brr.

But as much as I hate the cold of winter, I love the cool, crisp days of fall. I love cider, and donuts, and pretty leaves, and pumpkin spice flavored things (but not actual pumpkin stuff. Just the spice.) And of course, Halloween.

Blogtober is coming...

Can't we just skip winter and go back around to spring? I don't ski anymore, it never gets snowy enough to sled (thanks global warming!), and everything is just miserable.

I could do without the familial guilt of Thanksgiving and the stress and over commercialization of Christmas. Celebrate in the summer, that's just as likely to be when Christ was actually born.

Gah, soon it'll be mud season part 2: The Grossening.

Maybe I can just hibernate after October 31st...

Damn, I'm in a play.

Fine, winter months. You have ONE good thing going for you: the annual big musical at PTIV. Guess I'm stuck with you again.

The IT Spot: Movie review (spoilers)

The TL: DR is that I'm pleased.

First, some non-spoiler bullet points:

• The child actors are all great, and they left in the casual cursing. 
• The changes all make sense, even if I didn't love all of them.
• I have a few questions about how this is going to work in setting up the sequel, but I'm eager to find out, as opposed to dismal.
• I was freaked out at a few moments, but not really 'scared' as I knew the story by heart.

Now, let's get down to some spoilers. Including some images!

 The basic plot of kids finding each other then fighting it is there, but of course condensed. Gone are the smoke hole and Chud (though the directed wanted them in, apparently). The bonding scenes with Mike are cut waaaaaay back, which does his character a disservice. He feels tacked on, something no member of the losers should be. But that's my only big complaint.

Yeah, yeah. The few scenes he did have were well done, and even with the changes (his parents are dead, and he saw them burn to dead as opposed to the strong relationship they had in the novel) he still feels like Mike.

Pennywise is good. Not Curry, but he's not trying to be. The effects are good, with a heady mix of practical and CGI: just the way I like my horror stories. The actor is clearly trying, and the scene with Georgie is good.

Even knowing the book as I do, there were surprises. For example, Pennywise doesn't just take Georgie's arm, he drags the whole kid into the sewers.

Bill, certain he washed up in the Barrens (and also painfully certain Georgie survived when everyone else knows the truth) now takes his friends down there to look for him as opposed to just playig and hiding from bullies. Brr. That's a change I find appropriate.

The forms Pennywise takes are all updated, but there are plenty of homages to things he appeared as in the book. I especially enjoyed the leper, even without the setup of offering to blow Eddie (which was probably not needed). The effects were properly horrifying.

The painting lady that was after Stan looked...okay, but not great.

This was not Henry with a gun, as I erroneously posted previously. This is Patrick with a can of hairspray and a lighter, screaming as dead kids come at him and kill him. While Patrick was dialed wwwwaaaaaay back from his psychotic book self, there are hints. He sets off some fireballs while stating they'll light Ben up "Like Michael Jackson." Nice touch.

 There were a lot of elements that went from  0-60, since they were condensing so much. Mike's friendship is a bit forced. Bev's dad is never shown as the loving father Bev remembered him as prior to her puberty (erroneously remembered, but still). Like the mini-series, Bev's mother seems to be dead. Henry just starts carving Ben up, no classroom hijinks necessary. Butch Bowers fires a gun at his son's feet, and that's the only interaction we see before Henry kills him.

The condensing mostly made sense, and unlike the mini-series they only jammed in a single montage, not multiple ones.

The tone of the film is obviously very nostalgic for the 80s, as the original novel was for the 50s. There's a feel of Stranger Things, especially with Finn Wolfheard as Ritchie (my fav loser).

The reason behind this is simple: The Duffer brothers wanted to direct IT, and were turned down, so they created stranger things which drew from IT, and now IT is drawing from that. It's awesome.

With both The Turtle and the ritual of the Chud cut, the ending is of course different. Bev is kidnapped by it (replacing the bully impetus for the journey into the sewers) and the boys follow. What ensues is them just beating the hell out of IT, declaring they're not afraid, and robbing IT of IT's power. Perhaps a but cruder than the book, but following the same idea. And it is gratifying to see the losers just wail on Pennywise.

The feel of the novel is here.  I felt more sad than scared watching the losers, knowing what would happen (even if it wasn't beat by beat) and what they would become. Watching Stan leave the circle first, knowing about his end, was heartbreaking. I hope the adult actors will have the same respect and skill for this.

And if not, at least we have this.

I'll have to wait for a re-watch and DVD ownership to dissect everything point by point, but the main points are the same: the changes were mostly good, and made sense in the context of changed medias. I'm concerned for the second film, but only time will tell how they'll handle things.

Oh, and yes, Tim Curry approved of the new Pennywise. Score!

Hair 'em Scare 'em

I have curly hair.

In other news, the sun is hot and water is wet.

I've been watching the American Crime Story OJ Simpson miniseries, and a strong B plot is the appearance, especially the hairstyle of Marcia Clark.

Seen here in reality, and as portrayed by Sarah Paulson.

Ms. Clark, like myself, is of Jewish heritage. Our hair is very similar, and if mine was cropped, I believe it would look nearly identical, both in style and color.

I've only had one person who employed me tell me my curls were unacceptable. That my hair was too 'bumpy' and had to be worn up while in the office: a policy that did not apply to the other women in the office with long, straight hair.  I have long since left that job, like many many others before me (and for a number of reasons), but the outrage remains.

I am not alone in my experience, or my understanding that there is a stigma against curly hair in the workplace.  I've gotten a number of inappropriate comments and reactions. Kids in middle school threw tape into my hair, so see me struggle and cry while removing it. People would tug my hair, both to hurt me and see the curls 'spring' back (they do). I still get requests to touch my hair to see how it feels.

It feels like hair.

Midge Wilson, Ph D., professor of psychology and women's and gender studies at DePaul University says "The '60s were tolerant of curly hair among whites as well as the Afro for African-Americans and Jews...it seemed loose, free-spirited, even wild...In pop culture, deranged women often have big, uncombed curls. Well-groomed hair is seen as no-nonsense and serious."

I have never been interesting in straightening my hair for daily life; it is both time consuming and difficult. To be done professionally is costly and painful.

For most special events, such as weddings and the prom, stylists choose to straighten and then style my hair.  The notable exception was at my recent friend's wedding, were I was surrounded by other curly haired women.

I am lucky that in my current position, my hair is only expected to be neat and clean. That doesn't mean straight, curly, or even a natural color. I can wear it loose, in a ponytail, clipped, bunned, or in any other way that doesn't look like a total rat's nest.

I reiterate: I AM LUCKY. I have been unlucky in the past, as are many women presently.

I often joke about being the oddball in my family, being vaguely ethnic looking and surrounded by blonds with blue eyes (both natural and faux). My hair is an afterthought usually, something to be brushed in the morning, pulled when I'm stressed, and detangled when I have the time. But when I give real thought to my identity and my hair, they both hurt.

I watch Sarah Paulson play Marcia Clark, knowing a tenth of a tenth of a tenth of what both women have experienced in their lives. I am no public figure, no celebrity or famed lawyer. I am just a regular woman who stops in the 'ethnic' section for her hairbrushes.

And you'd think twenty years after Ms. Clark went on trial in the court of the public for her curls, that I would feel like something had changed for the rest of us.

The IT Spot: News Round-up

So, before the movie comes out tomorrow, there's a few last minute things in the media I want to go over. First, Cracked did an article about that scene from blog #40. I'd hoped they had new insight into why King wrote it, but there's nothing that I didn't cover. Take that, much more popular website!

In other dumb news, the World Clown Association is getting ready for the release of IT be complaining about how they'll have less work, and how Pennywise isn't a real clown.

No shit. Next you'll be telling me Cujo is no Beethoven. Bastards. Stephen King had this to say:

In all seriousness, it's not like IT is the first or only portrayal of a scary clown. Just off the top of my head we have Killer Klowns, John Wayne Gacy, Twisty, Captain Spaulding, Evil Krusty, Killjoy, young Michael Myers, and the Zombie clown from Zombieland. Stephen King may have the most famous fictional evil clown, but he's not alone.

So, aside from gearing up for the movie tomorrow, I don't have much IT related news right now. There won't be anything new until Part 2 gets rolling. They haven't even announced the adult loser cast yet! So, there's still time to go with my casting choices...

I want these two to Chud it up. I want it baddddd.

Ooh, and in some nicer news, IT is now the biggest horror movie preseller of all time. The last record holder was "Hotel Transylvania 2" which I'm not even going to dignify with a response. That wasn't horror. It was fun, but it wasn't horror.

 So okay it's average.

And hey, did you skip all my blogs, or read all of them and still want more spoilery IT explantions? Look no further!

Anyway, the next time you see an IT spot, it'll be for the movie. Hooray!