Professor Marston and the Wonder Women

Pen meets paper and a comic book superhero is created, but with his secret life looming in the shadows, there is much more to Professor Marston’s story than meets the eye. This is the story about feminism and the women who inspired one of the most influential and empowered heroes of our time.

The immortal Amazonian princess and demigoddess, Wonder Woman, has an origin story solidified through the legacy of DC comics, becoming a strong role model for feminism and equality since her introduction in the 1940’s. Hitting the $400M mark at the domestic box office at the beginning of the year, Wonder Woman was an instant success, especially following the backhand that Batman Vs. Superman and Suicide Squad so graciously gave us.

Before the release of Justice League in November, Angela Robinson presents the untold story of Wonder Woman, with her newest film Professor Marston and the Wonder Women. Robinson follows the story of Dr. William Moulton Marston, a professor at Radcliffe College who taught philosophy, who later came to creator of the famous comic book character.

The Wonder Woman comic hides countless callbacks to Marston’s life, which forced him in front of a trial in its earliest publication stages due to the heavy sexual and perverse themes that it carried. The famous polyamorous relationship and obsession with S&M forced Maston to create a life hidden from the public eye, though elements from his professional discipline are also found in the pages of the comics. As the inventor of the polygraph machine (most commonly known as the lie detector) one could assume the significance in the creation of Wonder Woman’s Lasso of truth, and multiple references to his DISC theory involving concepts of personal will, sense of power and human behavior.

The biopic tells the fascinating story of Marston (Luke Evans) and the polyamorous relationship he forms with his wife Elizabeth (Rebecca Hall) and his mistress Olive (Bella Heathcote). In its earliest publication stages, the Wonder Woman comic book was highly criticized for it’s perversity, placing Marston in front of a trial to answer to the heavy sexual themes that it carried.

Professor Marston & the Wonder Women is in limited release from November 9, 2017.

Published: http://www.kapownews.net/single-post/2017/10/06/Professor-Marston-and-the-Wonder-Women

IT: The Curse of the Clown

Most film reboots feel like a rebound… cheap, unorganized, and most of the time leaves you cradling your sad naked body in the shower at 3am on a Sunday morning. Perhaps that analogy only applies to me, but looking back at the 2011 remake of John Carpenter’s The Thing, we can agree that some films should remain under the covers.

All jokes aside, 2017 breaks the curse of box office blunders introducing Andy Muschietti’s version of IT. In 1990, Tim Curry donned the costume of the evil Pennywise, a shape shifting entity that awakens every 27 years to terrify the population of Derry, Maine, but now it’s Swedish actor, Bill Skarsgard’s turn. With the modern adaptation of Stephen King’s famous novel following the storyline more religiously, it’s no wonder why it has been smashing box office records. One thing remains though, Pennywise returns to the screen 27 years after the original, and completely by accident.

With sex jokes and a horror film, you’re probably wondering why this is relevant to the comic book industry, but put your mind to ease as we stem back to the dangers of playing a tormented and twisted clown on screen.

The Joker, one of the most formidable and recognizable villains in comic book history has undergone many incarnations over the years, from Cesar Romero’s comedic take on the character in 60’s, to Jared Leto’s god awful and dismissible version in Suicide Squad.

Above the wreckage of the live action attempts stand two individuals. Jack Nicholson and Heath Ledger. Their role as the joker undeniably shaped the way we think of them today, but unfortunately they had a different recollection.

Nicholson, who played The Joker in Tim Burton’s Batman in 1989, brought to the screen a very similar character to that of his in The Shining, a menacing smile and a psychotic mind. It’s understandable that Nicholson was emotionally drained whilst filming, but after many years reveals that he warned Heath Ledger before becoming the Clown Prince of Crime.

When Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight crept into theatres in 2008, audiences were eager to see the new Joker, a much grittier version portrayed by Ledger before his untimely death. The critically acclaimed film went on to be awarded some of the highest accolades, but the question on everyone’s mind was about how this character had forced Ledger down such a dark path.

That was before reports started to roll in, and it was revealed that the role was maybe a bit too ambitious. Ledger told reporters that he slept an average of two hours a night, and that he could not stop thinking though his body and mind were completely exhausted. Now it becomes obvious that playing a psychotic, mass-murdering, schizophrenic clown with zero empathy could be detrimental to the actor who takes it on board.

Going full circle, that brings us to 2017 with Pennywise the Clown. Bill Skarsgard, who has pushed himself to the limit in this rather challenging role, brings the process of transitioning from a young Swede, to a nightmare-fuelled clown from the darkest depths of Stephen King’s imagination. Skarsgard touches on the relationship he bears with Pennywise, defining it as destructive and torturing. Aside from the mentally draining exercises that he underwent in order to get into character, Skarsgard also mentions his exorcism of nightmares, where he embodied the form of Pennywise in his dreams, almost as if there was no subconscious detachment from reality and the set. We will have to wait and see what the real damage is when part two is released in a few years time.

Black Panther: The Mystical World Of Wakanda

The forthcoming installment of the Marvel Cinematic Universe introduces a diverse cast including Chadwick Boseman, Lupita Nyong’o, Martin Freeman, and Michael B. Jordan, who managed to score his second chance at Marvel victory following the devastation of the Fantastic 4 reboot.

Ironically, the film has been in talks for longer than we initially thought, with Wesley Snipes expressing interest in producing the film back in the early 1990’s. When Stan Lee joined the project, he confirmed that production would no longer commence due to the quality of the script. When the MCU finally started to gain traction Black Panther was announced as one of the ten films to be developed by Marvel Studios and distributed by Paramount Pictures. Over a decade later, it is complete and set for an early 2018 release.

Why did it take so long do you ask? It’s not because of equality or whitewashing, but because of the script, the costume design, dialect training, and of course, the conceptualization of Wakanda. Cast members have discussed what it was like working on set of the film, and to be entirely honest with you, it’s a step in the right direction for the future of the MCU.

Martin Freeman, one of the few white actors credited on the film, reprises his role as Everett Ross, one of the lead agents in the Joint Counter Terrorist Centre. He arrives in Wakanda as an assistant to T’Challa, in an attempt to counteract the actions of the films main antagonist. Freeman describes Wakanda as, “…an incredibly technologically advanced first world country, which no one knows about because it has shut itself off for its own safety and its own existence sake”. From his characters perspective he continues, “…like a CIA guy would assume, there wouldn’t be much in this central African country that would surprise him, and then he realizes that it resembles something 70 years in the future. Its kind of amazing”.

The director of the film, Ryan Coogler, would often assign homework to the cast members, usually in the form of a close study analysis of different African tribes. Through training and research, each member of the cast gained an insight to how his or her character would act, talk and dress.

Danai Gurira, most famously known for her role as Michonne on The Walking Dead, joins a large cast of African and African American actors. She says, “Wakanda is very exclusive and insulated, it doesn’t have foreigners come into the country ever. It does present very rich complexity that he is there, and definitely for the security of the nation, we don’t want any one to know that we had brought this man into the country, other than those who are present”. Gurira portrays the leader of the Dora Milaje, the personal bodyguards of the Black Panther recruited from every tribe of Wakanda.

Black Panther is gearing up for its release February 16 Next Year, and by the looks of the trailers and coverage thus far, it is no doubt a step in the right direction for the future of the MCU.

Published on http://www.kapownews.net/single-post/2017/11/17/Constructing-Wakanda-The-World-of-the-Black-Panther

Talking Animation with Jeremy Shada

Best known for his role as Finn the Human in Adventure Time, Jeremy Shada has spent a large portion of his life devoted to film and television. The young actor, who also doubles as a talented musician, has a filmography that spans numerous television series, films and video games.

Sitting down with the actor in London earlier in the year gave me an opportunity to get to know him beyond the voices and the films, approaching him as someone the exact same age.

CD: Ok, where to start? How did you discover voice acting?

JS: I started doing acting in general when I was about five or six, with more on camera sort of stuff, which I actually still do. The agency I was with when I was about seven or eight had a voice over department, so I started radio commercials and whatever else. One day I landed this little show called Adventure Time, and I guess you could say it just exploded from there.

CD: How are you so easily able to manipulate your voice?

JS: I don’t know exactly how I do it, but for me its just matching tones. For Adventure Time it was much closer to my actual voice, because I was about 12 when I was doing it. During the first season or two my voice started changed completely, so Finn the Human actually started to become more of a character voice. Growing up watching so many different cartoons, I began just copying tones. You just figure out how to do it, almost like doing impressions.

CD: This is one that usually startles me… do characters manage to weave their way into everyday discussions?

JS: Umm, I don’t, because I don’t usually like talking about myself outside of work. Other people, if they are a fan of the show or something and they want to talk about it, that’s totally cool. I definitely don’t introduce myself as that guy from Adventure Time.

CD: Or Jeremy from Makeout Monday…

JS: Yeah that could probably become something; I don’t usually plug my band shamelessly like I am right now. Our first EP is up on Itunes…

CD: You’d go down well in my hometown… everyone is a musician there. Are you a collector of items of the characters that you play?

JS: I have certain things from every character that I have played. I think more so I have special things from fans. Occasionally I’ll get stuff from the networks too, like stuff you cant buy from the stores, so I definitely keep those. Otherwise I would have to buy these things myself, and we know how that goes down.

CD: Do you have a role that got away?

JS: If you ask anyone, there are tons of things that we auditioned for but never got a response from. Sometimes there will be a role you are really bummed about not getting, but then you see the project later down the line and either it didn’t turn out well or something along those lines, so just have to shrug it off. Half the time you realise you get what you’re meant to get, so I try not to look back in anger or disappointment.

CD: This may be a really broad question, but looking back at your time in the sound studio, is there a memory that stands out among the rest?

JS: I think for me it would have to be one of the first records we did with John DiMaggio who plays Jake the Dog, Tom Kenny who plays the Ice King and god knows how many other things in his career, alongside so many others from the cast. Having all these people who I grew up listening to, would probably be one of the coolest things. I was meeting these people who I was a massive fan of, but also having the opportunity to work with them.

CD: Beyond everything so far, what have you got coming up?

JS: I have Voltron; the first two seasons are up on Netflix currently, the third should be out soon. In the band, we have just recorded our full-length album, so that should be released soon, and then I have a show called Mr. Student Body President which will be filming its second season, so that will be aired somewhere eventually.

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An Interview with Maddy Jane

An Interview with Mild West

An Interview with Holy Holy

“It’s both a noun and a verb, it’s very visual and colorful and creative and expressive. It felt like the right title for where we wanted to take the record,” said vocalist Tim Carroll about the second album.

With the release of PAINT earlier in the year, Tim and Oscar Dawson have received praise for their authentic approach to their musical direction. PAINT holds a sentimental value beyond the music itself, recruiting Newcastle artist James Drinkwater for the design of the album cover.

After their set at FOTSUN 2017, Chris Daniel sat down with Tim and Oscar to talk about their 2018 tour, and what we can expect from the band as they enter a new stage in their career.

CD: You just got off stage, and I have to say it was an amazing performance. How are you enjoying FOTSUN at the moment?

Oscar: Well it’s ironically named, because it has been entirely rainy the whole time, but that set was nice. It was a summer shower on the entire crowd, and they seemed to have enjoyed it.

Tim: It was the first show we have played in a long time, but lots of fun. As soon as we got out there, the crowd was on board so that was easy. An hour-long set is a bit longer than your average festival set, but it gave us time to settle in and enjoy what we were doing.

CD: You released your album PAINT earlier in the year, how was the overall reception from it?

Oscar: I was happy with the reception, it seems like people liked it. I’m happy with the record. It’s been almost a year since we released it, so I have psychologically moved on now. It’s hard to assess how an album is received because we are so biased in our own right, but I am ready to do another one now.

CD: As a Novocastrian, I see that you guys are coming to Newcastle to play in February. Of all the bands for support acts, you chose the Moving Stills. Tell me a bit about that choice…

Tim: A lot of different things stuck out, but I have a bit of history with the band. We did a competition that allowed people to get in touch with us if they had any good suggestions, and the band actually got in touch with us themselves. A friend of ours who runs a label in Canada told us to check them out when we played Mountain Sounds, so that’s where I discovered them. I them sold my 70’s Stratocaster to the singer from that band, so I have been keeping in touch. I had a look at a bunch of other bands from Newcastle, about 20 different bands, there were lots of great bands, but since that history with the boys, it felt right. Not only that, I just think the integrity of what they are doing and the quality of their music led me to make that choice.

CD: On the note of Newcastle, you had James Drinkwater design your cover art for the album. What was the connection there?

Oscar: I first met James when he was living in Melbourne and we got to know each other because we were both playing in bands. We kept in touch, but long story short he moved to Berlin, and I also moved to Berlin and that was actually also where I had caught up with Tim, because he was living in Stockholm. So the band was young, and we developed that connection because we had a number of days where we were together. When we were all back in Australia, we had the album ready to be released and we tossed up a few artists, but eventually reached out to James. He sent through a bunch of options, and I think it fits the approach to the album.

Tim: As our second album, I think it was fitting to look back at those days in Berlin where we were just starting out as a band, so bringing him into the equation really worked.

CD: There’s so much context behind that story, it almost sounds like a film. Coming the end of 2017, what do you have in stall for us in 2018?

Oscar: We have a tour announced in Australia, so we are doing that. Anyone in Adelaide should be happy to know that we haven’t forgotten about you, because this time we will be stopping by. And aside from that we will be writing some new music.

CD: Now that we know a bit about the band, I want to know a bit of what happens behind the scenes. I want to hear from Holy Holy, do you have any embarrassing fan girl experiences?

Tim: I don’t really know where to start because there are so many different ones. The band Big Scary, whenever they would walk into a room I would be completely speechless because I admire them. When the lead singer told me some of the members would go to gigs because we were playing them, I was rendered kind of speechless. We did a gig with Vance Joy recently, and they had Paul Kelly come as a guest. We were downstairs in the green room, and for some reason, because he was a guest, Paul Kelly didn’t have any beer in his room. So he finished up and walked into our green room and told us he had no beer, so we just embraced him. Again I was rendered speechless.

Oscar: We played a show in London, and Liam Gallagher showed up. We knew he was there, so the show was already semi ruined for us. I got way more hammered than I usually would have, but we met him after the show, and we soon discovered that it was a situation where we didn’t know what to say. Sometimes you meet someone like that and you don’t stand a chance.

CD: As such amazing artists, you would have a record that changed your life. Does anything come to mind? 

Tim: A lot of people come to mind including Miles Davis, Jeff Buckley, Bright Eyes. But maybe a Grizzly Bear record ‘Veckatimest’ I would say changed me. Their whole approach to music is one of the biggest influences of my musical life. Now that I get to this point in my career, I seem to be heading in a different direction with the aid of different albums.

Oscar: Similarly to Tim, I could mention a bunch of older records.
After the Goldrush by Neil young, Queens greatest hits, and even the second one… Queens Greatest Hits volume 2. I guess there are some that I didn’t like at first, but every time I listened to it, it just kept giving.

CD: I’d probably go with Queen’s greatest hits, I dig it. Anyway, as much as I would like to sit and talk to you guys for hours, it has been an honour talking and I wish you the best of luck for the year ahead.

You can catch Holy Holy on February 24^th at the Small Ballroom, supported by local band The Moving Stills

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An Interview with Ball Park Music