SPOILER Magazine September 2020

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r u o e Insid Univery se x a l a G y b

OUR TEAM Editor-in-Chief Galaxy Print Editor Sara Hope

Art Director Kent Klarks

Design and illustration Supervisor Ronald Garcia Design Manager Zerologhy

Welcome to SPOILER, When we last talked, we were under the impression that all this craziness would be over by now. While we’re still in the midst of a pandemic, there’s at least some sort of light at the end of the tunnel.

Positivity is key! FANDOM is key! We appreciate the geek universe for sticking together during this time and showing unity and support for one another, never letting go of the things you hold near and dear.

It’s that love and loyalty that will allow your favorite shows, movies, comics, and games to survive even after this is all over (and it will be over eventually, I just know it!).

Many movie theaters have still not reopened, and even if we want to watch something on the big screen, the choices are admittedly limited. Not to mention, we now think twice about chowing down on that bag of popcorn or slurping that blue raspberry slushie. Even if theaters are back to “normal,” they’re not back to normal. It’s gonna take some time. Likewise, TV shows we’ve invested hours and days (and years) into could quite possibly go a long, long time before delivering that next season. In the meantime, we can’t quit on our favorite superheroes or shows or franchises. And if you ever find yourself fatigued and losing steam, our little magazine can be your comfort.

I’d also like to shine a light on our creative team, working hard day in and day out to put together this massive third issue. The world may be in a state of turmoil, but this team is making sure everything goes as smoothly as ever. You’ll notice we’re trying to level up each issue, not just in content but in aesthetic. This month we’ve jam-packed our pages with articles, interviews, reviews, lists, and anything else that we felt you all would love. And, I must say, it looks fantastic!

We strive to be your #1 choice when it comes to fan magazines and we can’t wait to show you what we’ve been working on! Just hang out with us for a bit.

Design and illustration Simeon T. Aston Kieran Squires Copy Editor Ethan Brehm Charles Willington Staff Writers The Greatest Writing Team in Our Universe Matthew Mclachlan Vanessa Bellew Robert Napolitano David Grand Phuong Pham Natalie Reade Michael Bernardi Ethan Brehm Moses Gamer Social Media Manager Thor the all mighty Advertising Ads@SpoilerMagazine.com Sponsorship sponsorship@SpoilerMagazine.com Press Please send all press releases to: press@SpoilerMagazine.com Please send all review material to: review@SpoilerMagazine.com Subscriptions For all subscription enquiries please contact: sub@SpoilerMagazine.com

Check out our website for details on how to get our DIGITAL EDITION Circulation Do you want this magazine at your local book store, comic book hangout, toy shop, or anywhere else for that matter? Let us know, we can make it happen. circulation@SpoilerMagazine.com SPOILER Magazine is published by Spoiler Magazine Publishing.

Nothing in this magazine can be reproduced in whole or in part without the written permission of the publisher. Whilst every effort is made to ensure all information in the magazine is correct, details maybe subject to change. All photographic material is copyright to the relevant owner and appears with their kind permission. Visuals are used in a review context and no copyright infringement is intended. All rights reserved.

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SPOILER Magazine is printed in the USA

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SPOILER Magazine 7095 Hollywood Blvd Hollywood, California 90028 “Good Morning, Good Afternoon, Good Evening” - Galaxy

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FEATURES

66 David Mazouz Still the Prince of Gotham

22 Jack Quaid Is One of The Boys

46 Ryan Gosling A Generational Talent

SPOILER MAGAZINE TABLE OF CONTENTS

132 Matt Gerald From Wall Street to Hollywood

92 Jay Ali From Devils to Ferries

the watch

106 Chadwick Boseman Rest in Power

110 Lesa Wilson

10 Top 10 Summer Time Movies of All-Time

Multitalented is an Understatement

16 The Boys september 2020|

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144 Retro Summer Camp Movies That Should Be On Your Watchlist This Season (If They’re Not Already)

122 Underrated ‘80s Movie Soundtracks

the base 38 The Cave The Robin Family Tree

152 Obscurity Spotlight Flag-Smasher

160 Comic Book Review With Robert Napolitano 74 When Geekdom goes to the Theater!

80 “Super Strained Back” or “How I Learned to Stop Offering Clark’s Help to Move” From Lois Lane’s Journal of Solitude 88 Indiana Jones: Role Model?

54 at the movies With Ethan Brehm

102 Beauty and the Beast is F*cked Up

www.spoilermagazine.com | Follow us on Instagram: @SpoilerMedia

March 2020 |

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Scream/Miramax/Jaws/Universal Studios/The Way, Way Back/20th Century Studios

BY: ROBERT NAPOLITANO Calling 2020 a rough year is about as mild as you could be. As we keep the focus on pop culture, one huge bummer that COVID-19 has given us is the push back—in some cases, indefinitely—of basically every movie we were hyped to see hit theaters. I’m as disappointed about that as the next guy, but in the spirit of summer we can use this spare time as an opportunity to go back and watch some of the best summer films of all time. The ones that remind us what summer is all “about: warm” weather, good vibes, and the joy of being young. Here’s my list of the all-time greatest movies to get you in that nostalgic, summer-loving mood. september 2020|

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way. It’s the type of film that delivers on jump scares, but gives you a few good laughs along the way. With heartthrobs like Jennifer Love Hewitt, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Freddie Prinze Jr., and Ryan Phillippe rounding out the cast, this one is sure to drudge up some nostalgia from that era.

EVERYBODY WANTS SOME!!

(2016)

Director Richard Linklater has called this one his “spiritual sequel” to 1993’s Dazed & Confused, but the 2016 low-budget sports comedy is one that not nearly as many people have seen. Loaded with light-hearted college humor and a killer classic rock soundtrack, this is a summer comedy that hits many of the sub-genre’s trademarks: baseball, sunshine, partying, and chasing girls. The cherry on top is the cast, whose chemistry is so damn good you’d think the actors, themselves, lived together in a frat house. Because of Linklater’s beautifully ingenious, and often fearless approach to filmmaking, that’s actually exactly what happened, and you can see the payoff onscreen.

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HOT SUMMER NIGHTS (2017)

I Know What You Did Last Summer/Columbia Pictures/ Scream/Miramax/Everybody Wants Some!!

I KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER (1997)

f you’re ever in the mood to watch a slightly cheesy Horror classic, look no further. In the late-’90s there was a resurgence in the slasher genre thanks, most notably, to Wes Craven’s “Scream”, but IKWYDLS (Both films written by Kevin Williamson) definitely helped lead the

THE WAY, WAY BACK (2013)

Being a kid is hard at times. Feelings of confusion and not yet knowing who you are suck. Add on top of that a dad who doesn’t want you and a mom with terrible taste in men, and you’re bound to be miserable. This is the type of feel-good movie you watch and can’t help but smile the whole way through. Liam James perfectly plays the shy and

Paramount Pictures/Hot Summer Nights/A24/DirecTV/American Pie/ Jaws/Universal Studios/The Way, Way Back/20th Century Studios

jaws (1975) I have a feeling that, out of the 10 movies on this list, this will be the one seen the least. Hopefully I can help change that. Set in Cape Cod in the summer of 1991, this is a coming-of-age film based on he-said-she-said rumors similar, I’m sure, to ones you heard about kids in your own hometown no matter where you’re from. Despite the retro setting, there’s a modern aesthetic at play, giving the film a fresh feel to go along with its ‘90s nostalgia, connecting with today’s youth every bit as much as it does with those who experienced that era first hand. The movie covers the good, the bad, and the ugly of our youth, using a summer backdrop to remind us how special that time in our lives really was

awkward teen who finds himself tossed between Steve Carell as the stepdad every kid loathes and Sam Rockwell as the father-figure every kid needs—a contrast that makes this film something special Lucky for the protagonist (and the audience), summer can be a magical time for a 13-year-old, and this film is an excellent reminder of that.

A classic monster movie if there ever was one. With one of the all-time greatest tag lines, “You’ll never go in the water again,” Spielberg and company struck fear in audiences before the opening credits even rolled.

There hasn’t been a Jaws movie released in over 30 years, but ask a 12-yearold if they’ve heard of it and you’ll be hard-pressed to find a single one who hasn’t. Now whether or not they’ve seen it yet has more to do with their parents’ leniency on movie watching, but it’s only a matter of time, because Jaws isn’t a shark movie, it’s THE shark movie And even on land, when that Jaws music hits, we all get a little chill down our spines.

AMERICAN PIE 2 (2001) The Godfather Part II of raunchy teen comedies.

Frequently remembered as the series where that guy fu**ed a pie, or the one that coined the term “milf,” it’s easy to forget how much heart these movies actually have. They revolve around a close bond between friends and how that bond evolves as we get older. Many of us can relate to trying to lose our virginity in high school, like the first film so famously tackled, but your first summer back home after college, reuniting with old friends is just as easy to relate to—and I didn’t even go to college.

Plus if you were a teen in the ‘90s or 2000s you’ll remember just how hard this soundtrack slapped back then. Not surprisingly, it still holds up today.

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the sandlot (1993) This is the Stand By Me of baseball movies. Remember being a kid in the summertime and the first thing you wanted to do when you woke up was go out and play with your friends?

Whether it was playing sports, going to the beach, or just hanging out with your buddies doing next-to-nothing, when you’re 12-years-old in the summer, that’s what life is all about.

And that’s exactly what The Sandlot is all about. Regardless if you were a kid in the ‘60s (when the film takes place), the ‘90s (when it came out), or now, this is a classic that hits home faster than Benny the Jet.

ADVENTURELAND (2009) If you grew up in the northeastern United States, or anywhere else that has a boardwalk or amusement park, then this movie is sure to resonate. If you didn’t grow up in such a place, then you owe it to yourself to watch Adventureland to see what you missed out on. When you’re in that post-high school, but pre-21 phase of your life and it’s summertime, the boardwalk is the place to be.

Sure, it’s a tradition that gets old after a while, and definitely sucks at times, but looking back, it sucks in all the best ways. This film perfectly captures that tricky dynamic, revolving around a simple love story with downto-earth characters played by Jesse Eisenberg, Kristen Stewart, Ryan Reynolds, and Bill Hader. This one’s a can’t-miss.

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dazed and confused (1993)

The Sandlot/20th Century Studios/Adventureland/Miramax/Dazed and Confused/Gramercy/Stand By Me/Columbia Pictures

STAND BY ME (1986)

Widely regarded as one of, if not the greatest, coming-of-age films of all time. It’s like Richard Dreyfuss says, you never have friends like the ones you have when you’re 12-yearsold. It’s that time in your life when, for the first time, adulthood suddenly feels within reach. You think you’ve got it figured out, you’re ready to grow up and move on to high school.

Then, like in the case of these four boys, something as serious as death changes your perspective on everything. This film likely strikes more of an emotional chord than the majority of the list, but considering the story was written by the great Stephen King, it’s hard to expect anything less.

I appreciate you reading this article and I hope you’ve enjoyed it, but in all seriousness, if you haven’t seen this film you need to stop reading and go watch it RIGHT NOW. This is Richard Linklater’s masterpiece.

Easily one of the most star studded young casts ever assembled with actors like Matthew McConaughey, Ben Affleck, Milla Jovovich, and many more, all of whom were relative no namers at the time of the film’s 1993 release. Taking place on the last day of school in 1976 this instant classic appeals to all generations. Whether you’re the jock, the nerd, the mean girl, the burnout or any other stereotype you were once labeled, there’s a character for you. Mix in possibly the best soundtrack of all time and you have the greatest summer film ever made.

Summer 2020 has been far from a normal one, but I promise that watching any of these 10 films is sure to get you back into that summer spirit and remind you what it’s all about.

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The Boys/Amazon/Dynamite Entertainment

SPOILER MAGAZINE

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BY: ETHAN BREHM

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n an era of entertainment that’s been virtually defined by and overrun with superheroes, it often feels like there’s little room for any fresh ideas. However, within the first 6 minutes of the first episode of Amazon Prime’s original series The Boys, we can see there’s still a lot of milk left in that cow and a lot of interest still to be garnered.

Our protagonist, Hughie Campbell, played by Jack Quaid, is talking to his girlfriend, Robin (Jess Salgueiro), about lunch plans and the integrity of Billy Joel’s music when suddenly she explodes. Yes, explodes. Her body is run through by A-Train (Jessie T. Usher), the fastest man on earth and a worldfamous superhero. A-Train, drenched in blood and visibly freaked, stops, turns back to Hughie and exclaims, “I can’t stop,” and then continues running to “stop a bank robbery.”

Right away we know this show means business.

Based on the Dynamite comic book by Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson, The Boys follows the eponymous vigilante gang which tries to stop famous superheroes who abuse their power. A conglomerate named Vought International serves as a sort of management for hundreds of “supes” all over the country, but the company has an elite group called The Seven, made up of the most powerful heroes in the world.

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“ After being asked by Vought to sign a non-disclosure agreement for the incident with his girlfriend, Hughie is beside himself. Not only does this corporation not apologize to him personally, but tries to prevent him from ever speaking about it to anyone ever again.

Tough break. Hughie’s then approached by Billy Butcher (Karl Urban), a brash former CIA operative who believes that something bigger is going on with Vought and wants to help him get justice for Robin.

The roles of heroes and villains get subverted and it’s easy to say, “Superheroes: bad; Villains: good,” but the dynamics are much more complex than that.

”

Butcher doesn’t trust most people—especially supes—but takes the much younger Hughie under his wing and shows him the tricks of his very ambiguous trade. Things become even more complicated when Hughie gets romantically involved with the newest member of The Seven, Starlight (Erin Moriarty).

The roles of heroes and villains get subverted and it’s easy to say, “Superheroes: bad; Villains: good,” but the dynamics are much more complex than that. Though we’re definitely rooting for the villains as a whole, there are good and bad on both sides, with each party having a different threshold on his or her morality gauge. As far as the heroes are concerned, they’re not only puppeted by the people upstairs—which could have been an understandable excuse by itself—but have bought into that same corrupted business mindset as well.

All except for Starlight, our focal point on the other side of the line, a superhero who has yet to become fully part of the machine.

She’s firmly rooted in ethics, but she’s also a team player, recognizing that she has to play the game by the rules before she can change them.

Fulfilling her lifelong desire to be one of The

“

Developed by Eric Kripke, The Boys is ingenious in how it crafts intensity and drama—never getting too soapy while maintaining its intrigue.

”

Seven, Starlight quickly becomes disenchanted when she realizes being a member of the famous superhero team isn’t the noble profession she always dreamed it would be. Her peek behind the curtain is more of an elongated stare, now privy to the corruption and the lies, but only as much as she’s given clearance for. Starlight begins the season as a naïve young woman, but we get to see her eyes open on screen over and over again, wider and wider, with a transformation that’s nearly seamless.

Developed by Eric Kripke, The Boys is ingenious in how it crafts intensity and drama—never getting too soapy while maintaining its intrigue. There are enough shock moments to fit into Nicolas Winding Refn’s front pocket, and the series toys with torture porn at times, but rarely crosses that line.

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As much as the tone stays somewhat elastic to fit a certain scenario or character, it’s firmly planted within the show. We can expect to expect nothing. Irreverence and poignancy are often overlapped, and even complimentary if need be. Circumstances are complicated, but never gratuitously so, even when conflict is ignited, at times, by a frustrating and all-too-convenient lack of communication.

For the most part there’s a natural trajectory to the story arc, with enough falling embers to spark a fire elsewhereat any moment. Not only is The Boys backed by an original premise

”

within the superhero sub-genre, but the show operates with a style that’s so specific and unique that it’s able to transcend those classifications as well.

As a superhero story, it has the authentic roughness of Kick-Ass or Mystery Men, albeit with a little more tradition from the comic world. As purely a form of entertainment, its vibe can be as sardonic as Zombieland or as darkly comedic as Inglourious Basterds. The universe built for the series often feels like it popped right out of a comic

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book itself. The colors are bright, but not too bright or oversaturated.

It’s set in New York City, but almost seems like somewhere made-up altogether, dropping obviously fictional events into a world that we’re familiar with in order to make it feel more real. Even if the show has a tendency to play its message a little too on-the-nose, it’s interesting to see the media continuing to control the narrative in a world where superheroes exist. Turns out, the only difference between superhero and supervillain lies solely in the public’s perception of the individual. In real life, disenchantment is a feeling we often forget about because many of us don’t experience it in areas that are idolized, whether it be because of a lack of truth getting out or our obliviousness to the fact that it’s there to begin with. And those who do get to peek behind that curtain may just turn a blind eye in order to achieve their dreams, because often that’s the only way it can happen.

The Boys/Amazon/Dynamite Entertainment

“

Starlight begins the season as a naïve young woman, but we get to see her eyes open on screen over and over again, wider and wider, with a transformation that’s nearly seamless.

“

Not only is The Boys backed by an original premise within the superhero sub-genre, but the show operates with a style that’s so specific and unique that it’s able to transcend those classifications as well.

If comic books have taught us anything, it’s that just because someone has superpowers doesn’t mean he or she has a good moral compass. Heck, we see this with people who just have regular powers. People love to abuse their positions in life, so why wouldn’t a superhero do just the same? It would almost be unrealistic for many of them not to. The Boys is, for lack of a better phrase, a realistic depiction of a world with superheroes. We may be tempted to think the world would be better if Superman were flying around saving us all the time, but if you really think about it, things could go downhill pretty quickly. It’s a slippery slope.

There’s a lot left in the tank for The Boys, and many more characters from the comics left to introduce, so we’re excitedly looking forward

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to next season. Amazon Prime is really at the forefront of the streaming services as far as original series. They’ve been killing it with steady shows like The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel and Jack Ryan, as well as new ones this year like Carnival Row, Upload, and, of course, The Boys, which will likely be around for quite awhile.

Season 2 of The Boys is out September 4

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Jack Quaid/Rebecca Cabage/Invision/AP

SPOILER MAGAZINE

INTERVIEW: GALAXY INTRO: ETHAN BREHM

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WireImage/Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images/ Alamy/DFree/Shutterstock.com/IMDb

The kind of real you can’t hide, no matter how hard you try. Growing up around Hollywood, Jack has such a great finger on the pulse of pop culture, but even more so on humanity.

The actor has made a bang in the fandom world with his starring role on Amazon Prime’s The Boys, based on the comic book series, bringing that ultra-affable and down-to-earth personality to the character of Hughie.

The Boys is a show about superheroes, but with a twist: They’re all corrupt. Hughie, who doesn’t have

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any powers himself, joins a vigilante team of fellow mortals that fights back against the “supes.” Jack can sell you on the premise much better than we can. The show has one of the best opening sequences we’ve seen in a long time, which instantly drags you into this crazy world.

What surprised us most is how similar Jack’s sense of humor is to Hughie’s. But what makes it more admirable is how he doesn’t ever seem to know he’s that funny. His keen comedic instincts and quick wit are absolutely natural, fitting in with the

wry tone of The Boys. He also gifts us with impressions of his parents, Dennis Quaid and Meg Ryan.

Jack is a self-proclaimed nerd who is just as bummed as we are about the lack of in-person Comic Cons this year. A comic book fan, himself, he’s itching to play a character with actual superpowers. Personally, we wouldn’t mind if Marvel chose to cast him as Reed Richards in their planned upcoming Fantastic Four project.

We get to talking about his brand new show, Star Trek: Lower Decks, an animated comedy which takes place circa Next Generation (the series is named after a TNG episode of the same name), and try to snag a few plot points for season 2 of The Boys. We got some nice teases.

He fills us in on his love for Back to the Future and Jaws, how Billy Joel made his way into a pivotal scene in The Boys, and what it’s like being raised by two megastars. This guy is so easy to talk to, which helped make this interview so much fun. We’re excited to help you get to know a little more about Jack Quaid.

Jack Quaid/Rebecca Cabage/Invision/AP/The Boys/Amazon/ Sony/Dynamite Entertainment/Steve Granitz

Q

Jack Quaid is such a real dude

spoiler

The Boys is an amazing series. Amazon knocked it out of the park. What’s your experience like on that show?

JACK QUAID

Oh man! It’s just been one of the greatest creative experiences of my life.

First of all, I grew up as just a huge nerd. I’ve always been a huge superhero fan.

Growing up, they came out with the volumes where they collect all the earlier issues. Like an omnibus.

And I just wanted to be a part of a [superhero] project, and the fact that this thing came along, which is so subversive and so

K

cool and so not what you would traditionally expect from a superhero project, it just blew my mind. When I found out I got the part, I think I was happy for about 6 months straight. It just kept me going. The project has been so amazing to work on. The entire cast are incredibly talented and incredibly nice people.

We’ve just formed this little family shooting in Toronto. Season two was like coming back to summer camp to see all your old friends again. I think it’s better than season one.

Obviously, I’m the most biased person ever, but I think we’ve gotten even deeper with the characters.

You find out what makes them tick. We still have those crazy moments that people—their jaws are gonna be on the floor. I guarantee you for this season your jaw is gonna hit the Earth’s core. It’s so insane.

you know what I’m talking about.

spoiler

Yes, they told me they’d cut my fingers off if I said anything.

JACK QUAID

That’s how we run things!

People are losin’ fingers!

spoiler

A lot of people are intrigued with you, both off and on screen, which is very rare these days. Every now and then when I hear you talk, your dad’s voice comes across. I’m the biggest fan of your dad, and of course I love your mom as well. I know it’s

cheesy, but how was it like growing up in a household with Dennis Quaid and Meg Ryan?

JACK QUAID

It’s really weird because, to me, as a kid, I didn’t really think anything of it. I think it was only until I got a little bit older where I started to realize like, “Okay, my situation is slightly different than the norm.” Because when I was a very, very, very little kid, what they did was just like any other job to me. And then once I got to around 4-years-old, I was like, “Oh, they like, do this thing and everyone sees them do it.” Everybody knows that they do this occupation. So, to

spoiler

I was able to see a screener for part of season two, it’s fabulous. Season one rocked, but season two kicks butt and I was like, “Ugh! Now I gotta wait to watch the rest.”

JACK QUAID

Yeah, I’m so excited. I can’t discuss anything specific with you, but I’m glad you saw it [laughs]. And I think

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A just be a jerk.” And I was like, “No, no, I work hard and I want this, but okay.” I was like, “Uh, I’m not a jerk,” but I don’t wanna hafta say that, because that just seems like a jerky thing to say.

spoiler

spoiler

So you learned early on, “My house is not normal. My mom is America’s sweetheart and my dad is the coolest dude in the universe.” Did your friends start bringing it up? Or was it your friends’ parents?

JACK QUAID

It was interesting. The one odd part is, sometimes I would have my friends in my class try to be friends with me because of who my parents were. And it was just like, “Wait, this is weird. You don’t really like me for me. You’re sixyears-old and trying to get in good with my parents.” Which is so odd. So that was kind of my first crash course in that. And then I

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spoiler

I always tell people, regardless of who your mom and dad are, you still have to grind in Hollywood. It’s not easy.

You still have to be good at what you do. Do you think having them as your parents opened doors?

JACK QUAID

It probably has opened doors for me and I don’t even realize it has. I’m not gonna try to pretend that any kind of privilege doesn’t exist. However, what I’ve experienced has mostly been people assuming I’m going to be a prick when I enter a room because I am a son of famous people. I remember I was going into this audition once and the casting director was like, “Oh, that was actually, like, really good!” And I was like, “Oh! Thank you!” She was like, “I thought you’d come in here and expect it all to be handed to you and

Thank you! That means a lot.

spoiler

You’ve been on some pretty cool film projects. Are there any celebrities that you’ve worked with that you got starstruck with?

JACK QUAID

The Rock on Rampage. I remember when I first saw him—and this doesn’t happen to me a lot, but when it does it’s very real—but seeing him in real life was like, “You’re watching a screen right now.” Because I was just so used to him being on a movie screen or on my TV, and I had never actually met him in real life. So it was just this weird, “Is this real? Or am I watching a movie that I’m in right now?” It was just very strange. I remember being super awkward around him initially because I didn’t know what to say [laughs]. I dunno, I was just completely and utterly starstruck.

Creedence Clearwater Revival/Craft Recordings/The Boys/Amazon/ Sony/Dynamite Entertainment/Instagram

me, it wasn’t that much different than growing up anywhere else, but later I was like, “It very much was.” But it was great! I really can’t complain about anything.

My parents are good at what they do and were able to put food on the table. But in terms of my dad’s voice, I feel like, if I just kinda go a little bit deeper, I feel like I can kinda do, like, “Ah! Hey everybody!” I can kinda do a Dennis Quaid, but my mom’s voice is slightly different. My impression of my mom is her going to my friend Marty’s art show and being really impressed by everything. It’s just like, “Marty!

Oh my God!” I don’t know if that’s good, but that’s my impression of her. I love them both and it was great growing up with them.

JACK QUAID

Jack Quaid/Lars Niki/Getty Images for Entertainment Weekly/Comic Con/Harrison Hill/USA Today/Maarten de Boer/Sharp Magazine

just got very good at knowing who was genuinely my friend. I call it my BS detector.

I can tell when someone is a really cool person. You just come across as this very cool dude and that’s why the world is loving you.

AC

JACK QUAID

spoiler

Is he as big in person?

JACK QUAID

He’s huge! I’m tall, but I don’t have the discipline and the muscles that he does. And I think he’s also taller than me too. But it was like watching Superman walk into the room.

Like, the real life Superman that everyone told you doesn’t exist, but actually does exist, walk into the room. That was the feeling seeing him for the first time.

And also, on The Boys, Simon Pegg plays my dad, which is insane. He is genuinely my hero.

I think he’s such a great actor.

I love the fact that he’s written

most of the movies that have kinda brought him to where he is now. He’s a guy who does it all and couldn’t be a nicer, more affable, kinder guy. He’s the absolute best. I know that’s no surprise. But that’s another one where I was like, “Oh, this is just awesome!”

spoiler

He’s just one of those people where you just want to hug him.

JACK QUAID

And I did! Constantly. I didn’t want to bother him, but I did want to hug him a lot.

spoiler

You think he wants to hug you back?

Yeah. What got me into acting was actually, I did a play in middle school. The thing is, with my parents as actors, it was like proof that it was possible. Like, seeing them do their job and be good at it and be successful. It was never a case of my parents being like, “Why would you go into acting? That doesn’t seem practical.” They can’t say that because they’re doing it themselves. The proof that it could be done was there. But I think I got my first laugh on stage when I was like, 13, and I was like, “Oh man, this is great!” And also I formed relationships with other kids and became kind of a theater nerd, and a lot of the friendships I made on that play when I was 13 are still friends of mine today. The community, the joy of doing it was amazing.

spoiler

Would you ever do a movie with your parents?

JACK QUAID

Yes, I absolutely would do a movie with my parents. I think it just has to be the right project, but I’m not closed off to that idea at all. In fact, I did kinda work with my mom already. She directed a small independent movie that I was in a few years ago called Ithaca. And I was actually an extra in The Alamo, which had my dad in it. So I kinda worked with them in the past, but if something great comes up in the future, I wouldn’t be opposed to it at all.

JACK QUAID

Yeah, maybe. I dunno if he was thinking, “The son of Dennis Quaid is hugging me! What a day!” But he was just the best. It was a dream come true getting to work with him.

spoiler

I’m not gonna ask you how you got into acting, but—

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spoiler

Would you ever do a reboot of any of your dad’s movies?

Oh man, I’m gonna say no. Only because I think, obviously he nailed them, and that always gets into dicey territory a little bit when the son plays the dad’s former role.

It’s worked in some instances. Like O’Shea Jackson Jr., Ice Cube’s son, is such an incredible actor. Him playing his dad in Straight Outta Compton, it was just great. I always thought a movie my dad did that was really good was Enemy Mine with Louis Gossett Jr. I think it’s a really good movie and today could be a really good remake, but I would probably stay out of the remake. But I think they should remake it, period.

spoiler

Right now it’s all about The Boys.

Season one is amazing, it gave people the true side of how superheroes might act in real life, because they can’t be perfect all the time.

When you got on set for the first time, what were your feelings?

JACK QUAID

I think the first scene I ever shot was the scene between Butcher and Hughie in the pilot when But-

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cher is trying to convince Hughie to go into the Seven tower. I mean, I was so nervous. Just because it was my first day and this was a big project and I didn’t wanna screw anything up. I didn’t wanna be fired and recast within the first week [laughs]. So I remember we were doing the scene—and this is what clued me in that this project was gonna be awesome—I’m doing the scene and I was encouraged by our amazing pilot director, Dan Trachtenberg, who did 10 Cloverfield Lane, he said, “Just go ahead and improvise anytime you want.

If it doesn’t work, whatever, but if it works, we’ll use it.” So I improvised this thing about how Hughie’s favorite musician is James Taylor, so it means he shouldn’t be good at infiltrating a tower. And [showrunner] Eric Kripke came out and was like, “That was great! Make that a list. Make it James Taylor, Simon & Garfukel, Billy Joel.” And something about Billy Joel stuck. And it became Hughie’s favorite musician, and we put him on Hughie’s t-shirts, and the next day we shot the scene where Robin died, and originally

Jack Quaid/The Boys/Amazon/Sony/Dynamite Entertainment/Plus One/ RLJE Films/Today/NBC/Gage Skidmore/Jenna Greene/Instagram

JACK QUAID

D the line before she died was, “We can’t keep waking up in your childhood bedroom staring up at a Led Zeppelin poster.” That was changed to Billy Joel. I mean, Billy Joel just became this huge part of Hughie’s character all based on this improvised thing that Eric and I worked out. So the fact that Eric is so collaborative with all of his actors, especially during that time when we were all figuring out who our characters were and what made them tick, I will forever take my hat off to that. He is so incredibly good at what he does and I think the show benefits greatly from his supervision and his writing. So I’m just giving a big ol’ shout out to Eric for being awesome. And Dan as well.

spoiler

I don’t know if a lot of people know this, but Seth Rogen is involved as one of the executive producers.

What was it like meeting him and working with him?

JACK QUAID

That was another being-super-starstruck moment. I actually met him during my audition, which was so nerve-racking because, like Simon Pegg, I’m in awe of that dude. He’s so funny and such a great performer, but also writes a lot of the stuff that he does and is so good at that as

well. And he and Evan Goldberg, his writing partner, were in the room, and I’m a huge fan of his as well. [Seth] actually read for Butcher in my audition, which was one of the more surreal moments of my life. Like, Seth Rogen’s voice doing hardcore Cockney slang. It was just so surreal and weird, but it was incredible. So I jumped at the chance to work with him, and the fact that I’m still working on a project with him is so incredibly cool.

spoiler

You work with a cool cast and crew on The Boys. Which one of your co-stars really fits the character they’re playing?

JACK QUAID

In terms of looks, all of the superhero actors look perfect for their roles, and I would say that for The Boys too. What’s interesting is,

we’re all pretty similar to our characters.

I mean, obviously for the superheroes, they’re not evil. But I think Laz Alonso is kind of the perfect Mother’s Milk, because he has a tendency to be a little bit OCD like Mother’s Milk. He carries around wet wipes and hand sanitizer. I don’t even know if the OCD came from, “Hey, Laz, do you want your character to have the same particular ticks that you do?” or some cosmic meeting between the two. But that would probably be the best pairing for me. He’s absolutely perfect. One of the most rewarding parts of the show, for me, is actually Hughie and MM’s relationship, which I think we get into a little bit more in season two. I just think it’s really fascinating because Marvin, his real name, is who Hughie wanted Butcher to be. Butcher is a guy who gets things done, albeit in a crazy way, but he actually fights for what he believes in. Mother’s Milk does the same thing, but he does it in a more logical way that actually thinks about the human cost of what he’s doing. And exploring that relationship with Laz was really great.

spoiler

Hearing you talk about The Boys with such passion tells me that this show means a lot to you.

JACK QUAID

Absolutely. It’s like my family. A lot of things wrapped up in one. You spend so much time with people that you get so attached. I feel very lucky to have this thing

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Q spoiler

Let’s get a little into Hughie’s character for those who haven’t seen it yet. Who is he and what is he doing with these superheroes?

JACK QUAID

As I kinda spoiled earlier, Hughie Campbell is just a mild-mannered dude who works in an electronics store and exists in a world where superheroes are real and are fighting crime.

Everybody loves them. They’re kind of the equivalent to our most famous actors and biggest sports superstars combined.

And one day, [Hughie] is closing up shop and his lovely girlfriend, Robin, comes in and they start walking down the street and he asks him to move in with her.

And he’s very excited about it.

He’s a guy who would just be happy living out his days with this girl. Not really amounting to much, but as long as he’s with her, he’s okay. And all of a sudden, she steps one step into the road and a speedster superhero, akin to The Flash, runs through her accidentally and basically atomizes her into a cloud of blood right before his eyes. He’s left there holding her severed hands. The superhero rushes off and all of a sudden Hughie is in this world where he is so caught up with revenge. He gets recruited by this mysterious figure named Billy Butcher, who is a guy who takes down superheroes and, as he puts it, “spanks the bastards when they get out of line.” So it’s a show about revenge. A show about absolute power corrupting absolutely.

And it’s so friggin’ insane.

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spoiler

That scene is so crazy. That’s a reaction that would actually happen if this were real life.

JACK QUAID

It was an insane day. That was my second day on set. I always mention that scene, because when I was originally trying to elevator pitch the show to my friends, it was hard to pitch because there are so many elements happening. But if I just describe that one scene, they got it immediately. They were like, “Oh! Okay! Superheroes are bad. There’s collateral damage and it’s about the people trying to take them down.” You just kind of understand based on that one scene.

spoiler

Do you think if superheroes actually existed there would be people trying to take them down?

JACK QUAID

Absolutely! Just that scene with Robin, I’m like, “Yeah, of course if The Flash actually existed he would run into somebody… like, eventually he would have to make that mistake.” There are so many people walking around on the street. And I think there’s a reason why, in some iterations of The Flash, you just see nobody on the street when he’s running around. I think that whether or not their intentions are good, superheroes are still human and they’re gonna make human mistakes like that. And there are also people who, if you give them power, they become very, very corrupt. And that’s the case with the character of Homelander, who’s the most powerful being on earth. So why would he care what we, mere mortals, think, and what we consider to be moral and good?

I feel like a lot of superheroes we know from comic books, it’s kind of assumed that they have good intentions and are

Jack Quaid/Tommy Garcia/Glamour Magazine/Instagram

that’s been coming out over the past two years that I’m just so proud of and I get to share with such incredible people. Not only that, but everybody’s friends with people in my life and groups are getting crossed. My girlfriend is friends with everybody in the cast. It’s just cool.

It’s become my whole thing.

K good people, and then they get powers. But this is saying, “Okay, you don’t necessarily have to be somebody who’s a good person to have powers.”

There are gonna be people who are straight-up evil. There are gonna be people who are indifferent and use their powers for their own selfish means. There’s more of a grey area and I think this show is a pretty accurate version of what it would actually be like if superheroes existed in our world. Another thing Eric said about the show, which is really interesting, is that it’s a show about masks. It’s a show about people showing different sides of themselves to different people. With the supes, they have a public persona, and then they have who they are on the inside that they don’t really show. I think the only two characters who we can see don’t have a mask, or don’t wear them initially, are Hughie and Starlight.

Starlight eventually learns to put something on. She grapples with that. Like, “Should I be doing this?” And Hughie, there’s no way he can put on a mask. He just kind of has to be himself the whole time. So it’s an interesting show, especially when you view it through that lens. Everybody has a side that they show the world, and has a side that they keep to themselves. september 2020|

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spoiler

Jack Quaid/Plus One/RLJE Films/Getty Images/Michael Buckner/David Needleman/ Instagram/Lars Nicki/Getty Images for Entertainment Weekly/Comic Con

You and your crew are vigilantes with no powers, but you guys are ballsy dudes. What do you think a person like Hughie is thinking?

JACK QUAID

The whole thing with The Boys is they have to outsmart [the supes].

Sometimes they do that via blackmail. Sometimes they’re trying to really research the heroes and find out what their weaknesses are. We have a hero named Translucent in episode 2 of season 1 who comes to a bitter end. I don’t wanna spoil too much, but we figure out exactly how to take him down. It’s bloody, for sure. But we kinda have to outsmart him and figure out a way around his powers in order to kill him. We basically have to think and plan and be willing to fight dirty.

spoiler

There are a lot of cliffhangers about The Boys and The Seven and Vought.

What can you share without sharing to much.

JACK QUAID

I think the one that most people are super excited for is what’s the deal with Becca and Homelander’s son.

What’s going on with that? What is this house? I’m not gonna say anything about it, but we get into it for sure. We’re not gonna leave you in the dark. Something I’ve always wondered about is what’s gonna happen with Hughie and Starlight now. She basically broke up with him, and rightfully so. I think Hughie feels super bad about lying to her for that entire season, but she basically lets him go. I dunno. Is there still a

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romantic thing? Are they just done?

Are they gonna ever see each other again? We answer those questions too. So, I dunno. I think I just spoiled a lot of the end of season one for anyone who hasn’t watched it [laughs].

There’s definitely a lot of lingering questions from season one, but I think we address all of them.

spoiler

A lot of times with these secretive shows, the showrunners might not tell the actors too much ahead of time. Is that true?

JACK QUAID

I knew about some stuff that would happen with my character, but I really didn’t know about a lot of the cliffhangers until I read the first script.

And I’m like you guys. I’m like, “Oh my God! What?!” every time I read one of them. [The showrunners] know everything and every time I’m in an interview setting with Eric, I feel so much more comfortable because he can say what he thinks is appropriate and I can just chill and not have to answer those questions [laughs].

D spoiler

Things are going very well for you with the show and the movie projects you have coming up. Does it get nerve-racking sometimes?

JACK QUAID

This is basically my therapy, where I’m always like, “Oh man, when’s the other shoe gonna drop?” I just feel incredibly lucky to be on these shows, but also just in general, I feel lucky to do what I do. So I always fear that someone’s gonna pop out and be like, “It was all a lie!” But I think every time I feel that, I just reflect on how I feel genuinely blessed and lucky to be a part of projects that, not only are fun to work on, but I genuinely love and would watch even if I wasn’t involved.

spoiler

Do you feel like you don’t go to as many auditions anymore?

JACK QUAID

It’s weird. I had a few auditions over Zoom, which has been really interesting. It’s like doing a scene that you would normally do with another person in a room, but just over a computer. It’s just so odd.

But definitely possible. Oh, actually, there’s another thing I have at Comic Con this year. I have a cartoon called Star Trek: Lower Decks. I’ve been doing some lines that we missed, basically from my closet—we’ve kind of converted that into a little voiceover studio. So I’m still acting, but there’s an itch that’s not getting scratched. And I know a lot of other performers who feel the same way right now. But mostly I’ve just been playing Fortnite with Jesse T. Usher, who plays A-Train (on The Boys), so it’s been great!

spoiler

What can you tell us about Lower Decks?

JACK QUAID

It’s an animated Star Trek show.

A comedy that focuses on, not the bridge crew or the captains or the first officers, it focuses on the ensigns who are on the lower decks of the ship. And they’re the ones who basically have to do all the dirty work. They have to repair the ship when it’s broken. They have to fix the food replicators. They have to take out the trash, basically, in the holodeck. And it’s great! I really love the show because it’s set in the Star Trek world, and it’s a comedy, but in no way is the show making fun of Star Trek or people who like Star Trek. It’s a show that hopefully audiences can laugh along with.

Occasionally there will be a weird aspect of Star Trek that we touch

on and I hope that fans can go, “Oh! I recognize that as being an odd thing in that universe,” and laugh along with us.

Mike McMahan is the showrunner. He was a writer on Rick and Morty and he co-created Solar Opposites with Justin Roiland. And he’s the ultimate Star Trek nerd and taught me so much about that universe. I was a big Star Wars fan, and now I feel like Star Trek and Star Wars are kinda tied for my affection. He told me all the best episodes to watch of The Next Generation. Our show is actually set in that era. Before the events of Star Trek: Picard, but I think after or during the TNG era. To be a part of this universe is such an honor and such a responsibility because this show has been such an institution for so long. And the fact that I get to play around in that sandbox is really a dream come true—even if my character is a lowly ensign who is not

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Q that high in rank. Much like Hughie on The Boys, where I’m on a superhero show and don’t get superpowers, I’m on a Star Trek show and I’m not on the bridge. But I’m having a blast!

spoiler

Between live-action or animation, which do you prefer more?

JACK QUAID

I love both so much, but if I had to choose I’d choose live-action just because you get to interact with a whole crew full of people and you’re just in the trenches with people. I love being on set, it’s such a great experience.

Animation is super fun and super great, but you’re only in there for like a day or so. You don’t really get to meet everybody involved in the project. And one of the things I love most about acting is the sense of community that you build.

And you make friends, sometimes for life. So if I had to choose, I’d choose live-action, but animation does hold a special place in my heart just because I grew up on cartoons. And just being a cartoon, period, has been such a dream.

spoiler

You said you’re into comics. If you could be a superhero in a DC or Marvel movie, who would it be?

JACK QUAID

That’s the one thing about being on The Boys: I’m in a superhero show but I don’t have any superhero powers [laughs], which is like, “Ughhh!” I know I’ve been tagged on Instagram as The Flash. I would love that. He would be really great. The other one though, because I’m lanky and I read the Fantastic Four comic books when I was a kid, would be Mister Fantastic. I feel like I could be a stretchy superhero. And I mean, Spider-Man has always been my favorite and I think I could be at least a good Peter Parker in that sense, but I’m not trying to take anyone’s job. Everybody who’s playing these superheroes now are perfect for the roles, so maybe there’s something that will come along that I’ve never heard of that will be perfect. Much like The Boys. I didn’t realize it was based on the comics, but there it was. Stuff comes along, and I would

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absolutely not be opposed to playing a superhero.

spoiler

You sound like a fan and you think like a fan, which is why you’re always gonna give them the best version of yourself in everything you do.

JACK QUAID

Totally, thank you! it’s weird because I feel like if I wasn’t on [The Boys], I’d be at Comic Con just as a fan. I’ve been to San Diego Comic Con a few times before I was on The Boys and it’s just cool to be in a group of people who are just all into the same stuff you are. I’ve been to New York Comic Con as a fan, too. And I went to Dragon Con last year with Karl Urban, and that was one of the best times I ever had. Atlanta was incredible. The Atlanta nerds at Dragon Con are just incredible and amazing. I miss that too.

spoiler

How did it feel going to your first Comic Con as a celebrity?

JACK QUAID

It’s really odd. Because in my head, I’m like, “Why are you waiting to meet me?” But I think just talking to everyone was incredible because you just get to know the fans face-to-face, which is such an incredible experience that I’ve never really had on any other project.

Just getting to talk to people who are fans of the show one-on-one. And sometimes I’ve had really deep discussions about, like, anxiety, or people

would tell me stuff and I was very happy to listen and get to know them a little bit. Especially at Dragon Con. Everyone was just so cool. I know this sounds cheesy, but I felt like after they left my table I genuinely made a friend of some kind. It’s been really interesting. I did a convention in Valencia, Spain right before everything shut down.

And even there, I felt the same.

These conventions have such a positive and incredible vibe to them. You can’t help but leave feeling very refreshed and very connected to everyone, to humanity, in an interesting way. I know that’s from a very narrow, comic book convention lens, but it’s very nice and I miss conventions during this time for sure.

spoiler

Do you believe in ghosts?

JACK QUAID

Yes. There has to be. I’m in my apartment right now and I think there’s a ghost in here. I swear to God, there’s like a certain

Jack Quaid/Plus One/RLJE Films/Michael Buckner/The Boys/Amazon/ Sony/Dynamite Entertainment/Jenna Greene/David Needleman

energy from one part of the apartment. I don’t think it’s bad.

I don’t think it’s negative. There was one point where my girlfriend went out of town to visit her family and I was watching her cat at my place, and there was one room of my apartment that it would just go into and just start meowing out of nowhere. And things that I’ve never seen this cat do before. I dunno. I also grew up going to this place in Montana a lot, and there was kind of a cabin there owned by this dude, Warren Oates—he was like a Western movie actor. And everyone who ever stayed in that cabin would hear footsteps or had a sense that somebody was there. There’s gotta be something because

I think as you live a life, you kinda leave behind energy. And at some place it can be so strong that it can carry over, even after you die. That’s what I think. And I might be wrong. Call me crazy, but I’m into it.

spoiler

Have you ever experienced anything paranormal on set?

JACK QUAID

I personally haven’t while filming, but I know there was an area—and I don’t wanna give away too much about season 2—but there was basically a hospital or old asylum somewhere in Ontario that other members of the cast—not me—shot at.

And everyone came away from

it being like, “Okay, it’s haunted.

There’s something there.” People were just kind of experiencing a presence while on set. september 2020|

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Q A spoiler

What’s the one movie you remember seeing as a kid that’s affected you today?

JACK QUAID

spoiler

it would be like, $1 million back then.

Where would you go?

JACK QUAID

spoiler

If you had a time machine, would you go to the future or the past?

Oh my God, I think I would have to go to the past and warn someone about something. Just to like, maybe make sure the present’s a little bit better. That’s what I think I would do.

Also I’m a huge fan of Back to the Future and going back to any time period in the past just seems fascinating. Also, I would bring $100 and

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I would go back in time to some big historic situation that I kind of think didn’t really happen and try to see if it was real or not.

JACK QUAID

You know, I’d see if aliens really did crash in Roswell. That’s what I would do, for sure.

I mentioned one of them a second ago. Back to the Future, I think, was the movie I watched at every sleepover for a very long time. It’s just such a fun, incredible—funny, but also heartfelt, and it has a sci-fi element to it. Actually, I remember when I first started talking about the role of Hughie with Dan Trachtenberg—in the first episode, we mention Marty McFly. Marty’s a little cooler than Hughie is, but he has that kinda vibe to him. We were trying to bring that into the character. The other movie I watch at least once a year is Jaws.

I don’t know what it is about that movie. The characters are great. I like the story about how it was made and how difficult it was to make the animatronic shark work in salt water, so they had to film around it, which is why you don’t see the shark for the first 75% of the movie. I just think that’s so interesting that it was such a stressful shoot for everybody, but if that movie hadn’t gotten made, or if they failed to make it the way that they did, we wouldn’t get all the other great Spielberg movies and all that stuff. So much came down to Jaws. It changed everything. The summer blockbuster was formed out of that and it was such a grind to make it. So I just find that movie endlessly fascinating.

Q spoiler

What is the most memorable or exciting thing you’ve seen onset?

JACK QUAID

I can’t give it away. There’s something that happens in episode 3 of season 2 of The Boys that’s just the craziest thing I’ve ever done in my entire career. And I just think nothing’s ever gonna top that.

You’ll know it when you see it, but it’s just the craziest thing I’ve ever done in my life. You’ll know it soon enough and you will not be able to forget it.

spoiler

If there’s one message you can pass to your fans, what would that be?

JACK QUAID

Jack Quaid/Sharp Magazine/Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images/Michael Buckner

“Thank you. Fans of The Boys, thank you so much for coming on this journey with us. We are continually in awe of you guys. You guys have the cosplay, the fan art.

Just the love from all of you, it’s felt and it’s deeply appreciated. We just genuinely could not do this show without you guys, so thank you so much. And also, thank you for hanging in there and being patient with us and allowing us to finish the show, edit it, and get it to be the best possible quality for you guys. And just thanks for being fans.”

Jack stars in Star Trek: Lower Decks, which premiered August 6 on CBS All Access. The Boys season 2 premieres September 4 on Amazon Prime. september 2020|

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Batman/DC Comics/Warner Bros./Gotham/DC Entertainment

SPOILER MAGAZINE

The Robin Family Tree A column dedicated to The Dark Knight, his Bat-family, and the world he fights and protects‌ And other silly Batman stuff. september 2020|

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BY: MATTHEW MCLACHLAN

Even if you’re not a comic fan or superhero person, everyone is at least familiar with the character of Robin, the colorful (and sometimes pantless) crime-fighting sidekick to Batman.

But even though the character is well known by most, you’d be surprised at how many people aren’t aware that in the comics, “Robin” is actually just a title and more than one person has taken on the persona. In fact, throughout the years, there have been five people, all with their own unique backstory, personality, strengths, and

weaknesses. And sure, different people don iconic superhero mantles all the time in comics, so having more than one person become Robin wouldn’t be that big of a deal, if it weren’t for the simple fact that all who have ever taken on the title of Robin have met one of two fates: they either quit or died in the line of duty.

This, is a very brief, half-thought out, though incredibly entertaining history of all who have taken on the mantle of Robin: The Boy Wonder

The very first and most commonly known Robin is Dick Grayson. As an 8-year-old, Richard John Grayson had your typical America childhood: he was an acrobat with his parents in the circus, he watched said parents fall to their deaths in front of hundreds of people, and was later adopted by a billionaire with a bat fetish. Yes, Bruce Wayne adopts the now orphaned boy after recognizing a similarity in childhood traumas and gives Dick the best possible homelife by taking him under his wing (Bat pun) and trains

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him to fight Gotham’s criminal underworld in frighteningly small spandex shorts. The relationship lasted for quite some time and much of Gotham’s criminal underbelly was swiftly kicked in the pants by the dynamic duo, however, the years kept coming and they didn’t stop coming, and as Dick got older, tensions arose when Batman refused to see Dick as an equal, which he was quickly becoming, and continued to treat him like the child he adopted. Dick then proves he isn’t a child by doing what all adults would

do in that scenario by throwing a temper-tantrum, storming off, and quitting as Robin. Dick reappears later in Blüdhaven (Gotham’s neighboring city that also has a crime problem) as every angsty boy-Geek’s favorite crime fighter (I’m including myself here), Nightwing. As Nightwing, Dick cleans up the streets of Blüdhaven while still popping over to Gotham on occasion to help Batman in his pursuit of justice. But not as his sidekick!

Dick’s his own crime fighter now!

He just...fights alongside Batman every so often while doing whatever Batman says…but only because he wants to! Not as a sidekick!

the second incarnation of robin was local child-badass and tire-thief, Jason Todd. Batman encounters Jason for the very first time in the midst of Jason giving zero f*cks by stealing the wheels off the Batmobile, which I didn’t even think was possible, and learns that Jason is just an orphan trying to survive on the streets. The Big Bat takes pity on him, pulling him out of his Oliver Twist shtick, and trains him as his second consecutive child soldier. Batman quickly realizes

that Jason Todd is no smiling, quippy, back-flippy Dick Grayson, and is in fact an angry, moody, violent little sh*t. With Jason starting to run off, disobey orders, and shatter the bones of criminals instead of casually subduing them, Bruce was beginning to question how best to deal with his newest and darkest sidekick, yet. The answer to that question came in the form of a devastatingly dark turn of events when The Joker kidnaps Jason, beats him within an inch of his life with a crowbar, and blows him the f*ck up. Yeesh. What the hell happened to Joker Gas, huh? Jason remained dead for several years but was eventually resurrected, returning to Gotham as the masked and murdering vigilante, The Red Hood. As september 2020|

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The Red Hood, Jason basically proves that he can rid Gotham of crime better than Batman by murdering everyone, all while pretty much holding a middle finger up to Batman’s face and taunting him. Batman eventually puts a stop to all of this one-upsmanship, ending Jason’s long, city-wide, murderous rampage.

Jason does the classic “fell into the river, but his body was never found” gag and over time pops back up around Gotham as a sort of Cat Woman with the “are they bad, are they good” sense of morals. Who really knows?

But he’s got a really cool helmet.

The third Robin was nerdy Batman stalker, Tim Drake. An incredibly bright kid who uses his amateur, though already impressive, detective skills to determine the identity of both Batman and former Robin, Dick Grayson. By this time, Batman is in full-brood mode after the death of Jason Todd, getting pretty violent in his crime-fighting ways, basically mimicking the violent kid he was mourning over. Tim deduces that Batman will always need a Robin to balance him out and approaches Dick Grayson, now Nightwing, to return as Robin. When Dick refuses (because he’s his own man now!) Tim tries convincing Bruce Wayne to train him as the

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new Robin. Eventually, Bruce Wayne agrees, under the condition that Tim will have to endure intense physical and mental training in order to avoid the same fate as Jason. Tim agrees, spending months training with Bruce (which I assume involved lots of CrossFit) and ends up the new Robin with an updated costume and I assume the inability to shut up about the Keto diet. After training Tim and seeing what he’s capable of, Bruce Wayne delivers an ever-rare compliment, (albeit, to Alfred in basically a whisper) stating that he believes that Tim will one day surpass him as the world’s greatest detective. Over time, Tim’s dad finds out about him

During the time of Tim’s meany-head

father sidelining him, Tim’s girlfriend, Stephanie Brown, an amateur crime-fighter herself, decides that she wants a crack at the infamously stable position of Robin. So, she sneaks into the Batcave, convinces a reluctant Batman to make her the new Robin, and then endures months of rigorous training the same way Tim did. Once

Batman/DC Comics/Warner Bros./Gotham/DC Entertainment

mainlining justice as Robin and puts an end to his crime-fighting career. “But daaaaad.” After the death of his girlfriend and newest Robin, Stephanie Brown, Tim takes up the mantle of Robin again until Bruce Wayne’s apparent death, at which point he goes full-Grayson, quitting as Robin, and taking on his current and world’s most original superhero title yet: RED Robin! Not regular Robin, Red Robin. He’s red now. Red Robin.

in the field, Batman is not convinced of Stephanie’s skills and later fires her after she disobeys direct orders. Desperate to prove her worthiness, Stephanie accidentally starts a city-wide gang war, gets caught and tortured by crime boss Black Mask, and eventually dies from her wounds.

Now, I’ve gone over the checklist for being Robin and the top three requirements are: obey Batman’s orders, don’t start gang wars, and probably don’t die. Stephanie Brown: F+.

Of course, because no one in comics stays dead, Stephanie Brown returns as her original crime-fighting persona The Spoiler and later ends up as the newest and current version of Batgirl. Everything happens for a reason, right Stephanie? How was death, btw?

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Batman/DC Comics/Warner Bros./Gotham/DC Entertainment

The current and most troublesome Robin yet, is none other than Bruce Wayne’s own son, Damian Wayne. According to Wikipedia, after Damian’s mother, Talia al Ghul, tricks Batman into a night together, she “acquires” (ew) the “needed material” (gross) and has Damian in secret. And before the kid could even walk, Talia makes Damian train rigorously with the leader of the League of Assassins, Talia’s own father and Damian’s grandfather, Ra’s al Ghul. After years of training Damian, Talia ends up capturing Batman, revealing they had a son together, and then just kinda peaces out to do her own assassin thing, leaving Damian with Batman. Bruce recognizes that Damian is already a skilled

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warrior and fighter, albeit a bit too murdery having been trained by, ya know, assassins, and attempts, with great difficulty, to dull Damian’s murderous instincts, making Batman probably wish he had three Jason Todds at this point. When Bruce Wayne supposedly “dies” and every crime fighter in Gotham goes apesh*t, Tim resigns as Robin

and convinces Damian to take on the mantle. When Bruce Wayne returns, he allows Damian to continue as Robin, seemingly changing Damian’s murderous impulses to those of a more Bat-friendly nature. All seemed to be going as smoothly as it could in Bat-land until, you guessed it, Damian Wayne was killed.

How, you ask? Oh, you know, probably the exact way you were thinking; by being impaled with a sword by an adult clone of himself. God, I hate it when that happens. Long story short, Batman goes bonkers, travels to the literal ends of the universe to get a crystal to revive Damian, does so, and now we’ve got our little psychotic Bat-family all put back together again.

Now, I have no doubt there will one day be more people added to this list and hopefully things will get shaken up a bit and we’ll get some underrepresented folks in the high-flying green and yellows. But no matter who ends up as the world’s greatest detective’s next sidekick, it’s clear that the title of Robin is not for the faint of heart, mind, or body. It requires a lot of hard work, discipline, mental resolve, physical strength, and a heaping spoonful of good ol’ fas-

hion gumption. And even with an abundance of those things it doesn’t always guarantee that they won’t end up severely injured, emotionally broken, or even knocking on death’s door themselves. So, whoever dons the black mask and bright tights of our Boy/Girl Wonder in the future, they’ve got a long road ahead of them, and I hope for their sake, that road is somewhat painless and helps fulfill whatever it is they’re looking for whenever putting the mask on in the first place. september 2020|

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SPOILER MAGAZINE

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Ryan Gosling/New York Magazine

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By: robert napolitano

One of the best things

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a body of work, and that takes time. It’s one thing to have a few great movies, but I’m talking about actors who release banger after banger for 20 plus years. The type of movie star whose movie you’re going to watch, if for no other reason than the fact that they’re starring in it.

As a new crop of talent is on the back end of their 30s, I think it’s fair to start putting them in the mix. Jake Gyllenhaal & Scarlett Johansson (only 35) are a couple that quickly comes to mind, but in my eyes there’s one actor specifically who is slowly but surely separating himself from the pack. Enter Ryan Gosling. We here at Comic-Con and Spoiler Magazine love our big budget movie franchises of course, but today, more than ever, when an actor excels in this business without having to star in the newest Batman, Avengers, or

Ryan Gosling/The Guardian/GQ/Getty Images/Michael Kovac/La La Land/Summit Entertainment

about films is how subjective they can be. Whether it’s the director, the actors, the crew or the film itself, we all have our favorites and there’s really no right or wrong answer to which is the best. That said, sometimes we witness a display of excellence that can’t be denied. Take actors for example: every generation has a select few who stand out above the rest. It takes years of hard work, a large body of work, and a plethora of strong performances to really separate from the pack, but as the years pass a select few always stand out above the rest. We had Marlon Brando & Elizabeth Taylor, Al Pacino & Meryl Streep, Denzel Washington & Johnny Depp, all of who are gifted in ways that can’t be denied. Now calling these individuals the best of their generations isn’t technically a cold hard fact per se, but what they all have in common is an undeniable amount of talent and a body of work that we’ve all bared witness to. They’ve given us some of the most iconic characters that have ever graced the big screen and we love them for it. Let’s go 10 years younger now, the likes of a Kate Winslet or Leonardo DiCaprio, they’re only in their mid-40s and you can already lock them in as some of the all-time greats.

After them is where I believe it gets tricky. Don’t get me wrong, there’s a ton of talent out there that can’t even legally drink yet and we’re already expecting big things, but the emphasis here is

O

Maybe one day Gosling will throw on a pair of tights or star in a Tarantino film, and if so, that’s be great. Given his track record, it’ll make for one helluva film. But the fact that he’s become a mega-superstar without needing the help of those types of names is one of the reasons I believe he’s on his way to being considered one of the all-time greats. So much of his work has been made with smaller budgets. They may not have grossed a billion dollars or been seen by the whole world, but this man delivers like very few are capable of.

It’s just one of the reasons why he’s amassed his incredible reputation. I’m a sucker for low-budget films. For one to work, a million things have to fall into place, but most importantly, the story and the performances need to be noteworthy.

Pirates of the Caribbean movie it speaks not only to their acting abilities, but their ability to deliver time and time again. Another thing that should be mentioned is the list of directors. This is by no means a knock on any of the ones Gosling has worked with.

Without singling any out, I can assure you he’s worked with some of the best in the biz, as have all the actors who I’ve mentioned.

That said, he’s yet to work with the likes of a Tarantino, a Scorsese, or a Fincher. With directors like those, even the most casual movie goer’s ears perk up. Good or bad, everyone’s gonna see their films.

Here’s a list of 7 MUST SEE films Gosling has given us and why (if you haven’t yet) you need to go check them out ASAP.

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Blade Runner 2049 We’re gonna kick off this list with, by far, the biggest budget film Gosling has starred in to date. The majority of fanatics of 1982’s sci-fi classic Blade Runner were plenty satisfied with its follow up. Visually stunning and well acted from top to bottom, this film definitely had higher aspirations at the box offi-

(2017)

ce, but thanks to its slow pace and poor marketing, it didn’t quite reach its full potential.

That said, Gosling and Harrison Ford bring their A-game. And if you’re into fresh takes on what society in the future might have in store for us, then this film is well worth the 2 hour and 40 minute runtime.

la la land Performances like this are what make Gosling a household name. He put all his talents on display in this film and earned an Academy Award nomination in the process. Method acting is rarely an easy task, but the 4 months he put into honing his piano skills

HALF NELSON

must’ve been something special. He spent every day in that span getting to a level where he had audiences convinced he was as good as the jazz musician he was portraying. Believe it or not, there was no piano double in this one folks, it was all him.

(2006)

struggles with drug addiction and coaches girls basketball feels extremely personal. The relationship he builds with a member of the team with an interesting drug habit of her own is incredible to watch develop. Even if you’ve never met an addict in your life you’ll feel how authentic this performance was.

Blade Runner 2049/Sony Pictures/La La Land/Summit Entertainment/Half Nelson/THINKFilm/Lars and the Real Girl

Did I mention I love lowbudget films? This one was made for less than a million dollars—that’s pennies on the dollar in Hollywood— and it went on to draw in seven times its budget along with nabbing a then26-year-old Gosling his first Oscar nomination. A story about a middle school teacher who

(2016)

LARS AND THE REAL GIRL

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This is a film not nearly enough people have seen and that might be in large part due to its odd premise.

A story about a kind-hearted, mentally ill young man who develops a romantic relationship with a sex doll might not be everybody’s bag, I get it, but to me it was

(2007)

genius, and Gosling’s incredible performance solidified it.

You look at Gosling and the thought that he would have to resort to dating a sex doll is hard to fathom, but watch his portrayal of Lars for 5 minutes and it’ll all make sense. As far as performances go it doesn’t get much better.

THE PLACE BEYOND THE PINES I have one single knock on this film and it fits perfectly with the theme of this article... Not enough Gosling. In fairness to its creators, in order to stay true to the story, I get why that was the case, but I’ll be damned if you tell me he doesn’t steal every single scene he’s in. He plays a low-life

(2012)

thief, we’ve seen that. He robs banks, we’ve seen that too. And yet his motives and present day Fonzie-esque coolness make him extremely easy to root for. While he does steal the show, this is an incredible film from top to bottom that I can’t recommend enough.

the nice guys Unlike the rest of the films on this list, this one is a straight-up comedy. A buddy cop/ action comedy technically, but it’s Gosling’s comedic efforts that steal the film. Russell Crowe’s portrayal of a ‘70s private detective is a perfect contrast to Gosling’s. Crowe

has the rugged exterior of an enforcer type, Gosling is a down on his luck single father who spends half the movie being treated like a punching bag. For all the violence, it’s Gosling’s offbeat performance that keeps reminding us it’s a comedy, and a hilarious one at that.

drive

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc./The Place Beyond the Pines/ Focus Features/The Nice Guys/Warner Bros./Drive/FilmDistrict

(2016)

Everybody loves a good anti-hero and “The Driver,” as he’s referred to, is one of the all-time best.

He doesn’t sell drugs, he doesn’t rob banks, he doesn’t even screw people over. He drives. He’s mysterious. We don’t even know his name, and yet through his intentions and demeanor we know everything we need to know about him.

We feel for this man, and

(2011)

up until the second half, we can’t even put a finger on why yet. When things get violent, so does the driver.

The strong, quiet type isn’t as utilized today as it was years ago, but this film and its leading man prove that with the right story and the right actor, it can still make for one hell of an anti-hero.

Now, if you can watch these 7 films and tell me Ryan Gosling isn’t your favorite actor, I can respect that. To each their own. but if you can look me in the eye and tell me he’s not on a different level of talent... Well, then you’d be lying to the both of us. september 2020|

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Issa Rae and Kamail Nanjiani’s chemistry is off the charts in this wildly funny comedy about a recently-split couple on the run from the cops, trying to solve the mystery behind the murder they’re wanted for. Director Michael Showalter, in a follow-up to his 2017 critical darling, The Big Sick (also starring Nanjiani), conducts the hilarious material with an emotional awareness as well, recognizing and appreciating the golden moments, when usually movies like this won’t think twice about disrupting any tenderness for a laugh.

The Lovebirds has its fair share of plot holes, like the best comedies often do, but the film doesn’t rely on only its talents or its premise, instead, it lets the two work side by side to create something great. The end result is something very, very fun and funny, which is the least you can ask for from a movie that takes on an overused formula. Thankfully, we get a lot more than just that.

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Directed by: Michael Showalter Cast: Issa Rae, Kumail Nanjiani, Paul Sparks.

The Lovebirds/Netflix/My Spy/Amazon

The Lovebirds (2020)

“

The end result is something very, very fun and funny, which is the least you can ask for from a movie that takes on an overused formula.

”

A-

Directed by: Peter Segal Cast: Dave Bautista, Chloe Coleman Parisa Fitz-Henley.

my spy (2020)

“

In fact, the movie often seems to exist solely so that it can be predictable.

”

C

Disorganized and uneven, the David Bautista vehicle tries mixing the formulaic “tough guy-turned-softy” premise with a nuclear terrorist subplot, never quite blending the two seamlessly. My Spy is a comedy-first type of movie, yet the script seems to be missing actual jokes, with most of the humor coming from the dynamic between Bautista and youngster Chloe Coleman, who plays the little girl threatening to blow his secret mission, while also trying to set him up with her widowed mother. This film works well for younger audiences in theory, except for its PG13 rating.

My Spy seems to pull from every one of its “secret agent befriends little kid” progenitors, never even attempting to break away from any presumed cliches. In fact, the movie often seems to exist solely so that it can be predictable. It’s director Peter Segal who manages to build something fairly watchable from a very weak and tired premise, while also resisting any unwanted wackiness that may arise in the meantime.

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Directed by: Francis Lawrence Cast: Keanu Reeves, Rachel Weisz, Djimon Hounsou.

Keanu Reeves plays John Constantine, a man with special powers that let him see angels and demons disguised as humans on Earth. He hunts down the demons to try to get on God’s good side after an attempted suicide years ago seriously damaged his chances of getting into Heaven.

Keanu’s charms can usually only get him so far, but he’s believable enough here, giving us a good enough reason to feel safe with his character. He channels that same dominance years later in John Wick. However, the filmmakers here seem to cut corners getting to their desired destination. Things of the occult are alluded to without ever being utilized as actual plot devices. Scenarios always border on intriguing, but never press any further than that. As fun and twisted as the story gets, we long for more of the depth we thought we were promised. We

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root for our hero because, well, he’s the hero, but we’re not given enough of a reason to feel for him at any given point.

C+

“

Scenarios always border on intriguing, but never press any further than that. As fun and twisted as the story gets, we long for more of the depth we thought we were promised.

”

Constantine/Warner Bros./Aquaman/Warner Bros./DC Entertainment/DC Comics

constantine (2005)

aquaman (2018) Directed by: James Wan Cast: Jason Momoa, Amber Heard, Willem Dafoe.

Aquaman, at its core, requires some stretch of the imagination in a much different way than Batman or Superman does. The idea of a fish-man is inherently sillier than a billionaire gadget wielder or, somehow, even an alien who becomes ultra powerful on Earth. To accept plausibility in an Aquaman story requires much more from the audience— say, a level of empathy.

The 2018 film never settles for its underwater setting, taking its characters on a journey across the globe to find the elusive Trident, which will restore peace and give Arthur/Aquaman (Jason Momoa) his rightful place on the throne of Atlantis.

Aquaman has a real ‘80s feel: a trickling synth score by Rupert Gregson-Williams, a complex ‘80s plot only a true nerd would appreciate, and a story that implements vague ecological notions into a sci-fi blockbuster.

Compared to its DC Comics

“

Director James Wan outdoes himself by not only making the movie look beautiful, but taking us on an adventure that’s a ton of fun.

” A-

predecessors, Aquaman exceeds expectations with both style and substance—even more so than the commendable Wonder Woman a few years back.

Director James Wan (Saw) outdoes himself by not only making the movie look beautiful, but taking us on an adventure that’s a ton of fun. The only drawback is the lack of depth for our characters, especially of our hero and the villain, but this may be the most pleasantly comic book-y movie in a long time. september 2020|

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Miller’s Crossing (1990) Directed by: Joel Coen Cast: Gabriel Byrne, Albert Finney, John Turturro.

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“ rily a fun movie, unless you’re obsessed with the sub-genre, but the story is kinetic, albeit hard to follow at times. However, learning the psyche of our main character and following his trajectory feels rewarding, even if that pat on the back also has to do with us figuring out what the heck is going on.

Like any mob film, there are a lot of tricky dynamics at play, and the Coens make this aspect a lot of fun, really basking in what they’ve mapped out—as well they should.

” b+

Miller’s Crossing/20th Century Studios/Ace Ventura/Warner Bros

When writing the script for Miller’s Crossing, apparently the Coen brothers had somewhat of a writer’s block, and it almost shows through. The movie is well-crafted yet still has more of a focus on the interweaving of the plot than it does in any suspenseful execution on screen.

Set in the 1920s, Miller’s Crossing is a gangster film through the eyes of a mob advisor (Gabriel Byrne)—that one guy who can float around town, in and out of rooms, standing behind his boss, whispering in his ear.

Like any mob film, there are a lot of tricky dynamics at play, and the Coens make this aspect a lot of fun, really basking in what they’ve mapped out—as well they should. This isn’t necessa-

ace ventura: pet detective (1994)

Directed by: Tom Shadyac Cast: Jim Carrey, Courteney Cox, Sean Young.

1994 was a great year for Jim Carrey with the release of three of his biggest movies: The Mask, Dumb and Dumber, and Ace Ventura: Pet Detective. Released first, Ace Ventura not only launched the comedian’s hot streak in the ‘90s, but has also become the paradigm for his legacy and how he’s thought of when looking back on his illustrious career.

Here, Carrey plays a pet detective, naturally, who has

to solve the mystery of a missing dolphin. The script is lackluster, and at times awful, but his unusual antics more than make up for any mediocrity elsewhere. Take the same movie and insert any other actor in Carrey’s place and it would have been a dud—quite possibly a notorious one. It may be in third place among the actor’s other 1994 projects, but that’s not a terrible list to be on by any means.

“

Take the same movie and insert any other actor in Carrey’s place and it would have been a dud—quite possibly a notorious one

”

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Dangerously Close (1986) Directed by: Albert Pyun Cast: John Stockwell, J. Eddie Peck, Carey Lowell.

“

The sets are distanced just enough from any proposed dystopian nods that we feel like we’re living in the decade instead of simply viewing some alternate version of it.

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” B-

Teen movies in the 1980s seemed to lean one of a few ways. You had the wholesome family fun of Back to the Future; the sex romps like Porky’s. And then you had the politically charged teen vigilante films like 1986’s Dangerously Close, which operates in an almost-dystopian reality where these definitely-25-year-old high schoolers take the law into their own hands and nobody—not even the police—can stop them.

A crime-infested high school gets a clean up with a new organization called the Sentinels. But certain members of this glorified hall monitor group form a secret society where they take the law into their own hands, going out at night and terrorizing rule breakers, along with their own personal enemies while they’re at it.

The dialogue is amateurish and the conflict is always unnecessarily escalated, but there’s enough substance to make for some solid storytelling. A major selling point for watching Dangerously Close these days is the way it unabashedly oozes with ‘80s style—something obviously unfelt at the time of the film’s release. The deep bass techno score pulsates throughout each scene—that is, whenever the air isn’t being filled with Depeche Mode tunes. The sets are distanced just enough from any proposed dystopian nods that we feel like we’re living in the decade instead of simply viewing some alternate version of it.

The Stuff (1985) Directed by: Larry Cohen Cast: Michael Moriarty, Andrea Marcovicci, Garrett Morris.

Dangerously Close/Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc./The Stuff/20th Century Studios

“ If you look at the poster for 1985’s The Stuff you’ll probably assume that the film is just a campy horror schlock-fest.

And you’d be partially correct.

It’s definitely campy—almost always intentionally so—but scary it is not. Best described as a hybrid between 1958’s The Blob (in concept) and Night of the Creeps (in tone) from the following year, this movie takes the amorphous outbreak premise and puts it on a national scale.

When a dessert product called The Stuff is sweeping the nation and taking over people’s brains, an industrial spy investigates this phenomenon further.

Apparently writer-director Larry Cohen had a much different idea for the movie, approaching the story with more of a comedy/ satire angle, when the studio insisted on marketing it as a horror instead and made a lot of edits in the final cut.

At moments, the film feels like a hollower version of what it was intended to be. Regardless, Cohen refreshingly plays by his own rules most of the time— even when those rules are being tampered with by the powers-

Cohen refreshingly plays by his own rules most of the time...and pays no real mind to certain specifications or requirements of filmmaking or formula, which benefits the movie’s quirkiness and enigma.

”

Bthat-be—and pays no real mind to certain specifications or requirements of filmmaking or formula, which benefits the movie’s quirkiness and enigma, even if it also disrupts the pleasant adventure the audience expects it to take them on. The Stuff is clunky and has an odd way of unfolding, but everything about this film is so delightfully weird that it’s able to separate itself from a crowded pack of campy ‘80s horror-comedies. september 2020|

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maniac (1980) Directed by: William Lustig Cast: Joe Spinell, Caroline Munro, Abigail Clayton.

grimy and dirty streets of New York City you so often see in ‘80s movies—both horror and non-horror—Maniac is definitely an acquired taste, relishing in its sleazy, low-budget look, daring us not to look away. However, what we’re watching is more shock value than actual scares.

“

Maniac should be reserved for horror aficionados, who will still undoubtedly find flaws, but at least be able to appreciate most of what this film is trying to do.

”

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C

Maniac/Magnum Motion Pictures Inc.

Take a slasher like 1974’s Black Christmas, where we follow a group of sorority girls as a psychopath is picking them off one by one and playing house with their corpses, and swing it around to 1980’s Maniac, where the actual psychopath is our main character and the victims are the ones who come and go (literally) in and out of the story.

Joe Spinell plays a serial killer with mommy issues who goes around town killing innocent women and putting their scalps onto mannequins back at his seedy apartment. Set in the

Special effects wizard, Tom Savini, saves the otherwise self-indulgent character study nobody asked for, while making a cameo appearance himself. Maniac should be reserved for horror aficionados, who will still undoubtedly find flaws, but at least be able to appreciate most of what this film is trying to do.

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David Mazouz/Gotham/DC Entertainment/ Warner Bros./Fox

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What does an 18-years old actor do when his massively successful television show ends? He goes to college. Stanford, no less. And who can blame him? David Mazouz, who played Bruce Wayne on Gotham, a prequel series to the DC Comics Batman stories, is no stranger to acting. In fact, he’s been doing it his whole life, which is why it makes even more sense that he would want to spend four short years attending the university of his dreams.

The young star has always had a passion for education. In between fight sequences with a young Joker, he was learning calculus with a tutor on set. Recognizing the importance of a good education, Mazouz admittedly desires to return to acting once his time at Stanford is complete, but knows his current investment will pay dividends down the road.

David’s smarts go far beyond the books.

Now 19-years-old, the collegian is wise beyond his years, utilizing the national halt due to coronavirus as a way to continue broadening his horizons, even when the two things he loves most—school and acting—are put on hold. Like some of us, he’s taking the time to learn new skills and hone others, work on passion projects he otherwise wouldn’t have the time for, or simply discover new passions he never knew he had. When we’re busy with work and school our whole lives, it can be tough to have large chunks of time where we can do something fulfilling—even when the form of education is masked behind informative YouTube videos. David is definitely making the most of this strange opportunity, always planning for the future while living in the moment. For a teenager to have that kind of vantage point is quite impressive.

Among other things, we talk with him about his show, which ended last year, the influence Christian Bale’s portrayal had on his own, and the depths of which Bruce Wayne is buried into his soul. From the sounds of it, the actor favors the side of the argument that views Batman as a superhero, not just a “hero.” And he’s got us convinced (not that we weren’t already). Bruce Wayne’s mentality and philosophy are still influencing and guiding him along in his everyday life. You can see that David truly loves and admires the character he embodied for five seasons and that it likely won’t ever leave his side.

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spoiler

You won the Bruce Wayne Week poll that was featured on the Comic Con Radio Instagram page. You beat every Bruce Wayne by a landslide, from Adam West on forward.

David Mazouz

[laughs] Yeah that’s awesome!

spoiler

Over the whole week you got over 100,000 votes. For that many people to vote in a week, that means our fans care about you being Bruce Wayne.

David Mazouz Wow! That’s crazy.

spoiler

So what have you been up to lately? Are you just relaxing? I know you were on Gotham for over half a decade, what’s the plan?

David Mazouz

Yeah, I was on the show for 5 years, and it happened to coincide that it ended in the middle of my senior year of high school.

I’ve always been an academically inclined kid. I’ve always liked school. I’ve always tried hard in school. And I got into the college of my dreams and I didn’t want to give that opportunity up. So I’m in college right now. Not because I don’t want to act later in life. That’s all I want to do. That’s where I primarily see myself the rest of my life. But when it was looking like the show was ending and I had college in front of me, I was conflicted and thinking about a lot of things, and I was talking to Ben McKenzie on set, who played Jim Gordon on Gotham. He said, “You should reach out to Fred Savage. He was on The Wonder Years from the time he was 12 to 17.” And I was on Gotham from 13 to 17. And he

spoiler

D

What are you studying?

David Mazouz

I’m intending a major in economics and a minor in psychology and computer science, but we’ll see. I’m not set on any of those.

spoiler went to Stanford after, and I was looking at going to Stanford. And it turns out we have the same lawyer. So I called him and talked to him for about an hour. I asked him, “Did you ever consider not going to college?” And one of the things he said that really stuck with me was, “I saw myself as being in the entertainment industry as an actor, as a writer, as a director, as a creative, for the rest of my life, and to take four years off of that to do something that will only give me knowledge and experiences that will aid me in being that creative person in this industry for the rest of my life is a trivial amount to take off.” Like, four years is nothing in the grand scheme of things.

Especially with COVID, it makes it so much easier to take time off from the entertainment industry because nothing’s happening right now. That’s a very long way of saying I’m in college right now [laughs], which is my primary focus.

So you’re at Stanford?

David Mazouz

I’m at Stanford, yeah. But in quarantine, I’ve been working on a couple of scripts, working on the music just for fun, but who knows, if it’s any good I’ll put it out. A couple of voiceover things I’m not sure if I can talk about right now. A couple of things in the works. I was working on a podcast with one of my really good friends, Cameron Kasky.

spoiler

How’s the podcast going? Did it take off or is it still in the works?

David Mazouz

We put out something like 7 or 8 episodes.

We took a little break just because Cameron and I were busy with stuff and we took a couple weeks off. But it’s called The Bad Place.

It’s on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. It’s just us and our friend group talking to cool people we find interesting and having conversations that we like.

spoiler

How did it feel going to university? Basically Gotham finished and then you started school.

Were people crowding around you or were you incognito?

David Mazouz/Gotham/DC Entertainment/ Warner Bros./Fox/Getty

David Mazouz

Most people didn’t care. I think also, the show is very regionally popular, which I’ve noticed.

Places like New York are a Gotham hotspot.

Or Brazil, too, from what I’ve heard. There are certain regions where the show is super popular and I get recognized a lot. But in California I definitely get recognized significantly less.

Every once in a while I’ll go to the bookstore or something and there will be a big group of tourists visiting the campus that will recognize me, and when that happens it’s nice. It’s funny.

I definitely had a few friends at school who recognized me. Usually it just comes up naturally, like, “Yeah, I was on this show.” I never kept it hidden, but I also just tried not to bring it up because my number one priority is to make people feel comfortable talking to me, like a normal person. september 2020|

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There was a girl in my dorm who was a big fan of Gotham and whenever I was around her she would get a little nervous. In those kinds of situations, I always want to make sure the person knows they should feel comfortable around me.

I always think about what’s the line between celebrity and person. More for people I look up to. I find myself reminding myself that the people I idolize and take every word as gold aren’t prophets, they’re just people, just like I, myself, am a person.

We’re all capable of mistakes and emotions. Sorry to be philosophical on you [laughs].

spoiler

Gotham isn’t one of those shows that happened and people just moved on. Basically everybody in that show is excelling in their career.

Everyone’s still hot and making the push forward. Gotham lasted over five years and a lot of people were upset when it was over. Do you feel the show ended too soon and could have gone on a little longer?

David Mazouz

I think it absolutely could’ve went on a little bit longer. We knew it was our last season the whole time

we were filming it. So emotionally and creatively we were very much able to prepare ourselves for the end of the show and I think the writers did that excellently as well.

Of course I think the writers would have done an excellent job if we got 2 or 3 more seasons to make it an even more rounded out story, but the 100 episodes we have serve perfectly on their own. They’re not missing anything. And because of that, content wise, I can’t say that it ended too soon.

spoiler

The last time I interviewed you, it was right before season 5. Your social page showed a more serious David, with constant posts about Gotham. These days it shows a more carefree David. It’s amazing seeing an actor your age not really succumbing to the stresses of the industry. Would you say this is the best time of your life right now?

David Mazouz

Yeah, absolutely. There’s always that part of anyone—especially me because I over think a lot of things—that’s focused on the next

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professional opportunity. But the way I see it, at this specific stage in my life, especially because of COVID, there aren’t many opportunities in general in the industry. So any opportunity I’m gonna give my 100%.

Because it’s summer and there’s the virus, there’s not much else I could be doing with my life other than just living it to the fullest.

Acting is very much dependent on collaboration. If you’re an actor, you cannot create a product on your own. So I want to start honing in my skills as a writer, as a music creator—different creative things—so that I can start projects on my own and see what I like doing. I love acting, but I started at 5-years-old. Intensely at 8-years-old. From such a young age, I wasn’t pushed into this thing, I wanted to do it, but I feel like now is really my opportunity because the world is at a halt, and personally with my career because I’m going to college. And it’s given me an opportunity to look at myself and figure out: What are some other things that I’m good at? What are some other things that I like to do? What are some other things that I’m passionate about? And I don’t really have any answers yet. I feel like I’m very much at the beginning of that journey, and I’m excited to see where it takes me.

spoiler

What kind of things would you like to produce in the future?

David Mazouz

Any story that I feel connected to that I want to tell, and I think those can come from anywhere. I find myself thinking about things a lot and just kind of pondering ideas. I find myself on YouTube rabbit holes late at night just watching different people talk about different random things, from social issues to beekeeping, from history to pool. So I like taking those concepts and putting them into stories. Honestly, I’m just doing whatever feels right at the moment.

David Mazouz/Gotham/DC Entertainment/ Warner Bros./Fox

spoiler

You’re at that age where you can do anything you want. Coming off an amazing TV series that’s loved by so many people.

Going to Stanford. You have the world at your fingertips. Do you feel sometimes that there might be a lot of pressure? Or do you feel relaxed that you have choices?

David Mazouz

A little bit of both I guess. I know there’s a lot of people who got to know me from Gotham and want to see more. And I want

Z spoiler

to give them more. So in that sense, I feel a pressure to serve my fans and keep giving them content and creative things I’m working on. This is just the “College Chapter” of my life [laughs].

spoiler

Speaking of fans: Would you ever date one?

David Mazouz

If you could have anything you want to eat, what would it be?

David Mazouz

Definitely just a jar of Nutella with a spoon. That’s it.

spoiler

If there was a most memorable moment while you were on Gotham, what would it be?

David Mazouz

Great question. The first thing that comes to my head is the hall of mirrors episode (“The Gentle Art of Making Enemies”) spoiler in season 3 where Jerome A lot of people don’t know that kidnaps Bruce and it’s really the your birthday and Bruce Wayne’s first time we see Bruce take birthday are on the same day. an active role as a good guy instead of just fighting back as protection. I just remember David Mazouz Actually, I didn’t know that until shooting that scene where Bruce is beating up Jerome, being my first birthday on the show. in the hall of mirrors in this crazy I remember seeing on Twitter, costume and makeup, I’m pre“Happy birthday, Batman.” And tending to punch the crap out it was also my birthday. It was of Cameron Monaghan while awesome! Just fate I guess. his fake prosthetic face is falling off. That image will forever be spoiler seared into my mind. Whenever Did you know that Bruce WayI think of Gotham that’s one of ne Manor from Gotham was the first moments I think of. I also in Batman Forever. was so overwhelmed with joy and pride and accomplishment— David Mazouz This is literally my first time hea- not for me, but really for Bruce.

Bruce was, has been, and is very ring that. I had no idea! Wow! much a part of myself and my [laughs] That’s crazy. I know that the exterior of the Manor is soul and I was just so proud of a Naval Architectural Institute in the character in that moment for standing up for justice.

Long Island.

I don’t see why not [laughs].

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spoiler

I remember that moment. That was a real changing point for Bruce.

David Mazouz

spoiler

Do you ever use any Bruce Wayne moments in real life?

David Mazouz

Literally all the time. If I’m ever scared of doing something, I just think to myself, “Bruce would do it.” And then I’ll do it. I always ask myself, “What would Bruce do?” One of the very first scenes Bruce had in the pilot with Jim Gordon, he said, “I’m learning to conquer fear.” That’s Bruce Wayne’s M.O. His thing is, “I’m going to get over all my mental defenses that stop me from accomplishing what humans don’t usually accomplish. I’m going to

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that there’s a version of Bruce Wayne out there that’s, like, 60% David, 20% Christian Bale, 20% whatever else, it’s kinda cool to think about how that Bruce Wayne exists. become superhuman because of my will power.” It’s will power that rides him like a van through fear, anxiety, perfectioniSPOILER, all of those things that stop us from achieving greatness. He takes a machete and perfectionism them in the face.

spoiler

Do you think a lot of David was in Bruce Wayne?

David Mazouz

Oh yeah, absolutely. I don’t think I’ve ever played a character that didn’t have a ton of David in it.

I need to base the humanity somewhere and the humanity I know best is my own. Of course, there was inspiration from Christian Bale, from Greg Capullo and Scott Snyder—that Batman comic series was a huge inspiration for me. It’s kinda cool to know

spoiler

You went through all these scripts and memorized all these lines, which probably still, to this day, helps you out in life because you have these amazing quotes and blurbs you can use.

Do you ever just stop yourself and say, “Oh wow, that’s a line from a script and I just used it in real life”?

David Mazouz

All the time. It was a big part of my education. I grew up in this industry and reading scripts. So much of what I know about the world is from reading scripts— and from Gotham writers. During my most formative years I was reading these scripts and performing them, so it undoubtedly has changed how I perceive the world around me and given me that lens.

David Mazouz/Gotham/DC Entertainment/ Warner Bros./Fox/Alamy/Getty

That moment was huge. I think it was the catalyst for him to realize he was capable of stopping evil. The first time he actually brought down a bad guy with skills he learned from Alfred in his quest to seek out justice and fight evil. After that point, he only went further down that path to eventually become Batman.

spoiler When you’re on set, you get to be with people from all walks of life, and each person brings with them different knowledge and experiences. Were you just soaking it all in as you were growing up on Gotham?

D David Mazouz

Even before Gotham, when I was 10 to 12, I was on another show (Touch) and I was going to Fox Studios on a regular basis and that was my 9 to 5. Being 10 and working with adults seven days a week for months at a time, it taught me so much about what it means to be a person. I never really had the opposite experience of not acting and not having the knowledge I had from being on sets at such a young age.

spoiler

If you could say something to your younger self, what would you say to the young David who first walked onto the set of Gotham all those years ago?

David Mazouz

every week, but school is just a temporary interval right now.

“Believe in yourself. Even though you’re entering a world where you don’t know what to expect, throughout your journey, absorb as much from the things that you learn and the people you meet, but also know that you, within yourself, have the tools to succeed. If you trust yourself and have good instincts, then you’re going to be good.”

spoiler

If you could say something to your classmates at Stanford to understand you a little bit more, what would you tell them?

David Mazouz

“I’m just a guy who looks at the world with wide eyes and wants to know more about it.”

spoiler

After being on a rabidly popular series like Gotham, do you now miss waking up in the morning and going to set?

David Mazouz

Of course I miss it, but I also don’t wake up in the morning and agonize about missing it. Because I see it as something I’m going to be doing for the rest of my life, hopefully. So of course I miss seeing the cast and the crew everyday and being on something that millions of people are excited to see

spoiler

I know you’re in school and your busy studying all the time, but will you be going to conventions in the future?

David Mazouz

I definitely intend to be going to conventions all around the world.

spoiler

If you could pick a theme song to describe where your life is at right now, what would you choose?

David Mazouz

“Don’t Worry, Be Happy” by Bobby McFerrin

spoiler

If you could pass on a message to your fans around the globe, what would it be?

David Mazouz

“Thank you.” Just a really, really big fat “Thank you.”

“Thank you for being a fan.

Thank you for supporting me. Thanks for liking Gotham and for liking my Bruce Wayne enough to follow me into doing other things. And thank you for your patience while I’m in school. And thank you for your loyalty.”

One of the things I’ve noticed about my fans, and comic book fans in general, is that they’re the craziest, most insanely loyal people in the world. Which is so unlike a lot of other fan bases. If they like you, then you have made lifetime fans and it’s such a powerful thing. It means so much to me. september 2020|

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thoughts and feelings for everyone. Maybe a particular musical comes to mind. Perhaps being forced to read a depressing play in your high school English class comes creeping back. Or maybe “theater” was the group of loud kids you tried to avoid in middle-school, high-school, and college. Either way, there are many different things to associate with theater, but rarely do people ever think of anything within the Geekdom. Which

First of all, theater gets a bad rap. Sure, I’m a little biased, but having talked to people about what I do, I’ve realized that many people dismiss theater all together because they think it’s just flashy musicals and depressing plays about rich white people. It definitely has that, but just like how comics have superheroes and movies have

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is understandable. Theater is its own beast. However, in recent years, Geekdom has trickled into the theater world in more ways than you may know and the connection between the two has continued to grow and should be talked about. Well, aren’t you all lucky that when I’m not boring you with my Geek-charged sarcasm, I’m a playwright in New York City?

Yeah, I didn’t know I could get cooler, either.

action films, it doesn’t mean all are like that. In fact, theater is as vast and creative as any of the various mediums we know and love within the Geekdom today. And with theater being so similar, it shouldn’t surprise you that movies, comics, and even some geek-tastic books have made their way to the stage over the years. So, before you pass judgement on theater because of what you think you know about it, let me give you some Geek-theatre options that may help change your mind.

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child/JK Rowling/ Manuel Harlan/Elizabeth Rex/Liz Lauren

THE WORD THEATER PROBABLY SPARKS A VARIETY OF DIFFERENT

The most common instance of the Geekdom hopping over to theater is the fact that literally every single film known to man is being made into a musical these days. Are most of these money grabs? Sure. I mean, who wouldn’t want to see what the hell a Mrs. Doubtfire musical looks like. Yeah, your exclamation of surprise is valid.

And though the producers may laugh all the way to the bank, what usually happens is people actually enjoy these adaptations a lot. Which makes

Steven Wang/Brett Streutker/Trey Ratcliff/Vivienne Gucwa/Heathers: The Musical/Aladdin/Deen van Meer/Disney/Les Miserables

sense seeing as some of the most talented writers in the business are hired to create these adaptations.

Just ask Lin Manuel Miranda about writing the Bring it On musical. No, that isn’t a joke. So, don’t write off a musical adaptation until you’ve experienced it firsthand, ‘cause chances are, you’ll have a damn good time. Just ask everyone who saw the SpongeBob SquarePants musical. I can’t make this sh*t up, people! Some other Geekdom movie-musical adaptations include: Rocky, Mean Girls, Evil Dead, King Kong, Back to the Future, Clueless, Groundhog Day, The Toxic Avenger, Shrek, and every Disney movie that’s ever existed.

Comics and comic characters have no doubt made the transition to film and TV, but the stage has taken a little longer to trust the medium having selling power. One of the more popular comic adaptations in recent years was Spiderman: Turn Off the Dark.

Now, I love Spiderman and I’d love to say positive things about this musical, but I saw it and let me tell you… yikes. It was half a notch above a touring kid’s show with so much camp and “what the f*ck” moments that I prayed for it to be over. Personally, I do think this was a bit of a step backwards for trusting comic characters on stage, but there’s still hope. The comic adaptation that really slam-dunked with audiences was the musical adaptation of Alison Bechdel’s graphic novel/memoir Fun Home, having won multiple Tony Awards including Best Musical. Not exactly upbeat, but it did show that good storytelling with a heaping dose of heart is exactly what the stage needs and what comics have plenty of. Sometimes, though, comics are adapted because why the hell not, that’s why, and I’m here for it. My favorite example of this is the Death Note musical. Yup. And guess what, say goodbye to the rest of your day, because the entire thing is on YouTube with an English dub, so let’s get weird! Another adaptation that blew my mind the most was the Sailor Moon musicals. Yes, musicals.

Plural. 31 to be exact. Now, I don’t know a lot about Sailor Moon (other than it came on before Dragon Ball Z) but God bless ‘em for getting that much musical goodness out of one property.

Historically, books are a little more popular when it comes to being adapted to the stage as the material is aplenty and it doesn’t hurt that books still sell. But when it comes to Geekdom book adaptations, some may surprise you and…some probably don’t. Not at all surprising is the two-part play and box office hit, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. The story itself wasn’t actually written by J.K Rowling and because of that it’s a little meh, but the special effects are bonkers and worth every galleon you’ll pay to see it, which is a lot of them. For something more dramatic, Stephen King’s book Misery had a successful run on Broadway

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The Greatest Showman/20th Century Studios/Mary Poppins/ Johan Persson/Disney/Timon of Athens/Henry Grossman

starring Bruce Willis and Laurie Metcalf (aunt Jackie from Roseanne) while King’s debut novel Carrie got a musical adaptation that flopped but has since gained a cult following (surprise surprise). Wicked was one of the few adaptations that became even more popular than the book itself and has since become a global phenomenon, flying monkeys and all. And I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that Hamilton, the rap-tastic and highly entertaining musical all of your Gen Z friends and family won’t shut up about, is adapted from a book about Alexander Hamilton’s life. Books! Who knew?!

So, as you can see, the examples of Geekdom material hopping to the stage is vast and still growing and I’m excited to see what properties and Geek ideas the stage decides

to bring to life in the future. Although, I think the biggest pro and con about the Geekdom leaning into the theater world is that theater is an in-person experience. And unless you’re a smash hit like Hamilton, it won’t go directly to viewers around the world, you have to go see it for yourself. Yes, that limits the amount of people who get to experience said production, but it also means you as the audience member get something special. ‘Cause the beautiful thing about theater is, every performance is unique. Those aren’t robots up there singing and dancing, they’re people who have trained and worked their ass off to hit every mark and note they’re supposed to every single night, but it’s still going to be different every time. Go see a play or musical more than once and you’ll

know what I’m talking about. So, to my fellow Geeks, give theater a chance. Even if it isn’t an adaptation of your favorite property, I promise you that the world of theater is vast and teeming with material for everyone to enjoy. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have 31 Sailor Moon musicals to listen to.

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a nearly invinhere’s a lot of stuff I’m still learning about being in a relationship with he’s a “regular cible being—especially an invincible being that half the time pretends s help to move. Ever. guy.” One of the things I recently learned is I can NEVER offer Clark’ my friend, Kelly, and Not ever again, at least. Superman would have been great to help move her husband, Kyle. Clark Kent was a disaster. late trying to drive Kelly and Kyle asked us to be at their place at 8am. We were running e it was rush hour from the outskirts of the city to where they are, closer to downtown, becaus frustrated while we on a Friday in July. He woke up in a pissy mood. He was clearly getting just pull over and to want you “Do were crawling in the traffic and suddenly snapped at me, I’ll fly us there?” flying us there? BeI snapped back, “Fly us how, Clark? Are we leaving the car and you’re g truck. We told movin the cause Kelly and Kyle might need our car along with their car and with no car is a tough them we’d bring ours. So showing up from the outskirts of Metropolis one. Is our car in the shop?”

He grumbled “No” at me like I was stupid for asking. street clothes? That’ll “Ok, so you’re flying me and the car there in broad daylight in your on “casual Friday.’ an go great. ‘What’s that in the sky, Mom? Oh Honey, that’s just Superm We’ll have to be late like normal people.” worried as we I asked that we shake off our crankiness. He said he would. I started getting Kyle stand up from came down their street and Kelly began waving. Behind her I could see boots—such a tool. their stoop dressed in a sleeveless weightlifting shirt and half laced work even though he ifter” “powerl a f Then I remembered Kelly telling me that Kyle fancied himsel now, seeing And s. mainly went to the gym to use its sauna and eat the free pizza on Friday could lift heavy stuff. his outfit, I realized moving day was his chance to show us all how he More than Clark could lift, I assumed. I told Clark as much.

“Whatever. It’s fine, Lo.” lly when he sees “I’m just saying that Kyle’s probably gonna go obnoxiously hard. Especia ger and his chainmail you. You guys are as physically mismatched as Arnold Schwarzeneg it. It’s gonna bother wearing archenemy in Commando. What was his name? Benson? Damm me all day now. And I refuse to Google it.”

“I don’t know. I’ve never seen that.”

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Of course he hadn’t. painter’s button “I’m just saying even in your baggy basketball shorts and over-sized down, you’re clearly built like a brick wall. So—” Clark cut me off and told me it’s fine. He always played it down at the Perry never asked him to move an antique armoire.

Planet. I told him

“Look, if this guy Kyle needs the win, I’ll make sure he gets it.” th can get this move OK, I thought. He knows what he’s doing. Even Clark’s “Clark” streng of the reason, then this done fast. And if Kyle is as enthusiastic as I think he’ll be, regardless should go well.

Except it didn’t go well. It was a slow-moving disaster (pun intended) damn day.

that lasted all god-

box truck. I got out We parked in front of their building behind the moving truck—an 18’ didn’t have to’, etc. and hugged Kelly. She said the usual ‘thank you so much” and ‘you should just get you She hugged Clark and gave a playful laugh as she said, “Oh my! We to pick this whole place up and move it! Right, Honey?!” ’t contain her outI saw a shadow pass over Kyle’s face and I tensed up. Stupid Kelly couldn ing her husband. burst of physical attraction to Clark, so she tried to make it OK by includ the office and he leaving were we That never works. Clark did that to me the other day when a moment, he for saw some model come out of the photography department. After he stared d, he lowered his voiblurted out, “Wow, her butt is incredible…right Lo?” When I didn’t respon the leggings, though, ce and said, “I think it looks bad when you can see her thong through right? It’s kind of tacky, right? Right, Hon?” as tacky when you I smiled sweetly and said, “I don’t know, Honey. What really qualifies stayed quiet then and can see through everything?” He mumbled something about “lead” until we got home.

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Kyle was clearly jealous as he approached Clark—who gave me a quick “calm down” look as Kyle stuck his hand out. He gave Clark a couple forceful shakes. When Clark pulled his hand away he massaged it, gave an impressed whistle and said, “Damn, Kyle.

That’s quite a grip you’ve got.” Kelly smiled at me with a hint of confusion in her eyes.

“Here we go,” I thought.

We started with the boxes. That was as soon as Clark finished pretend ing to be out of breath after climbing the two flights of stairs to their apartment.

Kyle looked at Clark and went, “You alright, man? There’s an elevato r if you want to use it, but it’s really small and really slow.”

“Sounds like me and the elevator have that in common,” Clark said as he looked at me. I almost groaned. Kyle gave an uncomfortable laugh and went inside.

The boxes phase would have gone faster if Clark hadn’t taken only one box at a time and one step at a time like a toddler on his descent. Each time he would look first, put one foot down to the step below, then bring the other foot to meet it. Meanwhile, the three of us were moving at twice his pace.

Eventually, Kelly gently asked, “Clark, are you OK? You’re moving like you might be injured.”

Kyle added, “Yeah. Did you hurt yourself in the gym or something?”

“Actually, I’ve been dealing with some sciatica,” Clark said to Kelly.

“It should calm down soon.” He turned to Kyle and said, “Not from the gym, though. I haven’ t been there in forever.

And even if I was still going, I wouldn’t do anything heavy enough to injure myself. I was mostly into cardio and light dumbbell work. I’m not a serious weight lifter like you.”

“Powerlifter.”

“I’m sorry?”

“I’m a powerlifter,” Kyle said. “Weightlifting is different.”

“Oh, well, I’m a desk sitter,” Clark laughed. “That’s how I got this sciatic a! And I’m certainly not used to picking up heavy boxes like this.”

“I think that’s just decorative pillows from the bedroom…” said Kelly.

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“Oh.” Then Clark looked down at the box and again at Kelly and said, “Well, it looks like there are a few other things from the bedroom in here that have some weight . I think maybe from the nightstand. Wink-wink,” Clark said as he laughed.

“How do you know that?” Kelly asked, embarrassed. “How does he know that?” She asked me as I ushered her up the stairs. Behind me I heard Kyle say, “Uh, I guess so.”

Then the time came for Clark and Kyle to move the heavy furniture downstairs. Clark suggested they start with the antique armoire. “I just want to make sure I’ve got enough energy for that,” he said to us.

When he and Kyle lifted it, Clark let out an “OOF!” like he had been punched in the stomach. It sounded he was doing Lamaze breathing all the way down the steps. When they took a break before the front stoop, Clark said, “Kyle, this is the heaviest piece right? I really don’t want to pull my back.”

“Yeah,” Kyle said, “but it feels like I’m doing most of the lifting right now.”

“You’re the strongman,” said Clark.

“Let’s get it down to the street,” Kyle said. “Lift on three. One, two, three!”

I heard a pop. Suddenly Kyle was on the ground, one hand on his lower back as he yelled that he had pulled his back really bad and it hurt like hell.

Kelly ran to him and helped him upright. She told him it would be fine. She’d get him some ibuprofen. I saw Clark give me a guilty side glance. I gestured at him to come over by me away from Kelly and Kyle.

“Way to give Kyle that win, coach,” I hissed at him.

“Sorry,” he said. Then tried to charm me by saying, “Hey, maybe now it’s an underdog story. Like Rudy.” I could tell he was proud of his movie reference.

“Cute,” I said flatly. “Look at him, Clark. He can’t stand. The only way this is like Rudy is that he’s going to be carried off the field.”

“You know that people can’t suspect what I can do!” he whined.

“Yeah, Clark, the idea is that people don’t suspect you’re Superman, not that they worry you’re Mr. Glass!”

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He looked at me confused. Of course, he hadn’t seen that.

“Kyle said the armoire was the heaviest thing. Kelly and I will help you

with the rest.”

“Fine.” . We even got The three of us managed to move almost everything else without a problem left was the thing only The truck. the armoire down to street level and up the ramp to the h the doorway throug couch. And the couch, naturally, was the only thing that wouldn’t fit of the apartment. door. Kelly and Clark took one side of the couch to try and maneuver backwards out the to turn it upI got on the other side to help turn and push. We tried to angle it. We tried . Clark ended up side down. We tried to take the tiny legs off the bottom. Nothing worked down and she side our put I and holding it as it was semi-wedged in the door frame. Kelly started to laugh.

“What is it?” I asked, as I started to laugh as well from the exhaustion

and frustration.

In between laughs, Kelly managed to get out, “Pivot!” We both burst into ghter.

hysterical lau-

I heard Clark shout, “What are you saying?” ly, we both shou-

We both tried to respond through peals of laughter. Then, simultaneous ted, “PIVOT!”

h the doorway I then heard what sounded like a gunshot and the entire sofa went throug the couch and behind and into the hall. Kelly screamed and I gasped. Clark emerged from door frame had been walked to the door frame. Just above the space where the door latched, the split in two and driven into the wall. ed, Clark?”

“It looks like a car crashed into it,” Kelly said, astonished. “What happen meant, but I figu“I don’t know. I heard you girls yell ‘pivot’ and I wasn’t sure what you way.” gave frame door the red you wanted me to give it another try, so I pulled and said Kelly. “The“There must have been something wrong with the way they built this,” e.” re’s no way Clark could have done this kind of damag

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“You’re right,” I said. “He’d have to be more powerful than a locomotive.” feel his angry glare.

I smirked as I could

“I’m going to call the landlord and figure this out,” Kelly said. the new apartment. I I felt bad, but I had had enough. I couldn’t even think of unloading at truck and their their get told Kelly we would call some movers for her and Kyle to help them car to the new place and unload it for them. And we would pay for it. silence as confirma“I don’t think we’ve been as helpful as you hoped we’d be.” I took Kelly’s tion. “So at least let us take care of that.” on the stoop talKelly agreed and we brought the couch down to the truck. Kyle was sitting a deadlifting in was it king to a neighbor about the last time he pulled his back. Apparently, competition—such a tool. an does, that I drove home. After a little while I said, “You know, for all the good Superm sure was another spotty performance for Clarkman.”

He rolled his eyes.

Let’s watch a movie “I appreciate your help today. I know your heart was in the right place.

I cut him off, and tions sugges when we get home.” Clark started to respond excitedly with “Your choices are Commando or Unbreakable.” He sighed. ando. Clark picked Oh, and it’s Bennet. Bennet is Arnold’s friend turned enemy in Comm that morning. name guy’s Commando. I think because he remembered I couldn’t think of the God, I love him.

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By: Ethan Brehm

When I was a kid, I didn’t want to watch cartoons or do any sing-alongs to some kiddie bullsh*t, I wanted to watch Indiana Jones kick the ass of Nazis, devil shamans, and even more Nazis.

That’s it. Pop one of those bad boys into the VHS player and that gifted my parents peace and quiet for roughly two hours or until I decided to aggravate my brother again. I loved those movies and that character so damn much, I told my family at the ripe age of 3 that my name was now “Meewee ‘Indiana Jones’ McCackin’” and then proceeded to venture around the house in a fedora, whipping family members in the face with belts as they came down the stairs.

I’ve always idolized this archeological badass and have been told by many that they too thought of Indiana Jones as a role model when they were kids, which makes me wonder, is Indiana Jones a good role model? Now, I know there are plenty of people out there who would say no to that question, but those people are stupid and I’m here to tell you why.

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Call Dr. Henry Jones whatever you want, but to the students at Marshall college he’s either “Professor,” “Doctor Jones,” or “the hot one.” Regardless of title, one thing is clear, Henry Jones Jr. is incredibly smart.

Having graduated from the University of Chicago with continued studies in France, Henry Jr. studied his ass

off, learning the languages, customs, and culture of various nations as well as ancient civilizations from all around the world. He’s got brains, people! But what sets him apart from other scholarly adventurers who accrued student debt, is the guy’s got street smarts.

He knows when something’s not right, how to traverse the local underbelly, and he can think fast on his feet. This isn’t your average clean-cut library hottie, he’s a street smart, well-educated gentleman who believes in following your gut and furthering your education.

But holy f*ck does he kick people’s ass!

Indiana Jones/Lucasfilm

As eloquently stated previously, Indiana Jones is, in fact, a total badass. I’m sorry, do you know anyone who teaches at the college level that can take a punch or twelve? The amount of f*cks this guy does not give could break a world record and you can bet your ass he’s gonna do whatever it takes to get the adventure done: Steal armored vehicles, burn down buildings, shoot, stab, whip, and punch everything within a 100-mile radius. He’s also confident as hell, even when he is making it up as he goes. I think we could all do with a bit of a confidence boost these days and who better to channel than the man who strolls into ancient booby-trapped temples like it’s his local 7-Eleven. This is the guy who finds and casually

abandons artifacts leftover from God and is like, “whatever, let’s just ride into the sunset for the entirety of the credits.” I know if I had a teenth of that kinda energy I’d…probably still be here, but I’d be a helluva lot more confident about it!

The last and easily most important part of what makes Indiana Jones someone to look up to is, he has heart.

Yeah, that might sound like some lame Captain Planet sh*t, but without heart, he’d just be another idiot treasure hunter looking to put a coin in his pocket. It’s the reason he yells, “It belongs in a museum!” and not “I can sell that for a lot on Etsy!” He follows his heart, does what’s right, and even though he might grumble under his breath about things, he cares. Probably a large factor to this is the fact

that he came from a pretty rocky home life. After his mother died when he was a boy, he was left in the care of his father, Henry Jones Sr., who rarely gave him the time of day, resulting in Junior growing up fast, while constantly fighting for the underdog because he was the underdog and preserving history because history helped preserve him. The heart that drives his character forward was created from the voids of his childhood and we’re lucky his attempts to fill that void are on the path of good and the betterment of history.

And sure, there are plenty of things about Henry Jones, Jr. that aren’t perfect. Does he ditch his professor duties regularly? Absolutely. Does he treat is friends kinda poorly? Uh-huh.

Does he put on the worst Scottish accent in a pinch? Aye, ye canny ken wit he’s blethering aboot. But that’s what makes Indiana Jones so great and worthy of role model status, he’s human. He gets hurt, he makes mistakes, and he’s got fears. He’s not some shiny do-good superhero nor is he a rough and tumble vigilante brooding in the corner. He falls right in the middle with all his imperfections, heart, smarts, and skill, which sounds pretty damn normal if you ask me.

So, as far as I’m concerned, there are far worse people out there to have as role models than Dr. Henry Walton “Indiana” Jones, Jr. and if you don’t feel the same way, I’ve still got that fedora and plenty of belts at the ready.

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Jay Ali/IMDb/Corey Nickols

SPOILER MAGAZINE

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Everyone needs to know who Jay Ali is Like, right now. Not only did he blow up in Marvel’s Netflix series Daredevil as the noble, but torn apart, FBI agent Ray Nadeem, but now he joins the cast of Amazon Prime’s fantasy series Carnival Row as a main player for the upcoming second season. While there is no current release date yet for season 2 of Carnival Row, fans are champing at the bit to see what’s in store for Vignette, the rest of Black Raven, and how Ali’s Kaine will fit into the equation. He did incredible work on Daredevil, especially considering he was one of the rare main characters in a comic book adaptation with no actual comic book origin, so it’s exciting to see how he levels up the already-gripping Carnival Row.

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Ali has such a great outlook on life. He’s a level-headed dude who knows what’s truly important in life. He loves his job, but recognizes it’s just a job (and a pretty cool one, at that). Where he really starts to gush is when talking about his son, Remy, and the awesome experiences and memories he’s been able to share with him because of his career. Always his biggest priority, Jay is definitely a dad first and foremost.

A lover of ‘80s pop culture, the actor tosses around retro references, such as Mr. T, Dianne Wiest, or Over the Top, like only an ‘80s kid can truly understand. He also fills us in on what it’s like to work on a show with such breathtaking, almost old school, set design as Carnival Row, how opportunities can come and go in the blink of an eye in this business, as well as his views on the current state of the TV industry as a whole.

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spoiler

When did you start acting?

Jay Ali

I didn’t start acting until later in my life. I was playing cricket.

I thought I was going to be a cricket player but then realized I wasn’t good enough to become a cricket player [laughs]. But I always wanted to act, even from a young age, but I was kind of, I dunno, doing other things. Then I guess when I got older, I was like, “Look, if this is something you want to do, give it a shot and go full on into it and see what happens.” I’ve always been someone who’s said, “Don’t die wondering.” I was willing to go into acting for it not to work out and say, “Well, I tried.” But thankfully things worked out. Really, I got into it when I was 27 when I moved to LA. The first acting experience I had was when I moved to LA with a backpack and did that.

spoiler

You were on a TV series that rocked the world. Unfortunately Daredevil is no more. It’s all politics, business and all that.

But Daredevil is a show that could’ve been on for a long time. How was the experience on that show?

Jay Ali

It was just the most amazing experience. From start to finish, it was unbelievable. To be honest with you, I was in LA when I got the call to say I was flying to New York to do the screen test. And just that, for me, was amazing. Then to get the call to say, “You got the role and you’ve got to move to New York,” and I was shooting within a week, It was all really unbelievable.

And then to do such an amazing show that has such a huge following, and to play a character who was so well-written and so thought-out—it was a role of a

Y

lifetime, really. To go into a show which was established, really, and to play an integral part in the storyline of it, it would be really hard to beat that. From top to bottom, the show was just unbelievable—the writing, the cinematography, the directing, the acting, the action sequences. I mean, it had everything.

Everyone was saying it was the best season of Marvel television ever made and I truly believe that. And it couldn’t happen to a

better bunch of people. Everyone worked so hard on that show and everyone put everything into it. Even though it finished, I think everyone’s quite satisfied that we went out on such a high.

spoiler

Daredevil is one of those instances that Marvel television went beyond expectations. You rocked the last season. That’s the entire memory of Daredevil now. It’s you and the Daredevil just battling it out and that’s it. I know you said it’s one of those sets that is huge and can’t be replicated, but what do you think about Carnival Row? That’s a pretty big show.

Jay Ali/IMDb/Corey Nickols/Daredevil/Marvel/ABC/Netflix

Jay Ali

Yeah, it’s a huge show. In terms of the production, I mean Carnival Row is probably about three or four times the size of Daredevil, with the cast and crew and makeup and stunts—it’s huge.

The Row itself is a set. They built a city. In terms of that, it’s way, way bigger than Daredevil. It’s got a huge fan base already and it’s a great show to be a part of.

Telling a story that it’s telling and playing a character that I’m playing, it’s doing a really great job of keeping up there with Daredevil. And it happens that Erik Oleson, the showrunner on Daredevil, is doing the second season of Carnival Row, so there’s a familiarity with that, because he runs an amazingly tight ship.

He has a lot of the same writers that were on Daredevil, so I think a lot of people who enjoyed the first season will enjoy the second season even more, and I think new people coming into it, especially if you love Daredevil, will really, really enjoy it because it’s got the same themes. Eric Oleson is a very smart guy and has his fingers on the pulse of what’s going on in the world at the moment, and he likes to translate that onto the screen, so it’s gonna be something that’s really huge. september 2020|

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J spoiler

When I saw Carnival Row, I knew it was gonna be a hit. A lot of people underestimated Amazon Prime at first, but are now realizing, “Wow, they’re coming out with these mega shows.” Do you think you’re going to be working more with Amazon in the future? Or is the future not on the deck yet because of what’s going on in the world?

Jay Ali

I mean, I think the best shows are the streaming shows at the moment, whether it be Amazon or Netflix or Hulu or anyone like that. I think they’ve just got a lot more freedom to explore story lines and push the boundaries than some of the network shows. In terms of storytelling, yeah, this is something I really want to do. Netflix wet my appetite with that with what they did with Daredevil, and you just look at the other shows they’ve done as well. You look at what Amazon is doing also, not just with the shows they’ve got out at the moment, but the shows on the slate—I mean, you’ve got The Lord

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of the Rings coming out, you’ve got The Wheel of Time coming out. Who knows what the future holds. At the end of the day, you just wanna keep working, but you wanna make sure you do good stuff. And that, for me, is Amazon. They’re doing probably the best stuff at the moment. Look at The Boys and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel—great shows. Their slate is just unbelievable and I’m very fortu-

nate to be in the Amazon family and I’d like to stay there, of course. I’m very lucky to be part of Carnival Row and working with Orlando [Bloom] and Cara [Delevingne] and the rest of the cast who are all so brilliant. And we hope that we can start shooting soon and just finish off this season.

spoiler

Filming hasn’t started back again at all?

Jay Ali

No, no, we haven’t started yet.

Everything’s up in the air. We’re still waiting to see what the word is. It just changes every week.

There’s a lot of things that need to go into place to make sure it’s a safe environment for everyone.

A show like Carnival Row, on average, we have about 200 extras on set when we do those Row scenes and they all have to have makeup and prosthetics. It’s very close proximity work, so they have to figure out how they’re going to get around that. But we’ve got six episodes in the can, so we’ve only got a few more to shoot. Hopefully we’ll get back soon and finish it off and everyone will get to see how good this season is. Carnival Row already has such a big following, but I think this season is really gonna put it on the map.

spoiler

Would you ever date a fan?

Jay Ali

Jay Ali/IMDb/Corey Nickols/Daredevil/Marvel/ABC/Netflix/Bloomers/BBC

Um, I don’t know! Look, as long as you’re a cool person, that’s all that matters to me. Whether you’re a fan or not a fan, I mean, it doesn’t really bother me. I mean, that’s not the only reason you’d be dating me [laughs], because I’m also cool. Because I’m not Ray Nadeem or Kaine in Carnival Row, you know? Some people can get really disappointed when they meet the person outside the character [laughs].

I’m super boring. I’m not like my characters at all. The question should be, would a fan date me?

spoiler

How do you handle pressure on set?

Jay Ali

I don’t really feel it, to be honest with you. I think that we’re really lucky to do what we do. No one’s lives are on the line or anything like that. At the end of the day, we’re there to entertain people.

But no, I don’t feel pressure at all. You know, I’ve done shows that have been cancelled. Been on shows that I thought would do really well. But I think the pressure comes from, like, if the show gets cancelled, what do I do next? You suddenly have this security and then that security is taken away. So I think that can sometimes get to you a little bit, when you’re like, “Alright, well now I’m out of work.” And it could take you a week to find new work; it could take two years to find work again. I think that’s where the pressure comes in.

But in terms of when I’m actually working, that’s when I feel the least amount of pressure because it’s solely about your work.

And when you’ve gotten to that point, you should know how to act. It’s like asking a teacher, “Do you get nervous when you teach students?” No, that’s what you do. The pressure is off of me once I’ve got the job. I’ve got the role, that’s who they want, and it’s up to me to come up with something now. That’s where all the fun begins!

spoiler

What is the most memorable thing you’ve ever experienced on set?

Jay Ali

There were so many things on Daredevil that were really exciting and memorable. But I’d have to say that, recently, the one that’s sticking out in my mind is the first time we walked onto the Row [on Carnival Row]. We did a shot where Cara and I walked down an alleyway and onto the Row. But we didn’t see the setup because we were around the corner getting ready for the shot. They called “action” and we turned the corner and onto the Row. It was the first time all the extras were there and the whole place was set up and all the cameras were up and there were hundreds of people there. When the show comes out you’ll know what scene I’m talking about, it’s the first time you see the Row in the second season. And it was unbelievable.

Because you literally get transported into a different world. There were pucks, there were trolls, there were fairies flying in the air. And for that brief two-minute scene, it felt like you were in a different world. That’s what storytelling is, being transported into a different world, a different life, and for me, that was what happened right then. september 2020|

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A spoiler

Does that give you this kind of great energy to knock it out of the park?

Jay Ali

spoiler

I’m sure it’s amazing to close your eyes and go back to that moment in your imagination.

Jay Ali

Yeah! Absolutely! And you never get bored of it. We’ve done a lot of scenes since. We’ve done some night scenes, and just when everyone’s on the Row and the lights are there. It’s just unbelievable, man. Just really, really magical. That scene was in the first episode, but even when we do a scene like that in the sixth episode, it still blows your mind.

Totally blows your mind. That’s when you sit there and you’re like, “This is amazing. What I do is unbelievable.”

spoiler

Is it easier for you to get creative because the sets are so amazing?

Or do you have to do anything to get into that mindset?

Jay Ali

No, it’s all there! As soon as we get there, we go into hair and makeup, and our wigs are put on, our costumes are put on, our wings are put on. You slowly get into it. Then you walk down to set and onto the Row and you see all the extras. They’re sitting around their little fires and little huts and you get into it straight away. You feel like you’re in that world and it’s just amazing. I remember the first time Remy, my son, ever came to set, seeing his eyes just in awe and wonder of this world being created. It was amazing seeing it for him. That’s probably what I looked like. His eyes were just huge and he was taking in everything.

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spoiler

That’s got to be such a proud dad moment.

Jay Ali

Yeah, it was the first time he’d ever been on set. When I did Daredevil, Marvel had a closed set and no one’s allowed. So [Carnival Row] was the first time he came in. And I remember, we were shooting a scene and he walked in and—oh man, it was amazing! Finally, he can see Dad’s not making it up [laughs]. He loved it and I think I got a few daddy cool points, mostly because I was mates with Orlando and Cara, but he really did love it. And it was real special for me. I’ve waited 12 years for that moment, for him to walk on set and see Daddy doing his work.

It was just amazing because they really looked after him and put him behind the monitors. He actually directed one of the scenes, it’s really funny. There’s a scene with me and Cara. I didn’t even know he was directing it and we were about to start shooting and then I heard this [sounding like his son], “Cameras rolling... action!” And I was like, “That’s my son.” We do the scene and I look behind the monitors and Remy is standing there with his earphones in and then he called “cut.” It was amazing. He just had the time of his life. You know, it’s really lovely being able to provide for him and do all these things, but for him to have experiences like that, he’s never gonna forget that. That was really, really cool.

Of course it does! You always want to do a good job, but especially when your kid’s there, you don’t wanna suck and forget your lines. People getting frustrated because you’re taking so long, but luckily I had a good day. I’m sure him being there played a huge part of it. He relaxes me anyway.

Sometimes things can get a little bit tense [when you’re shooting] and then you look over and see your kid there, staring around in bewilderment and you’re just like, “Yeah, everything’s fine.” I remember when I was struggling to get work and stuff, or I tested for a show and didn’t get it and I’m broke and that job could have really helped. And then he’d be like, “Hey Dad, um, how’s it goin’?”

And I’m like, “Yeah, I’m alright.” And then he’d be like, “Cool...Would you like to watch me play with my toys?” And I’m like, “Yeah, yeah, I would totally love to watch you play with your toys.” And it just puts everything in perspective. So I think I wouldn’t have had such a healthy—well I don’t know if it’s healthy—but as healthy of an outlook on the industry if it wasn’t for him because it kind of just puts everything into perspective. And as long as your kid’s fine and safe and healthy, then everything falls away. As long as they’re alright, then everything’s alright in the world.

A spoiler

Is there any fictional character you wish you met in real life?

Jay Ali

I met him! Mr. T! He was my hero. I turned into an 8-year-old kid when I met him at a Ralph’s grocery store.

Especially in what we do, we always meet people. Like Johnny from Karate Kid, another one who really blew my mind when I met him. But then, at the same time, you get used to it pretty quick when you meet people you grew up watching. I did a movie with

Dianne Wiest, and I remember Dianne Wiest from The Lost Boys, which was one of my favorite movies when I was younger. And it’s really cool! I mean, if you told 15-year-old me you were gonna do a movie with Dianne Wiest in 10 or 12 years, I woulda been like, “You’re crazy.” But that’s what I think about a lot.

I remember when we were shooting that scene when me and Charlie were doing that shootout scene in Daredevil, I remember sitting there going, “Wow. If you told 15-year-old me— even 25-year-old me—that in a few

years time you’re going to be doing this shootout scene in New York on a huge Marvel show,” I’d be like, “You’re crazy!” But that’s the beauty of what we do. Your life can just change in a heartbeat. Sometimes it takes a bit longer, but as long as you’re heading in the right direction, man, there’s no cap on what you’re doing or who you’re working with.

Even last year, if you told me I was gonna be working with Orlando Bloom and Cara Delevingne on an Amazon show, I’d say you’re crazy, even after doing Daredevil because you just don’t think that stuff happens, but it does.

One minute you’re doing nothing, sitting in your underpants watching Over the Top on YouTube, and then the next minute you get a call from your buddy, the showrunner on Daredevil, saying, “I’ve written you a role in Carnival Row.” But that’s how it happens.

That’s how mad life can be. And that’s a true story. I was sitting in my living room. I had just got back from New Orleans shooting The Purge and I was sitting there on YouTube and they had Over the Top, the Sylvester Stallone arm wrestling movie—you remember that one? I used to watch it as a kid.

And then Erik called me and he was like, “Alright dude, I need you to go to Prague.”

spoiler

You know what’s crazy? You and I liked so many of the same things as a child. I don’t know if it’s the time frame we grew up in. Over the Top was one of my favorite movies, too.

And then Mr. T.

Jay Ali

Galaxy, we’re brothers man!

Jay Ali/IMDb/The Fosters/Disney/Freeform/Daredevil/Marvel/ABC/Netflix

spoiler

It’s a wonderful world. There are so many people with the same likes and dislikes, but are from different areas of the world.

Jay Ali

It’s amazing, mate. Look, at the end of the day, we’re all just fans aren’t we? It’s really great to be able to do this. I really enjoy it. Everything has a fandom now. I mean, you wouldn’t say Breaking Bad was a geeky show, but you just get this fanbase. september 2020|

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spoiler

If you could pass on one message for fans out there, what would it be?

Jay Ali

“Just be good to each other and be happy. Enjoy the shows that you watch and do things that make you happy.” That’s what I would want everyone to do. Just love and enjoy everyone and be grateful to have the opportunity to be able to watch these shows. There are a lot of people in the world who have no idea what we’re talking about because they don’t have access to these amazing channels of entertainment that we have. “Thank you for all the support that I’ve ever gotten from you guys.

It’s amazing. I read everyone’s messages and try to get back to everyone.

You make a huge difference to my life and I’m very, very grateful for every single one of you. Just thank you for everything.” That was a lot of stuff.

I didn’t say one thing, I said a lot of things there. But there’s so much to say to these people, because really without you guys, it’s nothing.

Jay Ali/IMDb

Or Ozark. All these things now. TV has really transcended so many boundaries now. A lot of people think when you say “fandoms” you’re just talking about the comic books, but it’s not. Like Carnival Row, they have a fandom. Everything. It’s amazing that people are so passionate about these shows and these shows are touching people in these ways. It’s a really amazing thing to see. When I did Daredevil, just getting messages from people all around the world saying, like, “You know, I was going through a really rough time and this show came along and it really lifted me up and I’m in so much more of a better space.” They wouldn’t say, “You did an amazing job,” but, “Thank you for helping me through a difficult time,” and that’s amazing. Without even knowing this person or what they’re going through, you’ve helped them. At the end of the day, that’s what you wanna do. You want someone to watch your show, and for that half hour or hour, they’re happy.

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Walt Disney Pictures/ Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

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BY: MATTHEW MCLACHLAN

player and popped in more Geek-centric classics, Beauty and the Beast (the animated one, duh) was one of my go-to films as a child. Like millions of people around the world and counting, this movie holds a special place in my heart, and I have no doubt it always will.

But rewatching it as an adult, something dawned on me that I had never realized before. This movie is truly f*cked up. Forget the Stockholm Syndrome, bestiality, or the fact that an adult teaches children to eat five dozen eggs, this movie has some pretty backwards ideas that audiences of all ages just accepted, allowing it to ballroom dance into our hearts. So, I thought it would be best to have all those points brought to your attention with the possibility of it ruining your childhood. And who better to break down all of these bass-ackwards ideas while poking holes in a children’s movie than a full-grown man?

That’s right, nobody.

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Walt Disney Pictures/ Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

BEFORE MY OLDER BROTHER TOOK OVER THE VHS

The first and probably most ridiculous aspect of this film, is one that no one ever talks about. In the first 60 seconds, we are told that a saucy enchantress went door to door, pretended to be homeless, and punished strangers who didn’t let her stay in their house and we as an audience were all like, “Yeah, that tracks. I’m good with that.” What the hell was she trying to punish exactly, good parenting? She’s lucky someone even answered the door! I don’t answer the door for my super when I know he’s coming by and you don’t see him turning me into a sexy dog.

Now, I know the film claims the main reason he was transformed was because he was rude and selfish, but, come on, you’d be mean too if you’ve got four thousand servants and you’re the one answering the door! Not to mention, if you look at the timeline, the beast was only 11 or 12 when he was cursed, so of course he was a dickhead. The amount of terrible shit I did by the time I was 12 is astonishing, but you don’t see my parents turning me into an erotically

charged buffalo. Someone call the magical police ‘cause I’m sure this enchantress has broken more than a few ethical codes.

Personally, one of the more upsetting parts of this film is the terrible treatment of the servants. They didn’t ask for all this! They were just doing their job and got turned into furniture because their master was an asshole and some lady-wizard got bored. Don’t they have a union rep to complain to? I mean, can you imagine sitting in the servant’s quarters, minding your own damn business, counting your little stack of francs or tuppence or whatever, dreaming of a better life where someone calls you master, and all of a sudden BOOM! You’re a plate. Your doink of a master gets turned into an unfathomably f*ckable bear and you’re breakable. Yeah, hey, other plate-servant? Let me know when we gotta do that song and dance for that white woman being held hostage upstairs, I’ll just be chillin’ in this cabinet until I’m forced to fight villagers with weapons and try not to think about my mother telling me I should’ve married the baker with his tray, like always. I never thought I’d rather live in a quiet village doing literally the same crap every damn day than living in a literal castle, but bonjour!

Here we are.

One of my biggest gripes about this film is probably the simplest one, and that’s the fact that the Beast just kinda sucks. He’s mean to everyone around him, he threatens to starve a helpless young woman, and for being a Beast, he can’t even fight wolves good. Isn’t the whole premise of this story to not judge a book by its cover? Well, the cover’s not great, but we’ve opened the first couple pages and it’s also a douchebag. I don’t give a care if you did give me an entire library, Beast, you’re a crap person and you kept my dad in a dungeon.

And when the villagers attack at the end and it’s time for the Beast to really show up, what does he do? He sits and mopes in the dark while his ENTIRE furniture/kitchenware staff fight to protect his castle! That’s more loyalty than someone creating an

entire musical number in the local tavern about how great you are, but BARELY. And look, I’m aware it’s not entirely fair that I’m going hard on a Disney movie and that all films have things you can zoom in on and poke fun at, (which I intend to do) but don’t let the ranting of a sarcastic know-it-all in a comic-centered free magazine deter you from enjoying this incredible piece of art and animated cinema. Watch it with young ones and witness their amazement when they first see the Beast come on screen, with friends to relive your collective childhood nostalgia, or as a pallet cleanser from watching the Bachelor every night and crying into your wine. Whatever it is, watch, enjoy, and allow these points to just be funny anecdotes with friends and loved ones. And hey, who knows, maybe they’ll help show that you’ve got all the characteristics of the coolest person in town. Though, I don’t remember the song saying, “No one quips on a 30-year-old film like Gaston,” but hey, at least you’re no Beast. september 2020|

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BY: ETHAN BREHM

B

lack Panther changed what superhero movies could be.

The first superhero movie to be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Picture, Black Panther’s enormous recognition, with many calling it the best Marvel film yet, stems from the actor’s nuanced performance. Boseman helped pave the way by starring in the first movie in the MCU with a predominantly black cast. Boseman, who never seemed to deliver a bad performance, delivered his role as T’Challa with an emotional depth yet to be seen in a superhero film.

He challenged his fellow MCU stars to step up their game, which has shown through in the projects that followed.

What will never be lost in all of this was how Boseman, delivering his career performance, was already aware that he was battling stage 3 colon cancer. He persevered through chemotherapy and the physical, mental, and emotional toll that this terrible disease infected him with. Developing relationships with two little kids with terminal cancer throughout the filming process, Boseman gave his valuable and limited time to make a difference in the lives of others.

Among Black Panther, Boseman also filmed Avengers: Infinity War, Avengers: Endgame, 21 Bridges, Da 5 Bloods, and the upcoming Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom with the knowledge that his time on this Earth may be limited. He could have easily bowed out and said, “Enough’s enough.” However, he knew the kind of impact his performances would have. He took on the responsibility to help make this world a better place, and, if nothing else, provide

millions of people with enjoyment and brief escapes from their mundane lives.

Rising to fame relatively late in his career at the age of 35, Boseman’s demand in the industry spread like wildfire. He was a one-of-a-kind talent; the type of actor whose presence in a film had become synonymous with quality. From his breakout role as Jackie Robinson in 2013’s 42 to his poignant turn as Thurgood Marshall in 2017’s Marshall, Boseman gave his all to every part he played, becoming a go-to talent in Hollywood. His unique ability to transform himself into any role while bringing his own irreplaceable charisma skyrocketed him to his A-list status and will never be replicated. We lost a true talent.

MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. ONCE SAID, “WHATEVER YOUR LIFE’S WORK IS, DO IT WELL.” BOSEMAN WENT ABOVE AND BEYOND THAT. HIS UNTHINKABLE BATTLE CHALLENGES US TO PUSH THROUGH THE DAYS WHEN WE THINK WE CAN’T PUSH THROUGH ANY MORE. T’CHALLA IS A FICTIONAL SUPERHERO, BUT CHADWICK BOSEMAN WAS A REAL-LIFE HERO THE ENTIRE WORLD CAN EMULATE.

REST IN POWER

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Lesa Wilson/Angela Murray

SPOILER MAGAZINE

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You talk to her and there’s just a joy in her voice. She’s been on such a unique path that began with American Idol and beauty pageants as a young adult, leading to her current career as an actor, which is just starting to bloom.

With dreams of being in show business ever since watching The Little Mermaid in the movie theater as a little girl, Lesa couldn’t have asked for better results.

She’s seen ups and downs throughout her young career, but she has no regrets whatsoever. Each experience has helped mold her and put her in a position to thrive, which is exactly what she’s doing now.

Fresh off stints on two DC shows, Doom Patrol and Stargirl, this is only the beginning for Lesa.

Her character Bobbie on Stargirl is a fan favorite who will hopefully make a return in the second season.

Lesa’s passion and enthusiasm for life is impossible not to notice.

We were fortunate enough to talk with her about her childhood, her favorite foods, her preference on Chris Hemsworth’s hair, and her crazy experiences with ghosts, all topped with her amazingly infectious laugh.

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interview: galaxy Intro: ethan brehm spoiler

How was your childhood?

lesa wilson

My childhood was wonderful. I often joke and say I was raised in the Brady Bunch because we were so happy. I was born in Rome, Georgia with my three siblings. I have two brothers and a sister. My parents are still married. They still live in our family home back in Rome and it’s absolutely beautiful. It’s in the middle of the woods. I grew up on a farm. We have 24 acres of land. My childhood was a lot of fun. I was a tomboy. I think that’s kinda like the thing that happens when you grow up in a country town like that. I just loved running around barefoot and acting like I was the king of the world. And it was great because my siblings always did it with me. So it was like I had these three awesome cohorts in crime. It was fantastic!

Lesa Wilson/Angela Murray/Coins for Love/Swirl Films/TV One/Stargirl/Doom Patrol/DC Comics

lesa wilson is an amazing spirit

spoiler

I know you’re a singer and you were Miss Georgia, but when did acting come into play?

lesa wilson

I’ve always wanted to be in the arts. I knew when I was a little kid that I had a really strong interest in it. I always say that I blame it on Ariel and The Little Mermaid. My dad took me to see that film when I was a little girl and I think it was actually the first film I had ever seen in the theater. I fell in love with Ariel and I wanted to be a cartoon voice. So my first interest was in being a voiceover artist.

I think I was like 8 or 9-yearsold at that point. From there, I stayed engrossed in stories.

I was an avid reader and loved anything that was otherworldly.

Anything science fiction was my jam. I did theater class when I was in school, and really enjoyed doing musical theater, specifically. But acting in film and television didn’t come until later because I didn’t really realize it was an option for me. I think that I had to go on the path that I’ve been on to realize it was a viable option for a career. That came about in my mid-20s. And then I just pursued it like it was the only thing that mattered.

DC Entertainment/Warner Bros./HBO/Amazing Stories/NBCUniversal/Disney/Apple/

L

spoiler

The pageantry—when did that start?

lesa wilson

That started in high school.

I was on the homecoming court and I was first runner-up to Homecoming Queen senior year and I loved being in gowns and dressing up. I think that was early preparation for red carpet life. And then I did a few stair pageants and got into modeling. I was on a modeling job and met the director of the South Carolina USA pageant and she came up to me and told me she thought I would be perfect for the Georgia pageant, since that was where I was from.

And she wanted to connect me with the director.

Right about that time, I had made it on American Idol, so the contract kept me from being able to compete for Miss Georgia USA. So I was doing this music thing and then when the contract ended, they were calling me each year. Probably two years had passed from when I had made it on september 2020|

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w American Idol and could compete for Miss Georgia. It was the last year before I was going to age out and wouldn’t be able to compete again. So they called and they were like, “Hey, this is it. This is your final chance. Do you wanna go for it?” And I said, “Yeah, absolutely!” So I went for it and I wasn’t expecting to win. I go into everything with the mindset of, “What can I learn from this and how can I become better?” So my goal was to really work on being more refined because I knew I wanted to stay in media and be on camera, so every opportunity I got to refine that, I took. And then I ended up winning and made it to second runner-up in the Miss USA pageant. And it was just the most amazing experience I’ve had. I loved it so much.

spoiler

It was presented to me by my vocal coach at the time. I was a waitress working at Chili’s in my hometown and she called me at the restaurant and told me she wanted me to go to these auditions being held in Atlanta the next morning. It was the first season of American Idol when I initially auditioned. I was just so tired and didn’t think that I would even be able to make it happen. I knew I would be getting off work

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at midnight and then traveling to Atlanta the next morning. And then actually being fit for anything to be able to perform, it was just a little bit daunting. And on top of it, that was my first audition ever. But my brother was my roommate at the time and I told him what was happening. He was so adamant that I go to the audition that he offered to drive me. He woke me up at 4:30 in the morning and I slept all the way to Atlanta. And he stayed with me the entire day while I was working on trying to even make it through the first cut. I got into that audition after waiting 6 or 7 hours. So I go in and there are like, four other people in the room with me. It was my turn and I literally couldn’t get a sound to come out of my body [laughs] as if someone had taken my vocal chords and just squeezed them. So I left there with my tail between my legs, so upset. But I had the audacity to

sit around and wait until the end of the day to see if I made the cut [laughs]. Because there was a part of me that really believed that that was supposed to be a part of my path. And so then obviously I did not make the cut the first season of American Idol and I went home and felt like an utter failure and cried myself to sleep as my brother consoled me. The next year, I was watching it on TV with serious anticipation of trying again. But I had more experience under my belt at that point. I had been performing, I had been on stages, I had been working on making music with friends. I was no longer afraid of auditions. So season 3 rolled around and I was on a modeling job in Hawaii. Once again, American Idol auditions were coming around and they were in Oahu two days after my job. So I just extended my stay in Hawaii. I was still working with the same vocal coach, so I called her

You42/Amazing Stories/NBCUniversal/Disney/ Apple/Coins for Love/Swirl Films/TV One

lesa wilson

Lesa Wilson/Stargirl/DC Comics/DC Entertainment/Warner Bros./Bluff City Law/NBCUniversal/Pretty Funny

These are multiple careers typically given to multiple people, but you’ve gotten all of them.

You’re a multi-faceted artist.

What led you to American Idol and how was that experience?

and told her what I was doing. She was very excited that I was going to try again and that I hadn’t let defeat stop me. So I went and I made it through the first cut, and I went back the next day and made it through the cut again. And I think I made it through four cuts before I got into the room with Paula, Randy, and Simon. And then I got the Golden Ticket. I was going to Hollywood. And it was the most crazy, surreal experience to be in that room with them and to be doing something that was associated with my dreamscape—with the things I could see myself doing in my life—and for it to actually be tangible and happening. So I went to Hollywood a few weeks after that and I made all the cuts there. And my final performance was the one where I got kicked off the show. So I was in the final 32, and it was such a wild ride. But it opened so many doors for me.

spoiler

American Idol is huge right now, but back in season 3, it was the biggest thing in the universe.

That’s the year Fantasia won. So if you had won, there would be no Fantasia. It would be Lesa.

lesa wilson

[laughs] Well, I believe our paths unfold as they’re supposed to. I believe that I was meant to take the path that I’ve been on and I’m so happy about it because I was able to do so many other things. dreaming in the movie theater watching Ariel and The Little Mermaid was not wrong. I would not say no to a record deal in the future, but music, I think, is just supposed to be an accessory to what I’m doing.

I don’t necessarily believe that it’s the path. I’m a storyteller and I’m meant to tell stories that move people and that’s my purpose

E spoiler

spoiler

What song did you perform in the semi-finals?

lesa wilson

“Come to My Window” by Melissa Etheridge. Yeah, I’ll never forget that song. Burned into my memory because I blew my voice out and it’s like, the only thing you can find on YouTube and it was so terrible [laughs].

Do you think the current situation with COVID has put a halt to your plans? Or has it lit a fire under you to push forward?

lesa wilson

I think that it’s giving me the opportunity to prepare for 2021. At the end of 2019 and the beginning of 2020, I had done so much work that it positioned me to where, this downtime, I’ve been able to focus on gathering my materials and really solidifying my team and focusing on the next steps. Coming up

spoiler

After American Idol, you got a big singing contract, but now you’re acting. Do you think you’re right where you’re supposed to be?

lesa wilson

Without a doubt. I think the best is yet to come. I think about my career path and how I’ve gotten to where I am at this point, and I am so excited for how much bigger and better it can be. Because it tells me that little girl who was

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with a strategy to go from where I’m at in my career and level up.

Because now it’s a strategy game.

Up to this point, it’s been, “Show how talented you are. Show how much range you have and how much you can do so that people understand that you can do the job.” It’s kind of the name of the game at the beginning of your acting career. It’s proving you have the chops to be there and stand across from A-list actors and do the same job they’re doing and have been doing for decades.

So that’s the challenge I’ve had up to this point. But now we’re switching to a place where we are focused on, “How do I get to where I’m in the position of the A-listers?” So I would say COVID has offered me an opportunity to focus without having to worry about the details of creating characters. I have been writing during this time and that’s been really great, and I’ve had projects that have fulfilled me creatively, but as far as moving forward after COVID, I think that this downtime has been extremely valuable.

spoiler

You have been on two DC television shows, Doom Patrol, and now CW’s Stargirl, which is an amazing series. I think it’s one of the best filmed and written shows right now between all the DC shows. A lot of people don’t realize that a lot of the shows from DC are done by the same team, Geoff Johns, Greg Berlanti, and all those people. How does it feel working with DC and Warner Brothers and CW and that whole team? And where do you see yourself with DC in the future?

lesa wilson

It’s a huge privilege. I feel like everything that I’ve done up to this point led to being able to be here and be a part of these projects. And I don’t take it lightly.

For me, it’s such a highlight and I’m just so thankful to have been a part of it. Moving forward, my hope is that Bobbie [in Stargirl] is

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back in season 2. My mind goes wild with where the story can go, but I kind of want her to join Shiv and become an evil person, I really do [laughs].

Because how interesting would that be? She’s so brainwashed and so pitiful. For her to switch and become so empowered, it would be fun for me to play, and I can only hope that Geoff could see the storyline going that way.

So we’ll see what the future holds, and I’m just gonna continue exercising gratitude in knowing that even what I have done up to this point is a dream come true. So I’m just going to stay in that thankful place.

spoiler

You’re character from Stargirl is becoming a fan favorite. Everyone loves Bobbie. You’re gonna be one of those action figures that no one buys at first, but then becomes the most expensive one in the whole catalogue. Do you sense that a lot of people are leaning towards your character in Stargirl?

lesa wilson

I do. You know, I’ve received so many messages from people who have told me how they would love to see my story play out. And how they want Bobbie to be in the rest of the episodes. So I have felt all of the love from the DC Universe fans. It has just been overwhelming and amazing. I love that people can see themselves in Bobbie and see elements of her that they want to cheer for and root for. She’s a tortured soul. She’s definitely in a place where she needs love, but she’s also one of

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Lesa Wilson/Angela Murray/Coins for Love/Swirl Films/TV One

the most interesting characters because she kind of stands out.

It’s almost like she’s the one who doesn’t necessarily belong, like you can tell she has been stripped out of her life. It’s really cool to play a character like that and see her come to life and be so accepted and loved by the fans.

w spoiler

lesa wilson

The casting for this project is just spot-on. Everybody is exactly who they should be. It’s Geoff’s comic, so it’s so cool to see it come from the comics to a script. Then you see the people who they’ve chosen to play it out in real life. And then, once we’ve gone through hair and makeup and we’re all in costume, it’s like, “This universe makes sense! It matches the comic book!”

spoiler

Would you ever date a fan?

lesa wilson

Uhhh, I don’t know. Everything is based on the person. I feel strange about the fan thing, because I never want to be in a relationship with someone who constantly puts me on a pedestal. I wanna be with someone who I can just be a human being with and live my life and not have to worry about cons-

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tantly rising to certain expectations. So that’s kind of one of those things I feel like’s a slippery slope. I dunno. It would be hard for me to be in a situation where I would be dating a fan.

After American Idol, I had a stalker who found out where I lived and it was so scary. And he was leaving love notes at my house every couple of days. There was this one letter—we actually turned it over to the police because it was getting really weird—but basically he left this yellow ribbon inside the envelope and was like, “If you want to meet me, then hang this ribbon on your mailbox between these hours on this day and I’ll make sure to drive by to see it.” And I was like, “Should I be waiting with the police during that time instead? Because this is really weird!” So that was really scary. And he eventually went away, but it was such a weird experience to have someone actually seek out where I live and leave me handwritten love notes.

spoiler

You must’ve felt so uncomfortable, because that’s your space. Especially at night time when you’re sleeping.

lesa wilson

It’s one of the reasons whenever I pick a place to live, I tend to find gated communities with security, and you have to be buzzed in, like, fifteen times sorta thing [laughs].

spoiler

Who is your celebrity crush?

lesa wilson

Chris Hemsworth, hands down [laughs].

Zero question about it. Listen, if I’m ever on set with him, and especially if I ever play his love interest, I’m gonna need counseling [laughs]. No, I’m just kidding! He’s married and he has a beautiful family.

Lesa Wilson/Stargirl/Doom Patrol/DC Comics/DC Entertainment/Warner Bros.

I know season 2 is already signed and I believe there are even talks about season 3. The show is just so good with so many good actors on it. Other than yourself, there’s Luke Wilson, Amy Smart, and the main actress who plays Stargirl, Brec Bassinger.

N

spoiler

So you’re one of those people who just naturally looks fit. You can eat a big cheese pizza and a couple of hamburgers, while other people have to work out 5 hours a day.

lesa wilson

I tend to go for a little bit of the clean cut short hair look.

just like, he eventually goes to another level. But I dunno. Be interesting. Be kind. And don’t be a creep. I’m all about making friends, but I get a little bit weirded out when people come at me in fan style, you know? So just be a real person.

spoiler

spoiler

spoiler

Hemsworth with long hair or short hair?

lesa wilson

I love Chris Hemsworth, he is a great actor, but Thor has taken him to another universe.

lesa wilson

He was obviously a fantastic actor before he landed the role of Thor, but seeing him as Thor, it’s just a totally different level. There’s something about being a superhero that just elevates your status.

So pretty much anything he does moving forward is pure gold because he’s Thor. And he will always be Thor.

spoiler

Are you single now?

lesa wilson Yes I am!

spoiler

HBO/Bluff City Law/NBCUniversal/Amazing Stories/Disney/Apple

How would someone get your special attention?

What’s your biggest pet peeve?

lesa wilson

Cigarette smoke in close proximity to where other people are sitting or eating, or in a place where they can’t get away from it. I’m not a smoker. I’ve never been a smoker, and cigarette smoke makes my throat hurt really badly. So anytime I’m around someone who’s smoking like that, it makes me so upset.

If that’s what you wanna do, just don’t do it around me.

spoiler

Do you work out on a daily basis?

[laughs] I try to avoid eating that badly, because really, truly maintaining your physique is mostly done in the kitchen. So as long as my diet is dialed in—and I’m not perfect, especially during COVID I have gone off the rails a few times with ice cream and all of the things that I love the most that I don’t allow myself to have on a regular basis. I’m just like, “What does it matter? I’m not gonna be on film for a while, so I can just get it back together towards the end of quarantine!” [laughs] I just find it really important to make sure you’re putting good food into your body so you don’t have to worry about killing yourself in the gym five, six, seven days a week in order to maintain your physique. I get really sore and really tired if I work out too much, so I try to conserve my energy as much as I can and just do workouts that I enjoy and make sure that I’m staying physical in some way.

lesa wilson

Not daily, no. But I do workout about 2 to 3 times a week.

lesa wilson

Don’t be a creeper [laughs]. Because you get a lot of messages on Instagram and on Twitter, and I’m totally fine with it, but it’s a bit of an echo chamber. A lot of the same stuff over and over again.

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spoiler

What’s your favorite food?

lesa wilson

That’s a hard one because I love food.

Hmm…angel hair pasta with marinara sauce. It’s so boring, but I love pasta. I’m an Italian food lover.

spoiler

Do you like the pasta to be wet with sauce, or a dryer pasta with just a little bit of sauce?

lesa wilson

I like a happy medium between the two because if there’s too much sauce, then it becomes about the sauce and you miss out on the pasta. Sometimes I’ll even eat pasta by itself. I don’t want it super dry, but I want it to have some good flavor.

spoiler

Do you believe in ghosts?

lesa wilson

I do, wholeheartedly. I lived in this apartment that was haunted. I came home from work one night and I could hear music blasting from outside the building. I thought it was very curious. I’m like, “Why is my neighbor being such a jerk and playing music so loud?” So then I get upstairs to my apartment door, and the music is coming from my apartment. I was like, “Nobody has been here.” So I push open the door and jump back, like I’m afraid someone is gonna come out and attack me.

I turn on the light and furniture had been moved around as if there had been a fight in my living room. There was a chair that had been smashed into the wall and there was a hole in the wall behind the chair.

And this music was just raging on the

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things pass me, but nothing to that extent.

That was the craziest thing that has ever happened to me. I was like 19-years-old.

spoiler

Which celebrities do you feel are most influential?

lesa wilson

I think as far as environmentalism, Leonardo DiCaprio. For women in the film business, I’m gonna say Reese Witherspoon.

They are the two that, in my sphere of influence, have the most authority.

spoiler

If you could say one thing to your fans, what would it be?

lesa wilson

“I’m so grateful. I’m so grateful for the support. For everyone who has been cheering for me along the way and wants to see me continue to grow and be more successful, it means everything to me. And I’m just so thankful.”

Lesa Wilson/Angela Murray/Shaye Babb

radio. So I turned it off and I called my roommate, who was the last person who had been there. I asked her if she had turned the radio on, and she was like, “No, I turned everything off when I left.” So that was the first thing that happened. But then, after that, my roommate would wake up and go into the kitchen and dishes would be moved around and our cabinet doors would be wide open. I came home another day and our back door, which was deadbolted from the inside—and my roommate was out of town—that door was wide open and flapping in the wind.

And there was one night—this is mega creepy—where I was in bed and woke up feeling like there was something on me and choking me.

Like, trying to kill me. I managed to fling myself out of bed and started army crawling. And it literally feels like something is pulling me backwards. I got to the door and opened it up, and it finally releases. And I just lay there sweating bullets because I have no idea

what just happened to me. This was the creepiest thing I’ve ever experienced. The temperature in my room skyrocketed. It was so hot. I was pouring sweat. The next morning, I go to tell my roommate about it—and mind you, we share a wall—and she said, “Something really strange happened to me last night. My room was like an ice box.”

She told me the time she woke up and it was like, 3:30 in the morning, which was the time I was having my issue. And I asked her if she heard anything when she woke up and she said, “No, I heard nothing.”

She heard nothing! So after that, we decided we were gonna move out. We broke our lease and moved to a new place down the road. And I haven’t had any kind of experiences like that since. I have had experiences where I’ve felt things or seen

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Prior to the 1980s, most movies (with the exception of musicals of course) had maybe a handful of original tunes backing the goings-on of their characters. But thanks to the popularity of soundtracks from certain ‘60s and ‘70s films, most notably American Graffiti, Easy Rider, The Graduate, and Saturday Night Fever, the following decade went all-in with underscoring their films, not just relying on traditional film scores—though many utilized both. But

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what happened was, the compilations of pop songs were often becoming more notable than the composed scores, and rising out of that popularity we got some of the biggest soundtracks of all time.

A great soundtrack goes beyond just one or two songs—that would be too easy. The great ones manage to compile an assortment of recordings that eternally fit together to immerse us into movies we love.

If you grew up in the ‘80s, you undoubtedly wore out the mixes from your favorite John Hughes films, while baby boomers likely had the soundtrack from The Big Chill on repeat. Many of us can easily recall the songs from Dirty Dancing, Footloose, and Pretty in Pink, but what about the more forgotten-about soundtracks that affected their respective movies in the same way, but just failed to garner a certain cultural ubiquity? Soundtracks allow us to take home us a piece of our favorite films, and even let us live inside those worlds for a little while, which is why a good soundtrack is almost never mutually exclusive with a good movie. However, there can be some exceptions—and there are. Some of these albums are from well-known films, but simply seem to get forgotten about when the conversation of “greatest soundtracks” ever comes up, while others are from movies that have been shrouded with just as much obscurity as the songs themselves.

Florian Renner/Sony/TDK/Coca Cola/ Zapped!/Embassy Pictures

by: ethan brehm

Below are some of many that have flown under the radar over the years (in order of release)

Zapped!

Appealing to those who desire to relive their high school days from the ‘80s, the soundtrack backing Scott Baio’s teen comedy Zapped!, about a teen scientist who develops telekinesis, will undoubtedly appeal to fans with a taste for poppy power ballads and relentlessly cheerful pop-rock vocals of that era. However, the album does so with a committed conviction that’s admirable. Though none of these songs necessarily “hold up” by today’s standards, and they’re all performed by fairly obscure acts circa 1982, they’re still an adequate snapshot of what teen life was like during that decade, in both sound and content.

(1982)

The

Highlights Plain Jane - “Shoot the Moon” - “They teach us how to punctuate/But we just want to graduate” is one of literally a couple-dozen on-the-nose lyrics from this song about the agonies of being in school. Despite itself, the tune is catchy and finds the charm in its silliness.

The Keane Brothers “Tryin’ to Kill a Saturday Night” - The tight musicianship of this song by The Keane Brothers feels akin to something you’d hear in an Eddie Money hit, but the pop duo holds their own here and cranks out a solid recording with some killer harmonies sprinkled in.

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Night of the Comet (1984)

The

Highlights Revolver - “Unbelievable” Look this one up on Spotify if you can. It’s worthy of being added to at least a few of your playlists.

Chris Farren & Amy Holland “Learn to Love Again” If this soulfully cheesy love duet makes you want to dust off your old Michael McDonald records, just know that his wife is the female voice singing on the track and one of the only acts on this list that has her own Wikipedia page.

Revolver - “Tell Me Yourself” Man, I really wish this band didn’t have such a generic name so I could find more of their music. But their 2nd track (of three) on this album is Elvis Costello-esque by nature with its mix of dancehall influence and a jangly post-punk chorus.

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Night of the Comet/Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc./Where the Boys Are ‘84/TriStar Pictures/Porky’s/20th Century Studios

Thom Eberhardt’s 1984 horror/ comedy/sci-fi movie about how a comet passing overhead has turned everyone on earth into zombies has become a cult favorite over the years, and its soundtrack has garnered a similar recognition. Consisting of largely unknown artists, the album refuses to conform to one specific style, much like the film itself. With a lot of great melodies, it’s tempting to research some of the talents on display here, but many of them frustratingly return no results on the Google machine.

The

Highlights

Toronto - “Girls Night Out” The only non-original track from the album is also one of the most memorable. This anthem sung by the Canadian rock group, who somehow blends the vocal stylings of Heart’s Ann Wilson and Rush’s Geddy Lee, doesn’t settle on just being a straightforward rock track, but evolves and builds as it goes, featuring a killer bridge as well.

Jude Cole - “Hot Nights” This road rocker plays as the girls drive down to Florida.

Shandi - “Seven Day Heaven” Mixing calypso steelpans with ‘80s synths, singer-songwriter Shandi’s theme plays over a couple of scenes and embodies the film’s tone perfectly. I can never get this one out of my head.

Porky’s Revenge!

Peter Beckett - “Jennie” The film’s finale features the typical unrealistic in-movie song about the main character, sung by her love interest who’s competing for her affection. But this time, the song is catchy and executed in a memorable way. It’s corny and silly and just the thing we need in this otherwise-unexciting picture.

(1985)

Where the Boys Are ‘84 (1984)

The remake to the 1960 teen movie classic, Where the Boys Are ‘84 doesn’t quite have the same cultural impact and just may be the very definition of an unnecessary remake, but still has enough appeal that makes for a fairly enjoyable and harmless outing. A big part of that charm is due to a really catchy set of songs.

The spring break film, set in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, has a soundtrack to match that wild energy. There’s a mix of original tunes and modern covers of old ‘50s songs, including Gene Vincent’s “Be-Bop-a-Lula” and Little Richard’s “Rip it Up,” the latter of which did not make the album.

The

The third installment in this sex comedy trilogy isn’t necessarily leagues above the previous film(s), but what sets the juvenile farce apart from its predecessors is a rockin’ soundtrack, which can make or break even the worst movies in the world. While most films set the tone for their soundtrack, Porky’s Revenge! gets overshadowed by its music and remains watchable because of it. Somehow managing to get former Rockpile frontman Dave Edmunds to produce and assemble a collection of both original and cover tracks made specifically for this film by well-established rock legends, such as George Harrison, Jeff Beck, Robert Plant, and Willie Nelson, the studio lucked out with pairing their ridiculous romp with an absolute brilliant collection of songs, which undoes any disdain this movie has ever received.

Highlights Dave Edmunds - “High School Nights” - The opening track sets the bar high with an incredibly catchy original, while also establishing a tone that the rest of the songs manage to keep up with.

Jeff Beck - “Sleepwalk” Becks’ hypnotizing take on the already-mesmerizing classic by Santo & Johnny is executed with the guitar legend’s signature balance of distortion and warmth. september APRIL 2020|

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The Return of the Living Dead (1985)

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The

Highlights The Cramps - “Surfin’ Dead” This sardonic earworm adequately sums up the quirky tone of the film, and makes for a killer addition to any Halloween playlist!

T.S.O.L. - “Nothin’ For You” If unfamiliar with the punk group T.S.O.L, you may think the raspy vocals are that of Alice Cooper (which would also be fitting), but that may be by design. This is one of the group’s more accessible tunes, perhaps unintentionally emitting a synth-pop influence, but also keeping with the macabre vibe of this film.

Roky Erickson - “Burn the Flames” - Perhaps nobody better than Erickson to contribute a song to this zombie film, the oft-imaginative and expressive songwriter’s original recording stands out amidst the raucous melodies of the rest of the album, but his 6-minute epic is not one you want to gloss over.

SSQ - “Tonight (We’ll Make Love Until We Die)” - Even though this tune strays away from the film’s punk sensibilities with a dance beat and a wailing electric guitar, it’s haunting production seems to fit in well amidst the dark tone of the others.

The Return of the Living Dead/Orion Pictures/TerrorVision/Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc./Over the Top/Warner Bros.

Not only an underrated soundtrack, but an underrated film, The Return of the Living Dead is pretty important in the lineage of horror, as it gave us the lore that zombies like to eat brains and the first time the living dead were seen running. The soundtrack, itself, features the likes of punk rock and death rock acts such as The Cramps, T.S.O.L, 45 Grave, and the Flesh Eaters, earning an underground reputation that fits in perfectly with the movie it represents, and, more importantly, one of the things that makes the film work so well, regardless of how you feel about the genre. A mix of originals and pre-existing songs, the film is perhaps the first one to fuse zombies and the punk scene together this effectively.

TerrorVision (1986)

While Richard Band, brother of the film’s producer Charles Band, provided the experimentally wacky (and spooky) musical score, the horror-comedy also features five songs (three vocal, two instrumental) from Los Angeles-based art rock group, The Fibonaccis. The songs range from hard rock to lounge jazz to space-age jazz (which blends the stylings of The B-52s and Esquivel) to space-age rock (which just straight up sounds like The B-52s—but maybe even weirder). There were hopes that the success of the film would bring attention to the band, but unfortunately TerrorVision didn’t really earn much success until it reached the home video market.

Nonetheless, the coinciding album is a fun one to say the least.

The

Highlights The Fibonaccis - “TerrorVision” - Vocalist Magie Song sounds absolutely alien on this theme song with a brilliant delivery that aptly matches the intentional oddity of the movie.

The Fibonaccis - “Advice to a Mutant” - This cheeky lounge parody quotes a line from the classic 1927 musical Show Boat’s “Ol’ Man River,” and also has a lyric that goes, “There’s protoplasm on the floor/There’s so much more to you.” I mean, what else do you really need to know?

over the top (1987)

You want epic rock anthems? Sylvester Stallone movies are a great place to start. Backing his 1987 film about arm wrestling and father-son relationships is a soundtrack that’s representative of what was once all but a prerequisite

for the actor to join any project. Featuring the likes of Kenny Loggins, Eddie Money, Sammy Hagar, and Asia, Over the Top keeps the guitar shrills constant and the arm pumping at a maximum.

The

Highlights Robin Zander - “In This Country” - This song perfectly underscores the film’s emotional final moments as the credits begin to roll. I dare you not to get goosebumps.

Kenny Loggins - “Meet Me Half Way” - Move over Top Gun and Footloose, this de facto theme song

by Loggins is basically the objective high point of the album and the movie.

Asia - “Gypsy Soul” - A fantastic road trip song with a driving beat and a deliciously assertive hook. september 2020|

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(1988)

The

Highlights Overshadowed over time by Spike Lee’s 1986 debut She’s Gotta Have It and his 1989 masterpiece Do the Right Thing, the necessity of watching School Daze has seemed to be forgotten about. The film opened up the dialogue about taboo issues within Black American culture, having the awkward conversations most were too afraid to have. Lee lessens the blow and finds creative ways to air painful laundry by masking the discussion behind effective musical numbers and diegetic edits, rather than simply presenting over-expository dialogue. Many of these songs are performed by characters in the movie, whether in the context of the musical number or simply a band performing on stage.

EU - “Da Butt” The soul-funk mashup earned the group One Hit Wonder status, but “Da Butt” is more than just a novelty song. It’s one that seems to unite the two feuding sides on campus in the movie—albeit briefly—while also posing the dilemma of needing a distraction from the issues to be the only thing that can bring us together.

Jigaboos and Wannabees Chorus - “Straight and Nappy” The first real musical number, taking us out of the setting of the film for a few minutes, blends classical jazz with traditional broadway razzle-dazzle, pairing the production with truly brilliant choreography. This is not to detract from the deceivingly deep-rooted issues underneath the flashy presentation.

Keith John - “I Can Only Be Me” If you didn’t read the liner notes, you would swear this ballad was sung by Stevie Wonder, himself. Wonder writes and produces the track, but it’s John who does his spot-on impersonation of the Motown legend.

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School Daze/Columbia Pictures/Spike Lee/Road House/Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure/Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc.

School Daze

Road House (1989)

Bill & Ted’s excellent ADVENTURE (1989)

In a movie about two clueless The valley boys who are prophesied to write a song that will bring peace and harmony to the universe 700 years into Extreme - “Play With Me” the future, a killer soundtrack Serving as the background would make sense. Yet few refor the iconic mall scene, member/realize how near-perExtreme’s fast-fingered riffs fect this collection of songs acare most reminiscent of Van tually is. Almost entirely made Halen’s “Eruption”, but the up of original tracks by relatively melodic hook takes on a life obscure artists (sans Extreme), of its own, thankfully never this excellent soundtrack puts straying far from its progenitogether a cohesive assortment tor, to the delight of the film’s of hard rock tunes that, if we two title characters. didn’t know any better, we could assume were always destined Robbie Robb featuring Steto be with one another. After ve Salas - “In Time” listening, we can’t imagine one A beautiful love ballad that I song not being included, and secretly used to simp to in high likewise if one were absent, it school. would throw off the flow of the whole album.

Power Tool - “Two Heads Are Better Than One” A fun rocker that serves as the pseudo-anthem to this adventure-comedy.

Highlights

When it comes to gritty southern blues, perhaps no other movie from the ‘80s (or any other decade for that matter) embodies the vibe better than the Patrick Swayze vehicle Road House. About a bouncer at a roadside bar, the film has its own house band, fronted by Jeff Healey, which plays several blues rock covers. The album omits three tracks by chicano rock band The Cruzados, but features mostly-originals, while managing to place us in the Double Deuce with Swayze, who contributes a couple songs, himself.

The

Highlights Bob Seger - “Blue Monday” Seger howls this rhythm and blues standard with a soulful delivery that meshes perfectly with the honky tonk orchestration.

The Jeff Healey Band - “When the Night Comes Falling From the Sky” It goes without saying that Healey’s haunting rendition of Bob Dylan’s 1985 song is better than the original, but you really need to listen to this one yourself.

Patrick Swayze - “Raising Heaven (In Hell Tonight)” What would an ‘80s movie be without a catchy reverb-filled pop-rock anthem? But also, how many can boast that said anthem is performed by the film’s star? You’d never guess this was Swayze singing, and despite its ‘80s cliches, we love it for its ‘80s cliches (yes, you read that correctly).

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SPOILER MAGAZINE

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Matt Gerald/Avatar/James Cameron/ Disney/20th Century Studios

INTERVIEW: GALAXY INTRO: ETHAN BREHM

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Matt Gerald/Dexter/Showtime/Daredevil/Marvel/Netflix/ABC/AP Images/ Shot Caller/Saban Films/Sue Schneider/Gotpap/Bauergriffin.com

Listening to Matt Gerald speak, it’s obvious he puts so much thought into his every word. A former municipal bond trader, and now in some of the biggest film projects of all time, the incredibly incisive actor could also give a great TED Talk if he really wanted to. Don’t let his towering stature and meathead exterior fool you, this dude is extremely intelligent. Earning his degree from an Ivy League school, Matt welcomes your low expectations. He loves being underestimated because he’s confident he will prove you wrong. Although he remains humble about his reputation in high school, he was that incredibly cool, only-in-the-movies type of guy who would stick up for the nerds who were being bullied. Speaking on behalf of nerds everywhere, I think it’s safe to say we all wish Matt Gerald could’ve attended our schools back in the day to put a few notable bullies in their places.

Matt imparts so much of his wisdom on the current state of the world, as well as New Zealand, of all things. He also gives us a glimpse of his upbringing in Miami during the late-’80s when the town was bustling with culture and activity—a pocket for entertainment that not enough people talk about these days for some reason. But Matt was there. He lived through it all. He grew up among Miami’s dance scene and laments the current state of dancing. Long gone are the days of teen discos and battle crews, at least to the extent which Matt experienced it. The actor has had an incredibly interesting life—one you could write a movie about. But the craziest thing is, he’s just getting started. With the slating of the (FOUR!) upcoming Avatar movies, his notoriety is undoubtedly going to explode, whether he likes it or not. Matt keeps it hush-hush on Avatar 2, mostly because the powers-that-be don’t tell him much, but you can’t blame us for trying.

spoiler

You are in the new Avatar movies, 2 and 3. I know they’re being filmed simultaneously, how does it feel?

Matt Gerald

How does it feel to be in the films? It’s great. How does it feel to be on hiatus right now in this climate that we’re in? It’s a rocky road. But yeah, to be part of the project, it’s the highlight of my career.

spoiler

You’re in many movies, and TV shows, I get your passion and love for the business. How did you start in the acting universe?

Matt Gerald

I didn’t come to it like a lot of other people, other young actors who studied in school

and came up post-college and started acting, or even before college. I had gotten a finance degree from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business. I was a financial analyst and municipal bond trader early on in my career. I did that for about 4 or 5 years before I realized that it’s not the way I wanted to spend the rest of my life: sitting in a chair, staring at a computer screen, speaking on the phone with clients. It felt like it was a level of monotony that I didn’t think I would derive a ton of happiness from. I had

a friend who was an actress at the time, living in Miami Beach and she was doing a play and she asked me to help out. I helped out as a stage hand and really just fell in love with the whole theatrical world and decided that this might be something I was interested in. I started taking an acting class locally in Miami and it just lit a fire for me. Literally two weeks later, I packed up my stuff, moved to Los Angeles and started studying acting immediately. The rest is history. That was 1997.

spoiler

So was it love at first site?

Matt Gerald

A friend of mine had already moved out to LA and was a production assistant for a really big Hollywood producer. After a bout a year and

A

a half, he ventured out on his own and produced his own movie, which made it to Sundance—I think this was like 1995 or ‘96—and I went to Sundance for the first time and I got an up-close and personal view of the inner-workings of Hollywood. I met a bunch of writers, I met a bunch of actors, I met a bunch of directors, and I found them to be profoundly more interesting than the Wall Street people who I’d been hanging around with. I’d always been a fan of the arts. I’m a huge music fanatic. I loved film growing up, my sister was in children’s theater. But I was just so heavily into sports that I never thought of a career in the arts. It just never crossed my mind. It was the last thing I ever thought about. So once I sort of sat in the office long enough to realize maybe this wasn’t the place for me long term, the world of theater and film became a completely refreshing environment where I was challenged both intellectually and creatively, and inspired creatively in a way that I never had been before. And I just felt like, if the rest of my life is sort of a new and different pursuit everyday, with one day that

never looks identical to the previous day, I thought to myself, “That’s the kind of life I’d want to lead.” The idea of going to the same office, sitting in the same chair everyday, and just being an automaton with that level of monotony—that just felt deadening.

The contrast in the theater world and the film world was just so enormous that I felt like if I didn’t pursue it I’d forever regret it. And so I just made the move and fell in love with acting.

I fell in love with filmmaking, and I started writing as well. I sold my first screenplay in 1999. I got my first job as a writer in 2003 or so when I wrote a movie for Paramount. I fully dived in, both from an acting standpoint and a writing standpoint. I just felt, for the first time in my life, that this was where I belonged and I don’t know how else to characterize it.

spoiler

When I look at you, I see a very strong, tough person. Is that what you want people to see you as? Or is there more complexity than that?

Matt Gerald

I mean, I’m obviously, in my life, not a single noted tough guy. I have been tough in the past. As a younger man, I was certainly a lot tougher, both physically and probably emotionally than I am now. But no, that just happens to be the roles that I’ve been able to secure, I think partially due to my physicality. I come from the world of sports, I spend a lot of time in the gym, I have a shaved head, naturally people are going to see me in a particular light. But they don’t get to see my education, they don’t get to see my writing, they don’t get to see how I get on socially.

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Matt Gerald/Gotpap/Bauergriffin.com/Avatar/James Cameron/Disney/20th Century Studios/ Dexter/Showtime/Lie To Me/20th Century Studios/Escape Plan/Summit Entertainment

spoiler

But I think it plays to your advantage.

Matt Gerald

I’m often misunderstood and often underestimated, especially intellectually, but you know what? It’s a world of low expectations. I don’t mind having it out there in that regard, but I think I have a lot of career left where I can explore, maybe, some of these roles that my youth and vigor prevented me from landing earlier in my career. I still want to play roles as the teacher and the father and the husband and the intellectual.

And I still think there’s time for that.

I’m still evolving. I still think I’m just getting started in this business, I really do. I think there’s a lot left to be explored in my career and hopefully I will have the chance to explore some of those roles.

spoiler

What inspires you?

Matt Gerald

Man, I’m inspired by so many things.

I’m inspired by kindness. I’m inspired by intelligence. I’m inspired by compassion. I’m inspired by genius. I’m inspired by bravery. I could go on and on. I’m inspired by my children every single day. I’m inspired by hardship.

I’m inspired by overachievement.

I’m inspired by laze. I mean, there’s inspiration everywhere you look, unless you’re walking around in a daze,

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and that’s not me, so I’m inspired by almost everything around me all the time.

spoiler

What is the most memorable or exciting thing you’ve ever seen on set as an actor

Matt Gerald

The most impressive set I’ve ever worked on was Melvin Potter’s workshop (from Daredevil). The level of detail and exactitude that was brought to that set, the first time I stepped on it, I was instantly transformed, and I don’t think I’d ever felt that way before. On Avatar, it’s sort of a sparse set, most of the environment is built digitally, so there’s a lot left to the imagination and a lot of things that we have to create for ourselves as actors that don’t exist there in the environment on the day.

That wasn’t the case in Melvin Potter’s workshop. I mean, there were so many things I found in there that I hadn’t included as a part of Melvin’s

world because how can you be privy to all of it? And production design did such an amazing job building out, to infinite detail, that space. And it was really impressive and mind-blowing and inspiring, for sure. There’s so many things that go into the preparation for a performance. When you first meet Melvin, he’s faced with a set of challenges that are very unique to him. And just to be able to ground it so physically in that space was just really helpful for me. Another set like that was Ray Speltzer’s maze on Dexter. The first time I saw that, I was literally scared. I was frightened. That was another set that really played into the psychology of the character and helped me delve into his inner life. Same with Melvin. Those two really stand out.

spoiler

It would be wonderful if Hollywood opened some major studios in New Zealand.

Matt Gerald

New Zealand is already so underrated.

People don’t talk about it enough. The people are wonderful, the food’s incredible, the weather is amazing. There’s so much to do and see. There’s so much fun to be had. An extreme sports mecca. There’s beaches, there’s mountains, there’s water kayaking. There are so many talented people there. There’s great music. New Zealand is one of the great underrated places on earth and I’m pretty happy that Jim decided to shoot the Avatar movies there. I couldn’t think of a better place.

spoiler

Isn’t that amazing? A whole island country is COVID-free.

Matt Gerald

I mean, New Zealand is already a Garden of Eden. There are no poisonous snakes or predators there, which is amazing.

That’s a little known fact. And now that it’s completely COVID-free, while the United States has become a plague state, I imagine that, if they haven’t started already, there are a lot of people who are looking to either relocate there or move their businesses there as much as possible. And I think New Zealand is going to be a thriving country for a long time to come. That’s what happens when you have great leadership.

Q spoiler

Everyone’s trying to adapt, but it’s so hard—especially for adults, changing even the simplest things can be challenging.

Matt Gerald

It’s definitely difficult. In my house, we talk about it from a militant standpoint. Like Marines, we have to improvise, adapt, and overcome. There’s a new set of circumstances that has presented itself and we’re going to adapt to find happiness within them. Whatever it takes, we’re gonna make the best of it. As an industry, there are so many great, inspiring, intelligent people who I think will come together collectively and find a way through it. I’m optimistic, somehow, long term. I don’t know what it’s going to look like, but I’m optimistic that we’ll make it work.

his level of humanity, his concern for my wellbeing as a young actor.

There were some forces on that set that were potentially causing obstacles for me as a working actor, and he recognized them.

He really took the time to lend me a hand emotionally, and look out for me, and make sure that I felt safe, and was in a position to put my best foot forward. That, in conjunction with how lovely he is as a human and how enjoyable he made the set day-to-day, all lends to the culmination of that being one of my finest work experiences. Even though the movie didn’t turn as great as I would’ve liked and didn’t do as well as I may have liked it to do, that experience with somebody of that caliber—an actor and a human—certainly resonated with me for a long time.

spoiler

What was it like working with Sir Anthony Hopkins on the film Solace?

Matt Gerald

Working with Anthony Hopkins was certainly another highlight of my career. And part of the reason he was so impressive to me was

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I can sense there must’ve been some major things going on. I hear it in your voice.

Matt Gerald

Yeah, there were some things going down. That was a unique situation on that set, and I won’t get into detail, where things were made difficult by some people. I don’t think anyone was trying to sabotage anyone else, but I think sometimes you have people working on a set who are looking out for their own interest, and they don’t realize that, in doing so, they’re trespassing on other people’s interest. And it happens. I try not to take it personally and Tony helped me get through some of that. It was an important experience for me and I really grew both as an artist and as a man. So I thank him for that.

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spoiler

Would you want your kids to get into acting if they were interested?

Matt Gerald

[laughs] If my kids came to me and they were serious about pursuing a career in the arts, I would 100% support them if I saw a level of dedication and devotion that was mixed with a discipline and acceptance of the level of hard work it would take to succeed in that endeavor. But I would certainly caution them that this is one of the most difficult roads you could possibly take in life, that of an artist. The struggling artist who doesn’t have a regular income at times, who may not have the job security that we find in other industries. There are so many people worldwide who would love to do what we do, so the level of competition is huge, so I don‘t know that I would encourage it, but I would certainly support it in my children if I found it in ripe and veracious form.

Who am I to stand in their way? And also they would have a slight advantage in that I have some experience in the business and may know a person or two who can help them along the way. I could lend them any wisdom that I’ve been lucky enough to gain over the years, so it would give them a little bit of a leg up. Take any

Matt Gerald/Bright/Netflix/Dexter/Showtime/All Hail the King/Daredevil/ Marvel/Netflix/ABC/Getty Images/Freelancers/Lionsgate

R

spoiler

advantage of every opportunity you get in this world, they’re not gonna present themselves that often. But I don’t think I’m going to suggest it to them. It’s not for the faint of heart.

To really pursue a career in the arts, you have to have balls of steel. It’s not for everyone. You have to be willing to struggle, willing to starve, willing to outwork the next guy. And it never ends. Like boxers, actors take a beating—an emotional beating. Constantly being confronted with rejection and failure over and over again. Constantly interviewing for a new job and new position.

Constantly trying to impress people with the craft that you worked so hard to develop over the course of your career. And it never goes away.

Unless there’s some level of a sadistic streak in you, it’s gonna eat you alive. Actors are unique individuals.

And to go through that struggle and take those licks like actors do, I have a lot of respect for the struggling artist man. Most people don’t understand how difficult the struggle truly is. All the more reason to believe in yourself and build that strong foun-

dation from the inside out so you can endure some of the stones that will be cast in your direction. But you know what, buddy? I love it and wouldn’t have it any other way.

spoiler

Did you ever get bullied in school?

Matt Gerald

No, in fact, I was the anti-bully. I spent a lot of time with the nerdy kids, and I also spent time with jocks. And whenever I saw the jocks bullying my nerdy friends, I took it personally. And pretty early on in life, I made it my business. Yeah dude, I don’t like bullies. Never did.

Bullies need to get dealt with.

spoiler

I’m sure girls really dug you, man.

What would a girl have to do when you were younger to get your attention?

Matt Gerald

[laughs] I grew up in Miami in a really special time and special place.

And if a girl couldn’t dance, it was a non-starter, brother. If she couldn’t dance on the dance floor, it was a wrap early on. I think even if I was single today, the same would hold true. Can’t date a girl who can’t dance. My wife’s a phenomenal dancer, among other things.

G I had a crew. We did birthdays and weddings and bar mitzvahs. We’d go to the mall and battle. We’d battle in arcades. Between 15 and 16-yearsold, there was a lot of b-boying going on in Miami. There was a big music and dance scene down there. Miami doesn’t get a lot of credit for being part of the early hip hop movement.

And I kind of feel sad for kids these days, they don’t dance like they used to. Boys and girls don’t dance anymore. They certainly don’t square up and dance face-to-face, and I think it’s something we’re missing badly as a society.

spoiler

What’s your favorite kind of dancing?

Matt Gerald

I’ll just tell you this, the first movie I ever wrote was a movie for paramount called Break Boys, it was a breakdancing movie. And back in the mid-‘80s in Miami, we were b-boying a lot. I sort of grew up with hip hop. The first time I heard Afrika Bambaataa’s “Planet Rock,” it was a life changer. I spent a lot of time in record stores, I spent a lot of time on linoleum floors and cardboard mats. We danced a lot growing up.

It was a big part of our youth. And it was important to us. We started with disco, then we got into b-boying, then we got into house and electronic music. I grew up going to teen discos and clubs in Miami and Miami Beach.

Aside from sports, we danced a lot.

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spoiler

Did you go to the movies a lot growing up?

G

Matt Gerald

Big time. I was a movie fanatic from a really young age. I had friends on my block whose dads had these big VHS and Betamax libraries too.

spoiler

Do you think a lot of things in your career are luck or a combination of luck and your hard work?

Matt Gerald

Oh man. Did you ever wear Z Cavaricci pants and a leather jacket?

Matt Gerald

Not the leather jacket, but I had parachute pants, I had turtle shoes with the belt buckle, I went full sweatsuits.

spoiler

I’m sure you’ve got some incredible stories from back then. What was the craziest thing you did in school?

Matt Gerald

[laughs] Aw man. I mean, if you were in college while I was in college at the same school, there’d probably be a few stories you’d take away about me while I was there. I’ll say I got into a legen-

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spoiler

I know you probably don’t call yourself a celebrity, but what does it feel like to be that person?

Matt Gerald

I mean, the idea of celebrity has always made me slightly uncomfortable. It’s one

Matt Gerald/Getty Images/Escape Plan/Summit Entertainment/Shot Caller/ Saban Films/Avatar/James Cameron/Disney/20th Century Studios

spoiler

dary fight in college that ignited a 130-person lynch mob to come to my house with tennis rackets and hockey sticks, chanting my name in unison, “Gerald’s goin’ to jail! Gerald’s goin’ to jail!” It was eventually broken up by police in riot gear that made the front page of the paper. If you can ever find somebody who was there for that—and there were plenty of people around—you’ll probably get a better account of that story.

Listen, I came from a city that was unique on the globe at that point in time. Miami was the drug capital of the world, the model capital of the world, it was the party capital of the world, all in the late ‘80s. Sports were huge with the University of Miami and the Dolphins. So you know, I grew up in a highly charged environment, both physically and sexually, and then I took that attitude with me to an Ivy League institution and let’s just say, I was a fish out of water for quite some time. Took me a while to adjust. Think about this, my first day at the dorms, I was bringing like, a 2 Live Crew mixtape and everybody else was playing Grateful Dead and Cat Stevens. It was like, Billy Joel and Neil Young.

2 Live Crew wasn’t well-received.

I mean, luck is when opportunity meets preparation, right? So, sure, there’s a lot of luck involved, but I think in that formula of opportunity and preparation, if you remain focused, over the long term you’ll start to feel lucky. Luck will start to find you a little bit if you remain focused and dedicated, and resolve to continue to improve and move forward with whatever undertaking you’re pursuing. Rarely do I think to myself, “Wow, what a lucky person I am.” More often I’m thinking, “You know, I’ve really worked hard to get to where I’m going.” I could always use a little more luck [laughs].

G thing to recognize somebody for their work. It’s another thing to put them on a pedestal. So I find that slightly discomforting. I’m a private person, so I don’t necessarily think, because of the work I’ve chosen, that I need, necessarily, to share my private life with the public at large. However, I take great pleasure from the pleasure that others derive from experiencing the work that I and we do. Us actors are artists and that is very fulfilling to me. The only Comic Con I ever did, when I saw the level of joy it brings to the fans and the audiences, that’s as fulfilling as anything I’ve ever accomplished. So that aspect of celebrity is wonderful for me. Dealing with the public has generally been a positive experience from me.

Most people are awesome. As you know, I don’t consider myself a celebrity. Only because, generally, I’m allowed to navigate the world without being harassed day in and day out. I can pretty much walk around as an average civilian and I don’t have to deal with what maybe some of the bigger celebrities have to deal with on a daily basis: the loss of their privacy, everybody always wanting something from them, having to live with the expectations that people have of them. Celebrity, for me, has been mostly enjoyable.

Matt Gerald

Listen, they don’t keep me updated. You’d be amazed. Marvel does the same thing. I do know there’s a crew back in New Zealand and they’re shooting some stuff, but I have no idea what it is. They’re lucky to be in New Zealand right now, which is COVID-free. And that, in and of itself, is marvelous.

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I know Avatar 2 and 3 have to be filmed at the same time because of how huge the projects are. Are you preparing for all the craziness once Avatar 2 comes out?

Matt Gerald

No, I never prepare for those things. Early on in my career, you would start to have an idea of what a particular project might do for your career or how it will be perceived, and rarely did the future event meet the prediction in the moment. So I sort of just let those things fall as they may. It’s tough to prepare for something in the future that you can only guess as to what it’s going to look like. I don’t know how the fans are going to receive it or how the film’s going to turn out. I don’t know what the

landscape’s gonna look like. I’m hoping for the best; I always prepare for the worst. I just worry about today and what I can do now as an artist and as a father to make myself better. And that’s really where I keep my focus, man. It’s kinda boring, but I try not to think about that as much as possible. For me, the work itself is the amazing experience. What happens after that is only a guess. So for me, I revel in the work itself and the experience that I have with Jim [Cameron] and Jon [Landau], the producer, and the amazing cast I get to work with. Those are the things I’m gonna take away from it, not necessarily how the audience is gonna receive it. I take away the day-to-day interactions and the level of enjoyment of the work I get to participate in.

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Matt Gerald/Avatar/James Cameron/Disney/20th Century Studios/Freelancers/Lionsgate

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get close to those fans, I think it’s a great loss for both sides. For both the artist and the fan. Hopefully we’ll find ways around this and be able to come together on some level, but I’m not holding my breath, man. I think we’re in a whole new world.

James Cameron is steps ahead.

When I heard he went to the bottom of the Mariana Trench, I was like, “Is there anything that this man can’t do!”

Matt Gerald

Whoever’s reading this article, if they haven’t seen the documentary of James Cameron diving in the Mariana Trench in a submersible that he designed with his brother and a team of engineers, I invite you to do so immediately. It’s one of the best pieces of television I’ve ever seen. He’s an explorer of the highest order and a pioneer on so many levels.

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Do you sometimes miss the world being like it used to be where you could go to a convention and have that connection with fans?

Matt Gerald

I don’t know what the future’s gonna look like for the world of film and

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If you can pass one message to your fans, what message would that be? television, or the Comic Con world.

Any place where people gather, there’s gonna be a new set of rules that we’re gonna have to live by.

Everything has changed, and I don’t think we ever go back to the world we once enjoyed, and the longer it takes us to accept and realize that, the more unsettled and stressed out we’re going to be as humans. Once we sort of accept that we’re living in a new world, a new paradigm, the better off we’ll be. But yes, I definitely will miss being among the people and among fans, not being able to

Matt Gerald

“Stay true to yourself. There’s only one you in this world and the closer you stay to that, the better off you’ll be. If you start letting other people get into your head and sway you in a direction that is away from the core of who you are, you will find yourself floating in the ether without two strong legs to stand on. So by being true to yourself, you give yourself a base and a foundation to build upon.”

And I think that is probably the most important thing right now, especially in the arts.

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By: Ethan Brehm

Many of us went to summer camp as a kid For some it was the highlight, but for others it was more of a question of why our parents wanted us out of the house so badly. Camp has been well-represented in cinema for decades, but really started to take off in the late-’70s, popularized with the 1979 Bill Murray vehicle Meatballs (emphasizing the highlights of camp), and in the horror genre with Friday the 13th the very next year (emphasizing perhaps some people’s disdain for camp), branding the nostalgic setting as either a comedy or a slasher, with very little deviation, other than a few exceptions. And we honestly don’t mind because good camp movies aren’t necessarily about cinematic quality, but how well they exude the ethos of a formative time in our lives.

Meatballs (1979)

It definitely didn’t invent the summer camp sub-genre, but Meatballs sure helped draw up the blueprint for it. Responsible for the summer camp craze of the 1980s, the film seems to be all-subplot, with most of the focus on showcasing life at camp while relying on Murray’s ad-lib in the process. If he weren’t here, we probably wouldn’t be talking much about this movie today.

Early Bill Murray performances didn’t see the SNL alum grounded in reality often. Yet somehow his first significant role as head counselor Tripper saw him at his most down-to-earth for years to come. What sets this Canadian film apart from the countless

that followed in its footsteps is how it values sentiment: not only regarding the nostalgia that camp and the awkwardness of childhood will undoubtedly evoke years ahead, but in the way it approaches fond memories in general. Tripper’s Camp North Star doesn’t have the money of their cross-lake rival, Camp Mohawk, but the memories are just the same, if not more valuable. Especially at a young age, winning and losing doesn’t matter as much as personal and moral victories, which is what Meatballs is really all about.

It definitely didn't invent the summer camp sub-genre, but Meatballs sure helped draw up the blueprint for it.

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Sleepaway Camp (1983) Friday the 13th

Meatballs/Paramount Pictures/Friday the 13th/Warner Bros./Sleepaway Camp/United Film Distribution Company/Meatballs Part II/TriStar Pictures

(1980)

The horror movie/franchise that’s become synonymous with the slasher genre, Friday the 13th, tells tales about a boy, Jason, who drowned in Camp Crystal Lake years ago after going unsupervised by sex-crazed counselors. The first in the series is a little raw compared to later installments, but features one heck of an ending—and Kevin Bacon. Also, there’s a live snake killed on camera. If you’re new to the series, the quality of the movies usually ranges from pretty bad to just about average, but the films have definitely earned their cult status due to their gratuitous schlock which came to define the slasher sub-genre in the ‘80s, as well as the vast differences within the story lines for each installment. Perhaps the most notable film in the canon is Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives, which focuses the most on the camp aspect, itself, and actually features campers for once, rather than revolving only on the counselors. If you’re not as crazy about the later chapters of this series, trust me, you should at least stick it out until number six.

If Friday the 13th popularized the summer camp setting for slashers, Sleepaway Camp upended the whole ordeal. While carrying out the kills in basically the same manner as its contemporaries—albeit with more dead space and lack of suspense—this film has one of the best WTF horror twists of all time, which, along with its wicked sense of humor, helps set it apart from the pack. It feels like the entire movie was written around a great idea for an ending and built backwards from there. Nonetheless, if you’re a fan of slashers, you have to check out Sleepaway Camp for the finale, alone.

Meatballs Part II (1984) The sequel to the groundbreaking 1979 film is worth a mention just because it’s so different than its predecessor.

Meatballs Part II doesn’t simply copy-and-paste what worked so well from the first film—mostly because it knows it can’t.

There’s no Bill Murray, so the talent is spread throughout the whole cast rather than relying on just one guy. This movie gets a bad rap because it’s nothing like the original, but honestly that’s what makes it so good. The summer camp welcomes newcomer counselor, Flash (John Mengatti), a felon who’s required to fulfill community service hours. There’s a side plot with an alien Muppet character who has to disguise himself as a real kid for the entire summer and it’s totally uncalled-for and amazing. A pre-Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure Paul Reubens and a pre-peak John Larroquette are featured in ancillary roles.

Neither actor can replace Murray, but are just as important to the comedic success of the movie—one that utilizes more subtle humor over broad slapstick. Don’t believe the negative press on this one and just go watch it for yourself.

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Poison Ivy (1985)

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Summer Camp Nightmare (1987) It sounds like it’s a horror film, but Summer Camp Nightmare is a political thriller with a summer camp backdrop, featuring some of the most realistic depictions of camp in regards to playful hijinks. However, in one moment the campers and counselors are engaged in harmless antics, when the next they’re dealing with some pretty heavy issues.

The film takes the Lord of the Flies foundation and applies it to a group of kids who don’t like the philosophies of their counselors, so they decide to revolt and take over camp themselves. Led by a militant teenager, Franklin (Char-

lie Stratton), the junior counselors and campers rise up against Mr. Warren (Chuck Conners), a holy roller director who enforces certain rules at the all-boys camp to keep everything appropriate, with the youngsters feeling like he’s robbing them of the “true camp experience.” As Franklin takes over, we see that an uprising isn’t all it’s cracked up to be, as he utilizes some of the same strategies Mr. Warren wielded, but with different philosophies at their core. This forces him to ask himself, “Was it Mr. Warren’s tactics I had a problem with or the beliefs behind them?” There’s corruption, manipulation, and hunger for control on both sides; both maintaining strong individual philosophies. For one side, those philosophies are grounded in ethics, and for the other, they’re grounded in freedoms and pleasures. Director Bert L. Dragin leaves it up to us to decide who’s right and wrong in this allegory, recognizing that the answer may not be that simple.

Poison Ivy/Camp Cucamonga/N BCUniversal/ Summer Camp Nightmare/New Concorde

Most of the movies on this list have some sort of gimmick, but what makes Poison Ivy so enjoyable is how well it works without one. Focusing more on the bonds we form at summer camp, NBC’s made-for-TV production features two of its own ‘80s stars: Nancy McKeon from The Facts of Life and Michael J. Fox from Family Ties. Fox would soon go on to star in Back to the Future and Teen Wolf later that year, but first TV audiences got to see the two beloved characters lock lips prior to the latter’s fame launching into the stratosphere. Fox plays a counselor/ladies man who falls for McKeon, who plays the camp’s nurse. She’s engaged, but that doesn’t stop him from trying to win her heart. The story also follows a group of 11-year-old bunkmates who begin the summer at odds, each struggling with his own personal insecurities, but grow to care about one another with the guidance of Fox, who changes over the course of the movie as well. Sounds sappy, but for anyone who grew up at camp, these are the sentiments we’ve held on to all these years later and the reasons why we love summer camp movies.

Poison Ivy achieves the simplicity of the formula better than most of its peers, doing so with an organic development.

[G]ood camp movies aren't necessarily about cinematic quality, but how well they exude the ethos of a formative time in our lives

Camp Cucamonga (1990)

There aren’t enough summer camp movies about the actual campers, themselves. Maybe due to the lack of selection of good kid actors. This one fixes that issue by collecting already-proven talent. If you’re a fan of late-’80s/’90s shameless nostalgia, look no further than Camp Cucamonga. Literally everybody who was attached to any TV show from that era (and others) is in this movie—at least it sure feels like it. Featuring the talents of Jaleel White (Family Matters), Candice Cameron (Full House), Danica McKellar and Josh Saviano (The Wonder Years), Sherman Hemsley (The Jeffersons), John Ratzenberger (Cheers), Brian Robbins (Head of the Class), Jennifer Aniston (Friends and literally everything), and a few others, watching this film feels like a fever dream (and that’s regardless of the Young MC knock-off music video randomly thrown in), but then you also wonder how you’ve

never even heard of it before.

The made-for-TV movie revolves around the social hierarchy of camp. Just like high school, there’s a class system here as well. Camp Cucamonga smartly shows all different sides of summer camp, because camp is more than just the kids and more than just the counselors—it’s the whole community. The film is a little dated, but we wouldn’t want it any other way.

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Addams Family Values (1993)

The longer you watch Addams Family Values, the more it begins to feel like a masterclass in subversive humor and well-placed campiness.

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Addams Family Values/Paramount Pictures/ Camp Nowhere/Heavyweights/Disney

A sequel to the 1991 comedy, Addams Family Values is superior in almost every way. Summer camp doesn’t take up the whole plot, but over the years, the outdoorsy setting has seemed to overshadow everything else that goes on in this movie.

And for good reason. When their parents have a new baby, Wednesday and Pugsley are sent to a sleepaway camp full of rich blonde kids. Instantly outcast as weirdos, the drab Addams children decide to sabotage everything this establishment holds dear. Juxtaposing the Addams’ macabre and anarchic lifestyle with the perky upper-middle class being satirized here, the film doesn’t play its themes close to the vest. The comedy is carried by a deluge of clever puns, its trademarked sardonic tone, and a cast, which, from top to bottom, is up there with some of the best in comedy history, stepping up their game from the previous installment with the inclusion of Joan Cusack as the black widow antagonist and David Krumholtz as Wednesday’s love interest. The longer you watch Addams Family Values, the more it begins to feel like a masterclass in subversive humor and well-placed campiness.

Heavyweights (1995)

Camp Nowhere (1994)

How much more ‘90s can you get than a movie about a summer camp run by kids? Being forced to attend camp by his parents, a boy named Mud invents his own realistic-looking camp with the help of his friends. Christopher Lloyd plays the town weirdo who acts as the camp’s director, assisting the kids in making the con look more believable. This is probably one of the only times where 14-year-olds are actually played by 14-year-olds, rather than twenty-somethings, but still Camp Nowhere might have some trouble finding its audience, being caught between PG and PG-13 land. Similar to Home Alone, the movie presents unrealistic scenarios in a realistic way, tapping into that pie-in-the-sky outlook we, too, had as kids. Kids who could watch a movie like this and, for 90 minutes, dream about how great this situation might actually be.

And watching Camp Nowhere as an adult who misses his ‘90s childhood makes me wistful about having that very same mindset at that point in my life. It’s a nice place to escape to.

And watching Camp Nowhere as an adult who misses his '90s childhood makes me wistful about having that very same mindset at that point in my life. It's a nice place to escape to.

Ten years before his screenwriting (and directorial) debut in 2005 with The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Judd Apatow wrote the script for a children’s summer camp movie called Heavyweights. Working exclusively in television at the time, Apatow was new to the feature film world, showing some raw skills, but the potential was definitely there. Ben Stiller plays the owner of a fat camp where he spends every waking moment verbally abusing and starving the kids. Stiller acts strangely similar to his role as White Goodman in Dodgeball nearly a decade later, but this is where the actor first started showcasing his highly-idiosyncratic character skills. Heavyweights really speaks to those who feel like they’re looked down on in society because of their weight, especially kids—an intent which cannot be overstated.

The relatable theme about finding your confidence in a world that doesn’t want you to win should be at the core of more tween movies and given the satisfying conclusion that Apatow and company honor it with here.

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Flag-Smasher/Marvel Comics

SPOILER MAGAZINE

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by: matthew mclachlan

F

in a crowded van where everyone’s farting, no matter where you turn it’s in your face and is off-putting unless it’s your own.

And comic books have always been one of the leading mediums to bring politics and political views to the forefront and the people. Heck, the very first issue of Captain America shows him punching Adolf Hitler in the face, which is as subtle a political statement as naming a superhero “Captain America.” Needless to say, politics have always been at the core of comics and always will be, whether it’s in our storylines or the heroes and villains themselves. But as it is with all ideas, some are better than others, while a few end up being a heaping pile of garbage. My favorite amongst the political heap, is the mantle of the anti-nationalist, unbelievably sad, and “A for effort” villain, Flag Smasher.

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Looking to give Captain America a new nemesis in the vein of Red Skull, Flag Smasher was created and hit the pages back in December of 1985 in Captain America #312. But instead of a menacing evil genius like Red Skull, Flag Smasher is a Space Ghost look-alike who always fails miserably and just kinda dies a lot. The first Flag Smasher is swiss-born and son to a wealthy banker-turned-diplomat, Karl Morgenthau. Having aspirations to follow in his father’s footsteps and journey into politics, Morgenthau turns villain after his father is trampled outside a Latverian embassy and decides the solution isn’t crowd control or personal space, but to do away with countries and Nationalism. Makes sense. In preparation for his villainous ways, Morgenthau learns multiple languages, gets kinda good at karate, and I assume stares in the mirror yelling at himself “countries are bad!” After months of preparation, Flag Smasher is officially born and ready to put his completely rational mindset to the test.

Flag Smasher’s first outing involves holding hundreds

of people hostage in the name of eradicating all nations and promptly gets his ass kicked by Captain America and apparently irony. Not so happy with his first attempt at terrorism, Flag Smasher decides to use his anti-nationalist agenda to create his own terrorist organization called ULTIMATUM and makes himself its Supreme Commander. All of which the comics make sound really easy to do. I can’t even finish a sour-dough starter and this guy starts a terrorist group like it’s a podcast.

With a newly created ULTIMATUM, Flag Smasher is ready for another outing and hijacks an American airliner, only to have his and ULTIMATUM’s ass handed to them by, guess who, Captain America. Not, however, before Captain America admits that while Flag Smasher’s violent methods are unacceptable, he does admire his goal of world peace and cooperation. Awww, Steve.

Flag-Smasher/Marvel Comics

Regardless of your beliefs, politics it’s kinda like sitting

After a while, it seems Steve Rogers begins to realize he isn’t dealing with an evil mega-genius and certainly not a new arch-nemesis, so he kinda just leaves Flag Smasher to other heroes to beat up for a while. Flag Smasher turns hero for a hot minute after finding out that it was Red Skull who has funded his terrorist pet project of ULTIMATUM the entire time (can I have millions of

dollars without knowing who gave it to me?) Flag Smasher teams up with a new Captain America to defeat Red Skull, only to quickly go back to being a third-tier villain, getting his ass handed to him by heroes you’ve never heard of before. Eventually, things start going buck-wild for Flag Smasher as he gets super-strength but quickly loses it, becomes the leader of the fictional country of Rumekistan, and then he just gets assassinated.

Yup. So that guy’s dead.

Now enter Guy Thierrault, a Canadian agent of ULTIMATUM who valiantly takes on the mantle of Flag Smasher, ready to instill fear in all who promote nationalist sentiment! And how does he do that? He attacks a farmer’s market, of course.

S

Following a lack-luster debut, the new Flag Smasher doesn’t exactly get any better than the last.

In fact, there’s an entire paragraph on Wikipedia that just describes who kicks his ass and how every single one of those encounters leads to him being thrown in jail. After this happens about four dozen times, Flag Smasher, annoyed at having his ass handed to him by lower-level heroes, decides to relive his glory days and starts pissing off some bigger named heroes. Unfortunately, Flag Smasher goes a bit too far, making an enemy of Dealpool, which, as we all know, is something you just don’t do. After infiltrating ULTIMATUM’s helicarrier, Deadpool slaughters basically everyone on board, threatening to

kill Flag Smasher unless he stays away from him and his daughter. Whew.

Close call. Flag Smasher is then immediately killed by a henchman named Carl who takes his place. So that guy’s dead.

Carl doesn’t exactly do a bang-up job as Flag Smasher either, attacking Deadpool out of vengeance to not only end up being killed, but Deadpool, sick of this guy’s bullsh*t, goes around and kills all of ULTIMATUM’s forces, ending ULTIMATUM and Flag Smasher for good. UNTIL! Flag Smasher returns! He crashes a gala for a Texas senator with TWO Captain Americas in attendance and threatens everyone with a whole bunch of bombs and data-leaks, only to have Flag Smasher shoot the senator and, believe it or not, escape!

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With the seemingly new Flag Smasher actually doing a pretty kick-ass job, it’s revealed that the whole stunt was staged, and the new Flag Smasher was, in fact, an android, making it even more depressing that the best Flag Smasher wasn’t even real. Unfortunately, that is the most recent appearance of any Flag Smasher in comics, but I have no doubt he will ride again and thrill us with his lack-luster terrorist activities and certain death.

Best Appearance

Not exactly the best appearance for Flag Smasher, but certainly the coolest thing that happens to him for us. Flag Smasher makes the mistake of committing a crime within the vicinity of Flash Thompson’s new Venom. While still getting used to controlling this murderous alien-friend, Flash Thompson and Venom do a pretty solid job of swiftly kicking the ass of Flag Smasher and his henchmen. All falls apart normally for Flag Smasher until Flash succumbs to Venom’s murderous tendencies, kills all of Flag Smasher’s henchmen, and bites off Flag Smasher’s arm!

Worst Appearance

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Random Fact

ULTIMATUM stands for Underground Liberated Totally Integrated Mobile Army To Unite Mankind, which sounds like Flag Smasher just opened his iPhone and started hitting Autofill until he found something that sounded halfway decent. That or he used a poorly rated terrorist name generator, which I’m sure Apple’s already developed.

Flag-Smasher/Marvel Comics

It’s hard to pick a worst appearance with Flag Smasher, but my favorite might be his introduction. On his first foray out, Flag Smasher swoops down on the United Nations building and begins smashing all the flags with his mace. If that weren’t enough, he then attacks the Acme Flag Company to literally stop flags from being made, which makes me think this guy doesn’t actually hate national symbols so much as he hates cloth with printed shapes on it.

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SPOILER MAGAZINE

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DEATHMATE Prologue The Good

Right out the gate we have Gayle, a woman begging to be killed because all her friends have grown old and died and she feels alone in the world. One page in and the tone is already set, Solar must part with the woman he loves.

The earlier we have reason to root for our hero, the better, which is what this book does so well.

The bad

The coherency of the story’s direction is a big weak spot. The majority of the dialogue feels loosely strung together. There’s so much action, but so little context for it all. The panels look cool, but when you can’t make sense of the bubbles, it’s hard to fully enjoy the story.

The Veredict

There’s a ton of cool imagery throughout, but the first half of the book becomes increasingly more confusing as it goes on. A little past the midpoint, when Solar wakes up in the year 1993, we get a better sense of where the story is headed. However, by

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that point, there are only a couple pages left. Fortunately, things look to be heading in the right direction as the prologue does a decent job of setting up issues 2-6. But when the reader spends half the book trying to figure out what’s at stake and what’s happening in general, its flaws become hard to rectify. The series clearly has potential, so I will hold my breath until after issue #2.

score

5.0

Deathmate/Valiant Comics/Image Comics/ Transformers/Dreamwave Productions/Hasbro

Written by: Cullen Bunn | Pencils by: Dalibor Talajic | Inks by: Lee Loughridge | Colors by: Lee Loughridge

TRANSFORMERS Armada

Written by: Chris Sarracini | Pencils by: James Raiz | Inks by: Rob Armstrong & Erik Sander Colors by: Alan Wang, Gary Yeung & Ramil Sunga

The Good

Even if you didn’t read a single one of the first 10 issues, I’d say the team does a great job of throwing us into the mix. It’s like a TV show that you can enjoy regardless of whether or not you watched last week’s episode. The urgency is there from the beginning, and that’s what keeps us turning the page. The best part of the storytelling is their mastery of the basic principal of making the audience need to know what happens next.

The bad

The only real knock I could come up with is that if you don’t know much about the Transformers and what a Decepticon is, then

this could be pretty confusing at times. But at the same time, maybe this shouldn’t be the first book you read.

The Veredict

Transformers, whether it be the comics, the movies, or the TV shows, are so popular that both the main heroes and bad guys are household names. Most comic books don’t have that luxury, but even ones that do don’t usually take advantage of it the way Transformers does, and they deserve a lot of credit for that.

Coming from someone who didn’t grow up watching the TV show and isn’t even a huge fan of the movies, this comic book is still very solid. I’ve seen enough to know the lingo so there was no confusion there, but even if you don’t know a single thing about the Transformers, if you like comic books, I’m confident you’re going to like this series, I’d just recommend starting from issue #1 rather than #11

score

7.0

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spirit of tao #11 Written by: D-Tron | Pencils by: Billy Tan | Inks by: Team Tron’s, D-Tron, Andy Kim & Jeff De Los Santos | Colors by: Jonathan D. Smith

The Good

Lately I’m been trying to open my eyes to a more diverse variety of comic book. Spirit of Tao is a very unique series, and issue #11 is no different. There are a couple of pages that take place in this universe’s version of heaven, filled with kids who were infected with the Tao virus. For these pages, the book takes us out of this dark, grim world and puts us in one that’s bright and beautiful, filled with children and animals. It’s a perfect contrast for the hellish pages that follow.

It looks really cool, it’s confusing at times, but by the end of it I’m thinking, “I’m not sure what I just read, but it was pretty dope.”

Hero aside, great art and a captivating story are what’s most important to a good comic and the Spirit of Tao has both in spades.

Bonus points for being the type of comic I wanted to read twice in a row just to get a better feel for it overall.

score

8.0

My only real knock (which, I’ll admit, is kind of a big one) is Lance.

He’s the last hope for mankind to survive what Mother Earth is throwing at them. This would require a really badass protagonist, but Lance isn’t really anything special. This would even apply to Jamie, who is arguably the real protagonist in this one.

The Veredict

Spirit Tao feels like the David Lynch version of a comic book.

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Spirit of Tao/Image Comics/Top Cow/ Superman/DC Comics

The bad

superman

Fawcett City Fallout Written by: Dan Jurgens | Pencils by: Gil Kane | Inks by: Joe Rubinstein

The Good

Like all the best Superman comics this one is jam packed with action sequences. The surprise appearance by Captain Marvel definitely upped the ante a bit and only added to the excitement. By the end I realized this issue was more of a setup for Shazam than anything else, which could be a negative if it was forced on us, but in this case it felt so organic that if you like this issue as much as I did, you’re likely to still give Shazam a chance.

The bad

For a Superman comic this felt a whole lot more about Captain Marvel than it did Superman.

Does that hurt the issue? Not at all, but if you picked up this issue to see Superman kick the bad guy’s ass, just know he gets a lot of help this time around.

The Veredict

Superman and Captain Marvel go toe-to-toe and battle it out while neither realizes who it is they’re up against. Superman thinks he’s fighting a cyborg, Captain Marvel

thinks he’s fighting Black Adam, but really they’re beating the piss out of each other and only the bystanders can see what’s really happening. This might seem a little confusing at first, but the comic does an excellent job with it’s execution and keeps the pages turning at a fast pace. This felt like the comic book version of a pilot spinoff, we came for Superman, but we leave with Shazam on our minds. It’ll make you curious to see what this kid’s all about.

score

7.5

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samurai penguin Written by: Dan Vado | art by: Mark Buck When you go in to read a comic book titled “Samurai Penguin” you expect some humor to be involved, but this exceeded expectations. The amount of jokes mixed in with violence is right up there with Deadpool, just in a much less gory and raunchy way. One of the best compliments I can give is that I wish it was longer. Whether Samurai Penguin was breaking the big, bad shark’s nose or fighting off a gang of evil walruses, it was entertaining and funny in a way not nearly enough comic books are.

The bad

It’s a little out there for sure and probably not for everybody, especially those who are into the black & whites, but the only thing I could really knock it for is the protagonist. It’s not that I didn’t like him or find him interesting— it’s the opposite— I would’ve liked to see more of him.

The Veredict

Samurai Penguin is oddly unique. Most superheroes we root

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for we do so because they look so badass and they’re here to save the world, but in this case it’s the humor and wit of these penguins that kept me wanting more. This is much more suited for kids than Deadpool is, but the tongue-in-cheek writing makes it a great read for comic book fans of all ages. The way CGI is today, maybe it could be live-action, or maybe it’d be better-off animated, but with all the superhero movies being made I’d love to see this ‘80s comic get a crack at the big screen, ‘cause with the right writers, parents would love it as much as the kids, maybe even more.

Samurai Penguin/Slave Labor Graphics/The Silver Surfer/Warlock/Marvel Comics

The Good

score

10.0

THE SILVER SURFER

WARLOCK RESSURECTION #1

Written & penciled by: Jim Starlin | colors by: Ian Laughlin sounds honest, the art seems to be saying otherwise. The art and the dialogue are in constant conflict, which is this book’s best quality.

The bad

I find the best comic books have a degree of humor to them. In the case of this particular issue, it did not.

The Veredict

The Good

It wastes no time. One page in and you can already feel Silver Surfer’s pain. Warlock claiming friendship as his motive was something I wasn’t expecting, so to have that as a main focus in the first issue makes the next few to come very enticing. We know what’s driving both characters and we know what they want. However, we still question Warlock’s sincerity. Although he

Using the first few pages to catch us up on the backstory felt like a good way to show Silver Surfer’s pain and motivations. If you’re already a fan, you know he’s alone in the universe, but this also gets into why he’s alone (the loss of the woman he loved, Shalla Bal).

Rather than going head-to-head with Silver Surfer decides he rather use him for his own advantage. Is Warlock telling the truth and can he resurrect Shalla Bal from the dead? Or is he just manipulating Silver Surfer for his own personal gain? This remains to be seen, but this issue set the bar for a compelling series that seems well-worth the read.

score

8.5

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THE SILVER SURFER

WARLOCK RESSURECTION #2 Written & penciled by: Jim Starlin | colors by: Ian Laughlin Right out the gate and right where the first issue left, off the opening packs a mean punch. It’s not as bloody and gory as I prefer, but it’s action-packed from the first page to the last. Halfway through when the tides turn and Warlock’s true intentions are revealed, the conflict gets turned up a few notches and becomes more than just a battle royale.

The bad

There are three big things that make a comic book great to me: story, action, and humor. When used right, those and the graphics are the only things that matter. So much like the first issue, my only knock is that this seems to lack the humor aspect. While I have to consider that a knock, there is something to be said about the fact that this is a very good comic in spite of that.

The Veredict

Silver Surfer and Warlock aren’t alone, but they are outnumbered by a long shot. Even though we

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always expect the superhero to come out on top, the odds need to be stacked against them, which is done here in a big way.

For a brief moment, about halfway through, it looks like Silver Surfer already got everything he wanted and the love of his life back just like Warlock promised, but while he brought her back to life, she is now soulless.

He convinces Silver Surfer (and the reader) that his intentions are still pure, but now we’re left questioning that more than ever.

The book ends like it begins: in a battle royale of action. Except now, the stakes are even higher, leading me to believe issue #2 accomplished exactly what it set out to do.

score

9.0 The Silver Surfer/Warlock/House of M/Marvel Comics

The Good

HOUSE OF M #1 Written by: Brian Michael Bendis | Pencils by: Olivier Coipel

The Good

The art is top-notch—easily my favorite aspect of the whole comic.

It’s a star-studded issue and every hero looks awesome. We see so many familiar faces, from X-Men to Avengers, which only makes this better.

The bad

Despite the massive superhero roster, the story gets off to a really slow start. With all the fire power, you would hope to see a lot more action. However, we basically get a verbal brawl between the X-Men and the Avengers...

Not quite the level of excitement you would want out of any comic.

The Veredict

Without a doubt, it’s the first comic book I ever read that opened up with a child birth.

Even if it was just a figment of Wanda’s imagination, I gotta give credit for originality. It’s really hard to hate on a comic book that involves the X-Men and the Avengers. The problem is that despite having all these superheroes present, they spend almost

the entire issue sitting around talking. If all the talking is setting up the action for the 7 issues that follow, then great, but for the sake of just this issue it’s a bit of a disappointment. Aside from the fantastic art, the strong ending is the best aspect of this book. Granted, the last page was every bit as odd as the first, it still gives us hope that, with an impressive cast of characters and an appealing aesthetic, the series will only get better from here.

score

7.0

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