There’s a lot of ways to describe Jordan Peele ’s Nope : an update on “Watch the Skies!” sci-fi from the 1950s; a tribute to Steven Spielberg’s 1970s blockbuster building blocks (what if those Close Encounter of the Third Kind UFOs were just hungry, extraterrestrial great white sharks?); a 21st century meta-text about what we watch and why we keep watching it. All 100-percent accurate. But read the reviews and explainers and numerous think pieces on Peele’s latest blend of horror and commentary, and there’s one word that keeps popping up, again and again. It’s mentioned when they talk about Jupiter’s Claim, the modest frontier-themed amusement park run by Steven Yuen’s former child actor, who once played a pint-sized sheriff in a movie and still takes his fancy sartorial cues from that role. It’s namechecked in the film posters you see at Haywood Ranch, notably Buck and the Preacher and Duel at Diablo . You can see traces of it in the movie’s scenes of folks handling horses … [Read more...] about How Do You Make a Western in the 21st Century?
Danger mouse
“You Are Next”: J.K.Rowling Receives Death Threat From Supporter Of Salman Rushdie’s Alleged Attacker
Harry Potter creator JK Rowling has received a public threat from an Iran-backing extremist, following her denunciation of yesterday’s attack on fellow British author Salman Rushdie . Rowling – who has previously been targeted by some trans activists for her beliefs on gender – had published a post expressing her horror at the attempt on Rushdie’s life, when one responder threatened her harm. Rowling wrote on Friday night, “Horrifying news. Feeling very sick right now. Let him be ok.” Meer Asif Aziz, described in his Twitter bio as ‘student, social activist, political activist and research activist’ responded, “Don’t worry you are next.” . @TwitterSupport any chance of some support? pic.twitter.com/AoeCzmTKaU — J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) August 13, 2022 Rowling today publicly asked Twitter to intervene, asking @TwitterSupport, “Any chance of some support?” but Aziz’s post currently remains in place. He had previously described the man arrested for … [Read more...] about “You Are Next”: J.K.Rowling Receives Death Threat From Supporter Of Salman Rushdie’s Alleged Attacker