David Fincher, ‘Gone Girl’ Author Reunite for HBO Drama Series

Remake of British thriller from Shine America nabs series order

by Cynthia Littleton

Fresh off their collaboration on the feature “Gone Girl,” director David Fincher and scribe Gillian Flynn are teaming to adapt the British conspiracy thriller “Utopia” for HBO and Shine America.

HBO has given a series order to the project and struck an overall deal with Flynn, the novelist who penned the screenplay adaptation of her book “Gone Girl” for New Regency and Fox.

“Utopia” revolves around the drama that ensues when die-hard fans of an iconic graphic novel suddenly learn that the author has secretly written a sequel. The hunt for the manuscript becomes a thriller in itself as the meaning of the book is slowly revealed.

Fincher is on board to direct the pilot and exec produce with Flynn and Joshua Donen. Dennis Kelly, creator of the original Channel 4 series, is exec producing with Kudos’ Jane Featherstone and Shine America’s Carolyn Bernstein.

“Utopia” has just finished lensing its second season in the U.K. and is set to air later this year.
Project marks Fincher’s TV followup to Netflix’s “House of Cards,” which is about to raise the curtain on its second season. The helmer has a number of other development prospects in the pipeline at HBO.

Flynn, repped by WME, has emerged as a star scribe thanks to the warm reception in Hollywood for her first novels, which also include “Dark Places” and “Sharp Objects.”

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Ron Moore on Adapting 'Outlander'

Ron Moore on Adapting 'Outlander,' 'Helix's' Future and Taking on James Bond

by Lesley Goldberg

The "Battlestar Galactica" alum talks with THR about bringing Diana Gabaldon's best-sellers to Starz, network TV's fear of Westerns and what Syfy rookie "Helix" could look like in season two.

"Helix," left, Ron Moore and "Outlander"

Ron Moore is returning to TV in a big way this year.

The Battlestar Galactica alum is exec producing Syfy's latest scripted hit Helix, which has broken DVR records for the network, and has Starz's high-profile adaptation of Diana Gabaldon's best-sellers Outlander due in the summer.

Both series mark Moore's TV comeback after Syfy's BSG prequel spinoff Caprica ended its run in 2010. In the years since, Moore developed futuristic procedural 17th Precinct for NBC, a remake of The Wild West for CBS and Coast Guard drama The McCulloch for NBC, all of which were passed over.

The Hollywood Reporter caught up with Moore to discuss his return to the small screen with Helix and Outlander, both of which were picked up straight to series, the resurgence of genre fare like The Walking Dead and Game of Thrones as well as what he'd like to tackle next (hint: James Bond). 

You had two shows, with Helix and Outlander, ordered straight to series in 2013, and both on cable. Do you think it's easier to develop for cable right now?

I don't know if it's easier. That's a hard question to ask because each of these projects has their own particular variables, and we're never quite sure which one gets the brass ring and which one doesn't. Certainly, I've had more success developing in cable than broadcast, but why is a really hard question to answer. I'm not sure if it's any easier; it's all hard. It's hard to develop anything for TV. It's not as hard as it is to develop for the feature world, which is just insane. Every network has their own particular set of requirements, what their needs are, what they think has succeeded or failed for them in the past and where they're trying to go. So every season, you're kind of starting over when it comes to what you might be able to achieve.

With Starz's Outlander, what's the draw there for you?

I really like the period -- and I get to do two periods. I'm a fan of history and historical fiction, so I get to do the 1940s and I get to do the 18th century, which is a treat for me. I really like creating those worlds; that's the one similarity to what I've done in sci-fi. With Battlestar Galactia, everyday, we were creating a world that doesn't really exist and I really enjoy that. I enjoy the challenge of it in the production sense and I like creating something that is a departure from where we all live.

Do you think Outlander could have worked on a basic cable or a broadcast network? 

I don't think it could have worked in broadcast. The elements we would have had to change from the book, they would have freaked out about a lot of the sexual stuff, especially the latter part of the book and the whole plot with Jack Randall, Jamie and the prison rape. We never would have been able to touch that on broadcast television. I also don't think that they would have gone for the first-person narrative. There are a lot of things you could not have done in broadcast. This had to be cable. 

Is there a note that Starz has given you that you found particularly helpful? 

One of the very first notes that [Starz CEO] Chris Albrecht told me was to trust the book. He said, "We love the book. Make the show for the fans of the book and believe that anyone who doesn't know this material, when they see it, they'll be swept into the story like everyone else is. "I was really taken aback because nobody says that in this town. Generally, people [option] books and say, "We bought it for the cover, do what you want and nobody really cares." Starz had integrity.

Outlander has been referred to as a Game of Thrones for women. Would you agree?

I don't know. That's a hard label because they are such different pieces in every sense of the word. I love Game of Thrones. I didn't read the books, but Game is about a lot of different characters and a lot of different storylines. Some of the joy of that show is the continual turn of moving from this character to that one and back again and watching it all come together. Outlander is a central, single narrative about one woman and her journey. One is a fantasy world that doesn't exist; one is a real historical place. The only thing that I take from Game is that the adaptation of a successful book with an existing fan base can not only work, it can be wildly successful, so it gives me great confidence and hope that we can do that.

With Outlander, there are seven books in the series. Do you want to do one book per season? 

It's really hard to say at this point; we're just trying to get season one. I'm starting to think ahead about what season two would be in the second book, and I'm starting to shape what the outlines of that would be in my head. But beyond that, it's just too far off. I think there's a comfort level and a simplicity to say that every season is one book, but it doesn't have to be. You can start moving the pieces around deciding where one season begins and another ends. 

Would you like to do that Walking Dead model where you do the eight and eight split-run or should Outlander run for 16 straight weeks?

I don't know if I have a preference with that. I know I don't want to do it like Galactica where fans kept getting confused about when we were on. It felt like we were broadcast randomly at times. They would split the season and then we'd be on a different night; there was no rhyme or reason to it. I don't know that I have a preference between eight and eight or 16.

You've said before that you're using Diana as a sounding board. How does that work? Has she been instrumental in a specific scene or an obstacle you've encountered?

It was like a growing comfort level of sending her the scripts and seeing her reaction. I would pitch her things and say what I'm thinking about doing and ask for her thoughts. She was always so positive and sometimes excited. It gave me a sense of confidence of where we were going, and it was good to have her along the way. And to know that if she's signing off on it, I'm pretty sure the fans are going to sign off on it. So it just gives you the confidence to keep moving. I've asked her a couple of times if there was anything in particular she was looking to see shot and realized that she has an overall love of all of it and is just thrilled to see it. It's nice. It's not Saving Mr. Banks (laughs), which I really liked. Doing what I'm doing and watching this movie, I thought, "Wow, this could have been a whole different thing!"

The book series is very sexual. Have you had any issues with boundaries from Starz?

I haven't run into any boundaries yet. There's a lot of sex in the book, so we put it in the show where it is in the book. It's organic to the story because this is the way the story was laid out. We don't have to overdo it; we don't have to just take somebody's clothes off for the sake of doing it. I feel very comfortable about it. I've got a 14-year-old and a 12-year-old at home who know about this project and love this stuff. I've showed them some footage and the trailer, but at the same time I'm not going to sit and watch this with my 12-year-old daughter once we really get going. I wish I could, but that's not what the book is and that's not what the story is.

Meanwhile, Helix is performing well for Syfy. What's the common thread between the two shows for you? 

Compelling characters. I didn't want to read the Helix pilot because I wasn't into viruses and medical stuff; it wasn't my cup of tea. I kept turning it down and telling them to give it to somebody else. They finally convinced me to read it and it was a page-turner. I really liked the characters, and I liked the isolation of the characters caught in this difficult situation. It was a pressure-cooker environment and at the end of the script I wanted to see the next episode. I was hooked. It's the same way with Outlander: When I started reading the book, it was a page-turner. I just kept wanting to see what happened next. Both of them just appealed to me as a storyteller.

With Game of Thrones, Helix, The Walking Dead and soon Outlander, sci-fi has really exploded in recent years, with lots of genre stuff among the broadcast networks' pilot orders. What do you think is behind the resurgence? 

Success. Television loves imitation. Once one of these shows hit, everyone else scrambled to try and get that. Lost blazed the trail in a big way, and so did Heroes and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. There were a lot of shows in the early 2000s that caught the public's imagination. Then you started to see that everyone wanted one. I can't tell you how many executives told me, "I want our own Lost." I kept hearing it over and over again. Everyone wanted to glom onto that success and then they just keep finding audiences and they just keep doing it.

Is there one show that you developed in your career that you would like to try again? 

Naren Shankar (CSI) and I did a pilot of CBS and it was a very positive experience. They seemed to like it, but then they just didn't pull the trigger on it at the last minute. I loved that original show and I really liked our take on it. I've always wanted to do a Western. I grew up with Wild Wild West, and I thought it was an amazing series. I thought there was something great in that series and I wish I could get a second crack at that.

I'm still surprised NBC passed on Carlton Cuse's comics adaptation The Sixth Gun -- it's sci-fi meets Western.

I know. There's this weird allergic reaction to the Western. I don't really understand what that's about, but it's really hard to even take the meeting. They don't even want to talk about doing a Western -- and that's almost across the board at all the networks. I don't get it. It was such a giant staple of entertainment in this country for 50, 60 years and now they're all afraid of it. Watch, somebody will do it, it'll be a huge hit and then they'll be 50 of them on the air again.

How are you balancing your time between Outlander and Helix?

Outlander really takes the lion's share of my time. Helix has Steve Maeda, who is the showrunner and deserves the lion's share of the credit because he's there everyday and working in the writers' room and dealing with production problems. I helped get it up on its feet and helped develop the initial mythology, and I'd come into post every once in a while and cut some things and help out, but he's really the guy. [Outlander] is what's taking most of my time.

What kind of plans are you making for a second season of Helix? 

We have some ideas for season two. Before the show was sold, we had some conceptual ideas about what the second season would be. We do have a place to start from.

That the virus can't remain on the base for the entire series.

No. The first season takes place entirely within the base. And then that's part of the concept of the show -- every episode is a day. We're going to stay in this one location, and just make a little crucible for these characters as they struggle with what's happening. The idea would be to do a similar thing in the second season -- to also go to a place and tell the story in a place.

Would season two show how this virus is taking shape in a different location with different characters? 

We would have some of the same characters in a different location, but it's hard to even talk about it because we haven't gotten to the end of this season. It depends on how this season ends and that will tell you how and where the next season will be going.

Are you developing anything else right now?

Not actively. There are a couple other series ideas I had kicking around that I would like to get to, but Outlander is pretty much a full-time job.

Any dream properties that you'd love to tackle next? 

I'd love to revisit Wild Wild West. I got to write a couple of the episodes of the Star Wars live-action thing that didn't happen. That was a treat. I'd love to do a Bond film. I'd have a ball doing it.

What about a Bond TV show? 

In some ways, I want to go back and do a period Bond set in the 1950s or '60s and do that as a series -- like a Mad Men Bond Show. It would be really fun. The costumes, the women, the music, the whole thing would be defining cool all over again.
 

 

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Carice van Houten: Calls For More Male Nudity in Game of Thrones

Game of Thrones star Carice van Houten calls for more male nudity in the show

The Dutch actress defended nudity in the show saying it was 'part of life'

It's known for its bloody violence and risqué sex scenes, so it's no surprise that the stars of Game of Thrones are all in favour of the show's X-rated content – so long as it serves the story.

Dutch actress Carice van Houten, who plays the enigmatic Red Priestess Melisandre, has defended the amount of bare flesh in the show and called for more male nudity in the HBO series.

Asked whether there should be more male nudity, she said: "Hell yeah! Of course it has to be functional and it mostly is. But in general that's what I like about the show, not the sex per se but the nudity is part of life."

She added: "We can see machine guns but we can’t see f**king – sorry – people? I really don’t get, I have to make a point here. Who sleeps with their bra on? I mean, sorry if that’s a Dutch approach but I think we need to get used to it. It’s part of life."

Van Houten has shed her character’s flowing red robes on more than one occasion, most notably when Melisandre gave birth to a dark spirit in a cave. The actress wore little more than a bulging, prosthetic pregnant belly while going into labour.

In another scene that played out like a medieval version of 50 Shades of Grey, Melisandre bared all to seduce a young man before chaining him to bed and sticking leeches on him.

Van Houten has appeared naked in other projects including Dutch film The Happy Housewife, and while she is all for it, she said that the prospect of doing a nude scene makes her "nervous" and she tries to alleviate the tension on set in a novel way.

"I'd rather just show everyone this is the material, like very plain and clean. This is the body, your mother has them, let’s not make a big fuss out of them and then they get used to it. I don’t do it for them, I do it for me because I pick up on tension in the room and I just want people to be fine with it."

Co-star Liam Cunningham also defended the sex scenes in the show, arguing they were not demeaning to women because of the strength of the female characters.

Speaking at a press event in London, he said: "If there wasn't a hugely strong female character in this, like [Melisandre], then it would be sexist. It's just gratuitous. But some of the most dangerous characters in the show are women - there's Cersei. They are extraordinarily well-drawn."

Cunningham, who stars as Davos Seaworth in the medieval drama, has had dangerous dealings with the priestess and bore witness to the shadow baby. The pair have a tense relationship in the story and it is often a battle of wits with Melisandre usually getting the upper hand.

"I think there's a level of intelligence required by the viewer or whoever watching this and it doesn't patronise, it shows the dark side and the bright side of humanity in this.

"It's inclusive and it's not just the strong man and the women as the stay-at-home wife or she’s there to be the hostage. She's not functional. She's f**king dangerous in this show and has to be watched," he added with a laugh.

Speaking about her story strand in Season 4 van Houten said: "Stannis has a light season this year but we have a few meaty scenes. [...] Our storyline is going to move somewhere else and it's going to be interesting because it's going to collide with a world which we also know, and what's going to happen there."

Cunningham said: "One of the differences this year from reading the scripts is that, generally speaking, over the three seasons there's been a slow and gradual build up with magnificent stories up to the big episodes which is usually episode 9. It's not like that in this season. It's kicking off very early on, it's really dramatic and as opposed to the one big climax of the other season, there's going to be several. It's bigger, bolder, brassier - and I'm dying to see it as well".  

The new season will be airing in April this year.

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Model Nude In A Room Full Of Women

Hens Knights nude model reveals what it’s really like to be in the nude with a room full of women

Paris poses with hen Sherelle Edwards as the women at the party draw him in various poses.

HE works in sales by day and takes his clothes off for women at night, but Paris isn’t your average stripper. 

For a start, the nude model and topless waiter doesn’t gyrate or dance while taking off his clothes to music.

He’s also the first to admit he could “be more cut and defined” and while he can dance okay he definitely can’t “stripper dance”.

The nude model admits he still has moments of shyness.

“I guess I come under the stripper banner in that I do take my clothes off for money,” he said.

“But I’m too awkward to just start grinding up against people.”

The 30-year-old “fell into” nude modelling a few years ago when a topless waiter mate sent him a text asking if he’d get his clothes off for a hen’s party.

“I woke up one Saturday morning to this text message asking if I’d do it,” he told news.com.au

“I literally laughed and rolled over and went back to sleep.

“Then I thought ‘well what’s so bad about it? All I have to is be naked.’”

As it turns out, it was a little more difficult and awkward than he thought, especially when he turned up to his first gig and a workmate was also there working as a topless waiter.

Paris now loves what he does but admits he still gets nervous before each event as he doesn’t really know what to expect from the crowd.

Like last Saturday when he walked into a roomful of 45 screaming women.

“Usually the ladies just talk among themselves,” he said.

“But that was definitely the best reaction I’ve ever had.”

Bride-to-be Sherelle Edwards said she had no idea what her friends had in store for her when they booked her a topless waiter for her hen’s night.

“It was definitely a night to remember,” she said.

“For the first 30 minutes or so he spent his time chatting with the ladies and having fun, until he disappeared into the bedroom and came out wearing only a towel.”

Ms Edwards said no one had any idea what was ahead as pads and pencils were handed out and all the women were asked to draw while Paris modelled for them.

“He had a great personality, got on really well with everyone and was more accommodating than I thought he would be with everything my friends were throwing his way,” she said.

But as well as appreciation such as this from the female sex, the Hens Knights worker reckons there are other added benefits of taking your clothes off, including having to maintain a fit and healthy lifestyle.

He trains four times a week to maintain his body and eats well about 80 per cent of the time.

Then there’s the biggest benefit of all, being paid well for simply being naked.

Topless waiters and nude models can earn anywhere from $100-$250 per hour, depending on the job.

“It’s actually really liberating,” he said. “You literally have nothing to hide.”

“Some guys are totally comfortable with it, I still get nervous, but it’s all individual.”

But surely he must get some eyebrows when he reveals his other life?

Paris admits he does get some strange looks and questions on how he could do it but reckons on the whole most people are pretty supportive.

But while his ex-girlfriend initially didn’t like him getting naked in front of other women, she eventually understood it was part of the job.

“My close family and friends all know and no one has an issue with it,” he said.

“My mum’s fairly conservative but doesn’t have a problem and dad thinks it’s hilarious.

“There is judgment at times, some people might think how could I, or it’s stupid but I’ve got nothing to be ashamed of.”

For anyone thinking of making the move into topless waiting and nude modelling, he has this piece of advice.

“Be confident and bold and don’t be ashamed to put yourself out there,” he said.

“And try to keep an arm’s length away from the winking ones (women) as they’re more likely to grope or slap you.”

Nude modelling can be liberating as well as lucrative.

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Terrific Short: COCKATOO

'Cockatoo' (2012)

from Ninja Milk - Social. Content. 

ninjamilk.com - A man with a broken heart tries to relive his failed relationship by hiring a young girl to play his ex-girlfriend. If only she could get the accent right.

AWARDS
Best Original Screenplay – Flickerfest (Australia)
Best Foreign Director – Outbox International Film Festival (Lebanon)
Jury Award for Best ‘Wild Side’ Short Film – Tri Media Film Festival (USA)
Audience Favourite Award – DC Shorts Film Festival (USA)
Silver Yowie Award for Best Short Film (Open) – Blue Mountains Film Festival (Australia)
Audience Favourite Award – Blue Mountains Film Festival (Australia)
Honorable Mention Award – Anchorage International Film Festival (USA)
Honorable Mention Award (Comedy Fiction) – Taos Shortz Film Festival (USA)
Best Film – West End Film Festival (Australia)
Best Australian Film – Clare Valley Film Festival (Australia)
Best Actor (Female) – Matilda Brown – Clare Valley Film Festival (Australia)
For more info: ninjamilk.com/cockatoo-short-film-2012/
Writer / Director: Matthew Jenkin


Roger
Lordy Lord! Look at those big green anime-like eyes. Wow! Mom Rachel Ward was in a different league but her daughter Mathilda Brown [1], [2] is in a class of her own.

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Emilia Clarke: One Of The Best Female Performers On TV

Why Emilia Clarke is one of the best female performers on TV

Unlike many on Game of Thrones, Daenerys Targaryen has undergo drastic personality changes as the series progresses.

By Sam Moore

'Game of Thrones' has no shortage of great performances and whilst Emilia Clarke's may not be the best (that honour goes to Peter Dinklage), she has the most difficult. She is one of the very few characters to undergo drastic personality changes as the series progresses. The first time we see her, she is weak and submissive, but by the end of the first season, she has grown to become strong-willed and a leader of men.

Clarke undergoes the transformation in a very subtle manner, with the only obvious difference being her language becomes more forceful and blunt. 'Game of Thrones' has received a lot of acclaim for its acting, and rightly so, but Emilia Clarke is often ignored in those conversations, likely due to her journey taking place away from the main storyline, but I feel she's as vital as any other cast member.

There are no shortage of great dramatic performances on TV right now as the likes of Robin Wright, Kerry Washington, Julianna Marguiles, Lizzy Caplan and Elisabeth Moss are all doing outstanding work in their respective shows. And whilst Clarke may not be quite ready to mentioned alongside those great names, mainly due to the fact she has much less screen time than all of them, she has shown herself to be a great screen presence who is going to be a leading lady for a long time, especially if she keeps receiving roles as complex and interesting as Daenerys.

She deservedly was nominated for an Emmy last year and I feel she has improved greatly as an actress during the time 'Game of Thrones' has been on air, especially as she was so young and inexperienced before the beginning of the show.

In a show where everybody seems to be shouting obscenities and attempting to behead someone, Clarke's Daenerys is far more quiet, knowing the power of selective speaking. To stand out whilst being so subdued in a cast full of histrionics shows Clarke's ability is very real and vital to the feel and rhythm of the show.

Following Daenerys on her quest for the Iron Throne often features a lot of walking and talking, but it's nonetheless captivating as Clarke has the power to command your attention with her stark beauty and authoritarian way with words. There aren't a great deal of interesting female characters in the show but Clarke makes Daenerys feel like the MVP when she's on top form, and I can't wait to see where she goes in season 4.

Sam is a fan of all kinds of television, but has a particular fondness for dark dramas. For more of his thoughts on all things film and TV visit his blog and follow him on Twitter.

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7 Things I Want This Woman to Know About Porn

by Mark Kernes

CYBERSPACE—A couple of weeks or so ago, Alternet reprinted an article from the Mamamia.com website titled, "7 Things I Want My Son to Know About Porn." Why Alternet reprinted this article is unknown, but clearly, whoever made the decision knew little about porn—much as is the case with the article's author, Harriet Pawson.

We won't speculate why Pawson won't have this discussion face-to-face with her son—unless it's that she's afraid of the questions he might ask if given the opportunity. But of course, we're well aware of the millions of households in the U.S. with children approaching pubescence, who will never receive a letter like this, much less have a discussion on the subject with either parent—most of whom are too poorly sexually-educated to have such a discussion anyway.

Readers can view Pawson's article here, and what follows is this author's analysis of the article's main flaws, which were also posted in the article's comments section. (And don't miss checking out the Cindy Gallop video at the end, which also contains its share of misinformation.):

As someone who works in the porn industry, how about if we take Pawson's objections to porn one by one?:

1) "Porn is not real sex." Well, if by "real sex," Pawson means unpaid sex, she's correct. But the people having what is in fact real sex on camera are often off-screen lovers or married couples, and there's been a concerted effort in recent years to depict the sex as something real-life young adults would engage in, though likely for shorter periods of time than shown in the movies. And it's a proven fact that older couples who watch porn often adopt positions they see but haven't ever tried into their own sex lives.

2 and 3) While it's true that non-actors should not compare their own physical characteristics to those of actors (who, after all, are generally chosen for their societally-approved good looks), the main reason men shave their pubic hair is for comfort, and the comfort of their partners, who don't wish to get such hair stuck in their teeth. Women shave for the same reasons, although that hairlessness is a fortunate side effect. Also, modern porn has many women who have not had their breasts enlarged, in part because of a growing fandom for natural breasts. Perhaps the most important point: The vast majority of women in porn have not had their vaginas surgically altered. In fact, it's incredibly rare. But to state that there's "nothing remotely natural about most of the bodies you see in porn" is simply not true!

4) Many women in porn do fake orgasms, but not nearly as many as Pawson would have her readers believe. As a journalist covering the porn industry, I have been present on many film sets and the number of real orgasms had by female actors is probably close to 50 percent of the total number depicted, especially in "girl/girl" movies. Many women get into porn because they actually like sex and want to experience sex with a large number of partners, often both male and female—and they like it!

5) It's true that no one wants a partner who fakes enjoying sex. Trouble is, Pawson assumes that most porn performers don't enjoy sex, when in fact they do. And while it's true that many women like a lot of foreplay, many others don't care one way or the other—and the current most popular genres of porn—romance stories from companies like New Sensations and Wicked Pictures—feature a fair amount of foreplay.

6) I have to wonder on what basis Pawson can decide what "many women... are not OK with" when it comes to sex acts. Porn videos are not sex-education tapes, any more than the latest Die Hard movie is indicative of the typical day's work of New York City police (or the CIA or whoever John McClane is working for these days). Porn movies display a variety of sexual acts; they don't prescribe them. If a couple (or threesome or more-some) can't decide what sex acts give both/all of them pleasure, they probably shouldn't do them. On the other hand, many women (and men) do enjoy anal sex once they've tried it—but again, a determination not to try a particular sex act is something every person should respect.
Regarding Pawson's admonition to "Always ask first," it's not just young adults who need to hear that; plenty of oldsters assume their partners will go for things that in fact they don't like. Conversely, many people who have been convinced to try a particular act have wound up liking it. As for performers being paid more to do anal, it's not because most of them don't like it (they do); it's because it's an unusual sex act that many if not most people have never tried in their personal lives, and the rarity of it in "real life" is part of the reason people watch porn: They fantasize about doing it, and porn lets them see that fantasy on the screen. In a sense, it's why stunt people in Hollywood get paid more to perform unusual acrobatics: Such moves are rarely seen in real life. And rest assured, almost no one likes semen in the eye, especially when there are many places on the body to deposit it, and many women in porn will NOT do facials.
Finally, there are plenty of people out there (including a fair number of elected officials) who have sexual fetishes they will go out of their way to find partners for in real life, but at least, if they can't find a willing partner, porn will help assuage the urges—and yes, that includes bondage, domination, spanking, "water sports," diaper play and just about any human act a person can imagine. Again, always ask first!

7) If Pawson really wanted to teach her son a lesson about porn, the first thing out of her mouth should be, "You will probably not find that all of the sex acts in the movie turn you on, and you may even think some of them are stupid or hurtful. That's when you need to realize that what you're watching is fiction, a fantasy that people are paid to engage in"—but to assume that he won't like certain acts that he sees on the screen is to assume that his tastes in sexual activity reflect either Pawson's own or the ones that "polite society" is willing to admit that it enjoys. And the truth is, many people's sexual tastes are much more complicated than that, so attempting to prejudge a particular act as "loathed by many" is a surreptitious attempt to limit the kid's sexual freedom and, perhaps more importantly, sexual imagination—and why would she want to do that unless she has an unspoken agenda?

Just a few ideas to mull over...

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model Leigh Hoby: Factice Magazine [Feb 2014]

Canadian model Leigh Hoby: by Marko Mijailovic for Factice Magazine

from Factice Magazine

A couper le souffle, Leigh Hoby by Marko Mijailovic for Factice Magazine digital issue 22 - February 2014
Full story on facticemagazine.com

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Laura Jacobs: 'Muck (2014)' Official Trailer

27-years old Canadian model-actress Laura Jacobs [1],[2],[3] in Muck (2014): Official Trailer

After narrowly escaping an ancient burial ground, a group of friends find themselves trapped between two evils, forcing them to fight, die, or go back the way they came.
Laura was Maggie Grace body double in Californication. She was the chick diving into the pool. More info HERE and HERE.
Sexy starlets set to shine bod-wise includes Audra Van Hees, Jaclyn Swedberg and Ashley Green Elizabeth.

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Julia Hummer: "Top Girl or La Deformation Professionnelle" Review

 

Top Girl or La Deformation Professionnelle: Berlin Review

The Bottom Line

Sex workers of the world unite.

Venue

Berlin film festival (Forum)

Cast

Julia Hummer, Susanne Bredehoft, Jojo Pohl, RP Kahl, Simon Will

Director

Tatjana Turanskyj

Micro-budget drama about a Berlin escort girl combines clunky polemic with spiky satire.

BERLIN -- A corrective antidote to the forest of tumescent erections in Lars Von Trier's extended cut of Nymphomaniac, this low-key Forum entry at the Berlinale offers a welcome female-directed perspective on sexual politics and male erotic fantasy, complete with some unappetizing flaccid penis shots. Filmed in Berlin on a limited budget, Top Girl has plenty to say about the harsh iniquities of gender politics, but little that is original or entertaining.  Despite a few intriguing digressions into dark satire, its afterlife will likely be limited to small specialist screenings and festival platforms dedicated to feminist film-making.

With a background in video and performance art, which clearly informs her directing methods, writer-director Tatjana Turanskyj screened her debut feature The Drifter at the 2010 Berlinale. Marginally more conventional in style and structure, Top Girl is billed as a semi-sequel, part of an ongoing trilogy about working women in a male-dominated culture.

The actress and singer Julia Hummer, best known to non-German audiences for her role in Oliver Assayas' terrorism epic Carlos, stars as Helena, a 30-year-old single mother who supplements her patchy career as an actress with a far more lucrative sideline as an escort. Top Girl features several of her encounters with clients, which run the gamut from creepy to comical to humiliating. For one, she dresses up as a Catwoman dominatrix. Another favors dressing in women's clothes and penetration with sex toys. But playful performance masks harsh economic necessity.

Between clients and auditions, Helena has fractious discussions with her mother Lotte (Susanne Bredehoft), a singer and music teacher from an earlier feminist tradition. She also attends promotional lectures in which genital cosmetic surgery is sold as female liberation. Eventually, under threat of losing losing the apartment bankrolled by one of her wealthy regulars, Helena bows to pressure to recruit female colleagues for a corporate event at which their lowly social status is exploited in sinister patriarchal power games.

Shifting in tone between domestic naturalism, stylized agitprop and darkly funny commentary on gender politics, Top Girl is a frustratingly half-baked mix. The grim financial options faced by cash-strapped sex workers have been anatomized countless times on screen, and Turanskyj has little fresh to add to the subject. Likewise her use of sloganeering political rhetoric, which feels like a clumsy throwback to 1970s student theater. Her no-frills shooting style is adequate, but  pedestrian.

In her favor, the film's most powerful sequence is a queasy satirical depiction of a male-bonding session in the woods outside Berlin, in which naked women are reduced to hunted animals. Turanskyj has the premise for a terrific feminist horror movie here, with potential to subvert a mainstream genre rather than preach to the converted on the margins. Hopefully her next big-screen polemic against penis power will rise to that challenge.

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A Lack Of Diversity In Casting

“Plenty Of Blame To Go Around- A Lack Of Diversity In Casting”

By Etta Devine

A lack of diversity in casting is a problem. Stories with women, different types of women, people of color and people with disabilities are totally underrepresented in media. There are many reasons for this.

You can look to the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media to see how some of these ratios of women to men play out. You can blame writers and producers for consistently misrepresenting the ratios of women to men in the world. There was a great article in Salon about how casting notices contribute to sexism by asking for very different character qualities in men and women. As someone who regularly reads casting notices I can say they’re totally right. It’s a phenomena that results in what I call “Fat Guy and Skinny Wife” shows. Casting notices for men often read “funny” or “does this job” while for women it’s often “hot” or “ beautiful but not gorgeous”.  Men are described by what they do and women by what they look like but hotter. You can see this in shows like “What About Jim” (which is what I thought “According to Jim” was called but Google seemed to know what I was talking about), “Modern Family,” “The Simpsons” and pretty much every other TV or film relationship any of us have ever seen. It’s a great article, read it.

In addition to these two factors (and many more) there is one that I discovered while making movies. Agents and managers and who they choose to submit and not submit for breakdowns. When a breakdown goes out without race or age or disability specified, a breakdown where a black little person grandmother could book the role as easily as the 20 something blonde in general it’s mostly the blonde that gets submitted. This means that when casting is calling people in there is simply a generally un-diverse pool of submissions for them to choose from.

Even when production does specify something “quirky” or “any ethnicity” or “disabled actors welcome” the submissions are still largely young and beautiful headshots. Is this because agents have learned after years and years of experience that the young hot girl gets cast regardless of what casting has asked for? That they know what they really want? Is it because they don’t have diversity in their rooster to submit? I’d love to know.

Here is an example. When I was working on my first feature The Selling we put out a breakdown to agents and managers for my character to see if we could attract a name who would be worth kicking me out of the movie. We described me basically. Words like “quirky” and “strange” were used.

Examples like “young Toni Collette, think Muriel’s Wedding,” “Rachel Dratch,” and the third example was an African American actress who was on a sitcom at the time. As usual when a breakdown goes out there were tons of submissions. Check this number breakdown from Bonnie Gillespie for an example of the kind of numbers I’m talking about. Basically tons and tons. There were maybe three people submitted who actually fit the breakdown. There were hardly any actresses who weren’t white. This is surprising since one of the three examples was an African American.

There was no one in a wheel chair, no eye patches, no amputees or little people. From a casting point of view we would have been open to all of this but agents and managers only gave us modelie gorgeous girls. Upon further investigation some of those modelie girls did have “quirky” headshots that would have gotten them called in (if they were names, but that’s another kettle of fish). The agents and managers chose not to submit those photos.

Etta Devine on the set of The Selling

This was a specific project with limited financial appeal so it’s not a universal example, but it was pretty shocking. There were of course some agencies that didn’t submit at all who may very well be doing great at this. We didn’t see them. Is that a good enough caveat that leaves room for people who are doing a good job? I think so.

So, how do we fight this?

Obviously content creators need to put different types of people in their stuff. But additionally when you put out a breakdown make a point to put who is welcome in a part that could go to anyone. And if you’re an agent or manager push that extra button and submit diversely in addition to your young beautiful white girls. Your clients will stand out and that may very well get them called in and change the face of media to one that more accurately reflects the world.

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U.S. Trade Rep Identifies ‘Notorious’ Piracy Sites

U.S. Trade Representative Identifies ‘Notorious’ Piracy Sites

Ted Johnson

Putlocker.com, Rapidshare.com and The PirateBay.se have enjoyed huge traffic on the Internet, but they also have earned a distinction of being among the most “notorious” online sites when it comes to piracy.

U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman on Wednesday will release the annual list of “notorious” marketplaces, online and physical marketplaces that “reportedly engage in and facilitate substantial piracy and counterfeiting.”

According to an advanced release of the report, 23 sites made the list, which Froman’s office compiled after public input, including filings from the Motion Picture Assn. of American and the Recording Industry Assn. of America. The sites were identified because they have been subject to enforcement actions or they may warrant further investigation.

Putlocker.com, for instance, is a cyberlocker in the U.K. that offers streaming and downloading of extremely large video files, and since its launch in 2010 “has become one of the most popular streaming hubs in the world,” according to the trade rep’s report. “Although the site operator has reportedly ceased the previous practice of compensating users for uploads and has instituted a relatively quick notice and takedown process, the site continues to make available significant amounts of pirated content,” the report states.

Rapidshare.com, the report says, has diminished in popularity but “remains one of the most active sites worldwide.” A Czech director won a $26,000 judgment against the site for illegal distribution of one of his movies, and it was upheld on appeal.

The PirateBay.se, based in Sweden, “continues to navigate the globe” and the domain name system to “facilitate user downloading of unauthorized copyright-protected content.” The U.S. Trade Rep’s report claims that “the site released its own web browser designed to evade network controls and reportedly plans to offer software to circumvent conventional methods of enforcement.’

Other sites listed in the report include Aiseesoft.com, Baixedetudo.net, Darkwarez.pl, Ex.ua, Extratorrent.cc, Free-tv-video-online.me, KickassTorrents.com, Kuaibo.com, Mp3skull.com, Rapidgator.net, Rutracker.org, Seriesyonkis.com, SlySoft.com, Torrentz.eu, Uploaded.net, vKontakte.com, Wawa-mania.ec, Xunlei.com/Kankan.com, Zamunda.net/Arenabg.com and Zing.vn.

Some sites were removed from the list, including IsoHunt.com, which agreed to shut down last year as part of a $110 million settlement agreement in federal court last year. China’s GouGou.com was removed from the list after its operator shut it down. Another Chinese site, PaiPai.com, was removed from the list after it streamlined its notice and takedown procedures and accelerated its response to complaints, according to the report. One of China’s largest sites, Baidu.com, was removed in 2011 after it entered into a licensing agreement with U.S. copyright owners.

The report also identified a number of “notorious” physical markets, including several markets at the Garment Wholesale Center in Guangzhou, China, and Nehru Place and Gaffar Market in New Dehli, India. Pulga Rio Market in Mexico was removed from the list after it was the target of law enforcement action, as was the Urdu Bazaars in Pakistan.

In a statement, Froman said that the “markets we have identified unfairly take from …American workers, diminishing the value and salability of their work and threatening their jobs.”

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BIFF[2014]: 'Thou Wast Mild and Lovely' Review

Thou Wast Mild and Lovely | Berlinale Review

By Don Simpson

Director: Josephine Decker
Writer: Josephine Decker
Starring: Joe Swanberg, Sophie Traub, Robert Longstreet, Kristin Slaysman, Matt Orme, Geoff Marslett, Shelley Delaney, Brooklyn Schuck, Raleigh Schuck, Erica McClure, Bennett Alderdice

Akin (Joe Swanberg) arrives at Jeremiah’s (Robert Longstreet) farm in rural Kentucky to work as a handyman for the summer. Presumably with no other options for income, Akin has left his family behind as he clandestinely slips his wedding ring into the glovebox of his car. His motivation for keeping his family a secret leaves the inquisitively natured Jeremiah to derive his own conclusions about the blatant tan line on Akin’s ring finger. Jeremiah’s initial assumption is that Akin might be looking for some extramarital action this summer and he might not be all that far off. That is perfectly acceptable in Jeremiah’s sexually perverse mind, he even has a young woman — Sarah (Sophie Traub) — awaiting such advances.

As if living in a time capsule, Sarah dutifully obliges to be Jeremiah’s household slave fulfilling all of the stereotypical gender roles from the 1950s. Though Jeremiah’s relationship to/with Sarah is questionably creepy, it is (quite thankfully) never visualized or explained. There is a prevailing threat of violence in his sternness, but other than the bruises on her thighs there are no apparent signs of abuse or molestation.

Whether he is Sarah’s overprotective father or jealous lover, Jeremiah attempts to pry information from Akin; but Akin’s affinity for silence and privacy frustrates Jeremiah because he knows that Akin is not as simple as he purports to be. As Akin’s hunched shoulders suggest, his secrets are quite a heavy burden to carry. The music that Akin is listening to as he initially drives up to Jeremiah’s house suggests that he is cultured and refined, as does his homebrewing hobby. He may not be bourgeois enough to have his laundry professionally cleaned, but Akin is obviously not a brainless hick.

All the while, Akin gazes wantonly at the naively coquettish Sarah, lustfully fantasizing about all of the things that he would like to do to the proverbial farmer’s daughter. Sarah is slightly more furtive as she watches Akin, though her stare is no less erotically tinged.

Despite the vast expanses of land that surround them, there is a prevailing sense of claustrophobia as the characters are always in close proximity with each other. Even when they are alone, there is no privacy, someone (or some animal) is always watching. Ashley Connor’s cinematography perpetuates the film’s voyeuristic air.

Hypnotically floating around the farm like an unseen character, the camera sometimes observes from afar, while other times it is mere inches away from the characters. The camera often stops at awkward angles, as if frozen out of fear of being noticed. The camera’s lustful lens mimics the male gaze, targeting Sarah as its object of desire; slyly ogling the contours of Sarah’s nubile frame, her skin is drenched with unbridled sensuality.

The strength of writer-director Josephine Decker’s Thou Wast Mild and Lovely is its adroit manipulation of our vision and hearing (thanks to Molly Herron and Jeff Young’s haunting score) to the point that we become immersed in the same woozily seductive sedation as Akin. A uniquely transformative experience, Thou Wast Mild and Lovely puts us in the same psychological framework as its characters, directly projecting their feelings and desires on us.

The highly impressionistic lensing (thanks to Connor’s affinity for shallow depth of field) creates a fantastical mise-en-scène in which nightmares and libidinous desires coexist, albeit not very peacefully. The sultry voice of a disembodied narrator adds a fairytale-esque whimsy as she recites passages about her lover while suggesting some oblique connections with the onscreen characters.

Decker’s luridly poetic vision luxuriates in the ethereal and the mythical yet grounds everything in the organic elements of nature, such as water, wood, dirt and blood. Textures and patterns also carry a significant weight, but most amazing is the purposeful coordination of colors, as the characters’ wardrobes always seem to perfectly compliment the backgrounds. (If there is any color symbolism going on, most of it exists well over my head.)

Decker studies the inherent power struggles between her characters, specifically how Sarah and Akin exploit each other’s repressed sexual desires while Jeremiah relies upon psychological abuse. Jeremiah’s story about the good wolf and bad wolf that battle inside everyone suggests the antagonistic duality of good versus evil that exists within each of Decker’s characters. Sex and violence flirtatiously encircle each other, developing into a much more menacing relationship as the film progresses. The farmhouse functions as a pressure cooker that blows its lid once Akin’s wife, Drew (Kristin Slaysman), is tossed into the frothy mess.

While so much of this film is conveyed by way of its technical aspects (cinematography, score), the performances by Sophie Traub, Joe Swanberg and Robert Longstreet are what make this more than just an experimental exercise in sound and vision. (Kristin Slaysman and Geoff Marslett are also fantastic!) This is clearly a break-out performance for Traub who truly embodies her role as Sarah with the perfect blend of naive youthfulness and cunning seduction. Joe Swanberg is also perfectly cast as the quiet and brooding sulker. The performance as Akin relies so much on Swanberg’s frame and posture, while also conveying a lot of emotion via his eyes. Since Swanberg often plays variations of himself, this is probably his most demanding performance to date. And then, there is Longstreet…who will hopefully finally get the attention he deserves from this role. As a long-time admirer of Longstreet’s work, Jeremiah is one character that really fits him like a glove. A truly commanding performance, led by his mastery of Jeremiah’s body movements and his powerful eyes, Longstreet transforms into a fearsomely maniacal beast that is sure to haunt many a nightmare.

Rating: 9/10

Josephine Decker’s ‘Thou Wast Mild And Lovely’ Both Fascinating And Frustrating

An arty sensual drama with woozy experimental flourishes “Thou Wast Mild and Lovely” arguably has a split personality disorder; its dreamy, loose air soon evolves into a charged erotic thriller only then to morph into something more chaotic and nightmarishly psychosexual. It's ambitious, but habitually chokes under the weight of its various pretenses. Directed and co-written by Josephine Decker (her debut film “Butter On The Latch” is also in competition at the Berlin Film Festival which is quite the feat), “Thou Wast Mild and Lovely” walks the fine razor’s edge of being sensually mysterious and frustratingly opaque and falls off and cuts itself often on its affectations. Occasionally told from the perspective of a cow (not joking) and featuring a childlike ambiguous sing-songy voice-over narrative from Sarah’s perspective (a POV that it seemingly abandons), "Thou Wast Mild and Lovely" is also maddeningly precious at times too.

Erratically told, while Decker certainly has an vision and an eye, her problem lies with tone and not knowing when to say when to various arthouse conceits. Shot by indie DP Ashley Connor, the frequently beautiful cinematography which is often blurry and indirectly framed is initially striking, but quickly becomes tiresome (as if the focus puller was fired mid-shoot and the production continued regardless). And all of the film’s animated stylish postures tend to wear out their welcome fast. When “Thou Wast Mild and Lovely” tries to be intimate, it becomes invasive with out-of-focus close-ups practically bumping alongside the actor’s face.

In a better film, you’d admire not being spoonfed every character detail, but Decker’s movie is exasperatingly vague on many levels. In the near loathsome and volatile third act—sex and violence break out haphazardly—Decker goes for broke and misses her mark to an almost infuriating degree. A masturbation sequence borders on the amateurish. A sexual threesome in the movie is baffling, comes out of nowhere and much like other parts of the movie is barely explained. Decker’s picture has jarring style to spare, but rarely is it lovely or mild.

Co-starring Kristin Slaysman, Matt Orme and Geoff Marslett, additionally, "Thou Wast Mild and Lovely" can’t seem to decide what kind of movie it wants to be. Early on, the picture purports to be about the sensual and enigmatic inner life of a woman, but her POV is soon dropped in favor of its genre trappings and twists. Scored by Brooklyn musician Molly Herron and Jeff Young, swirling cellos flutter around like flies taunting cows and while the dissonant and beautiful noise makes for an atmosphere of blissful desire and amplifies the geographical terror and unease, it also over does it.

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HBO Gives Series Order To Comedy Pilot ‘The Brink’

HBO Gives Series Order To Comedy Pilot ‘The Brink’ Starring Jack Black and Tim Robbins, From Jay Roach and Jerry Weintraub

By NELLIE ANDREEVA

EXCLUSIVE: In a very quick turnaround, HBO has given a series order to The Brink, its comedy pilot starring Jack Black and Tim Robbins, directed by Jay Roach and executive produced by Jerry Weintraub.

Written by former Weeds executive producer Roberto Benabib and his brother Kim Benabib, The Brink is an epic dark comedy focusing on a geopolitical crisis and its effect on three disparate and desperate men: U.S. Secretary of State Walter Hollander (Robbins); Alex Coppins (Black), a lowly Foreign Service officer; and Zeke Callahan (Pablo Schreiber), an ace Navy fighter pilot. These three compromised souls must pull through the chaos around them to save the planet from World War III.

Aasif Mandvi, Maribeth Monroe, Geoff Pierson, Esai Morales and Eric Ladin co-star on the series, executive produced by Roberto Benabib, Weintraub and Roach. Kim Benabib and Susie Ekins co-executive produce.
This marks the first HBO series for Weintraub and Roach, who both have deals with the pay cable network and established relationships there. Weintraub executive produced HBO Films’ Emmy-winning movie Behind The Candelabra, while Roach directed and exec produced the Emmy-winning HBO movies Game Change and Recount.

The Brink’s road to HBO’s primetime started with an email Weintraub received while in Europe, which contained the Benabibs’ script. “I read it and I fell in love with it,” he said. When he came back to Los Angeles, Weintraub had lunch with Roach about a movie project where Roach mentioned that he had been looking to do a half-hour comedy. Weintraub ran to his office and brought Roach The Brink script. Joking that Roach “is famous for taking three years to make up his mind” on anything, Wentraub heard from the director the very next day. “He calls me and he says, ‘I’m in, the script is too good’.” The project quickly got a pilot green light at HBO with Weintraub and Roach’s wish-list actors, Black and Robbins, both coming on board. “We surrounded them with great actors, and it all came together,” Weintraub said.

“We knew at the table read that we had the right thing.”

The pilot was recently completed and only shown to HBO brass yesterday, triggering an immediate series pickup. All in all, it took only 4-5 months from the moment Weintraub started working on The Brink to its series greenlight. “They don’t know how long I’m going to live, that’s why they picked it up so quickly,” the 76-year-old Weintraub quipped, praising HBO for being “very supportive and not intrusive in the creative processes.”

Roger
Happy to report there's nudity in the series. Eurasian C-lister Mara Lane [1], [2], [3], [4] is nude in the pilot. She plays a hooker, getting it on with Tim Robbins.

Super fun times shooting #HBO #newpilot #TheBrink #BLT #WorldPeace #BestComedy 4everyone😂🌎✌️ http://t.co/4iax4bn2fb pic.twitter.com/dfFjAvjW7i
— Mara Lane (@MaraLane) January 10, 2014

Having a long day on set and goofing off with the best of 'em. Now some tootsie freedom. #setlife #HBO #TheBrink 😁👠🔫 pic.twitter.com/j50fYqvfwI
— Nosheen Phoenix (@NosheenPhoenix) January 15, 2014

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