Eliana Willis

More stories

  • 100 Shares149 Views

    in Television

    How Spider-Man Has Evolved on Animated TV Shows

    When “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” hit theaters in 2018, it served as a delicacy for longtime fans, who found in the film clever allusions to the vast history of Spider-Man comics and animated series. “Into the Spider-Verse” and its sequel, “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse,” was full of Easter eggs plucked from several eras of Spidey shows, many of which have been revered (and some maligned) over the years.The new Disney+ series “Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man,” which takes place in an alternate reality where our hero is discovered and mentored by Norman Osborn (alter ego of the Green Goblin), is just the latest animated TV offering about the web-slinger. Spider-Man has been swinging across the small screen for decades, with every new series showing a fresh take on the hero and his world, both narratively and stylistically.Spider-Man (1967-1970)The OriginalVideo by ABCWhether or not you’ve watched the original “Spider-Man” TV show, you’ll surely recognize it from its famous opening theme (“Spider-Man, Spider-Man, does whatever a spider can”) or the omnipresent pointing meme, from the Episode 19 story “Double Identity.”The animation is, of course, very much of its time: blocky outlines, jerky character movements and flat, untextured backgrounds. As Spidey swings through the cityscape, the buildings around him are big, mostly solid blocks of pastel colors, with the occasional window and brick detail. And Spider-Man himself has a simplified costume design: The webbing pattern on his mask doesn’t extend down to his torso as in later incarnations; the physical build of the hero (and all the characters, for that matter) is just as nondescript.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

  • 175 Shares199 Views

    in Theater

    ‘Song of the North’ Uses Puppets to Help a Persian Epic Spring to Life

    Hamid Rahmanian has made it his life’s work to share the richness of Iranian culture. “Song of the North,” at the New Victory Theater, is just the latest installment.On a recent afternoon on 42nd Street in Manhattan, a mythological bird was preparing to take flight.Backstage at the New Victory Theater, a black-clad puppeteer put on an elaborately stylized mask and stepped into a beam of light, throwing the shadow of fluttering hands onto a large scrim.Nearby, two other performers were gearing up to practice a sword fight. Then the music started, and a crew of nine began a full run-through of “Song of the North,” an elaborate shadow puppet staging of stories from the 10th-century Persian epic the “Shahnameh.”From the audience, the show unfolded like a seamless animation. But backstage, the next 80 minutes were half ballet, half mad scramble, as the performers grabbed hundreds of different puppets, props and masks stacked on tables and, with split-second timing, jumped in and out of the light beams streaming from two projectors.“Song of the North” involves 483 puppets, 208 animated backgrounds, 16 masks and costumes and nine performers.The show, at the New Victory Theater in Manhattan, is aimed at audiences 8 and older. It’s the latest of Hamid Rahmanian’s projects drawing on the “Shahnameh.” We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

  • 125 Shares149 Views

    in Television

    Chelsea Handler at 50: Still Hustling and Dreaming of Margaritas

    The comedian Chelsea Handler is unapologetic in her latest book, “I’ll Have What She’s Having.” Well, of course, she is. She’s Chelsea Handler, and that’s always kind of been her thing.There are many of the stories you would expect from the former host of the E! show “Chelsea Lately” in her seventh book, which came out last month, such as confronting rudeness in men, shamelessly propositioning Andrew Cuomo for sex when he was governor of New York and ruthlessly pushing out a business partner for a lemonade stand. (She was 10 at the time.)But Handler also weaves in more life advice, a healthy dose of cheerleading (both for the reader and herself) and insights gained from therapy and various breakups.The book includes chapters about her very public relationship with the comedian Jo Koy, but fans looking for the details of the breakup will be disappointed: She doesn’t say much, and mostly speaks well of Koy. A sign of growth, she says.“While I am sure that is of interest to people, I will no longer throw someone I once loved under a bus,” Handler writes. “My sharing what exactly went wrong in our relationship would negate all the work I have done on myself while also creating a headline I don’t want to create.”The main takeaways: She’s 50. She’s hustling. There’s a Netflix special coming later this month, and a residency in Las Vegas. And she’s sure of herself. That’s all she needs, and she’s finally realized it. In an interview, Handler discussed the new book and the newish Chelsea.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

  • 113 Shares119 Views

    in Television

    Late Night Takes Shots at Trump’s Liquor Tariff Threat

    Jimmy Kimmel pointed to the irony of President Trump “making it very expensive to get drunk. He’s the reason we need to get drunk!”Welcome to Best of Late Night, a rundown of the previous night’s highlights that lets you sleep — and lets us get paid to watch comedy. Here are the 50 best movies on Netflix right now.Sobering ThoughtsOn Thursday, President Trump threatened to impose a 200 percent tariff on wine, champagne and spirits imported from Europe.Jimmy Kimmel pointed to the irony of Trump “making it very expensive to get drunk. He’s the reason we need to get drunk!”“Yeah, a 200 percent tariff on champagne and wine. Americans heard and were, like, ‘You can do whatever you want with wine; just don’t mess with our gummies.’” — JIMMY FALLON“That’s a lot — almost enough to make you feel bad for people who buy champagne and wine.” — JIMMY FALLON“People buying champagne and wine were, like, ‘What’s next, caviar and truffles?’” — JIMMY FALLON“The E.U. said, ‘Oh, yeah? We’re going to put a 50 percent tariff on boats, bourbon and motorbikes from the United States,’ which is interesting because boats, bourbon and motorbikes — they’re specifically targeting Kid Rock for some reason.” — JIMMY KIMMEL“That is going to make it so much harder for European men to have a midlife crisis. You can’t outrun your mortality on a Vespa!” — STEPHEN COLBERT“Trump’s playing a dangerous game. Nobody wants to attend a Mike’s Hard Lemonade and cheese party, you know what I’m saying?” — JIMMY FALLON“So get ready to toast the next New Year’s with America’s finest sparkling beverage, Champagne Code Red.” — STEPHEN COLBERTThe Punchiest Punchlines (Wheels Off Edition)“Tesla owners are facing backlash everywhere they go. Recently, somebody stole the wheels from every single Tesla in a Texas parking lot. Whoever did it, I do not condone this, but I do appreciate your ‘tire-less’ efforts.” — STEPHEN COLBERT“Now, I want to be clear: I do not condone violence or vandalism of any kind. That is a deeply held belief of mine that comes from the bottom of my CBS legal department.” — STEPHEN COLBERT“With that in mind, I find it interesting that there’s a growing trend of Cybertrucks being vandalized and used as skate ramps or covered in garbage. To be fair, that might not be vandalism; that might just be a simple mistake, because they do look a lot like a dumpster.” — STEPHEN COLBERTWe are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

  • 138 Shares169 Views

    in Theater

    Anne Kaufman Schneider, 99, Ardent Keeper of Her Father’s Plays, Dies

    She shepherded the works of George S. Kaufman from the 20th century into the next, encouraging regional theater productions and helping to steer two of them to Broadway.Anne Kaufman Schneider, who shepherded the plays of her father, George S. Kaufman, a titan of 20th-century American theatrical wit, into the 21st century with an acerbic sagacity all her own, died on Thursday at her home in Manhattan. She was 99.Her executor, Laurence Maslon, confirmed her death.“Headstrong girls are difficult,” Ms. Kaufman Schneider once told The New York Times, “but that was the source of my good relationship with my father. And it started early. Because there wasn’t any baby talk. We went to the theater together starting when I was 4. Now I have made his work my agenda in life.”George Kaufman’s stellar career as a hit-making playwright and stage director included winning two Pulitzer Prizes — one, in 1937, for “You Can’t Take It With You,” a comedy he created with his most constant collaborator, Moss Hart; the other, in 1932, for “Of Thee I Sing,” a satirical political musical co-written with Morrie Ryskind to a score by George and Ira Gershwin.George S. Kaufman, left, with Moss Hart, his most constant collaborator, in 1937, the year their play “You Can’t Take It With You” won the Pulitzer Prize.Underwood Archives/Getty ImagesEven so, after his death in 1961 at the age of 71, Kaufman was a hard sell for theatrical revivals.“Very little happened at all,” Ms. Kaufman Schneider once recalled, “until Ellis Rabb revived ‘You Can’t Take It With You’ for the A.P.A./Phoenix Theater in 1965. Ellis proved that these are classic American plays.” (Founded by Mr. Rabb, an actor and director, the A.P.A., formally the Association of Producing Artists, was a Broadway entity notable for mounting revivals after it merged with the Phoenix Theater, another Broadway house.)Ms. Kaufman Schneider proceeded to oversee her father’s renaissance over the next 50-plus years — a term of service that outdistanced his own living stewardship of his career.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

  • 138 Shares99 Views

    in Television

    ‘The Devil in the Family’ Is a Poignant and Terrifying Docu-Series

    The story of the disgraced mommy vlogger Ruby Franke has been covered extensively by the news media. A Hulu documentary offers surprising new insights.The three-part documentary “The Devil in the Family: The Fall of Ruby Franke,” on Hulu, follows the chilling case of the popular mommy vlogger who eventually pleaded guilty to child abuse for the horrific torture of her children. The case has already been international news, tabloid fodder and discourse grist, but unlike a lot of buzzy streaming documentaries, “Devil” is not a sloppy rehash. Instead, it is pointed and insightful.“Devil” includes interviews with Franke’s two oldest children, Shari and Chad, and with her husband, Kevin. (According to the documentary, he has filed for divorce.) Its other big draw is unreleased footage that Franke recorded over several years, outtakes that include startling and cruel exchanges. “Just be yourself!” she snaps at one of her young daughters.“That is myself,” the little girl pleads.“Well then change it,” Ruby says.She admonishes her husband and Chad for not being chatty and expressive on camera. “Be excited,” she tells her son icily. “Even if you have to fake it. Fake being happy. ’Kay?” In another clip, she prods him to participate more, reminding him that he gets $10 for doing so. Kevin says in the documentary that the family’s YouTube channel brought in $100,000 per month at its peak.There are a lot of disturbing details here, and the director Olly Lambert manages the scope of the story well while still acknowledging its larger context. As much as “Devil” is a story about control, faith and abuse, it is also a story about YouTube, fame and performance.Some of the most arresting footage here looks just like any other peppy family vlog: the super-close-up, self-shot footage of a pert blonde woman in bright lipstick, chirping at her brood. Only she isn’t delivering chummy tips on the surprising versatility of tater tots or on how even mommy needs big belly breaths sometimes. She is berating a little girl, or describing how “selfish” her children are — children who are barely old enough for kindergarten.Part of the allure of social media is its claim that you can actually see what’s going on behind closed doors, that people are being “real.” They aren’t. They’re selling you something, be it lifestyle products or eschatology. The rule remains: Buyer beware. More

  • 100 Shares169 Views

    in Television

    John Mulaney Returns to Late Night on Netflix

    “Everybody’s Live With John Mulaney” resurrected the comic’s eccentric but enjoyable live talk show, with contributions from Richard Kind, Michael Keaton, Joan Baez and many Willy Lomans.During a monologue introducing his new Netflix talk show on Wednesday night, the comic John Mulaney said the streamer has given him an hour to introduce his fans to the baby boomer culture that has made him “the unsettled weirdo” he is today.He stayed true to his word. The premiere episode of “Everybody’s Live With John Mulaney” included jokes about Al Jarreau, an eccentric tribute to “Death of a Salesman” and an appearance by Joan Baez, who gossiped about civil rights leaders.Scheduled for a 12-week run, “Everybody’s Live” is a follow-up to Mulaney’s first stab at the format, “Everybody’s in L.A.” That show, also live, aired last May as an eccentric but enjoyable exercise in corporate synergy: It coincided with the Netflix Is a Joke Fest, and included plenty of Mulaney’s fellow comedy stars as guests, along with call-in segments and offbeat bits about Los Angeles concerns like coyotes and earthquakes. “Everybody’s Live” recreated that show for a slightly wider audience. It’s not quite as L.A.-centric; it’s still just as weird.The project is Netflix’s latest foray into live programming. The streamer has been experimenting with live events like a 2023 Chris Rock standup special and the Jake Paul-Mike Tyson boxing match and Screen Actors Guild Awards this year.So what can viewers expect if they tune in to see Mulaney on Wednesday nights? Here are some clues from the premiere.So was ‘Everybody’s Live’ basically ‘Everybody’s in L.A. 2’?Yes. Mulaney explained in the monologue that they changed the title because Netflix did a focus group and “it turns out people around the country don’t like L.A.” Mulaney suggested testing the name again after the wildfires earlier this year to see if opinions had changed, he said. They hadn’t.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

  • 138 Shares119 Views

    in Television

    ‘Long Bright River’ and ‘Dope Thief’: Drugs and Murder in Philly

    “Long Bright River,” on Peacock, and “Dope Thief,” on Apple TV+, set stories of drugs, murder and broken families on the mean streets of Philadelphia.After New York and Los Angeles, what is the third city of American crime drama? Boston, Chicago and San Francisco can all make claims, and many might choose Baltimore for “Homicide: Life on the Street” and “The Wire.” But lately, another city has been moving up the charts: Philadelphia is suddenly a hot location for moody stories about drugs and murder.In the mini-series “Long Bright River,” premiering as a binge watch on Thursday on Peacock, and “Dope Thief,” beginning Friday on Apple TV+, Philadelphia is the postindustrial crucible — vibrant but violent, caring but crime-ridden — for tales of working-class heroes doing battle with criminal forces. The shows follow HBO’s 2021 hit “Mare of Easttown” and precede another HBO law-enforcement drama, “Task,” that will feature F.B.I. agents in suburban Philadelphia. (And you can throw in the Hulu comedy “Deli Boys,” about a crime ring based in Philadelphia-area convenience stores.)The stars of the two new shows, Amanda Seyfried and Brian Tyree Henry, play people who are categorically different on the surface but, for dramatic purposes, could almost be the same character. Seyfried’s Mickey Fitzpatrick in “Long Bright River” is a cop who’s protective of the prostitutes on her beat; Henry’s Ray Driscoll in “Dope Thief” is an ex-con who robs drug houses by pretending to be a federal agent.Under the surface, though, the two natives of northern Philadelphia are haunted by similar family traumas, seen in copious flashbacks (fathers figure heavily). And as a result each is in need of redemption and transformation, which is the real through line of each series.They get there in very dissimilar ways, however. “Long Bright River,” which plays like a companion piece to the heavy-going “Mare of Easttown,” is a family soap opera onto which a procedural serial-killer mystery has been grafted. “Dope Thief” is a hyperbolic, postmodern thriller in the guise of a hard-boiled mystery. Personal taste may largely determine which one you respond to, but here’s a tip: If humor counts for anything, then “Dope Thief,” which consistently cuts its angst and violence with reasonably clever, farcical comedy, is the much better use of eight hours.In “Long Bright River,” Mickey is a single mother with a preternaturally precocious 8-year-old, Thomas (the very charming Callum Vinson); her only family support, if you can call it that, comes from her abrasive grandfather (John Doman). When women on her beat begin to turn up dead at the same time that her estranged sister, Kacey (Ashleigh Cummings), goes missing, Mickey starts her own off-the-books investigation.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More