"That's right, I go out with whoever I want! But I stay in with you."

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*sigh* Roy Scheider died.



Most everybody remembers him for his role in Jaws, and he was really great in that, as well as funny. ("We're gonna need a bigger boat!") But for me, he'll always be Joe Gideon - self-centered, pill-popping, workaholic, philandering genius of a choreographer.

All That Jazz has for nearly thirty years ranked as one of my Top Ten films, and Roy was a huge part of the reason. He was magic in that role, and despite the fact that I would never in a million years have gone near that guy, Roy made it easy to see why other women would. He had a hurtful, demanding charm about him, the kind of guy who, even while making it clear you'd never be good enough, made you determined to try. He captured exactly why dancers will damn near kill themselves for a choreographer. It's not just the art - there are tons of artists who never make it - it's the combination of art and charisma, and he nailed it big-time.

If you've never seen this film...damn, I can only say, "Get thee to Netflix NOW." Because there's nothing like its hypnotic phantasmagoria of music, dance, sweat, and self-destruction. It's a jaw-dropping tour de force, absolutely amazing. Rarely has such a combination of fantastical art and brutally honest autobiography been seen anywhere. Bob Fosse, director/choreographer extraordinaire, ripped himself open in this film, inviting the world into his psyche, his struggles and triumphs. It is poetry, real art.

So goodbye, Roy. Thank you from me for this dazzling performance, which I'll always treasure as the quintessence of why I love dance so much. You did wonderful work in many films, but this was It for me, and I'll always be grateful. On you go to your next gig - as Joe would say,


It's showtime, folks!

Oh, fucking GREAT

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Tolkien estate suing New Line


That's just what we fucking need. Now we'll never see the Hobbit movie.

And just for the record, I do not for one SECOND believe that money is the issue here. That's a smokescreen. That clause about any and all rights reverting? THAT is what this is about. No judge is gonna just hand them the rights because they're feeling pissy that JRRT sold them. But attach it to a multi-million dollar lawsuit and he just might. These people have been crouched over those books like a cop over his donut for decades. And the fucking ENORMOUS bonanza that PJ's films have garnered them has more than made up for the selling of the rights. Mark my words, what these people want is complete and total control, FOREVER.

So if this gets into court, kiss goodbye to the Hobbit, plus any possibility of seeing any other Tolkien-related films, stage plays, or anything else. They're looking to slam the castle gates down. Let's just hope whoever the judge is will look at this and say, "LOL NO. Rights were sold, suck it up. Console yourselves with the millions of books you've sold in the last 7 years, yo."

Because I'm gonna be really fucking PISSED if we never get to go to Middle Earth again, just because some fuck-heads wanna throw a tantrum.

How the red light rises...

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Here is a lovely interpretation:


On the Steps of Mount Doom - Donato Giancola


His work is often not what most people think of when they think of Tolkien (tends to make his Gondorians look like ancient Romans), but this one of particularly beautiful.

I do wonder, though, why so many artists don't seem to understand what hobbit feet are supposed to look like. It's not as if Tolkien never described them!