I’m pretty lucky; I have lived through some major pop culture events: the Tim Burton Batman films changed comic book media, the birth of Image comics, seeing how Star Trek The Next Generation birthed a new fandom, etc. But one of the biggest events was seeing how animation wouldin a few short years change forever. The Simpsons is one example of how cartoons started to break new ground. Yet, there was one cartoon that broke the world of American animation. It was gross, it was crass, it was unlike anything we had ever seen. If the Simpsons were an explosion, Ren & Stimpy were the atomic bomb. Today many popular cartoons can all trace their origins back to an insane Chihuahua and a stupid big-nosed cat. It is undeniable Ren & Stimpy changed the face of animation. However, the story behind the show’s genesis is full of rebellion, arrogance, and sadly…. pain.
Before we can learn about the creation of Ren & Stimpy we have to delve into the life of their creator John Kricfalusi. Kricfalusi was born Michael John Kricfalusi on September 9, 1955, in Quebec, Canada. John became passionate about cartoons at an early age. He was a fan of Hanna-Barbera shows and drew them constantly. As his career progressed, he was inspired by the golden age of animation, such as the classic Looney Tunes cartoons. He formed a friendship with legendary animator Bob Clampet, and he landed his first job at Filmation through this friendship. While there, he worked on classic cartoons like Fat Albert, Superfriends, and The Jetsons, but he hated it, as he felt it was creatively bankrupt. In his opinion, he was witnessing the death of animation.
In this special episode of Gone But Not Forgotten, we take a look at how Kricfalusi’s show revolutionized animation, paving the way for shows like Rick & Morty, but how the show eventually collapsed under the legacy of its compllicated creator, with it’s legacy somewhat spoiled in retrospect. It’s a long and fascinating tale, so put on your Stupamatron helmet and get ready to learn about the origins of Ren & Stimpy.
Do you think Ren & Stimpy holds up? Let us know in the comments.
The folks at Platinum Dunes, the production company headed up by Michael Bay and Bradley Fuller, clearly love working with director Jonathan Liebesman. After working with Liebesman on the Texas Chainsaw Massacre prequel The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning, they had him attached to direct their reboot of Friday the 13th for a while – and even though Liebesman wasn’t at the helm of that one by the time it went into production, they did work with him again, on their 2014 version of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Now, a decade later, Platinum Dunes and Jonathan Liebesman are re-teaming for a werewolf movie called Wolf Night.
Deadline wasn’t able to dig up much information on Wolf Night, but they did learn that the project is being described as “District 9 by way of The Purge“. Will Honley, whose writing credits include Escape Room: Tournament of Champions, wrote the screenplay with April Maguire. Honley and Maguire also have the sci-fi thriller Subservience coming our way.
In addition to The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Liebesman has also directed Darkness Falls, The Killing Room, Battle Los Angeles, Wrath of the Titans, and episodes of Halo and The Shannara Chronicles.
In the early 2000s, Platinum Dunes was behind the reboots and remakes of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, The Amityville Horror, The Hitcher, Friday the 13th, and A Nightmare on Elm Street. Some of the other movies they’ve brought into the world include The Unborn, Horsemen, Ouija, Project Almanac, Ouija: Origin of Evil, A Quiet Place, A Quiet Place Part II, and Songbird. As mentioned, they also made The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, as well as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows. They teamed up with Blumhouse to produce all of the films in the Purge franchise. They were also behind the Purge TV show, and a few more TV series: Black Sails, The Last Ship, and Jack Ryan.
Does a werewolf movie from Platinum Dunes and Jonathan Liebesman sound interesting to you? Share your thoughts on Wolf Night by leaving a comment below.
Everyone is smitten by Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, the second entry in Square Enix’s ongoing remake of the beloved and critically acclaimed JRPG. While folks are all heart-eyes for the PS5 exclusive role-playing game, director Naoki Hamaguchi is aware of the complaints levied at Rebirth’s Performance Mode, specifying…
Everyone is smitten by Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, the second entry in Square Enix’s ongoing remake of the beloved and critically acclaimed JRPG. While folks are all heart-eyes for the PS5 exclusive role-playing game, director Naoki Hamaguchi is aware of the complaints levied at Rebirth’s Performance Mode, specifying…
Twenty-five years after serving as the basis for a film that starred Matt Damon, Jude Law, and Gwyneth Paltrow, Patricia Highsmith’s novel The Talented Mr. Ripley is now getting a limited series adaptation from the Netflix streaming service. The show, titled Ripley, is set to premiere on April 4th – and with that date just one month away, a trailer for the show has made its way online. You can check it out in the embed above.
Schindler’s List Oscar winner Steven Zaillian has written and directed all eight episodes of Ripley. In the series, Tom Ripley, a grifter scraping by in early 1960s New York, is hired by a wealthy man to travel to Italy to try to convince his vagabond son Dickie Greenleaf to return home. Tom’s acceptance of the job is the first step into a complex life of deceit, fraud and murder.
Dickie Greenleaf is played by Johnny Flynn (The Lovers). Dakota Fanning (The Equalizer 3) plays Marge Sherwood, “an American living in Italy who suspects darker motives underlie Tom’s affability.”
Ripley was originally set up Showtime, where Zaillian was planning to use all of the Ripley novels written by Highsmith (The Talented Mr. Ripley, Ripley Under Ground, Ripley’s Game, The Boy Who Followed Ripley, and Ripley Underwater) as “a road map to showcase Ripley’s transformation from con artist to serial killer” over the course of the on-going series. Now that it’s a limited series on Netflix, we’ll have to wait and see if there will be any further Ripley series to cover the stories told in the books beyond The Talented Mr. Ripley.
Ripley is a Showtime and Endemol Shine North America co-production, in association with Entertainment 360 and Filmrights. Zaillian serves as executive producer alongside Garrett Basch, Guymon Casady, Ben Forkner, Sharon Levy, and Philipp Keel of Diogenes. Scott is a producer on the series.
In addition to the 1999 version of The Talented Mr. Ripley, Highsmith’s Ripley novels have inspired the 1960 film Purple Noon (where Ripley was played by Alain Delon), the 1977 film The American Friend (with Dennis Hopper as Ripley), the 2002 film Ripley’s Game (John Malkovich was Ripley in that one), the 2005 film Ripley Under Ground (with Barry Pepper as Ripley), and a 1956 episode of the TV series Studio One.
What did you think of the Ripley trailer? Will you be watching this show when it’s available on Netflix? Let us know by leaving a comment below.
Coming our way from Blumhouse Television and set up at Amazon’s Prime Video, The Bondsman is set to star Kevin Bacon as Hub Halloran, a backwoods bounty hunter who comes back from the dead with an unexpected second chance at life, and love, and a nearly-forgotten musical career — only to find that his old job now has a demonic new twist. We’ve previously heard that Bacon is being joined in the cast by Jennifer Nettles of The Righteous Gemstones as Maryanne, Hub’s ex-wife, and now Variety reports that four more have been cast in the show. They are Damon Herriman (Once Upon a Time in Hollywood), Beth Grant (Speed), Maxwell Jenkins (Lost in Space), and Jolene Purdy (Unseen).
Herriman will be playing Lucky, “the owner of a successful country music club, who is in a relationship with Maryanne (Nettles), Hub’s ex-wife.” Grant’s character is Kitty, the mother of Hub Halloran. Jenkins has been cast as Cade, the son of Hub and Maryanne. Purdy will be playing Midge, who is “weary with the understated gravitas of someone who’s learned the hard way how to hold her ground in a male-dominated world. Midge may look unassuming but she’s actually a secret emissary.”
The first season of The Bondsman is expected to consist of eight half-hour episodes. The series was created by Grainger David, whose short film The Chair screened in competition at the Cannes Film Festival. Erik Oleson, who was the showrunner for the second season of the Prime Video series Carnival Row, will also serve as showrunner on this series, and is executive producing through his company CrimeThink.
Blumhouse’s Jason Blum, Chris McCumber, Jeremy Gold, and Chris Dickie are also executive producing The Bondsman, alongside CrimeThink’s Paul Shapiro.
I was sold on this show as soon as I heard that Kevin Bacon would be starring in it and playing an undead bounty hunter, but it’s good to see that they’re also assembling a strong supporting cast around him.
Are you interested in The Bondsman? What do you think of the show’s cast? Let us know by leaving a comment below.
The Black Swan episode of Revisited was Written and Narrated by Vannah Taylor, Edited by Tyler Nichols, Produced by Tyler Nichols and John Fallon, and Executive Produced by Berge Garabedian.
Elegant tutus and pink tights. Perfectly taut buns and laced pointe shoes. Beautiful princesses in search of the love of a prince and dying of broken hearts. Grace and poise. This is the world of ballet as most people know it. But ballet has also been used as a critical element in a few select horror films over the years, such as Dario Argento’s Suspiria, Jordan Peele’s Us, and even Radio Silence’s upcoming vampire thriller Abigail. This raises the question: what is there to fear about dances of Sugar Plum Fairies and Little Swans. And nowhere is the world of ballet explored with a deeper or more horrific lens than in Darren Aronofsky’s 2010 psychological thriller Black Swan (watch it HERE).
Ballet is a revered art form with origins dating as far back as 15th century aristocratic entertainment. Over the years, ballet has evolved: productions have become much more elaborate, and an increasing emphasis on athleticism, technique and ideal form have emerged. Swan Lake, which first premiered at the Bolshoi Theatre in 1877, is a notably difficult ballet to perform, not only because of a certain level of technique and stamina required from a company’s dancers, but because it requires the lead dancer to play two opposing roles. This duality is what would go on to inspire director Darren Aronofsky.
Aronofsky, whose sister studied dance, expressed interest in exploring the world of ballet early into his career, and was particularly drawn to the ballet Swan Lake due to its reputation. His vision wouldn’t come to life until after the release of his 2008 sports drama film The Wrestler– a film focused on pushing the body to the extreme for the sake of one’s craft–a theme he continues to explore in Black Swan, allowing the two films to be companion pieces.
The demanding conditions of the ballet extended themselves beyond the plot and into the lives of the actors, with stars Natalie Portman and Mila Kunis being put on strict diets and training regimens prior to filming in order to attain the right physique necessary to make their portrayal of professional ballet dancers believable. Portman even cited having trained for over a year prior and losing a total of 20 pounds for the film. While the heavy lifting for the dance sequences in the film when it comes to tricks or footwork is done by Sarah Lane, a dancer for the American Ballet Theater, much of what is shot from the waist up for Nina’s character is performed by Natalie Portman herself, making it an equally psychologically and physically demanding role. Now let’s delve into how these commitments mirror the intricacies of the film itself.
Drawing inspiration from the duality inherent to Swan Lake’s narrative, Black Swan explores the psychological unraveling of Nina Sayers, a tightly wound but dedicated soloist for a professional ballet company that is preparing to open their season with Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake. Nina has been chosen to dance as the lead role of the Swan Queen, a notoriously demanding part due to its expectation of a duel execution as both the White Swan, Odette, and Black Swan, Odile, and the pressure of the performance begins to chisel away at Nina’s grasp on reality. The film, first and foremost, is an adaptation of Swan Lake, taking it from the stage to the screen and expertly blending the fears that many dancers feel during their careers into the fairytale. The story of Swan Lake, as it is prophetically recited in the film by the company’s artistic director, Thomas LeRoy, is as follows: “Virgin girl, pure and sweet, trapped in the body of a swan. She desires freedom, but only true love can break the spell. Her wish is nearly granted in the form of a prince but before he can declare his love, her lustful twin—the black swan—tricks and seduces him. Devastated, the white swan leaps off a cliff, killing herself—and in death, finds freedom.”
Nina finds herself fearful of her own evil double threatening to take this dream role out from under her, and becomes paranoid of the newest dancer to join the company, the dark haired and doe-eyed Lily. Meanwhile, Nina is also haunted by a glimpse into her sorrowful future as “the Dying Swan,” in the form of Beth, the former principal who is forced into retirement due to her age. As she continues to unravel, Nina will do anything to be the Swan Queen, no matter how deadly her dedication to perfection becomes.
One of the film’s most compelling aspects to dissect is the doppelganger motif: the duality between the White Swan and the Black Swan. The fear of being pursued by an evil doppelganger is echoed in folklore from around the world, with various cultures believing doppelgangers to be omens of misfortune, harbingers of death and (as is the case with Swan Lake) tricksters. The evil sorcerer Rothbart has turned Odette into a swan, now only able to take the form of a maiden during the night. The only cure, as with most stories little girls are told, is a declaration of true love. Odette is hopeful after meeting Prince Siegfried, but in order to keep her under his control–Rothbart disguises his own daughter Odile, as Odette. Blinded by a combination of sorcery and seduction, the prince declares his love to the wrong woman. Then, depending on whose stage production you go to see, Odette throws herself off a cliff to free herself both from heartbreak and Rothbarts spell OR (in some versions) the prince kills himself over the guilt of his misguided betrayal. Nina’s dedication to her role as Swan Queen causes this fantasy to bleed into her reality. The film uses Lily as a parallel to Odile, seemingly stealing Thomas’ attention, but she is not *really* the doppelganger haunting Nina’s psyche–this is a psychological horror after all. Just as the same dancer plays both roles on stage, Nina is the antagonist of her own story, betrayed by her own reflection and seeing visions of another Nina. The only one standing in Nina’s way is herself.
While Nina does see hallucinations of herself in various places, the doppelganger imagery is often created in a practical sense, with mirrors and other various reflective surfaces being utilized in almost every scene of the film. Nina and the other dancers are duplicated, fractured, manipulated, or distorted through these surfaces. Aronofsky was keen on this detail because mirrors themselves are integral to the lives of ballerinas. Since the art of ballet stands upon its own ideas of beauty and physique, dancers learn from as early as preschool ages how to pick apart and interrogate their image through the mirror. Dancers will often even have a “favorite mirror” in their studios, a mirror they think makes their body look its best. But basing one’s self-worth on the perception of a mere reflection is taken to the extreme in Black Swan, reminding us that what we see in the mirror might not be a true image. The need to find a flaw to correct is a pivotal habit that manifests literally through Nina’s compulsive scratching and skin picking. However, it is usually Nina’s reflection seen doing the cutting or scratching–a manifestation of another Nina trying to scratch her way to the surface.
In the film, the White Swan and Black Swan archetypes are used as opposing symbols of purity and seduction, representing Nina’s internal struggle between her need for perfection and desire for freedom. Nina is trapped in a perpetual state of adolescence by her mother. Imprisoned in a room adorned with ballet pink walls, countless ballerina figurines, and plush pillows, it becomes easy to overlook the fact that Nina is no longer a child. Every detail reinforces Nina’s image of untainted innocence, from her attire consisting entirely of whites and pinks to Natalie Portman being required to regress in her vocal training, utilizing the naturally childlike quality of her voice for which she had previously been criticized. Her whole life, Nina has trained to embody the docility and delicacy deeply woven into the fundamentals of ballet. However, once presented with the opportunity of a lifetime, she discovers something entirely different is being demanded of her. Nina’s arrested development imbues Black Swan with a coming-of-age quality, showing her attempts to explore self-expression in mature ways that have previously been hidden from her. As Thomas demands that she “get ready to give [him] more of that bite,” Nina allows Lily to assist her on the journey towards embodying the Black Swan.
But what about the ending? As is often the case with psychological thrillers, the question of “what really happened” inevitably gets murky…
Nina is tasked with mastering her roles as both the White Swan and the Black Swan. Drawing from the concept of the Madonna-whore complex, Nina must reconcile the sense of purpose she once derived from her sacrifices for virtuousness, purity and perfection, with the freedom she feels in her newfound adulthood. In essence, Nina must kill her old self for a new self to emerge, reborn…and that is where your interpretation of the ending comes into play.
After seemingly “killing” Lily for her attempt to take her place on stage, Nina finds that she has actually stabbed herself–symbolically destroying the version of herself that she believed stood in her way. As the film comes to an end, she utters the words “it was perfect.” One interpretation suggests that when envisioning herself killing Lily, Nina was eradicating the part of herself that desired freedom–allowing the pursuit for perfection to triumph in her final moments and making the ultimate sacrifice.
However, Natalie Portman holds a different viewpoint on Nina’s fate. When preparing for the scene, Natalie Portman was concerned with the placement of the wound, likening it to menstrual blood–a detail that Aronofsky supposedly assured Portman was intentional. With this in mind, the finale could be read like a true coming-of-age moment, with Nina breaking free and embracing womanhood. After the credits role, Nina continues to live as an embodiment of both the White and Black Swan.
Dedication to craftsmanship is evident in Black Swan, both on and behind the screen. While grounded in the reality of the cutthroat world of professional ballet, the film perfectly dances with the fantasy of Swan Lake. Black Swan instantly achieved significant commercial success, earning $329 million worldwide on a $13 million budget, while also garnering numerous awards for Natalie Portman and Darren Aronofsky.
Exposing the pain underneath the beauty, Black Swan explores a reality closed off from the rest of the world. While exploring the challenging topics that often stereotype ballerinas, the film continues to stand out as the most detailed, accurate and carefully constructed exploration of ballet–especially within the horror genre.
But as the curtain falls: questions linger. Does Nina’s story end at the final bow or does she continue to live her dream as the principal dancer? And will she find herself discarded like Beth, while Thomas waxes poetic about finding a fresh new face?
Two previous episodes of Revisited can be seen below. To see more of our shows, head over to the JoBlo Horror Originals channel – and subscribe while you’re at it!
The year has gotten off to a roaring start for fans of sprawling, intricate role-playing games. And one of our firm favorites is Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth, the ninth mainline installment of Sega and Ryu Ga Gotoku Studios’ long-running series. In it, the sentient meme factory Kazuma Kiryu teams up with the…
The year has gotten off to a roaring start for fans of sprawling, intricate role-playing games. And one of our firm favorites is Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth, the ninth mainline installment of Sega and Ryu Ga Gotoku Studios’ long-running series. In it, the sentient meme factory Kazuma Kiryu teams up with the…
Since 2022’s Elvis, Austin Butler’s star has really taken off. The former Disney and Nickelodeon child actor is capitalizing on his breakout film with roles in the recently released Dune: Part Two, where he plays the ruthless Feyd-Rautha. However, Butler hasn’t turned his back on smaller films, as he is set to co-star alongside Tom Hardy in Jeff Nichols’ period drama, The Bikeriders. And there have been rumblings that he may take on the role of Chris Shiherlis in Michael Mann’s Heat 2 — a role which was previously portrayed by Val Kilmer.
Michael Mann confirmed during his press tour for Ferrari that his next film project would be adapting his novel, Heat 2, which serves as both a sequel and a prequel to his popular 1995 film that famously pitted together legendary actors Robert De Niro and Al Pacino. The Independent now reports that a viral video is making the rounds which shows Butler doing some gun training at Taran Tactical, which is the same facility where Keanu Reeves trains for the John Wick films. The viral video has picked up steam to the rumor that Butler will be taking over Kilmer’s role in the Heat sequel.
Austin Butler doing gun training with Taran Tactical.
The actor is rumored to play Val Kilmer’s character in ‘HEAT 2’ from Michael Mann. pic.twitter.com/8J9itiQs80
Mann recently confirmed on Variety’s Awards Circuit Podcast that his plan for Heat 2 is to “absolutely to make it [in 2024].“ He revealed that he’d been hard at work on the screenplay and Warner Bros’ enthusiasm for the project has them checking in on him, “So I get very respectful, very pleasant calls from Warner Bros. saying, ‘Anything we can do to help?’ Which translates to, ‘Where’s the screenplay?’“ Mann also thinks audiences are ready for a new story from the Heat universe, saying, “It’s sustained in culture. It’s known. I could delude myself into thinking that the whole world is familiar with it, but when you check out its prominence in home video for over 20 years, this thing really has legs. People are still watching it, people are still talking about it. It’s a brand. It’s kind of a Heat universe, in a way. And that certainly justifies a very large ambitious movie.“
The casting for the film has yet to be announced, although it’s a strong bet that his Ferrari star, Adam Driver, will be playing De Niro’s Neil McCauley. “Adam and I got along like a house on fire [on Ferrari]. We have the same work ethic – which is pretty intense. We like each other, and we had a great time working together artistically.“
