Latest news with #Beachler
Dominion Post
2 days ago
- Sport
- Dominion Post
Trinity Christian's Josalyn Phillips named Class A first team all-state after leading Warriors back to state tournament
CHARLESTON – Pendleton County's Baylee Beachler saw her 2024 campaign come to an end after tearing a tendon in her shoulder at the end of that regular season. The injury kept her from throwing until December but when she returned this year there was no indication of a setback in the circle, where she went 19-1 with a 158 strikeouts and a 1.13 ERA, or at the plate where she batted .558 with 12 home runs and 65 RBI. Her standout campaign helped Pendleton capture the Class A state championship and now Class A first team all-state captain honors, as selected by the West Virginia Sports Writers Association. Beachler isn't alone, joined by fellow Wildcat Avery Townsend who batted .563 with 10 home runs and 50 RBI. 'Those two kids, if there ever is an A and an A-plus, it's those two kids,' Pendleton head coach Eric Crites said. 'The only advantage is Baylee pitches too. They've been the 1-2 in my lineup all year long and they work so well together. They're such great kids that don't let their athletic abilities get beyond what they need to do as team leaders. I think that's what sets them apart from everybody else. They understand they've got to make their other teammates better and they work very hard during practice and during games. 'If they see someone making a mistake they'll show them how to correct it and that was always a pleasure. They were like a second group of coaches on the field for us.' Beachler and Townsend aren't the only teammates to grace the first team list. State runner-up Wahama placed four on the first team in pitcher Elissa Hoffman, infielder Kalyn Christian, outfielder Audrey Reynolds and utility player Fionna VanMatre. Reynolds batted .551 with four home runs and 38 RBI while Christian added a .505 batting average and .961 fielding percentage. Hoffman led the White Falcons in the circle with an 18-4 record following sectional play. Last but not least to least, VanMatre blasted five home runs with a .460 batting average. Greenbrier West placed three on the first team in pitcher-utility player Brilee Redden, outfielder Maddie Fields and infielder Preslee Treadway. Redden, West's ace, led the team in batting average (.526), hits (51) and home runs (10) while sporting a 9-9 record with a 2.25 ERA. Fields batted .436 with 35 RBI and four home runs for the Cavaliers while Treadway finished with a .393 batting average and 31 RBI. The final set of teammates to earn first-team honors hail from Mingo County in Tug Valley's Bailee Hall and Emma Lackey. Hall blasted 14 home runs to go along with a .540 batting average, driving in 38 runs for the Panthers. She also went 13-6 in the circle. Lackey, a freshman, split the pitching duties with a 2.24 ERA and team-best 154 strikeouts. At the plate she batted .400 and drove in 39 runs. Securing the catcher spots are Sherman's Lexi Lowe and Trinity's Josalyn Phillips. Lowe batted .505 with 46 hits for the Tide who pushed Wahama in the regional series. Phillips helped Trinity earn a state tournament berth with a .427 batting average and eight home runs. Rounding out the infield are Gilmer County's Layla Smith and Magnolia's Jessa Anderson. Smith blasted nine home runs and drove in 47 total runs while Anderson batted .515 with 34 hits. Madonna's Maddie Owens grabbed the final outfield spot on first team with a .585 batting average to go with 11 home runs and 51 RBI. Wirt County catcher Kylee Ross earned second team captain honors. She was joined by pitchers Mallory McDiffitt (Magnolia), Phoebe Dudgeon (Mount View), Peyton Conley (Madonna), catcher Chloe Orrechio (Madonna) and infielders Katie Hall (Tug Valley), Kalyn Salmons (Tolsia), Paige Montgomery (Gilmer County), Savannah Drake (Sherman) and Lizzie Alt (Pendleton County). Rounding out the second team outfield are Peyton Moore (Trinity) and Summer Harvey (Sherman). The utility players are Jenna Smith (Pendleton County), Susan Vincell (Pendleton), Peyton Hicks (Tucker County) and Emma Russell (Sherman). Wooden plaques in the shape of West Virginia that include the player's name, school, licensed WVSWA logo, year of the honoree are available to all-state first team, second team and honorable mentions and can be purchased at from the Bear Wood Company through or First Team P – Bailee Hall, Tug Valley (Jr.) P – Baylee Beachler, Pendleton County (Sr.) (CAPTAIN) P – Elissa Hoffman, Wahama (Sr.) C – Lexi Lowe, Sherman (Soph.) C – Josalyn Phillips, Trinity Christian (Soph.) IF – Avery Townsend, Pendleton County (Sr.) IF – Kalyn Christian, Wahama (Sr.) IF – Layla Smith, Gilmer County (Sr.) IF – Jessa Anderson, Magnolia (Jr.) IF – Preslee Treadway, Greenbrier West (Sr.) OF – Audrey Reynolds, Wahama (Soph.) OF – Maddie Owens, Madonna (Soph.) OF – Maddie Fields, Greenbreir West (Sr.) U – Brilee Redden, Greenbrier West (Jr.) U – Emma Lackey, Tug Valley (Fr.) U – Fiona Vanmatre, Wahama (Jr.) Second Team P – Mallory McDiffitt, Magnolia (Sr.) P – Phoebe Dudgeon, Mount View (Jr.) P – Peyton Conley, Madonna (Fr.) C – Kylee Ross, Wirt County (Sr.) (CAPTAIN) C – Chloe Orrechio, Madonna (Sr.) IF – Katie Hall, Tug Valley (Fr.) IF – Kalyn Salmons, Tolsia (Fr.) IF – Paige Montgomery, Gilmer County (Jr.) IF – Savannah Drake, Sherman (Jr.) IF – Lizzie Alt, Pendleton County (Sr.) OF – Peyton Moore, Trinity Christian (Soph.) OF – Summer Harvey, Sherman (Jr.) U – Jenna Smith Pendleton County (Sr.) U – Susan Vincell, Pendleton County (Soph.) U – Peyton Hicks, Tucker county (Soph.) U – Emma Russell, Sherman (Jr.) Honorable Mentions Aubrey Thomas, Cameron; Calli Brown, Van; Ava Shaffer, Tucker County; Shana Cabell, Van; Taylor White, Montcalm; Kayleigh Rose, Mount View; Hailey Tackett, Van; Emily Smith, Tygarts Valley, Addison Armentrout, East Hardy, Meri Hickman, Gilmer County; Kenley Hartshorn, Gilmer County; Kailyn Williams, Richwood; Brandi Mullins, River View;Brooklyn Adkins, Greenbrier West; Paisley Bolyard, Tug Valley; Paige Hopkins, Trinity Christian Story by Tyler Jackson (
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Michigan librarian pushes back against years of harassment from Moms for Liberty adherent
Getty Images After five years of public name-calling, being called a 'smut peddler' and a 'pedophile' by a woman from a far-right group advocating book bans, West Michigan librarian Christine Beachler is finally pushing back. Beachler recently filed a civil lawsuit against the woman, Stefanie Boone, who is associated with the group Moms for Liberty, which specifically advocates against school curricula involving LGBTQ+ content and themes. The harassment Beachler experienced, and the back-and-forth legal battle that is now playing out as a result, was just one more instance of Michigan libraries and librarians facing attacks from right-wing groups dedicated to excising LGBTQ+ related materials from their shelves. Earlier this week, Michigan Advance highlighted additional efforts in Hartland and in Lapeer to sequester, move or label materials conservative library board members have deemed inappropriate for children – and many with LGBTQ+ characters or content. But for Beachler, the legal fight she's facing in Lowell is personal. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX In an interview with Michigan Advance, Beachler, who has held her position as a librarian for more than 20 years, said Boone has waged a relentless 'smear campaign' against her, and that her efforts to challenge books in Lowell Area Schools have not been in good faith nor in the benefit of any child attending the district. Parents have several options to work with the district to ensure they have oversight over the books their children read, Beachler said. There are opportunities to challenge books in the library, a path to require permission to check out books, and other options to direct students away from consuming media their parents might disagree with. But Boone's actions have gone beyond that, as she has read excerpts from books out of context at school board meetings, Beachler said, and posted floods of untrue statements about her on Facebook saying she provides pornography to minors, all culminating in Beachler filing a civil lawsuit against Boone on May 13. 'It's just really hard to talk about. That's why I've actually been working from home a lot. … I mean being called a groomer, being called a pedophile, I was called a whore, a smut peddler,' Beachler said. 'I've been an educator for 37 years and how can somebody call somebody that name that has invested their life in working with kids? It's very hurtful and obviously untrue.' Last June, Boone filed her own lawsuit against Beachler, as well as the school district and several school employees for what she says are violations of her parental rights to challenge indoctrination of students. Boone is being represented by former Republican Michigan attorney general candidate and attorney Matt DePerno, who is currently facing felony charges for reported mishandling of voting equipment after the 2020 election. '[The] defendants have continued to groom children by fostering relationships that include secrecy, undue influence, control, and pushing personal boundaries,' Boone said in her lawsuit against Beachler. '[The] defendants have attempted to and have desensitized children to DEI, SEL, sex, social justice issues, alternate sex and gender ideologies, and liberal political ideology, and through manipulative behavior by showing them pornography or discussing sexual topics with them, and have introduced the idea of sexual contact.' Lapeer library board mulls age restrictions on materials despite shaky legal ground Boone did not return a request for comment at the time of this story's publication. The years of false statements and accusations published on Facebook posts and through public comments at school board meetings came to a fever pitch in February. Beachler said Boone interrupted a tour Beachler was leading a tour alongside two students of a large-scale renovation of a school library to ask where the mature section was. Beachler's lawsuit said Boone filmed the interaction, posting the video with the caption 'Which way to the PORN section please?', which was reposted by individuals with large social media followings like former Republican gubernatorial candidate Garrett Soldano. 'I put up with it for five years. I sent a cease and desist order and asked her to stop. It's only amplified. It's only gotten worse, to the point where I was getting threats,' Beachler said. 'Half of my hair fell out and I've broken several of my teeth from grinding my teeth and I couldn't even work for quite a while because I just couldn't come here without even crying.' In the nearly four decades Beachler has worked in education, Beachler said never before has there been such disrespect and dishonesty when it comes to criticisms of educators. And as Michigan faces a teacher shortage in schools that are already struggling to catch kids up on learning losses from the COVID-19 pandemic, Beachler said misinformation campaigns about the books kids have access to at school take time away from the learning experience. Anyone has the right to talk about how much they disapprove of a book, Beachler said, and Boone can post all she wants on Facebook about how she hates what's in the school library. That's her First Amendment right, Beachler noted. But that's not what Boone's rhetoric or lawsuit is about, she added: it's about destroying trust in public schools at any cost. Lowell is a tight-knit small town community, which Beachler said is filled with 'very wonderful people' who lean conservatively, but in general don't expect people to conform to their own beliefs. There have been, however, some members of the Lowell community that believed what Boone was selling them, especially grandparents, Beachler said. Parental Guidance: A new front emerges in battle between far-right, LGBTQ+ themed books Some of the books that were being brought to their attention, with passages read out of context, aren't even in the school library, Beachler said. And when Boone posted her video in February, Beachler said there was a switch in the community who did not support the calls for violence against her. Several members from the community stood up during the packed March 10 Lowell Area Schools Board of Education meeting following Boone's video posting, who extolled their disgust for the mistreatment of the librarian with calls for civility in conversations about books. 'So much of this is being done … straight from the Moms for Liberty people. It has been done from a Christian movement, and the behavior and the way that they have treated me is so anti-Christ, it's been so the opposite of how a Christian person would treat somebody, with respect and truth,' Beachler said. 'We can have a difference of opinion. That's absolutely fine, and you have the right to make those decisions for your children, but again, to be mean-spirited and say untrue things about a person and call them … horrific names has been incredibly hurtful to me and to my family.'
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Sinners ' Production Designer Takes AD Inside the Making of Ryan Coogler's Vampire Thriller
Photo: Eli Adé / Courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures Sinners, director Ryan Coogler's fifth feature film, is a vampire thriller like no other. The audience reaction speaks for itself. Since the horror flick's April 18 debut, Sinners has surpassed $250 million at the global box office, far over-performing its projected gross and driving pop culture conversation. The movie's massive appeal is obvious: It's an ambitious and original period thriller (set in the Jim Crow–era Mississippi Delta) that's eerie, bloody, and sexy. The film follows twin brothers Smoke and Stack (Michael B. Jordan, in dual roles), two Mississippi exiles who head back down to their hometown with a truckload of Irish beer and whisky stolen from an Illinois mafia. They tap family and friends to help with the grand opening of their new juke joint outside of town, but the start of their venture is hampered by supernatural forces that change the trajectory of all their lives. Anchoring the magic and gore of Coogler's horror epic is its evocative 1930s Southern setting. Oscar-winning production designer Hannah Beachler is the brain behind the film's Clarksdale, Mississippi, which she crafted through arduous research into the period's real-life architectural details. 'The initial inspiration came from Ryan [Coogler] telling me about the people in the story—who they are, what they want, what they wish for, their struggles and joy, pain and loss,' Beachler tells AD via email. 'It was then up to me to put myself in the characters' shoes and design from [their perspectives].' Though Sinners takes place in the tiny Mississippi town of Clarksdale, the production was shot in neighboring Louisiana. The crew, Beachler, and veteran locations manager Elston Howard scouted in and around New Orleans to find the right spots for their Mississippi Delta, citing The Big Easy's superb film infrastructure as the reason behind the decision. Beachler, who has been based in New Orleans for over 20 years, felt comfortable making a Mississippi Delta atmosphere out of what the city had to offer. 'Louisiana is Mississippi's neighbor,' she says. 'We have several things in common, from the big fields (in southern Louisiana, the crops are sugar cane, so we had to plant a lot of cotton for many of the scenes), small rural towns, the train stations, and the weather.' Striking the right tone for the town of Clarksdale was the heart of Beachler's research. She chatted with Clarksdale locals to get an understanding of the culture and tasked herself with visiting key landmarks—including Dockery Farms, an 1895 plantation recognized as the official birthplace of the Delta blues. 'One of the elements that stood out to me at Dockery Farms was the beam work of the cotton gins,' she explains. This informed shots of the juke joint and the church in Sinners. 'It was our mission to capture the essence of Clarksdale as much as possible and to bring the spirit of the Delta into the film.' With the help of set decorator Monique Champagne, the historic elements of 1932 Clarksdale were brought to life. 'The craftsmanship of the buildings stood out to me, and I began to recognize that language in so many buildings—board and batten-style sidings were everywhere,' Beachler says, adding that the vibrant colors and the patina of the wood she came across in her research inspired Sinners' sets. 'With the architecture and the set decoration, there is so much texture and detail that is part of the Southern tradition.' She also made a point of highlighting the economic hardships Black residents faced in the Jim Crow era. Starkly contrasted scenes of the 'Black and white' sides of town offer glimpses into the station of Black Americans of that era in the Delta. Beachler reveals that the team built two juke joints: One in Braithwaite, Louisiana, at the Plaquemine Parish, used for the exterior and interior shots showcasing the overgrown foliage and nearby water ('Which was filled with alligators, so there was already the feeling of something old and prehistoric in the environment,' she says); and another—once a sawmill, located on a former golf course at St. Bernard Parish—built onstage for other shots. Beachler and construction coordinator Erik Van Haaren envisioned a gutted, abandoned feel for the juke joint, so its exterior was purposefully dilapidated, with carpenters and scenic artists on set transforming surrounding trees to look weathered and worn by torching, sanding, staining, painting, and even chemically distressing the wood. 'You keep dancing with the devil, [and] one day, he's gonna follow you home,' says Jedidiah (Saul Williams), preacher and father of protagonist Sammie Moore (Miles Caton) in the opening scene. Sammie, a young blues musician, is set to play at the grand opening of the juke joint hosted by Smoke and Stack, his cousins. But in doing so, he abandons his duties at his father's church, signaling an act of defiance—at first glance, anyway. Beachler sought to convey Sammie's complexities of faith through the church's architecture. The design brief for the church all came from 'putting myself in Jedidiah's head as he, in my mind, was the architect of the Church,' Beachler says. 'I imagined that it was built by Jedidiah, the Pastor, and the men of the congregation.' The church is based on Clarksdale's Sunflower Plantation. The set itself was built at the Laurel Valley Plantation in Thibodaux, Louisiana. Beachler's team drew inspiration from vernacular clapboard praise houses established by African Americans throughout the Delta. The main factors she weighed for the church were its size and material, all to tell a story of the character's access—or lack thereof—to certain resources. Its exteriors (double wood entry doors and a small louvered window at the peak, shaped into an exaggerated triangular silhouette) were made out of rough cuts of sawn wood, also used in the juke joint and Sammie and Annie's (Wunmi Mosaku) homes. 'As the wood dried, it naturally added age to the paint and shrank a bit to leave small gaps in the walls and floors,' she says. Beams that supported the roof were shaped like 'the Wakanda crossed arm gesture,' Beachler adds, a nod to Black Panther, another blockbuster on which Coogler, Jordan, and Beachler collaborated. The set designer paid specific attention to 'the smallest of details' in the church, including 'the distance of the studs being 33 inches apart—the age Jesus died, a signifier of the end,' she notes. Each location in the film, church included, 'became very specific in color and architecture' to the respective characters inhabiting them. In the beginning of Sinners, the exteriors of the church glistened in white paint, paired with the parishioners wearing all white as they sang 'This Little Light of Mine' to depict the feeling of safety and acceptance Sammie felt in the context of the church. By the end, the house of worship became an ominous space, its interior rendered in darker shadows to portray the heaviness Sammie feels as he rejects the wills of his father. Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest More Great Celebrity Style Stories From AD Sinners' Production Designer Takes AD Inside the Making of Ryan Coogler's Vampire Thriller Lola Kirke's Colorful Guide to Nashville Jeff Bezos's Yacht: Everything You Ever Wondered About Koru Cowboy Carter Tour: My Experience at Beyoncé's Kaleidoscopic Rodeo of Black Americana
Yahoo
14-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Local Academy-Award winner talks upcoming blockbuster
DAYTON, Ohio (WDTN) — What goes into designing one of the most anticipated movies of the year? spoke with Academy Award-winning Production Designer, Hannah Beachler, for the answers. Beachler served as production designer for 'Sinners,' a film that's been on the minds of movie-goers since it was announced last January. Beachler is renowned for her work on Creed, Black Panther, its sequel and two musical films based off Beyoncé's 'Lemonade' and 'Renaissance' albums. Her process always involves a lot of research and centers around building emotion into a given set that she's working on. 'For me, it's like, how do you design an emotion? How do you design a feeling,' Beachler said. 'I'm not just trying to do brick and mortar, but like, put something into that that is a feeling, in a sense.' Bringing the Mississippi Delta of the 1930s back to life (with a pinch of vision) took a lot of research and an embracing of the region's history. ICYMI: New Ryan Coogler film debuts first trailer 'I'm always research heavy, like in every movie I do, especially with Ryan [Coogler],' Beachler says. Beachler traveled to Mississippi in order to experience the area from a first-person perspective. 'Spent a few days up in Clarksdale, walking around, talking to people, going to juke joints on the blues trail.' During her time in Mississippi, she not only visited Clarksdale, but also Mound Bayou, the latter being known as the first freed city in the state during the Jim Crow era. That first-hand research helped her design a set that both paid homage to the Delta and also satisfied the overall story being told in the movie. 'It was vast, down to how dimensional wood was cut using rough sawn wood, so it would shrink and seep and age naturally. Making sure that the vernacular was part of what you would find in Mississippi Delta at that time.' Watch the trailers for 'Sinners,' and you'll tell just how important the Delta setting and Blues music are to the film's narrative. The story revolves around twin brothers (played by Michael B. Jordan) who return home to Mississippi after being away for awhile. The brothers return is met by an unwelcome presence. This work helped inform things for the production as it was shot on location in Louisiana. Shooting the movie in a real location, outside of a sound stage enhanced the work of everyone involved according to Beachler. With the real life inspiration in place, Beachler took creative inspiration from the shape language found in Tim Burton's filmography while also looking to emulate the sprawling vistas found in the works of Sergio Leone. So she worked to find and design spaces that could match those ideas. As a result, there will surely be moments in 'Sinners,' that remind some viewers of classic westerns. Structures with simple geometric shapes juxtaposed with big landscapes and expansive skies. 'I'm still kind of processing it': Wright State grad talks 'Seeds,' top honor at Sundance Crafting the look of any film takes the efforts of many people. A production designer's work to establish a film's overall visual aesthetic is only highlighted to its maximum in combination with the efforts of direction, costuming and cinematography. Beachler is ecstatic about her ongoing partnerships with Coogler, Autumn Durald Arkapaw and Ruth Carter. Beachler has worked with Coogler, the film's director, on all five of his feature films. 'We have such a shorthand at this point in time that we just kind of understand — I understand what he needs and wants to tell the story in the cultural sense, in the thriller sense, in the suspense sense to really round out cohesively me, Autumn and Ruth Carter.' Beachler, Arkapaw and Carter have all worked together previously on 'Wakanda Forever.' Arkapaw ('Palo Alto,' 'Wakanda Forever') served as Director of Photography on 'Sinners,' while Ruth Carter ('Do The Right Thing,' 'Malcolm X,' 'Black Panther') was in charge of costuming. Beachler says that she loved hiding little 'nuggets,' (unspoken gems) on the set for Arkapaw to find and use in the cinematography. 'I'll see her in the morning taking pictures on set, like walking around and it's so beautiful and I just love giving her like all of this to imagine with, to push light through,' Beachler reminisces. Meanwhile, Beachler spoke effervescently about Carter's stylings of the characters. 'Everytime Ruth brings something on set you just faint and you just — it's Ruth Carter, right? What are you gonna do?' Area student gets lead role in film alongside 'The Walking Dead' star Outside of Coogler's direction, Beachler, Arkapaw and Carter are ultimately why the film looks the way it does (generally speaking). 'It wouldn't feel the way it does without those other two women and, of course, Ryan, then directing everything,' Beachler says. Their collaboration can be most felt in the colors of the film. Sometimes the choices made between each of them will purposefully align, while at other points in the film they are the opposite. 'When you look at all of these different sets, you will see this thing between me, Ruth and Autumn and how, in a lot of ways, in most ways, the color play comes in. And how then Autumn either treats it with a starkness, a softness, a golden, a blue. And whether that's compliment to what we're doing or that's really pushing against it.' The point is to establish moments of safety (when the colors align) for the viewer or tension (when there's more contrast between these elements), among other emotions. 'Everything has a reason in a Ryan Coogler movie. There is not a thing that doesn't mean something. Not a stitch of thread, not a blade of grass,' Beachler says. 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