Latest news with #JoelSchumacher
Yahoo
26-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Granderson: Against vampires or tyrants, truth is the essential weapon
I fell in love with vampire movies after seeing the 1987 film 'The Lost Boys.' Before that movie, I had only seen those kinds of movies for the horror. Under the direction of the late Joel Schumacher, 'The Lost Boys' got me to see the storytelling beyond the scary parts. I've been hooked on vampire movies — good and bad — ever since. My favorite part of vampire movies is watching the protagonist realize the first weapon you need to kill a vampire is not a cross, garlic or sunlight. It's getting people to believe the truth. In 'The Lost Boys,' it was the ostracized who first tried to get the truth out and were ignored. Similarly, in Ryan Coogler's new movie 'Sinners' — which is set in the Mississippi Delta back in 1932 — it was the people society ignored the most who first gave warning to the masses. Don't get me wrong, I love a good vampire flick with sex appeal and blood. However, I am also fascinated with which character a director chooses to introduce the truth to the masses — and what it takes to get people to believe them. Given the constitutional crisis the nation currently finds itself in, watching the men in 'Sinners' readily accept the leadership of a qualified Black woman felt like a cinematic mulligan. The first weapon the founders established to protect against tyranny wasn't the right to bear arms. It was making sure the government could not stop citizens from speaking the truth. Corporate media outlets are a byproduct of capitalism, and so their primary concern is the bottom line. However, freedom of the press is a byproduct of the framers' desire to see democracy in this country survive. And having lived under the conditions of a tyrannical government, the authors of the Bill of Rights understood the primacy of free speech. What has always slowed this country's march toward a more perfect union hasn't been freedom of the press, but an unwillingness to believe truth. And as with the throughline in all of the vampire movies I love, it matters who is telling the truth to the masses. Back in 1938 the term 'gas light' was first introduced into the public lexicon through a play of the same name written by Thomas Hamilton. It tells the story of a wife who believes she is going insane because her criminal husband continues to lie to her. In 1944, a film based on the play was released. In one scene the husband has ensnared his unsuspecting wife in a web of lies so extensive that she questions her very upbringing with her mother. What freed her wasn't guns or laws. It was the truth. The psychological thriller was so influential that society continues to reference its premise in modern life — from personal relationships to politics — more than 90 years later. In storytelling, hiding the truth is one of the most effective ways for some characters to maintain control over others. Vampires in movies, deceitful husbands in plays, corrupt elected officials in office — their survival depends on the masses not knowing the truth. They also rely on people not believing those who are willing to speak out. The reason President Nixon was reelected after the Watergate scandal became public is that the masses were not willing to believe the truth. The thing about the truth is that it doesn't need acknowledgment from the public to exist. But to be of use, truth does need people willing to call it by name. That is the first weapon in the battle for good. Not surprisingly, it is also the first weapon evil tries to take away. @LZGranderson If it's in the news right now, the L.A. Times' Opinion section covers it. Sign up for our weekly opinion newsletter. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Los Angeles Times
26-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Los Angeles Times
Against vampires or tyrants, truth is the essential weapon
I fell in love with vampire movies after seeing the 1987 film 'The Lost Boys.' Before that movie, I had only seen those kinds of movies for the horror. Under the direction of the late Joel Schumacher, 'The Lost Boys' got me to see the storytelling beyond the scary parts. I've been hooked on vampire movies — good and bad — ever since. My favorite part of vampire movies is watching the protagonist realize the first weapon you need to kill a vampire is not a cross, garlic or sunlight. It's getting people to believe the truth. In 'The Lost Boys,' it was the ostracized who first tried to get the truth out and were ignored. Similarly, in Ryan Coogler's new movie 'Sinners' — which is set in the Mississippi Delta back in 1932 — it was the people society ignored the most who first gave warning to the masses. Don't get me wrong, I love a good vampire flick with sex appeal and blood. However, I am also fascinated with which character a director chooses to introduce the truth to the masses — and what it takes to get people to believe them. Given the constitutional crisis the nation currently finds itself in, watching the men in 'Sinners' readily accept the leadership of a qualified Black woman felt like a cinematic mulligan. The first weapon the founders established to protect against tyranny wasn't the right to bear arms. It was making sure the government could not stop citizens from speaking the truth. Corporate media outlets are a byproduct of capitalism, and so their primary concern is the bottom line. However, freedom of the press is a byproduct of the framers' desire to see democracy in this country survive. And having lived under the conditions of a tyrannical government, the authors of the Bill of Rights understood the primacy of free speech. What has always slowed this country's march toward a more perfect union hasn't been freedom of the press, but an unwillingness to believe truth. And as with the throughline in all of the vampire movies I love, it matters who is telling the truth to the masses. Back in 1938 the term 'gas light' was first introduced into the public lexicon through a play of the same name written by Thomas Hamilton. It tells the story of a wife who believes she is going insane because her criminal husband continues to lie to her. In 1944, a film based on the play was released. In one scene the husband has ensnared his unsuspecting wife in a web of lies so extensive that she questions her very upbringing with her mother. What freed her wasn't guns or laws. It was the truth. The psychological thriller was so influential that society continues to reference its premise in modern life — from personal relationships to politics — more than 90 years later. In storytelling, hiding the truth is one of the most effective ways for some characters to maintain control over others. Vampires in movies, deceitful husbands in plays, corrupt elected officials in office — their survival depends on the masses not knowing the truth. They also rely on people not believing those who are willing to speak out. The reason President Nixon was reelected after the Watergate scandal became public is that the masses were not willing to believe the truth. The thing about the truth is that it doesn't need acknowledgment from the public to exist. But to be of use, truth does need people willing to call it by name. That is the first weapon in the battle for good. Not surprisingly, it is also the first weapon evil tries to take away. @LZGranderson
Yahoo
08-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Drew Barrymore Fondly Remembers Val Kilmer: 'So Nurturing And Kind And Safe'
While chatting with guest Kevin Bacon on her eponymous daytime program, Drew Barrymore fondly reminisced about working with Val Kilmer, who along with director Joel Schumacher, convinced her to star in Batman Forever. The tender moment came up as The Bondsman star reflected on various old projects of his, including 1990's Flatliners, which the late Schumacher also helmed. Jumping in to bond with her colleague, Barrymore recalled her own fond experience. More from Deadline 'Saturday Night Live' Pays Tribute To Val Kilmer Will Forte Says Not Competing Alongside Val Kilmer In 'The Amazing Race' Is His Career's "Biggest Regret" Val Kilmer Was "The Coolest Cat," Remembers His 'Top Gun' Wingman Barry Tubb 'I was friends with Joel Schumacher, the director, who I thought of this morning because it was he and Val Kilmer that pulled me into Batman Forever,' she said. 'And Val Kilmer was so nice to me. He was so nurturing and kind and safe, which was a very important thing for me.' (The 1995 film also starred Nicole Kidman, Jim Carrey and Tommy Lee Jones.) Bacon chimed in that that was 'probably not that common in those days.' Barrymore agreed, continuing, 'Yeah, I was like, 'Nobody wants anything from me, they want things for me,' which I thought was really interesting.' Later on, Bacon brought up his own work experience with the late Top Gun star, who died last week at the age of 65. The two had co-starred on Broadway in 1983 alongside fellow castmates Sean Penn and Jackie Earle Haley in Slab Boys. 'It was great. I just always look at that as one of the great experiences of my life and getting a chance to know him,' he said. The Juilliard-trained Kilmer — beloved for his wide range as a versatile performer, as well as his genuine personality — died April 1 from pneumonia, after having previously been diagnosed with and recovered from throat cancer, which permanently altered his voice. He was known for his leading turns in films like The Doors, The Saint, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, Batman Forever, Tombstone, Thunderheart, Willow and his last credit, Top Gun: Maverick. Best of Deadline Brad Pitt's Apple 'F1' Movie: Everything We Know So Far Everything We Know About 'Tron: Ares' So Far Everything We Know About 'Only Murders In The Building' Season 5 So Far
