Dorrie Walen

In the early morning hours of October 3, 2020, Dorrie Walen passed away, her body unable to match the strong will that had served her for 97 years.

A memorial service will be held for her in summer 2021, at Skabo Church Cemetery, COVID permitting.

Doris Katherine Larson Walen was born to Conrad and Ruth (Bracken) Larson at home in Minneapolis, Minnesota, February 28, 1923, second of their four children. They enjoyed growing up in Minneapolis near a large extended family; unfortunately, toward the end of the Great Depression, and before the onset of World War II, the childrens father passed away. Shortly after Dorries December graduation at the top of her class from Central High School, their mother passed away, leaving them orphaned. Rather than be divided among relatives, the siblings agreed to stick together to raise themselves. Dorrie immediately began working to support her younger siblings, and to put herself through college. She worked as a waitress in a downtown cafeteria, until a counselor at Augsburg College told her shed make more money working for the war effort. She spent the next few summers stamping serial numbers into bomb casings at the Honeywell plant in Fridley, MN, one of many Rosie Riveters. After two years at Augsburg College in Minneapolis, Dorrie transferred to Luther College in Decorah, Iowa, at the encouragement of J. Wilhelm Ylvisaker, her mentor and pastor. She graduated with a BA in English with a minor in Spanish.

Dorrie returned to Minneapolis after graduation and found work as a graphic artist at the grocery chain, National Tea. Her social life centered around Our Saviours Lutheran Church in south Minneapolis, where she was active in Luther League, making life-long friends, and sang in the choir. One day, a handsome, young, blue-eyed Norwegian bachelor farmer with a gorgeous tenor voice joined the choir, not knowing that he had just fulfilled every criterion on Dorries list for a perfect husband. They fell in love, beginning a journey that lasted a lifetime. M. David Walen and Dorrie Larson were married at Our Saviours. After a brief honeymoon, they returned to the farm in northwestern North Dakota where Dave had been born and raised. But, before agreeing to become a farm wife, Dorrie required one thing: an indoor, flushing toilet. It would be needed for all the diapers that were going to be washed! The farm neighbors welcomed the newlyweds with an old-fashioned chivaree. Perched atop a hay-filled wagon, towed by a tractor, they were paraded around the township, followed by horn-honking cars filled with friends announcing and celebrating their marriage.

Being a city girl, Dorrie mastered new skills as a farm wife. She was already a good cook, but she learned to churn butter and bake bread, since the nearest grocery store was 20 miles away, and a run to the grocery store only happened about once a month. Her delicious cookies, cakes, caramel rolls were always available for family and visiting friends, as well as weekly baked bread and buns, excellent for summer sausage sandwiches and toast. They raised cattle for dairy and beef, raised chickens and, for a time, pigs, and since they canned most of their own vegetables and fruits, there was no need to shop in town very often. And, as babies kept showing up about every year and a half, there wasnt much time for such luxuries. For two years, the couple and their growing family lived in the house where Dave was born. In 1952, they built a larger house. The house became Dorries canvas for creativity, artistry, and the dream-come-true for a little girl whose modeling clay furniture creations inspired dreams of being an interior decorator.

Dorries daily chores and occupations didnt prevent her from being involved in her churches, first Skabo near the North Dakota farm, and later Concordia, Crosby, and in womens groups. In addition to teaching Sunday School, she was active in Homemakers, Study Club, and Ladies Aid (later Women of ELCA). Dorrie thoroughly enjoyed the creativity of organizing and decorating for dozens of meetings and luncheons, continuing to host community womens luncheons well into her 80s.

Dorrie was the end of her generation for her family and Daves family. She lived after the deaths of her dearly missed husband, Dave, her parents, her sisters, Gert and Marilyn, brother, Conrad, her parents-in-law, sisters-in-law, brothers-in-law, her grandchildren, Anders and Janae.

Dorrie and Dave had seven children: Claudia Walen Larson, Beth (Steve) Walen, Miriam Walen (Paul) Sikora, David (Anna) Walen, Noreen (Steve) Thompson, Reid (Julie) Walen, and Annette Walen (Colin Evenson). They were blessed with 25 grandchildren, with two more welcomed as adults. There are, so far, 14 great-grandchildren. Dorrie also leaves numerous nephews, nieces, and cousins.

Dorrie relied on her deep faith throughout her life to celebrate joys, to sustain her in sorrows. Memorials may be made to Skabo Church Cemetery Association. Info may be had by emailing homewalen@gmail.com.

In honor of Dorrie, think of her when you see anything aqua or turquoise, and enjoy eating a piece of dark chocolate.

Now more than ever, local news is critical for the health and safety of our readers. Please, give what you can to support the continuation of your local news source!

As local economies struggle with the ongoing COVID-19 crisis, income from advertising will be impacted for months to come. We encourage you to consider a donation equal to your annual subscription at this time to help make up this shortfall. If youre visiting our page, but not a subscriber, we hope youll become one. Select the Subscribe button to subscribe, rather than donate.

Read the original:
Dorrie Walen | The Journal - Journaltrib

Twinkle Khanna shared this image. (courtesy twinklerkhanna)

It's Halloween month and Twinkle Khanna's latest Instagram entry is a subtle reminder of how the year 2020 has been one long Halloween and we couldn't agree more. In her post, Mrs Funnybones made a reference to the coronavirus pandemic and added, "It's close to Halloween, but 2020 has been such a special year, with masks, shivers and what feels like a zombie apocalypse." She added, "Where instead of a bite, it's a cough from the poor infected soul that would do you in, it seems that we have been celebrating it all year long." She added the hashtag #Halloween to her post.

Take a look at Twinkle Khanna's post here:

On Sunday night, Twinkle Khanna shared a picture from her "new normal" lifestyle. In the picture, the author could be seen getting her make-up done as she geared up for a Zoom meeting. She added a dose of her signature humour to her post and wrote: "In the chronicles of the middle-aged model, this would be worthy of an entire chapter. My first commercial with the director on Zoom and my poor make-up artist peering through a visor! #TheNewNormal #thechroniclesofthemiddleagedmodel."

This is the post we are referring to:

Twinkle Khanna is a celebrated columnist and the author of bestselling books such as Pyjamas Are Forgiving, The Legend Of Lakshmi Prasad and Mrs Funnybones. She is also an interior decorator, the owner of The White Window, and a film producer. Twinkle Khanna also runs a digital content company called Tweak India.

Read the original post:
Twinkle Khanna Points Out That 2020 Has Been One Long Halloween - NDTV

Greg Berlanti (left) on set with the cast

A lot of people ask me when I first knew I was gay. Fact is, I dont know.The character Kevin in The Broken Hearts Club

How did LGBTQ peopleonce erased or denigrated as villainsmake so much progress in Hollywood in just two decades?

Think of the shows and personalities that dominate todays televisionEllen, Queer Eye, RuPauls Drag Race, Pose, CNNs Anderson Cooper and Don Lemon, MSNBCs Rachel Maddow, to name just a fewand how stark a contrast that situation is from the 1980s and even well into the 1990s.

Will & Grace would not premiere until 1998, and sitcom star Ellen DeGeneres wouldnt come out (Yep, Im gay, blared Time magazines profile) until 1997, at the cost of her popular series, ABCs Ellen.

That same year, a young college graduate named Greg Berlanti sat down to write a script and get it filmed, somehow. What began as an exercise in self-reflection on his own search for friendship and love in West Hollywood soon took on a life of its own. A low-budget, art-house film with a cast comprised of mostly unknowns would become a showcase of young actors on the rise, and an affirmation for an oppressed community desperate to see itself on-screen. It would change the way audiences understood gay life in America.

It would also announce the arrival of a young writer/director as one of the most influential filmmakers of his era, a producer who would change the way Americans viewed the LGBTQ community.

This is the story of The Broken Hearts Club.

Tall, lean with dark hair and blue eyes, the then 25-year-old Greg Berlanti hailed from an Italian-American family in New Jersey. By 1997, hed come out as gay, graduated from Northwestern University, and transplanted himself to West Hollywood with ambitions to write for the screen. Like many starving screenwriters landing in Los Angeles, Berlanti found few career opportunities in his first couple of years. He spent his time churning out commercial spec scripts in hopes of capturing the attention of producers.

Moving to West Hollywooda growing hotbed for LGBTQ cultureprovided Berlanti with a surrogate family of close gay friends who could offer him support and suggestions in his original scripts.

When I developed the group of gay friends I had out here, Berlanti recalls, that was the moment. It was the first time I felt like I would be alright.

Frustrated with attempts to go mainstream, Berlanti decided to look inward instead.

I had written a lot, Berlanti says. I hadnt written anything this personal. I started writing about myself. Id always loved the movie Diner. I remember thinking theres no movie like that for all of us [queer people]. So rather than sit down to write the script that all my friends told me would finally get me a job, I wrote something personal to me. I forget how long it took to write around then, but I was definitely trying to capture the spirit of what it felt like to be one of my group of friends in Los Angeles in the late 90s.

Berlanti began working on a script about a group of young gay men living in Los Angeles and playing on the same local gay softball team. Together, they would confront existential questions about love, relationships, insecurities and redefining gay identity after the trauma of the AIDS epidemic. In other words: they would become a surrogate family. The young writer poured his heart into the story, taking snapshots from his own dating experiences alongside images of life in Los Angeles.

Gregs own love life would also suggest the scripts title. As he had a penchant for falling for aspiring actors, which his sister nicknamed his 8x10sanother name for an actors headshot.

The process of writing and self-reflection offered catharsis.

I definitely at the time didnt think my dealing with my sexuality would help me be a better writer, he admits. I had segregated those things in my mind. I focused on scriptwriting and, finally, was inspired to write about everything I went through and the friendships I developed. I learned a lot about myself in the process.

The ultimate scriptnow titled 8x10scomprised a collage of Berlantis life, integrating the personalities of his friends as well as much of their verbal shorthand.

We had language, Berlanti notes. Certain dialogue. Some were things we said, some I made up. But [my objective] was to create the spirit of being part of this little club, part of these guys. Diner, in particular, has its own vernacular in the 50s. American Graffiti was another.

That vernacular would become part of the scripts hallmark humor, dividing it into five acts, each introduced by mock definitions from the gay dictionary. Terms like meanwhile (a term used by friends to indicate the presence of someone attractive), newbie (a newly out of the closet person, usually emotionally vulnerable and facing heartbreak) and guy (a method of characterizing a person by their most apparent attribute; i.e. muscle guy) would become the movies lexicon and, eventually, part of its legacy.

With 8x10s taking shape, Berlanti again looked to his friends for inspiration, and a bit of help.

I worked on the script with two of my close friends who were very instrumental in developing the material, and who have gone on to great success themselves: Julie Plec and Ryan Murphy, Berlanti says. Both really helped me develop it.

Plec became a talented writer/producer herself, creating the long-running series The Vampire Diaries for The CW. Ryan Murphy, who needs no introduction, would go on to become one of the most successful writer/producers in television history, creating the shows Popular, American Horror Story, Pose, Feud, Nip/Tuck and Ratched, among many others.

Still, the comedy and warmth of 8x10s masked the ongoing struggle of Berlantis life as a starving writer. When I finished the script, he sighs, I think my car got booted the next day. I had to borrow a bunch of money from a friend to pay to get my car out. I was a script or two away from heading back home. I had a negative bank account.

Desperate, Berlanti handed the script off to Plec, who, at the time, worked as the assistant to horror director Wes Craven. Craven had scored a major hit with Scream in the early 1990s. By the time 1997 rolled around and Craven began work on Scream 2, Plec found herself promoted to an associate producer position on the film. Impressed with the quality of Gregs final draft of 8x10s, Plec passed the script to Scream 2 writer Kevin Williamson.

Williamson loved it and called Berlanti.

[Kevin] said it was really good and asked if I had other movie ideas, Berlanti says. So I started writing another movie for him. In the midst of that, he asked if I wanted to write on this TV show that hadnt premiered yet. So I started to write on that TV show.

The show would at last offer Berlanti an income. When it premiered, it scored the highest ratings in the history of its fledgling network, The WB. Critics praised it for its frank and sexualized depiction of teenagers, and it developed an immediate following.

It was called Dawsons Creek.

The success of Dawsons Creeks first season earned Berlanti an office space on the Sony lot and a steady writing gig in 1998. In the meantime, he circulated 8X10s in hopes of finding a director. According to Berlanti, agents and studio executives loved it, but often advised him that it would never get made into a film.

Other high-profile gay movies of the era focused on coming out (Beautiful Thing), the spectre of AIDS (Love! Valor! Compassion!) or bordered on softcore pornography (Nowhere). 8x10s took the radical step of focusing on LGBTQ people as people who cared about friendship and community rather than sensationalized and scandalous tabloid fodder. Hollywood, at the time, didnt believe there was an audience for such a film despite the success of television adaptations of Armistead Maupins beautiful Tales of the City, which had a similarly heartfelt community vibe.

It was doing its job, Berlanti observes of 8X10s growing notoriety. I kept getting meeting after meeting. I kept talking about the quality of the writing. It announced me as a writer. Anything beyond that was a gift.

Berlanti chose to focus on writing for Dawsons Creek and put 8x10s on the back burner.

As it turned out, it wouldnt stay there for long.

Down the hall from the Dawsons Creek offices, producer Mickey Liddell had set up shop at Sony. The blue-eyed, sandy headed Liddell had earned his own office space after producing a series of commercial and critical hit indie films, including Traveler, which starred a then-untested actor named Mark Whalberg, and Telling Lies in America for writer Joe Eszterhasthe highest paid screenwriter of the 1990s.

I was more of an independent producer, and Id made four or five films at that time, Liddell reminisces. Then I made [the quasi gay-themed] Go, and Sony bought it [midway through production]. So I was in the Sony world at the time. I met Greg, and he was working with Kevin Williamson on Dawsons Creek. I didnt really know TV at the time; so I just knew he was a young writer around the office.

Despite the gulf between the television and film worldsnot to mention the excessive workloads of both menthe pair struck up a friendship. Liddell told Berlanti about Goan ensemble film that featured a number of up-and-coming stars including Sarah Polly, Jay Mohr, Scott Wolf and Dawsons Creek star Katie Holmes. Perhaps because of the Holmes connection, or maybe just the shared office space, a copy of 8x10s ended up on Liddells desk. Liddell recognized Berlantis name, and read it.

I had been sent a lot of scriptsthere were so many in the 80s and 90sabout AIDS and dying, Liddell recollects. Those were brilliant movies, classics. But that wasnt my story. We were coming out of that. I remember thinking [8x10s was] so light and romantic and fun. And it fell in my lap at the right time.

For Liddell, a gay, Midwestern transplant himself, the script struck an immediate chord. It was more the world I was living in LA at the time, he says. It was gay guys hanging out and going to parties and having friends and all that. Obviously, this was before apps. You had to make friends and family in a big city. You just tried to find your group. I know Greg and I talked about that a lot. Wed both had that experience. He came from New Jersey. I came from Oklahoma. We came here without knowing anybody. If you had two, three, four really good friends, they became your life.

The morning after Liddell read 8x10s, he ran into Berlanti. I remember being in the elevator and we were talking, Liddell notes. I said I just read your script. I really liked it. And he said Why dont you make it? But I was right in the middle of Go at the time. We were shooting nights. So I said Maybe. Ill talk to you when its done.

Liddell went on to complete Go, which would become a critical and commercial sleeper hit in the summer of 1999. Berlanti continued to enjoy his own success on Dawsons Creek, taking on duties as showrunner for the shows second seasona feat almost unheard of for a writer so early in his career. A year after their chance meeting in the elevator, with the release of Go and the second season of Dawsons Creek impending, Liddell asked Berlanti to dinner. He had one thing on his mind.

Unbeknownst to Berlanti, Liddell had already begun developing a plan to get 8x10s funded. The producer appealed to a young actor from Go that he might want to play a part in the potential film. His name: Timothy Olyphant.

I went to Tim, and asked if he would read the script, Liddell admits. He did and said I love it. Ill play any part. So I said What about the lead? He was like ok.

Over dinner, Liddell informed Berlanti that he believed he could get the movie funded with Olyphants interest. Then the producer dropped a bombshell.

I said Greg, you should direct this, Liddell sighs, his words still echoing the shockwave that every aspiring Hollywood creative wants to hear.

Liddells words stunned Berlanti. I had just gotten my first job as a writer, he remembers. I had directed plays in college, but not a movie, not even a short film. [Mickey] said I believe you are supposed to be the director. He had the utmost faith in me.

Liddell admits to making Berlanti his dream offer, though for less romantic reasons. The truth was I knew I didnt have the budget to hire a real director, Liddell confesses. In the end, however, Berlantis enthusiasm and evident dedication won him the job. I think thats why I asked Greg to direct it, the producer opines. It was personal. It was his story. Greg knew how [the characters] should sound. He knew the humor. He knew how to do it.

With Berlanti agreeing to take on the directorial duties, Timothy Olyphants agreement to play the lead, and the buzz around Go building, Mickey Liddell managed to leverage a deal with Sony to fund and distribute 8x10s on a modest budget, assuming the pair could convince enough name actors to appear in it. Given the attitudes of the late 1990s about LGBTQ people, they had their work cut out for them.

Though Mickey Liddell had total confidence in Greg Berlantis ability to direct 8x10s, the producer had no illusions about the production ahead. Filmmaking poses countless potential hazards, even for experienced directors. With a neophyte at the helmalbeit one of obvious talent and dedicationLiddell knew he needed to prepare as much as possible.

Everything that goes wrong falls on your plate, Liddell says of his role as producer. Youre protecting the director a lot. It was Gregs first time, and these were young actors. He moved up a lot more in the television world. His responsibilities became much bigger.

To help guide Berlanti through the shoot, Liddell hired veteran cinematographer Paul Elliott to film the production. He also called in casting director Joseph Middleton, who had cast Go, to produce as well and help the team over the next enormous obstacle on the path to production.

It may seem absurd now at a time when actors fight over who should have the honor of playing a queer character on the screen and when LGBTQ stories often bait major awards, but in the late 90s, playing a gay character was still seen as dangerous for a performer. Ellen DeGeneres had come out of the closet in 1997 only to see her once-popular sitcom tank in the ratings and meet with cancellation just a year later. When Will & Grace premiered in 1998, ratings were soft, and male stars Eric McCormick and Sean Hayes had to endure extremely personal questions from reporters about their own sexual orientations.

At the time, most guys thought if they played gay in a movie it would ding their career, Berlanti recalls. If they werent thinking it, their agents were thinking it. There were more closeted actors than out actors. I remember dinner parties where the subject would come up. It was a hot-button issue. There were definitely a lot of gay men who felt that other gay men shouldnt come out.

Liddell agrees. It was hard to get actors at the time. It wasnt just like were making a gay movie! We definitely got pushback. We got a lot of passes. The producer decided to leverage his own success as much as he could in hopes of convincing actorsgay, straight or otherwiseto read the script.

In my head, it was like, How do you make people think this is cool? Liddell remembers. Because I had just done Go with Jay Mohr and Scott Wolf [playing gay characters], who are both straight, I think that was half of my pitch. It was time. It was cool to do it. I said Look at Greg, our director. Hes going to be huge. I think it was mostly bullshit, but you fake it to make it. I talked to all these people, as did Joseph [Middleton], along with agents and managers.

Berlanti and Liddell began by casting Timothy Olyphant as Dennis, an aspiring photographer searching for his artistic voice, only to find it in his relationships with his friends. Throughout 8x10s, Dennis wrestles with his feelings of inadequacy, especially when compared to another member of the group: Cole, an aspiring actor and waiter. Cole would spend most of the films runtime enchanting men with his handsome charisma and hiding an affair with a closeted co-star. Therefore, the actor playing him needed to have a certain look.

We had to get someone so good looking that it made Tim Olyphant go I can never look like that, Liddell recalls. Middleton came back with a surprising suggestion: Dean Cain.

Cain had spent most of the 1990s lauded as one of the sexiest men alive, having landed the lead on the popular nighttime romance, Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman. That show had wrapped in 1997, and apart from a few TV movies, Cain hadnt had luck in landing a feature. Much to the surprise of Berlanti and Liddell, Cain agreed to a chemistry reading with Olyphant. Producer & director offered, and Cain took the part.

From there, the creative team began an aggressive search to find the rest of the cast that would secure the budget from Sony. For the role of Patrick, a sweet, if slightly nerdy member of the group, Middleton reached out to a young actor named Ben Weber. Weber had attracted attention the year before as the curly-haired, lovable schlub Skipper on a fledgling cable comedy called Sex & the City.

I was living in New York at the time, Weber now recalls. I was kind of on my own. I had done the pilot for Sex & the City in 1998. I had worked with Tim Olyphant in episode three or four [of the series], so when I heard he was circling the project, I could see where they were going with casting.

Because of the Olyphant connection, Weber decided to have a look at the script. Much to his surprise, he found it delightful.

I really responded to the material, Weber says. I was such a Patrick. I was such a loser. The thing about Gregs work is that he makes these beautiful losers with these great friends that get them through all these things. That was what I responded to: I was always the butt of the joke, I could respond to that in the character.

Patricks storyline in the film saw him dueling his own cynicism and low self-esteem. He also battled his lesbian sister, Anne, and her longtime girlfriend Leslie. Together, the couple lobby Patrick to act as a sperm donor for their desired children. Besides examining same-sex parentingstill a new, hot button concept in the 90sthe lesbian couple added a feminine balance to the otherwise all-male story. Liddell and Berlanti also saw the roles as an opportunity to cast established actresses, which would help keep Sony from cutting their funding. To cast the couple, Joe Middleton turned to two up-and-coming bombshell starlets, Nia Long and Mary McCormack.

Long, a luminous beauty who rose to fame as Will Smiths on-screen girlfriend in The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, began to eye the role of Leslie.

The script came to my agent and I remember thinking, Wow, what a cool project, says Long today. Im always attracted to telling stories about the underdog. I remember really liking Greg. He commands respect. He knows what he wants. Hes a character development genius. But hes also so gentle, which created a super safe space to do the work. I was young. I was open to trying new things. My character, Leslie, was a woman I had met many times in my life, but never had a chance to portray on film. Thats why I chose to take the role.

The part of Anne, Patricks sister, would go to blond-headed, blue-eyed Mary McCormack, a name on the rise thanks to her acclaimed turns in Private Parts opposite Howard Stern, and in the critically lauded ABC drama Murder One. For McCormack, the offer required no hesitation.

I was living in LA, McCormack reminisces. It was one job to the next. I spent the late 90s in West Hollywood dancing with the gay boys. It was my community. She said yes immediately.

With Olyphant, Cain, Weber, Long, and McCormack aboard, Sony moved closer to a final greenlight.

Finding the rest of the cast suddenly had a new urgency about it, as the creative team continued to look for men willing to play incidentally gay characters. They cast a wide net looking for actors to play two key roles: Howie, a neurotic psychology student in a dysfunctional relationship, and Taylor, a middle-aged interior decorator recently dumped by his boyfriend.

The team decided to approach actor Dan Futterman for the role of Howie. Futterman had appeared as the son of Nathan Lane and Robin Williams in The Birdcage just two years earlier. At the time of casting 8x10s, he had landed a role in a production of A Fair Country in Lincoln Center. One of his co-stars in the show was an actor named Matt McGrath, who had begun acting in his teens and already amassed a long resume of stage and film work. One night, Futterman invited McGrath out on the town.

Dan had this friend who was doing a play downtown at Playwrights Horizons, Tim Olyphant, who was also asked to do the film, McGrath remembers. So the two of them were like, Lets go hang between shows. And they said Weve been asked to do this movie, but we think you would be great for this part. Read it. We want to talk to Greg. So they kind of ganged up on Greg to at least see me for the part. We set up a meeting in New York. I auditioned, and it worked out really well.

Handsome, bespectacled and with pale skin to contrast against his dark hair and hazel eyes, McGrath felt an immediate connection with the material. Hed come out as gay himself the year before to friends and family, who accepted him with open arms. His agents at the time, on the other hand, had a very different reaction, especially when he began to show an interest in playing gay roles.

I had left an agency over a number of reasons, McGrath explains. There was a very well-known gay movie that I was offered. I opted to do the movie, but my agents said too gay. I luckily had this choice to make between that movie and [The Impostors] that I ended up doing. So moving on from that agency, I never forgot hearing its too gay. For McGrath, his moment of vindication had finally arrived.

When Berlanti sat down to write 8x10s, hed made a deliberate choice not to specify the race of any given character, save one. The writer had based the interior decorator Taylor directly on a personal friend. As such, the script described him as middle-aged, white and blond. But, as the old saying goes, theres no stopping a force of nature. Back in Los Angeles, Berlanti, Liddell and Middleton were about to confront just that.

I was the least known in that movie at the time, recalls Billy Porter, the towering, statuesque actor whose star turn in Pose made him a household name. I was juicier, before I lost my baby fat. I was like 29. [The film] started it all for me. Because I wasnt a name at the time, people very often dont even remember that its me.

Like McGrath, Porter had come up through the New York theatre scene, landing parts in popular musicals including Grease, Smokey Joes Cafe, and the original cast of Miss Saigon. His powerful vocals earned him a recording contract, and it seemed like stardom lay just ahead. Then Porter hit a snag: he refused to conceal his identity as a gay man.

Ive been out pretty much my entire career, Porter explains. There was a dont ask, dont tell policy. But I wasnt hiding anything. I wasnt acting like I had girlfriends. You didnt talk about it out loud, especially in the music business. I also was not lying about it. The choice was already made by the people in positions of power that I wasnt masculine enough to get straight parts.

Doors in New York slammed on Porter as quickly as theyd opened. By 2000 I had moved to Los Angeles. I had done a couple movies, so I thought Ill move to Los Angeles, maybe try my hand. My agent-now-manager Bill Butler, had read the script. He thought I was right for it.

Porter showed an immediate interest in the role of Taylor, despite the specification that the character would be played by an older, white man. Berlanti invited Porter to audition based on his theatrical resume.

I assumed he was based on a friend because what was there was so specific, Porter says of his character. But when I got there, I just did what I do. I went to meet Greg. He let me imbue the character with heart and something real, which was what was so great about that original script. And he was like Oh youre right. You are Taylor. So they gave me the part.

Casting continued, as Liddell and Berlanti plucked one up-and-coming actor up after another to round out their cast. The role of the party boy Benji went to a spikey-haired, blue-eyed upstart named Zach Braff. The part of the newly-out 20-something Kevin went to teen heartthrob Andrew Keegan, known for the primetime soap Party of Five.

That left one part left to fill, and with Sony still waffling on a final budget and green light, casting it would prove essential. When Berlanti had begun writing 8x10s, hed created an older character not inspired by anyone he knew so much as an imagined friend he wished hed had. In the story, the younger men all turn to the character of Jack, the groups softball coach, and the owner of the restaurant where Cole, Taylor, Patrick, and Dennis all have their day jobs. Jack acts as the moral guide and role model to the other characters throughout the film, not to mention a connection to an earlier generation of LGBTQ people.

It was wish fulfillment for me Berlanti admits of Jacks character. It was the one thing my group of young friends didnt have. Truthfully, the generation Im a part of that was just coming out at that time: AIDS had wiped out most of the generation above us. You really felt the void of not having a lot of role models, or the sense of tradition to be passed.

Sony had initially pushed Berlanti to consider a number of respected, high-profile character actors for the part, including some Oscar-winners. All the studio suggestions either balked at the proposed salary, the subject matter, or both. Fortunately, that left Berlanti in a desirable position. From the outset, he had only one actor on his list.

I very rarely have actors in mind when Im writing stuff, Berlanti confesses. But, John Mahoney I did have in mind. So when I finished the script and Mickey said we would make it, I wrote him a letter. And he said Id love to sit down with you.

John Mahoney had emigrated to the US from Britain as a child and grown up in Illinois. As an adult, he joined Chicagos prestigious Steppenwolf Theatre company before launching a long and successful career as a character actor, picking up a Tony Award in 1986 for the play The House of Blue Leaves. By 1999, however, most of the world had come to know him as Martin Crane, the cantankerous father of Frasier and Niles Crane on the NBC sitcom Frasier. Off-screen, Mahoney seldom discussed his personal life in any detail, in part because doing so could have harmed his career. As a gay man himself, Mahoney saw the character of Jack as a way to acknowledge his own sexuality in a subtle way without having to surrender the whole of his privacy.

[John] was the character from the movie, Berlanti affirms. He would hold court off-camera. He wasnt a showy person. He would do it in a quiet way. But he was the sun people would orbit. He was kind and genteel, and he set the tone for everybody. He was like an angel for the movie: everything you wanted to be when you grew up.

Sony loved the casting of Mahoney, a major television star at the time. The studio finally gave the production the go-ahead on a $1 million budgeta modest price tag for an ensemble film at the time, especially one with such high-profile actors. Their cast finally assembled, Berlanti and Liddell could finally move forward with shooting in Los Angeles in October of 1999. Around the same time, Berlanti decided the film should have a less obtuse title, and borrowed the name of the main characters the softball team as the new moniker. Thus did 8x10s become The Broken Hearts Club.

But, for Greg Berlanti, writing and casting The Broken Hearts Club was little more than an overture. The real test lay ahead.

As production on The Broken Hearts Club ramped up in September 1999, Greg Berlanti had his work cut out for him. Hed begun showrunning on Dawsons Creek, which would mean that he had to split his time between both projects, rehearsing his cast and working with Director of Photography Paul Elliott to develop the visual style of the film over a three week period. On breaks, or in the evenings, Berlanti would have to oversee work on Dawsons, often penning new scenes during lulls. The young director also went about building a rapport among his cast, showing them around West Hollywood to get a sense of the lives they would have to embody.

We had a fun rehearsal period, says Ben Weber. We went to gay nightclubs and met all the real people that inspired the movie. Spending time around his friends, seeing how much love there was, how much support they had. These were friendships that had pre-dated Hollywood and gone though different states of coming out. It was interesting to see characters who were making up for lost time, who came out late. That was something I had no ideait makes all the sense in the world.

Says Matt McGrath: Its very much an LA story. Coming from New York, being a New York actor, I had to play catch up. West Hollywood, especially at that time, was its own beast. It was the Mecca of being young and gay at that time. It was becoming a desirable place to live. There was a lot of nightlife. What Greg wanted to do was have me meet his friends. Getting to know these guys and how they moved through the worldthey were very very talented, and like Greg, were striving to take over the town. I see them around still. Theyre writers and producers and executives. It was a special group that this was written about.

Shooting on a modest budget also meant the production would have to consolidate where possible and call in a few favors.

Every one of those apartments: Those were my friends houses, Mickey Liddell admits. We were living that life anyway, and it was easy. We could grab all those places. We knew what a club would look like on a Saturday. It was easy production-wise to do to.

For the cast, that also meant becoming unusually close.

At the time, Matt McGrath was living with me, sleeping on my couch, Mary McCormack reminisces.

I lived with Greg while we were shooting the movie, at his place in West Hollywood, Weber offers. It was the first time Id spent extended time in LA. One of the first nights I was there, there was an earthquake. I was in my room and came running down the hallway and into Gregs arms. He was like, Its OK! Its OK! All these complex emotions of if I could trust my director have answered right away.

The trust came in handy when shooting commenced in early October. To complete the film on time and on budget, Berlanti and Liddell would have to move at a breakneck pace.

It was really helpful that I didnt know much, confesses Berlanti. I got a great DP. And I kept doing things that, after the fact, [the crew] would say I didnt think wed do the whole movie that way, but it worked. We were shooting 8-9 pages a day. For anyone keeping track, most productions shoot 2-3 pages in a standard day.

We were on a moving train, McGrath analogizes.

Continued here:
Happy 20th: How Greg Berlantis The Broken Hearts Club changed the course of queer cinema - Queerty

Michael Smith gives us the inside scoop on his tenure with the Obamas.

When it comes to interior design, Michael Smith is no stranger to high-profile clients. His impressive rsum includes projects with Cindy Crawford, Steven Spielberg, and Shonda Rhimes, to name a few. Throughout the years, he learned they all require a certain level of privacy, discretion, and an insane attention to detail. Then, in 2009 he was commissioned by the Obamas to update none other than the White Houseprobably the most major interior design gig in existence.

Since WWII, it has become customary for each president to leave their mark on the White House in some way. Because there is so much history, so much beauty within the commemorated space, the interior design is a bit of a puzzle; how to modernize without fundamentally altering? A notion that Smith, a self-dubbed student of history, was extremely conscious of. Its still really surreal, explains Smith. Youre always aware of the weight of history. Always. Not to mention, a sitting president will only live there for four to eight years, so youre on a time constriction. Then layer on the added fact that it is the one of the most photographed, documented spaces in the whole country.

Smith not only understood all these factors, but also recognized that when the Obamas entered the White House, they were first and foremost a family with two young children. They needed to be able to not just live, but feel comfortable in the space they called their home. We caught up with Smith to discuss collaborating with the Obamas, working with history instead of against it, and *subtly* modernizing Americas house, which you can read more about in his new book,Designing History.

Advertisement

So you are approached to design the White House. Where do you begin?

I think you start by doing a lot of research, which is what I did. I wanted to understand what had come before, who had done what, and to really understand context more than anything else. I think that was the most important thing for me, initially, was to kind of just do all the research so I would know whats happening.

Can you speak to the Obamas design sense?

Its sort of what you think it would be. Theyre super relaxed, super respectful of history and of what had come before. The whole mandate with Mrs. Obama wasHow will this work for our family? And then how will it work for the next family and the next family after that? I think that theres a tradition with presidential families, theres a spirit of stewardship and understanding that youre only going to be there for four years, hopefully eight years, and in that time you want to be comfortable. Its Americas house and everything you do hopefully makes it better for the next presidentthe way that the Bushes left the house in really beautiful shape for the Obamas.

With a place with so much history, what do you have to keep in mind when youre doing the design?

I think you want to be mindful of it, but it depends. I mean, certain rooms like the public rooms, youre more hyperaware of not upsetting whats happened, but kind of adding to it and maybe tailoring it a little bit. With the upstairs rooms, there was a lot more leeway. Theyre more personal for the president and for his family. But again, youre just conscious. Anyone who is a student of history, like I am, is obsessed with trying to stay in the lane of history. Then to do two little girls rooms when they moved into the White House, you have to make them cheerful and kid-like, but still keep them in context where they feel like theyre in the White House. That was the thing that I really wanted to achieve.

Were there any great historical pieces that you were able to work around and build into the space?

Everything was essentially historical, so its all really good. I think the great thing is we used this bed from the White House collection which we re-curtained and updated for their bedroom. Every room had some amazing piece of furniture. There was a room that used to be President Kennedys bedroom that we made into a sitting room for the Obamas. It was a different plan for the room, but it had the same chest of drawers that had occupied the same wall when it was President Kennedys room. That kind of idea is really wonderful.

Working in a space with so much history, it can become museum-like so quickly. Was there any way that you tried to make the interiors a little more approachable?

I think the big thing was trying to figure out how to bring in contemporary art, because by bringing in modern art, it really made it feel personal to them and really, really interesting. Theres a huge list in the book about it. I think it was really interesting that we could borrow work from various museums, which was great. It was a huge resource to have because you could really quickly make it something that was personal. We just knew that by putting big contemporary paintings we could make it more colorful, make it brighter and just lighter and younger.

In a house with so many traditional elements, how much do you modernize it?

I think we pushed it. Again, the contemporary art was really pushing it, but that was the big gesture. They were huge paintings since the rooms are so tall. There were elements like 20th-century coffee tables and other things that add a sense of modernity to the space. I also think you want to keep it really simple. Again, four years or eight years is not so long, but its long enough that you want it to feel comfortable. You want rooms to be simple enough and flexible enough that it all worked with what was there.

Advertisement

Were the Obamas super involved in the design process, or did they just hand it to you and let you go?

They were involved, but they were super busy. The business of government sort of took a lot of time, but they were very good communicators, as you can imagine about what was important to them. Again, like all my clients, I really tried to listen and be very mindful of what they were looking for and how they needed it to function for their family.

Obamas Oval Office is one of the most photographed places ever. What was the process like designing for it?

It was very much the same idea of just being really mindful of function and use and what had come before. Look, its a space that you can never win. Fifty percent of the people are going to think its too traditional. Fifty percent of the people are going to think its too modern. Its just always, always going to be challenging. Half the people are going to hate it, half the people are going to like it. I think you just go into it understanding that over time, peoples perception of the space becomes classic. Your eye kind of gets used to it. It was about doing something that was special for this president. It has to sit in the building in a way that is really comfortable and appropriate.

I know you had to be cognizant of budget, as the Obamas paid for most of the additions themselves, so where did you shop for furniture?

Over the years of having worked for all these different vendors and craftsmen, I have such a loyal group of people who would do stuff for me at a cost that I could afford but also were really discreet and mellow about avoiding the press. I think thats why I turned to the people that I really knew and trusted the most, who I had worked with for long periods of time on other projects.

Youve had such an extensive career. Was there anything you were able to learn from the process?

Oh my god, I learned stuff every dayjust the scale of everything, the complexity of it and what was needed, the history of things, and just to be thoughtful. I think that the number one thing that the Obamas inspire in everyone is to be thoughtful and mindful of every aspect. Who made it? How much does it cost? To have people who made things where you knew it was really going to be impactful. It was going to mean something that they had made something for the White House. I think that was a big part of the job and something that was so satisfying. People were really proud of what they had done for Americas house.

You talk about incorporating the Obamas more progressive view into the space. How do you do that through design?

Well, I just think this idea of trying to get as many different people who hadnt been in the White House beforecraftsmen and artists of color and LGBTQ artistsjust trying to bring voices and things that hadnt been in the building before because no one had really thought of it.

You also worked on the Obamas current home in Washington. How does it compare to the White House?

Well, its not white on the outside. Its a really lovely, fairly normal family house. I think that they are thrilled to be in a space that is just easier. Theres a difference between their public life and their private life. They get to have a home that is not above the store, so to speak. They dont have to live and work in the same space. I think, again, to not have such scrutiny and lack of privacy is probably a really wonderful thing for them to finally have.

Photos: Michael Mundy

Want more stories like this?

What Your Collection of Coffee Table Books Says about YouMeet Four of the Most Sought-After Vintage Dealers on InstagramInterior Designer Mark Sikes on Adding Depth to Your Space and the Power of Beauty

Advertisement

Go here to see the original:
Michael Smith on What's It Like to Design the Interiors of the White House - Coveteur

We completely fell in love with it straight away, says Beata Heuman (above) of the Victorian house she has lived in for the past four years with her husband, John, and their two young daughters, Gurli and Alma. So many houses like this get picked apart and become open plan, but this was quite well designed to begin with and unspoilt.

Swedish-born Heuman started her design career working with the legendary decorator Nicky Haslam, and evidence of that training can be seen here, in the humour of her interiors, and her love of design history. Its so important to be informed by the past, she says.

She has created an interior that is joyful and unexpected, with echoes of her Swedish childhood. An example of her wit can be found on the walls of the dining room (below left), covered in a custom wallpaper by Tibor. I love the fact that it looks as though someone has just drawn on to the wall, she says.

See the article here:
How the UK's top interior designers have decorated their own homes - Telegraph.co.uk

Foam mirrors

These recently burst onto the scene as the cute quarantine decor item everyone wanted. While its an affordable and creative craft project, the trend has been divisive on social media.

This is another iso-craft project that has been gaining traction on social media. So far the style has been adopted for kitchenware and decorative items.

Its safe to say thatindoor plants have been one of biggest trend of the decade, however its really been in the last 5 years that theyve become a household staple.

All you have to do is look at the cultural influence of Swedish brand Ikea to understand why Scandinavian interiors are such a big deal.

Modern kitchen designs are all about functionality and what better way to add more space than with an island bench.

These body-positive decorative vases were one of the top recommended gifts of 2019 and come in every shape and colour.

Bar carts have added a dose of glam to homes for many years, but if there ever was a time to buy one, wed say its been 2020.

Macrame has been in-and-out all decade but it turns out its here to stay. Not only is it easy to make but it's an affordable way to add boho style to any home.

Linen is the gift that keeps on giving. Its versatile, easy to clean, affordable and biodegradable. And it's especially handy throughout summer.

Home organisation has never been so cool with so many people sharing viral hacks and tips to social media.

This retro trend which made waves in the '70s has seen a recent revival with stores like Kmart, Big W and Bunnings releasing rattan collections and wicker chairs.

Painting with one thin black line doesnt seem easy but the trend has spawned so many tutorials and Instagram artwork.

This sophisticated styleis truly timeless and has long been giving homes an effortlessly chic feel.

This iconic artwork dates back to pre-Instagram days but the legacy has continued on with the help of social media. It's even made appearances on television shows like Gossip Girl and The Simpsons.

You may also like

Interior decorating styles: 7 types of interior design

Ikea has launched an interior design service

Interior design apps to unleash your inner decorator

Read the original post:
These are Instagram's top 14 home trends of the decade - Better Homes and Gardens

Black walls, built-in raw concrete furniture and a fish pond in a lightwell define Lost House, a residential project designed by David Adjaye in London's King's Cross, which has recently come on the market.

Royal Gold Medal-winner Adjaye, the founder of Adjaye Associates, designed Lost House in 2004 for fashion designer Roksanda Ilincic and her husband Philip de Mesquita.

The house has come back on the market recently, granting an opportunity to see the interiors of one of the architect's early residential works in detail.

Original features have been preserved, including an all-green sunken cinema room and a water gardens in planted courtyards that double as lightwells.

Hidden behind an unassuming brick facade in an alleyway, Lost House was formerly a delivery yard complete with a loading platform.

Adjaye Associates turned the concrete loading platform into a plinth for an upper-level swimming pool with black-painted sides next to the pink-walled main bedroom.

On the ground floor, there is a large open plan living, dining and kitchen area with a double-height ceiling.

The sunken conversation pit with a cinema room-style projector, complete with zesty lime walls, built-in bookshelves and wide sofas, is off to one side.

Three tall, glass-walled lightwells stretch up to the black-painted timber eaves of the roof, bringing natural daylight down into the room instead of windows.

In the centre of the living area is a lightwell filled with a fishpond.

The square courtyards in the lightwells are planted with tropical greenery. At the back, next to the kitchen, the courtyard features wooden decking around clusters of circular concrete benches inset with the same grey pebbles that surround them.

The black chipboard walls, ceiling and exposed timber beams are reflected in the shiny black resin floor.

Adding to the industrial look are the thick concrete elements of the built-in kitchen, which forms a continuous countertop and splashback.

A concrete element continues from the kitchen to the living area, were it forms a low bench upholstered in black leather cushions.

Steps lead to the raised ground floor, where the old loading bay plinth supports the lap pool. Black stone tiles surround the pool, which is part of the master bathroom for the main bedroom.

Two stone sinks sit on a concrete shelf below mirrored cabinets. A wet-room style shower allows the residents to wash before and after swimming.

This bathroom connects directly to the back of the master suite, which has a separate toilet and a long corridor connecting to the stairs. The bedroom is decorated all pink to contrast with the ink-black interiors

A second bedroom is located on this floor, with a third bedroom located up on the first floor that is currently being used as a home office.

David Adjaye founded Adjaye Associates in 2000 and began his career designing high-end residential projects in north London such as Lost House.Other notable all-black houses by the studio include Dirty House and Sunken House.

Photography is courtesy of The Modern House and United Kingdom Sotheby's International Realty.

See more here:
Lost House by David Adjaye features black walls and bedroom with a pool - Dezeen

The Conversation

Dr. Mario Molina, the Nobel Prize-winning scientist who died on Oct. 7 at age 77, did not become a scientist to change the world; he just loved chemistry. Born in Mexico City in 1943, Molina as a young boy conducted home experiments with contaminated water just for the fun of it. But Molina came to understand the political importance of his work on atmospheric chemistry and ozone layer depletion, which won him the Nobel in 1995, along with Paul J. Crutzen and F. Sherwood Rowland. Getting that surprise call from Sweden completely changed how he saw his role in the world, Molina said in 2016. He felt a responsibility to share his knowledge of clean energy, air quality and climate change broadly and to push decision-makers to use that information to protect the environment.As a Mexican, Dr. Molina was a point of pride for me. Though I am a social scientist, not a chemist, his career inspired me to follow my dreams and to trust science to show us all the right path. Clean air nowMario Molina thought climate change was the biggest problem in the world long before most people did. His research was instrumental in spurring negotiation of the 1987 Montreal Protocol, an international treaty that effectively banned fluorocarbons harmful chemical compounds that damage the ozone layer. The agreement is credited with helping the ozone layer heal. He understood that the environmental problem is global, and that what happens in China or the United States affects Mexico, too.After a long a career in academia, Molina and his wife, Luisa T. Molina also an an atmospheric scientist founded the Centro Mario Molina in 2005, a Mexican center dedicated to environmental research and public policy. Together, they co-directed the center, which conducts extensive work in Mexico City. The Molinas sounded the alarm in Latin America about air pollution and public health, which remains a challenge in the region. But they also understood the role of economics in environmental protection and, importantly, the centrality of fossil fuels to the Mexican economy so the Molinas worked with Mexican economists to address concerns that green energy would hurt prosperity. Through his organization, Molina also promoted cooperation between scientists, goverment, industry and civil society until 2013, when then-Mexican President Enrique Pea Nieto appointed him to head the countrys National System for Climate Change.In 2018, when Mexicos government changed, Molina was not invited to serve in the new administration. Mexicos current president, Andrs Manuel Lpez Obrador, came to power promising to build a new oil refinery in Mexico.Molina urged Mexico to transition to clean energy sources sooner rather than later, promising this policy change would promote public health, job creation and energy security for the country. In a May 2020 interview, Molina stressed clean energy is an investment that society makes and very profitable.Mexico is going back to the previous century or the one before it, at a time when all the experts on the planet fully agree that we are in a climate crisis, he said of Mexicos continued reliance on fossil fuels just months before his death. Molina criticized Lpez Obrador for limiting the use of clean energy sources and pushed for more wind energy in Mexico, a technology thats only just emerging there. Scientist until the endMolina defended the importance of science in policy-making until the very end. When the COVID-19 pandemic broke out, he was an early and adamant advocate for face masks and was aghast that the presidents of both Mexico and the United States refused to wear facial coverings. He said the government should force the use of face masksbecause only in this way do we know that the curve can be flattened.[Deep knowledge, daily. Sign up for The Conversations newsletter.]Mario Molina graduated from the National Autonomous University of Mexico, or UNAM, and completed his graduate studies at the University of Fribourg and the University of California, Berkeley. Though he taught at M.I.T., he remained loyal to UNAM, working with faculty and students til the end.The many Mexicans who, like me, were inspired by his lifes work mourn his passing.This article is republished from The Conversation, a nonprofit news site dedicated to sharing ideas from academic experts.Read more: * Nobel Prize for chemistry honors exquisitely precise gene-editing technique, CRISPR a gene engineer explains how itworks * Mexico is being held to ransom by oil thieves and systemiccorruptionElena Delavega does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

Go here to see the original:
Approving the FDA guidelines lays the seed that people can trust the vaccine that gets approved: senior fellow - Yahoo Money

Netflixor a very shrewd someone at Netflixhas wisely entered the holiday movie thunderdome, and honestly, its become a worthy rival to Lifetime, Hallmark, et al. with its wealth of extremely silly festive content. But will any of this years holiday titles be as memorable as 2019's Holiday In The Wild, aka the movie where Kristin Davis is abruptly dumped and heads off for a You Go Girl vacation where she falls for Rob Lowes pilot when they rescue baby elephants in ZAMBIA?! Lets find out!

Halloween Trees have become a thing and everything else in this year is so stupid anyway, so why not start Christmas in fucking OCTOBER with Holidate, which premieres on October 28 and stars Emma Roberts and Luke Bracey, and actually seems fine:

Sloane (Emma Roberts) and Jackson (Luke Bracey) hate the holidays. They constantly find themselves single, sitting at the kids table, or stuck with awkward dates. But when these two strangers meet one particularly bad Christmas, they make a pact to be each others holidate for every festive occasion throughout the next year. With a mutual disdain for the holidays, and assuring themselves that they have no romantic interest in the other, they make the perfect team. However, as a year of absurd celebrations come to an end, Sloane and Jackson find that sharing everything they hate may just prove to be something they unexpectedly love.

See, thats how Netflix gets you, though. It just eases you into these shenanigans with a vanilla-ass rom-com. The true terror begins on November 5 with Operation Christmas Drop, which sounds like Operation Dumbo Drop but with more blatant military propaganda:

Chasing a promotion, congressional aide Erica Miller forgoes family Christmas to travel across the Pacific at her bosss behest. Upon landing at a beachside Air Force base, she clashes with her guide, Captain Andrew Jantz, who knows her assignment is finding reasons to defund the facility. The pilots pet project Operation: Christmas Drop, a genuine, decades-old tradition where gifts and supplies are parachuted to residents of remote neighboring islands has lawmakers wondering if his unit has too much spare energy. Despite their initial opposing goals, Erica softens once she experiences the customs and communal spirit of Andrews adopted home.

Holiday Home Makeover With Mr. Christmas is not an original film but a reality series with a description that sounds like Actual Hell. The short version: this guy is an interior decorator obsessed with Christmas and hes about to fuck some living rooms UP.

Benjamin Bradley, best known as Mr. Christmas, is a veteran in the interior design industry with a healthy obsession with the holiday season. For Mr. Christmas, the holidays are all about celebrating love, life, family and friends through meaningful traditions. In the new Netflix series Holiday Home Makeover with Mr. Christmas, Bradley takes you behind the scenes as he puts his design expertise and vast Christmas collection to good use. Equipped with lights, garlands, and enough tinsel to blanket the North Pole, he and his team of elves work around the clock to bring holiday cheer to families and communities deserving of a home makeover for the most joyous time of year. Mr. Christmas invites viewers along for the ride to kick off the holiday season and get inspired to take their own home decorating and traditions to the next level.

Maybe the only thing you need to know about Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey (dear lord) is that Forest Whitaker plays a legendary toymaker named JERONICUS JANGLE. Honestly, this one could go either waymeaning it could be awesomely bad or genuinely kind of fun, and Keegan-Michael Keys involvement tips the scales in the favor of the latter. This one premieres on November 13:

A musical adventure and a visual spectacle for the ages, Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey is a wholly fresh and spirited family holiday event. Set in the gloriously vibrant town of Cobbleton, the film follows legendary toymaker Jeronicus Jangle (Academy Award winner Forest Whitaker) whose fanciful inventions burst with whimsy and wonder. But when his trusted apprentice (Emmy winner Keegan-Michael Key) steals his most prized creation, its up to his equally bright and inventive granddaughter (newcomer Madalen Mills) and a long-forgotten invention to heal old wounds and reawaken the magic within. From the imagination of writer-director David E. Talbert and featuring original songs by John Legend, Philip Lawrence, Davy Nathan, and This Day performed by Usher and Kiana Led, Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey reminds us of the strength of family and the power of possibility.

The Princess Switch: Switched Again premieres on November 19, and you can probably figure out what that is based on the title. Royals! Switching shenanigans! The heavy-handed suggestion that this is a sequel! Will you watch the first Princess Switch? Probably not! What if we tell you Vanessa Hudgens has signed on for The Princess Switch 3???

When Duchess Margaret unexpectedly inherits the throne to Montenaro and hits a rough patch with boyfriend Kevin, its up to her double Princess Stacy of Belgravia to get these star-crossed lovers back together... but the course of true love is complicated by the appearance of a handsome royal whos intent on stealing Margarets heart. Throw in the unexpected arrival of Margarets outrageous party girl cousin Fiona, a third look-alike who has ambitions of her own, and you have the recipe for Christmas triple trouble!

Finally, something good: Dolly Partons Christmas On The Square. Premiering on November 22, this exquisite gift from one of our most valuable national treasures stars Christine Baranski, Jenifer Lewis, and Queen Dolly herselfwho provides 14 (!!!) original songs for the soundtrack.

A rich and nasty woman, Regina Fuller, returns to her small hometown after her fathers death to evict everyone and sell the land to a mall developer - right before Christmas. However, after listening to stories of the local townsfolk, reconnecting with an old love, and accepting the guidance of an actual angel, Regina starts to have a change of heart. This is the story about family, love and how a small towns Christmas spirit can warm the coldest of hearts. Featuring 14 original songs with music and lyrics by Dolly Parton.

The Christmas Chronicles: Part Two arrives on November 25. Kurt Russell and Goldie Hawn are Santa and Mrs. Claus. This gets a pass:

Its been two years since siblings Kate (Darby Camp) and Teddy Pierce (Judah Lewis) saved Christmas, and a lot has changed. Kate, now a cynical teenager, is reluctantly spending Christmas in Cancun with her moms new boyfriend and his son Jack (Jahzir Bruno). Unwilling to accept this new version of her family, Kate decides to run away. But when a mysterious, magical troublemaker named Belsnickel threatens to destroy the North Pole and end Christmas for good, Kate and Jack are unexpectedly pulled into a new adventure with Santa Claus (Kurt Russell). Written and directed by Chris Columbus (Home Alone, Harry Potter) and co-starring Goldie Hawn, THE CHRISTMAS CHRONICLES 2 is an action-packed adventure for the whole family thats full of heart, humor, and holiday spirit.

FINALLY, Christmas gets the Groundhog Day treatment. Thats how you know Christmas has truly made it. Coming December 3: Just Another Christmas (Tudo Bem No Natal Que Vem), which is really just begging for an Adam Sandler remake based on this synopsis.

After taking a very nasty fall on Christmas Eve, grinchy Jorge blacks out and wakes up one year later, with no memory of the year that has passed. He soon realizes that hes doomed to keep waking up on Christmas Eve after Christmas Eve, having to deal with the aftermath of what his other self has done the other 364 days of the year.

And one last horrid treasure from this years festive pile of holiday programming: A Trash Truck Christmas, featuring the one true mascot of 2020a giant truck filled with trash. This animated insta-classic debuts on December 11 and should be fun for the whole family.

When Hank finds out that Trash Truck doesnt know what Christmas is, he sets out to show him and their friends what the magical holiday is all about. And luckily for Santa, the friends are up to speed just in time to help save Christmas.

Read more here:
Netflix has unveiled this year's unholy holiday movie lineup - The A.V. Club

ALEXANDRIA, VA Who is Claire Schwab, and what are some tips and tricks for fall decorating this year? Z-TVs Allison Priebe interviewed Alexandria interior designer Claire Schwab and asked all the right questions.

One of the top names in the home decor business is Alexandrias Claire Schwab Interior Design. On Tuesday, September 29, she sat down in her showroom to chat with Allison Priebe with whom she shares the retail space at 825 S. Washington Street in Old Town Alexandria, Virginia. In addition to being a journalist, Priebe is an award-winning jewelry designer who owns Queen Bee Designs, which carries unique jewelry, accessories, and clothing. The pair joined forces about a year ago when they discovered their personalities and professions intertwined easily.

Schwab tells Priebe in the interesting interview above how she got into the business, whats trending today, and whats looking popular for the future.

Schwabs foray into decorating all started when she spent some time on a working visa living in London after graduating from Vanderbilt University. A talented seamstress and communicator, she fell in love with the fabrics and home styling the British customers shared in the Laura Ashley store where she was working. She returned to the States and promptly went back to school for her advanced degree in design, started networking, and hung her professional shingle out in Alexandria more than 32 years ago.

It turns out you do not need any special qualifications to call yourself a decorator. Im an interior designer because I have a degree and am certified and licensed, said Schwab explaining the difference between a decorator and a designer. A designer can read blueprints and do partial and whole house renovations and can work with contractors, electricians, and tradesmen and architects on the whole picture.

The humble Schwab then says, But I tell clients I am an interior decorator mostly, which I am too. Its less intimidating.

How is business today? We are lucky to live in Alexandria, where the economy is generally booming. Oddly enough, the pandemic has been wonderful for home decor. I know people are on Zoom and they are looking around at other peoples houses and looking at their own, and they are realizing how tired things have become, says Schwab.

There have been some definite, notable trends in the last ten years, one of which has been a significant shift away from brown furniture. Is brown bad? asked Priebe, recalling a recent article she had just read. Well, good antiques should be oiled and preserved. They show you are grounded with the past. But there are bad antiques too, advises Schwab.

Now chairs are another thing. Special pieces can be reframed and reupholstered. We are doing more recovering of furniture in COVID, and I love that because people arent just throwing things out. My upholsterers are busier now than ever.

For budget-minded clients, Schwab loves helping people think outside the box too. She recommends accenting existing pieces with small accessories, refinishing tables, changing fabrics. I love helping people make pillows for example. Thats easy.

Get a neutral sofa. Its the biggest piece of furniture in the room. You can always change the pillows and a throw, advises Schwab.

We look to fashion for trends. The lines, the colors. It translates to home decor. And then, we see it in our cars, which is interesting. says Schwab. So when deciding on a home color scheme, know the ones that make you happy are the ones you find yourself wearing the most, for example.

Proportion and balance are important. Give things air. Dont over-accessorize. Learn to edit.

And all of your light switches should be on dimmers. Thats just a golden rule, laughs Schwab.

During the video, Schwab and Priebe take the viewer on a show and tell journey through the design space, explaining why this works and that might not.

In addition to showing how a simple gray sofa can change its whole look from summer to fall, you will see easy examples that can make a difference in the overall mood of a room.

I love a little touch of black too. Its a very grounding color. But when you think about fireplaces, tv screens, those are all black, mentions Schwab as she unfurls a cashmere throw to accent the sofa, transforming the furniture to a winter look.

The new color is navy, and shades of blue. Im seeing them in all the textiles, paints, and accessories, says Schwab.

There is still also a strong presence in the taupes., she continues showing some Benjamin Moore paint chips.

Use baskets, especially now that spaces like dining rooms and other spaces are also being used for virtual schooling. Have them at the ready for newspapers and school supplies, she says showing beautiful examples of baskets and containers that are functional but respect the design of the room.

With these easy and affordable tips, Priebe says, Now that everyone is peeking into our homes on Zoom and Skype, we need you now more than ever.

To reach Claire, you can contact her via email at cschwab@claireschwab.com, call 703-615-9495, or find her in the popup showroom daily and on the weekends at 825 S. Washington Street and make an appointment.

ICYMI: How Old Was the T.C. Williams Witness Tree That Was Cut Down?

Go here to read the rest:
BUZZWORTHY: Claire Schwab on Interior Design and Fall Decorating - The Zebra