Every once in a while, you run into a character that is...muddled. And not in the same way that Dark Horse Anti-Heroes are muddled. A character that has secrets and shadows and ties both readers and authors in knots(thank you John Le Carre) because no one is sure who's side this person is actually on(spoiler: it's usually himself). That is the type of person that Shea is turning out to be.
She is Emily's older brother, Greta's boyfriend and probably one of Liam's closest allies(I say "probably" cause he's proving to be really difficult to figure out). He hates to Organization to an almost illogical point and has a temper that always gets the better of him and clouds up his judgement. I think they call it Intermittent Explosive Disorder? That has been fun to look in to. Some of his actions make me as the author question his sanity, which is also interesting.
Shea doesn't really have a non-celebrity model, mostly because what I've done is take the faults from several people I know and put them into one person. So that's fun.
I really, really like his Celebrity Model though.
This is Alex Høgh Anderson--aka Ivar the Boneless from "Vikings". Not gonna like, this Romantic kinda fell fast and hard when this actor first graced the History channel screens. For someone who plays such a twisted person, he seems like a really sweet guy, if his interviews are anything to go by. I'd kind of like to see him play this type of person again. Plus, his accent is fantastic!
Shea's soundtrack is another thing that's interesting. It's short, but fits his personality pretty well, I think
When emotions are running high, you need a breather. A mediator. Someone who can see both sides and tries to analyze the situation at hand.
That's what Greta does.
Greta is Shea's girlfriend and also a nurse. She's been one of the easiest characters for me to write to date, because she's so level headed and clear-eyed and the kind of person I like to have in my head when everything else is going to chaos.
It's a little bit of a relief to write someone who is so straightforward and relatively drama-free.
Plus, She's the perfect foil for Shea, the perfect mediator for Liam, and the perfect "conscience" type figure for Emily.
But she's reached the point where she's got to pick a side, and that's got a twist that I absolutely love.
The model for Greta was a little surprising, at least when it comes to non-celebrities. But things that she said, and her speech pattern, and even the way she looked in my head made more sense the further into the story I went.
It's my sister--who happens to also be one of the most level headed and straightforward thinking people I know.
You what's also interesting? The celebrity model for Greta has some of the same physical features as the non-celebrity one.
Ok, fine, maybe their eyes are different and my sister's American and this actress is British, but still.
This is Florence Pugh, from "Outlaw King"(which was brilliant!!!!), "Midsomar" (which I actually haven't seen but after seeing the trailer I don't have any desire to because horror and me are not friends), and most recently "Little Women" (which I have feelings about, but that's for another time).
One thing I absolutely adore about this actress is her voice. It's beautifully husky and so fun to listen to, I'd love to hear her as a voice actress or audiobook narrator as well as on-screen stuff. She has this ability to say things with her eyes that she can't say with her mouth and it draws me in and I love it.
Plus, a voice like that is perfect for a no-nonsense mediator, don't you think?
Greta's soundtrack is a little shorter than the others, but no less awesome. Have a listen:
Today is the birthday of another one of my many many Silver Screen Obsessions.
Idols.
People I Want to Meet Before I Die But Can't Since They're Already Dead.
All Of The Above.
I consider him the master of subtext and one of the most amazing actors of the 30s, 40s, and 50s.
He's also a talented writer--I know cause I own his autobiography.
Ladies and gents, I'm going to gush about James Mason.
I first saw him when I was nine. He played Isaac of York in the 1982 television special Ivanhoe. My grandpa gave us his copy of the VHS and while I was watching it mostly for the other younger cuter male characters, I still really liked Isaac of York.
I liked his mellifluous voice.
A lot.
(Did I know what the word "mellifluous" meant as a nine-year-old? No. But did I like the flow-y pattern of the way this actor talked? Oh yes!)
Flash forward...15 years? The apartment complex I was living at had Turner Classic Movies as part of their cable package and I binged all the old movies I could when not doing homework(which, considering I did all my homework on campus before I went home, was a lot of time). One night TCM was showing Prisoner of Zenda--which has become one of my all time favorite oldies--and when they introduced the villain, my jaw dropped.
Like, hit the floor.
Because, number one, the actor was G-O-R-G-E-O-U-S(Hopeless Romantic, remember?)
And number two, I knew that voice from my childhood. Yes, because the actor was younger his voice was less craggy, but the pattern was still the same. But I looked it up on IMDB just to make sure.
Yep. I was looking at a younger James Mason.
Been obsessed ever since.
Here's why I like him so much.
To begin with, he never had any formal training, so everything he learned about acting, he learned on the job.
Yes, he did plays in college, but he was studying to be an architect. He went into films after graduation. And, because he had no formal training, there was nothing he had to "un-learn", which is probably why most directors loved him so much!
He was very picky about the films he worked in.
James Mason knew Hollywood type-cast him because of how he looked. He was perfect for noir films and he usually played the villain or anti-hero. That's fine if you're given a villain or anti-hero with dimension.
But in 30s and 40s Hollywood, the Big Ups were more concerned about cranking out as many films as possible, which meant that being "type cast" meant that you were playing the same person doing the same things in multiple films.
Gag!
Which is why he left Hollywood and went back to England. Personally, most of the movies I prefer are his non-big Hollywood films, because there seems to be a lot more to them than "let's crank out another cause money, money, money".
(that's a whole other rant for another time).
One of James Mason's favorite film roles--and mine--is the leading man in "Odd Man Out." It's the story of a man who is shot during a robbery and the encounters he has as he dies. This is also the role that made him a household name.
It. Is. A. Beautiful. Film.
The writing is beautiful.
The casting is perfect.
The themes are subtle and universal.
It's also one of the few films that James Mason immediately said "yes" to after reading the script once, so that in and of itself should tell you something.
At the beginning of this gush I called him the Master of Subtext.
Because he is.
James Mason not only had a beautiful voice, but he also had an understated way of acting that was--and is--riveting.
He can put so much subtext into one tiny movement that I know exactly what he's thinking and why he's thinking it and I'm pretty sure what he's going to do next.
Which is why it's a delightful surprise when his character does a "bait and switch"--which anti-heroes are sometimes wont to do.
James Mason would be 111 today.
One of the truly great actors of the Silver Screen.
When I started writing, I thought he was one person; and then he did something that made me change my mind about who he was.
And then he did it again.
And again.
And again.
Until I stopped trying to control his narrative and just let him tell the story.
(He's one of those stupidly stubborn types)
Isaac has connections to Liam and Emily, but he's not considered an ally by either of them Anymore.
This particular character is a combination of several people in my life. Several of my family members--immediate and extended--have bits of their personalities that I took and gave to Isaac. One or two of my really close friends are also part of his character. He's snarky, and sarcastic and dry and everything I love in a Dark Horse(go figure).
But there is only one celebrity model Because of course there is.
This is Luke Pasqualino. He's been on BBC's "Our Girl", "Skins", "The Borgias" "Snowpiercer"(the film, not the upcoming TV show) and "The Musketeers"(as D'Artagnan).
Isaac's soundtrack was interesting--as interesting as his character.
Ok, maybe "eclectic" is a better word. Check this out:
Soundtrack
Bloody City by Sam Tinnesz
Tourniquet by Breaking Benjamin
Too Cold a Stone by Peter Brienholt
Never Again by Breaking Benjamin
Army of One by Coldplay
Between the Wars by Allman Brown
Who Wants to Live Forever(feat. Lindsay Stirling) by The Tenors
Apparently, writing one full length while revising two others and outlining a fourth is totally crazy and sucks up your time, especially when life continues to throw curveballs at you right and left. But I've stolen a teeny bit of time to get back to the blog and dive in to more character intros in "Butterflies" so here goes.
Emily is a character type that is really difficult for me to write. I like women who are fiery and independent powerhouses. Emily is still fiery and still a powerhouse, but she's more introverted. She's a little naive and still figuring herself out. She's quiet and sheltered and--yeah, really hard to write.
But what I love is she's the perfect foil for Liam. She perfectly smooths out his rough edges, and csn get him to open up about things that he wouldn't otherwise.
She also has two models.
The first is my sweet maternal cousin. This girl is adorable--when she was little I heard barely a word out of her, and she's still pretty quiet even now. But she's an amazing human being and one of the strongest girls I know.
Which means her celebrity counterpart has gotta be her equal--or as close to that as I can get.
This is Adelaide Kane. I first saw this powerhouse of an actress in season three of "Teen Wolf"(which I LOVE, btw) and then in the CW's reign. She can play fiery, she can play gentle, she can play naive and sweet and independent and I love everything I've seen her do.
Here's Emily's Sountrack:
Plain Gold Ring(Live) by Kimbra
My Immortal by Evenescence
A Thousand Miles by Vanessa Carlton
Carry You(feat. Fleurie) by Ruelle
So there's Liam's foil.
You've met the hero and the heroine of "Butterflies".
Hopefully it won't be too long before you get to meet all the rest!
