Two (2) books were read this week

[lizbee]

First, I finished reading the Succession scripts, and they remained excellent.

I've been a Greg Skeptic for a couple of seasons, and was unsurprised to realise that by the end of season 1, the character on paper was far more complex than Nicholas Braun was conveying. He's a bit of a one note actor (that note: gormless), and I think by season 4, the writers understood that he was the weak link in the cast.

Second, I read Burn It Down by Maureen Ryan, her long-awaited deep dive into professional abuse in Hollywood. Of particular interest are the sections focusing on genre television -- the respective chapters on Lost and Sleepy Hollow, one that examines franchises in general, and a brief discussion of fandoms directing criticism and abuse at the wrong people -- The 100 fandom was cited as an example there, targeting a lowly production assistant because she was available, rather than the producers who actually made decisions.

The Lost chapter was excerpted in Vanity Fair, but I found the Sleepy Hollow stuff far more shocking -- I knew that Nicole Beharie had been labelled "difficult" and effectively blacklisted after she left that series, but I did not know there was a baseless rumour claiming she bit someone -- a claim so audacious, it seems impossible that anyone would take it at face value.

I very much enjoyed Burn It Down, and only take issue with Ryan's claim that Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is an example of good disability representation. (Tell me you're able-bodied without telling me, etc.)

After that, I had trouble settling down to a book. I started These Violent Delights by Chloe Gong, but after months of anticipation, I realised I wasn't in the mood. Like Six of Crows, it's a "YA" novel about characters who would make more sense if they were in their 20s or older, and also, I do not need to have the Kuomintang explained to me. (That might just be me, though, the Chinese Civil War and Revolution were a hyperfixation when I was 15.) So I returned it to the library, and will try again another time.

Now I'm reading The Storm Before The Storm: The Beginning of the End of the Roman Republic by Mike Duncan. I finally started watching HBO's Rome, which is both very good (in its depiction of the politics and the male characters and the masculine side of Roman culture) and unbelievably bad (every single woman). Unfortunately for everyone I know, my inner Classicist has been awakened, and so I'm rebuilding my general knowledge before I start doing deep dives into specific (female) lives.

Also, if HBO wants a 40-episode series about the Gracchi from the perspective of a Carthaginian slave, they should make a deal with the WGA then call me. I am now practically an expert in how not to be a showrunner, so I reckon I'll do an okay job.

Comments

[muccamukk]

I really want to read Burn It Down, getting it recced by a lot of people in the industry.

(Maybe it's just good compared to *all other* star trek disability representation?)

[lizbee]

I really want to read Burn It Down, getting it recced by a lot of people in the industry.

It was a $30 ebook and worth every cent.

(Maybe it's just good compared to *all other* star trek disability representation?)

I wish I could say this is the case, but TNG had a blind character who did not once give his life for the able-bodied.

[conuly]

The Lost chapter was excerpted in Vanity Fair, but I found the Sleepy Hollow stuff far more shocking -- I knew that Nicole Beharie had been labelled "difficult" and effectively blacklisted after she left that series, but I did not know there was a baseless rumour claiming she bit someone -- a claim so audacious, it seems impossible that anyone would take it at face value.

I can just imagine that they all said "Well, it's so ridiculous it almost has to be true, right?" in order to justify spreading it around without checking.

[lizbee]

I feel like that has to be true, but I'm like, and no one tried to find evidence? Or even asked for detail? If I heard something like that about someone in my industry, I would not rest until I knew EVERYTHING.

[conuly]

Well... consider some of the ridiculous stories that have been passed around in politics the past decade and change. People will believe anything if they want to.

[kore]

It was amazing how they literally tried to turn her into Bertha Mason. "She BIT her HAIRDRESSER!" I mean....there's so many horrible stereotypes about Black women rolled into one nasty slander. No wonder she got sick, I have to imagine the stress on that set was incredible for her.

[queenlua]

as unsurprised to realise that by the end of season 1, the character on paper was far more complex than Nicholas Braun was conveying

Oh, this is so interesting; thanks for sharing! Any chance you could describe what the character on the paper was vs what we saw on the screen? (I enjoyed Greg's role in the show well enough, but he generally struck me like he was intended to be goofy comic relief; I'm intrigued to hear it might've been intended to be more.)

[lizbee]

It's stuff like, in the season 1 finale, the script has Greg noticing things, making silent decisions, generally being observant and quietly manipulative. Some of that's in the show, of course, like Greg realising that Shiv is cheating on Tom and trying to tell him, but there's much more than Braun conveyed on screen.

[kore]

Burn it Down was really good. Occasionally her writing style got a little on my nerves, but she obviously put an immense amount of research and real listening into it, and her Twitter is good too.

a 40-episode series about the Gracchi from the perspective of a Carthaginian slave

YES PLEASE

[gelliaclodiana]

Also, if HBO wants a 40-episode series about the Gracchi from the perspective of a Carthaginian slave, they should make a deal with the WGA then call me.

I would watch this! Or read it if it was a book.

If you enjoyed the political side of things in Rome, you might try finding Domina, a drama about the early life of Livia. It has probably the worst opening scene ever, but really does improve and obviously someone in the team really, really cared about Roman politics.

[alexseanchai]

assuming for a moment that Nicole Beharie really did bite someone, surely the obvious next question is "and what were they doing in biting range?" bc people don't generally bite unprovoked

[lizbee]

The alleged victim was her hairdresser (who refused to confirm or deny the stories as she is writing her own book, which, ma'am), and I suspect that detail was because Beharie asked, if they couldn't get a hairdresser who understood Black hair, could she at least use her own wigs.