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On a set visit to the Creed II production in Philadelphia, BGN got a chance to sit down with Michael B. Jordan, but not before we saw him don his character and shoot a scene. Adonis Creed was dressed in his gear and flanked by his team, which includes Wood Harris, as he made his walk to the ring. The lights, the music, the roar of the crowd full of extras all made us feel like we were about to watch a prize fight.

But then, director Steven Caple Jr. cut the scene. People came flooding in from the darkened sides and around our position behind the scene watching the monitors. We even caught a glimpse, later, of the massive figure cast to play Viktor Drago, Florian Munteanu. After seeing Munteanu and watching Jordan in the scene, we definitely had some questions.

Jordan was tired after a full day shooting but gave us some time to chat about how he prepared for the role of Adonis, and how the new faces on set—Caple, and Munteanu—were fitting into the Creed II legacy.

On transitioning to the leadership of a new director.

Oh, I think it was just a process of getting to know each other very fast. We came together kind of late, and he kind of came on board late in the in the process. So, I know he didn’t have as much time as he would have liked it at all—that all of us would like to kind of get this thing together. But now, he was very accepting of the challenge.

You know, he’s from Cleveland, went to USC, was in school the same time is Ryan.  They know each other. Ryan recommended, spoke very highly of him. So, we get along great. There’s definitely some familiar moments in our communications definitely. I mean, he just turned 30. I’m 31.  I think whenever you’re ever working with somebody the same generation— [and I’m] black, from similar places–there’s a certain level of just chemistry and understanding that just translates to the set. You’re able to kind of quickly pick up what each other means and stuff like that.

So, it’s a shorthand that is definitely there. Obviously, not nowhere near what it was with Ryan because we just have the essence of time. We’ve been together for so long. So, I have no doubt that Steven and I will be on the same page in the future.

You were working in such physical movies (Black Panther, and Fahrenheit 451) did you have to train in the same way when you come back for Creed II?

Well, it was different because doing Black Panther. It was a different look. I kind of wanted to be massive, not so much like a boxer. I just kind of wanted to be a soldier, mercenary. So, we did our own thing to kind of come to develop and then I went to do Fahrenheit. I dropped 15 pounds for that. And, then right after [Fahrenheit 451], I have to go back up in weight and size for this [Creed II].

So, it was tough on my body this time around. I’m a little bit older. But at 31, things are different than 26 or 27, I promise you that! It was just getting back into boxing shape. Boxing shape is a different thing: spending hours in the gym, doing the rounds, working on your hand coordination, throwing punches, and diet. It was a lot stricter and stricter on this one because I had to lean out as much as I could. Yeah, so, it was just more intense this time around.

Can you talk about what it was like working with Florian? We didn’t get to interview him, but we saw him walking around. He’s just huge!

Yes, you see him now. He actually gained a lot of weight–not a lot of weight. But he gained. He’s bigger now than when he was shooting the boxing stuff because he had to lose some weight. And, I had to gain weight in order for us to even try to make it before.  He’s a great guy. He’s a hard worker. This is his first movie. He’s super, super humble and just eager to learn, and he picked up things very quickly, especially the choreography and stuff like that. So, we built the chemistry really fast as well. And yeah, man, he’s a great guy. He’s definitely had the look, you know, he’s perfectly cast. I can’t imagine anybody else playing Victor.

See Jordan and Florian Munteanu square off when Creed II hits theaters November

The post BGN Film Interview: Michael B. Jordan, the Adonis of ‘Creed II’ appeared first on Black Girl Nerds.

Writers: E.L. Thomas, Tristan Tarwater, Justin Peniston / Artists: Brandon Reese, Max Bare, Jemma Salume, Meaghan Carter, Jade Feng Lee, Naomi Franquiz, Ben Sears, Nicole Goux / Lion Forge Comics

Goblins in the Sky!

I talked at length about my enjoyment I got from reading Rolled & Told #0 and afterwards, I got a chance to play it with my regular tabletop. Now, my regular tabletop group have been together for almost a year so we were familiar with enough of the fundamentals that we took some liberties with our character creations. I ended up being a Warforged Cleric that essentially was a walking lighthouse. We had a cat-person-esque rogue, a Tiefling Druid, a lizardperson fighter, and your typical human Warlock and we went through the barcrawl. I only had vague memories of the encounters, and the resulting experience was a fun refresher into the world of Dungeon and Dragons 5e. So course, when I saw that Rolled & Told #1 was coming out and there were airships involved I knew I had to take a peak. You don’t know this about me, but there are two universal things that happen in every campaign I’m in:

• My PC is always the first one to die and I have reroll a new character.
• I successfully manage to steal and/or commandeer every single airship I have come across the last decade of play with several different groups and DMs.

Now, Rolled & Told #1 continues to be a fantastic gateway into tabletop roleplaying. Thomas’ quirky adventures involving a runaway airship has a lot of heart and a good mix of approaches for different types of player. Whether you go in with a group of hardened veterans or a ragtag punch of misfits, there is plenty for the DM and PCs to grasp onto during the daring ride.

In additional to the main adventure, the additional essays in the issue provide a necessary personal component that illuminates the strange joy to be found in tailoring content for your friends and playing for fun rather than by the rules. These essays provide great anecdotes and advice for players of all experience levels. Plus, there’s a whole bunch of nautical themed objects that you can add into the loot pool.

Rolled & Told #1 has a fantastic charm to its pages. The wonderful illustrations are vibrant and capture the liveliness only D&D antics can bring. The premade characters are wonderful archetypes that continue to help new players jump right into the game or help develop their sense of trope. I’m personally picking a copy up because I can’t wait to use it as an introduction to tabletop gaming, and if you’re in a similar situation I think you should too.

Rolled & Told #1 comes to a local comic shop near you September 26, 2018.

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The post Set Sail Your D&D Airships with Lion Forge’s Rolled & Told #1 appeared first on Black Nerd Problems.

It would have been a miracle if they hadn’t made any jokes about diversity, #MeToo, and politics, so here we are. Get your bingo cards out, because we’re going to check everything off here: an awkward opening song, some really, really bad jokes, and of course, all of us wondering why they didn’t hire women to host the show.

First off, we opened with Kenan Thompson, Kate McKinnon, and a variety of other stars (ranging from Sterling K. Brown to John Legend) singing a song about how we solved Hollywood’s diversity solution and all the bad guys have been kicked to the curb. It was awkward, literally; they were all off-beat. Also given the studies that have come out about how little representation there actually is on television, it came off as a little, as they even said in the song, cart before the horse. Of course, it was all very self-deprecating, so there’s that. But when Hollywood is hardly making steps in the right direction as it is, it all feels a little… forced? Like, “hey, this is what the cool kids are all talking about, so let’s put it in the show and make it all a fun joke!” But maybe I’m just being sensitive.

Of course, the sensitivity sort of faded when Colin Jost and Michael Che took to the stage and immediately put their feet in their mouths. I mean, the joke about how apparently the oppression in The Handmaid’s Tale is only bad when it affects white women (which is true, and more people should probably say it). Still, they just keep on coming with bad takes! And so far, many of the presenters have also decided to bring up how diverse the categories are as if to pat themselves on the back for recognizing that talent exists outside a white, male sphere.

Of course, Jost and Che made #MeToo jokes. Which, really, aren’t that funny coming from a male perspective. I’d have much preferred to hear women talking about #MeToo, because for the most part, women making those jokes would make sense. Making a joke about how everyone at the event just hasn’t been caught yet? Eh. No thank you. I’ll skip that joke, thank you very much, especially when it’s after a long day of people dismissing and trying to undermine the movement.

Honestly, trying to keep up with all the bad takes that were dropped on stage during that opening monologue is difficult, so instead I’ll focus on a really good moment, which is Rachel Brosnahan telling everyone to go register to vote and to make their voices heard as she celebrated her win for Best Lead Actress in a Comedy for The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, a show about a woman redefining and finding her own voice. Let’s focus on that wonderful moment, which is using the platform for good, instead of for really bad jokes that we’ll be insulting for the next year.

We’ll be updating you with winners throughout the evening, so stay tuned for more really bad attempts at Hollywood laughing at their own meager attempts at leveling the playing field while really doing nothing at all.

(Image: Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)

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