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Aaron Sorkin’s latest film, The Trial of the Chicago 7, hits Netflix today. The synopsis of the film is as follows:
What was intended to be a peaceful protest at the 1968 Democratic National Convention turned into a violent clash with police and the National Guard. The organizers of the protest—including Abbie Hoffman, Jerry Rubin, Tom Hayden and Bobby Seale —were charged with conspiracy to incite a riot and the trial that followed was one of the most notorious in history.
Making a film about a trial interesting is not the easiest of tasks and one that Sorkin sometimes gets right and sometimes fails at. The film starts off at a pace with all the activists making their way to Chicago to protest against the increased draft during the Vietnam war, but it quickly slows down as we fast forward into the beginning of the trial proceedings. The Trial of the Chicago 7 wisely goes backwards in time at various points to flesh out what we’re being told in court.
The Trial of the Chicago 7 is a true ensemble piece. The eight activists and which actors play them in the film are as follows: Tom Hayden (Eddie Redmayne of The Theory of Everything, Fantastic Beasts), and Rennie Davis (Alex Sharp of Broadway’s The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time), both were of the Students for a Democratic Society. Counter-culture Yippies Abbie Hoffman (Sacha Baron Cohen of The Spy, Borat) and Jerry Rubin (Jeremy Strong of Succession, Molly’s Game). MOBE organizers David Dellinger (John Carroll Lynch of Fargo, The Founder), John Froines (Danny Flaherty of The Americans, King Jack) and Lee Weiner (Noah Robbins of Masters of Sex, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt). The eighth defendant and the one who isn’t part of the titular Chicago 7 is Black Panther Party Chairman Bobby Seale (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II of Watchmen, Aquaman).
That’s quite the cast, without even mentioning Mark Rylance (Bridge of Spies, Ready Player One), Joseph Gordon-Levitt (Inception, Snowden) and Frank Langella (Frost/Nixon, Good Night and Good Luck). Frank Langella is the standout performer amongst the whole cast, as the grumpy and extremely biased Judge Julius Hoffman. Having a huge cast like this means a lot of people aren’t actually in it very much or they’re just sat at a table. But being the Judge allows Langella to have a hand in a lot of the proceedings.
This being an Aaron Sorkin film, you can expect a lot of talking but surprisingly not that much walking. Sorkin wrote and directed The Trial of the Chicago 7, which is only his second directing credit after Molly’s Game. He’s obviously best known as a writer for The West Wing, The Social Network and Moneyball among many others. There are a lot of words in this script and sadly there isn’t a lot of energy in those words outside of Sacha Baron Cohen’s humorous Abbie Hoffman. There are few moments for the actors to show their emotions rather than talk talk talk, a feature of a Sorkin film that I don’t love.
Sorkin is within his right to change history for a dramatic feature, but from what I have read he has changed quite a bit and the change in Gordon-Levitt’s character is perhaps one of the biggest missteps. Gordon-Levitt is defence attorney Kunstler, who was very against the activists and what they were trying to achieve in real life. In The Trial of the Chicago 7, Kunstler isn’t sure whether he is on the right side of history. Sorkin gets a lot of negative criticism thrown his way for putting his liberalism into his films, on this occasion I would agree with the criticism. You have to change some things to make it more cinematic but making Gordon-Levitt be this stereotype doesn’t add anything and really isn’t necessary.
Bobby Seale (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) isn’t a large part of The Trial of the Chicago 7, unsurprisingly he isn’t treated well by the police as a Black Panther in the late sixties. His mistreatment was shown through the shock of the other activists, none were black, and essentially becomes a moment for them to grow. Seale may not be part of the Chicago 7 but his story wasn’t handled with care and was more about what the white people felt than what he was going through. Sorkin should have done better.
The film was released in cinemas before its release on Netflix to make it eligible for awards season. In a normal year, I would expect it to get a lot of nominations but few wins. This year, it could win a lot. The Trial of the Chicago 7 probably is one of the best theatrical releases of the year, because we haven’t had many. It’s shot well, the score is strong and there are some very good performances but it’s not a classic. It feels very pertinent to today despite it being based in 1968 because we haven’t grown as a society in fifty years.
The Trial of the Chicago 7 is very much an Aaron Sorkin film, a bit too much talking and a little preachy, but also well-made and entertaining. The quieter moments of the film allow the actors to actually show the characters they’re portraying but those moments are too few and far between. Sorkin has a tendency to add 100 words when 10 would do. Many love his scripts, personally I find them a little much at times but this film will please all the Sorkin fans out there.
The Trial of the Chicago 7 is available now on Netflix
The post The Trial of the Chicago 7 – Aaron Sorkin doing typical Aaron Sorkin things appeared first on The Nerd Element.
Aaron Sorkin’s latest film, The Trial of the Chicago 7, hits Netflix today. The synopsis of the film is as follows:
What was intended to be a peaceful protest at the 1968 Democratic National Convention turned into a violent clash with police and the National Guard. The organizers of the protest—including Abbie Hoffman, Jerry Rubin, Tom Hayden and Bobby Seale —were charged with conspiracy to incite a riot and the trial that followed was one of the most notorious in history.
Making a film about a trial interesting is not the easiest of tasks and one that Sorkin sometimes gets right and sometimes fails at. The film starts off at a pace with all the activists making their way to Chicago to protest against the increased draft during the Vietnam war, but it quickly slows down as we fast forward into the beginning of the trial proceedings. The Trial of the Chicago 7 wisely goes backwards in time at various points to flesh out what we’re being told in court.
The Trial of the Chicago 7 is a true ensemble piece. The eight activists and which actors play them in the film are as follows: Tom Hayden (Eddie Redmayne of The Theory of Everything, Fantastic Beasts), and Rennie Davis (Alex Sharp of Broadway’s The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time), both were of the Students for a Democratic Society. Counter-culture Yippies Abbie Hoffman (Sacha Baron Cohen of The Spy, Borat) and Jerry Rubin (Jeremy Strong of Succession, Molly’s Game). MOBE organizers David Dellinger (John Carroll Lynch of Fargo, The Founder), John Froines (Danny Flaherty of The Americans, King Jack) and Lee Weiner (Noah Robbins of Masters of Sex, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt). The eighth defendant and the one who isn’t part of the titular Chicago 7 is Black Panther Party Chairman Bobby Seale (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II of Watchmen, Aquaman).
That’s quite the cast, without even mentioning Mark Rylance (Bridge of Spies, Ready Player One), Joseph Gordon-Levitt (Inception, Snowden) and Frank Langella (Frost/Nixon, Good Night and Good Luck). Frank Langella is the standout performer amongst the whole cast, as the grumpy and extremely biased Judge Julius Hoffman. Having a huge cast like this means a lot of people aren’t actually in it very much or they’re just sat at a table. But being the Judge allows Langella to have a hand in a lot of the proceedings.
This being an Aaron Sorkin film, you can expect a lot of talking but surprisingly not that much walking. Sorkin wrote and directed The Trial of the Chicago 7, which is only his second directing credit after Molly’s Game. He’s obviously best known as a writer for The West Wing, The Social Network and Moneyball among many others. There are a lot of words in this script and sadly there isn’t a lot of energy in those words outside of Sacha Baron Cohen’s humorous Abbie Hoffman. There are few moments for the actors to show their emotions rather than talk talk talk, a feature of a Sorkin film that I don’t love.
Sorkin is within his right to change history for a dramatic feature, but from what I have read he has changed quite a bit and the change in Gordon-Levitt’s character is perhaps one of the biggest missteps. Gordon-Levitt is defence attorney Kunstler, who was very against the activists and what they were trying to achieve in real life. In The Trial of the Chicago 7, Kunstler isn’t sure whether he is on the right side of history. Sorkin gets a lot of negative criticism thrown his way for putting his liberalism into his films, on this occasion I would agree with the criticism. You have to change some things to make it more cinematic but making Gordon-Levitt be this stereotype doesn’t add anything and really isn’t necessary.
Bobby Seale (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) isn’t a large part of The Trial of the Chicago 7, unsurprisingly he isn’t treated well by the police as a Black Panther in the late sixties. His mistreatment was shown through the shock of the other activists, none were black, and essentially becomes a moment for them to grow. Seale may not be part of the Chicago 7 but his story wasn’t handled with care and was more about what the white people felt than what he was going through. Sorkin should have done better.
The film was released in cinemas before its release on Netflix to make it eligible for awards season. In a normal year, I would expect it to get a lot of nominations but few wins. This year, it could win a lot. The Trial of the Chicago 7 probably is one of the best theatrical releases of the year, because we haven’t had many. It’s shot well, the score is strong and there are some very good performances but it’s not a classic. It feels very pertinent to today despite it being based in 1968 because we haven’t grown as a society in fifty years.
The Trial of the Chicago 7 is very much an Aaron Sorkin film, a bit too much talking and a little preachy, but also well-made and entertaining. The quieter moments of the film allow the actors to actually show the characters they’re portraying but those moments are too few and far between. Sorkin has a tendency to add 100 words when 10 would do. Many love his scripts, personally I find them a little much at times but this film will please all the Sorkin fans out there.
The Trial of the Chicago 7 is available now on Netflix
The post The Trial of the Chicago 7 – Aaron Sorkin doing typical Aaron Sorkin things appeared first on The Nerd Element.
This month of Halloween is a different one. With the pandemic raging around us, creatives take to online spaces to express their love and devotion to all things scary, creepy, and gorey to celebrate their love for the best month of the year. Twitter can be both a blessing and a curse, and with the landscape in the states the way that it is, every scroll is like rolling the dice of what new real horrors you will be faced with. Luckily, we have respite with cosplayers and creatives harnessing the power of makeup, latex, and body paint to transform into the gouly-est of ghouls and the most frightening of freaks.
One such artist I continue to come across on my feed is Sachi, also known as Chibith0t. With her stylish outfits and creative photos, she has definitely gained popularity among fellow cosplayers and nerd enthusiasts. I love her angelic/cyberpunk looks! She looks like she could easily be a part of the next John Wick movie. I was lucky enough to be granted an interview with her, so please enjoy!
BNP: Please tell us about yourself! What’s your origin story and how has your Hero’s Journey been so far?
Chibith0t: Heyy heyy! My name is Sachi aka Chibith0t. It’s always so weird introducing myself then introducing myself as my handle haha. I also go by Chibi for short. I’m from Brooklyn, New York. By day I am a showroom manager and by night I’m a cosplaying, streaming, red bull chugging gremlin. I started cosplaying back in 2014 and coming from a fashion background, it was a nice outlet for me to express my two sides of loving fashion–styling as well as anime and video games. I’ve been streaming on and off for about 2 years and was made Twitch affiliate this year, so it’s been super fun building my twitch content and audience as well.
So far, my story has only been getting better with so many new people in this blossoming Black cosplayer community and also the Black nerd space in general. It has been such a fun ride meeting new people and growing with others.
BNP: How would you describe your cosplay style? How do you create? Do you have any special plans coming up for this month of Halloween?
Chibith0t: I focus on cosplaying characters that I really admire, personality and design wise. I tend to go for more anime and video game characters vs. comics as I’m more familiar with those characters. I like to be able to bring out the personality of the character with my cosplay as I think that is the fun part. When it comes to the actual creative process, I usually decide how much of the look I will have to make vs. how much I may have to style and customize (I can’t sew yet! haha). The most fun part for me is styling the look and putting all the pieces together to create the whole story. I’ve been freelance fashion styling for years now, and it’s the most fun when I get to use those skills in my cosplay. I also like to do casual/closet cosplays and reimagine the character in specific themed outfits, such as the cyberpunk closet cosplay series I started with Rem and Ryuko.
For Halloween, I am actually just going to be taking it easy. With COVID-19 this year, my schedule has been so thrown out of whack, but I will be crafting and streaming watch parties with my community!
BNP: Who or what inspires you?
Chibith0t: Black people in nerd spaces inspire me. I think seeing people that look like me at the developers table, the artist table, the esports table, the voice actor/talent/host, whatever it may be, inspires me. It’s always inspiring seeing that that is possible and happening because society likes to make it seem like Black people in those spaces are taboo or rare. Whenever I get messages like “Thank you so much for posting your cosplay! I never thought I could cosplay this character, because I’m Black.” I always instantly know that what I’m doing is important and that inspires me to continue. I started cosplaying by seeing people like Sami Bess, Kay Bear, and Cutiepie Sensei posting their work. Seeing girls that looked like me creating such awesome art inspired me to try myself so seeing that come full circle is the most fulfilling.
BNP: If you could be the hero in any Halloween or scary film, which one would it be and why?
Chibith0t: I would LOVE to have been in any Halloweentown movie. As a 90s baby, that series was such a huge chunk of my spooky childhood. I’m actually a wuss when it comes to really scary movies, so it was nice growing up finding one that I liked haha. I would definitely choose Halloweentown High and help the gang save the mixture of schools between worlds!
Cover Photography Credit: Sailor Saturn Shot by Christopher Levy, TopherBLev Photography: https://www.instagram.com/topherblev/
Social media:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chibith0t/?hl=en
Twitter: https://twitter.com/chibithot?lang=en
Twitch: https://m.twitch.tv/chibith00t/profile
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The post Chibith0t Interview: “Black People in Nerd Spaces Inspire Me!” appeared first on Black Nerd Problems.
Source: Prince Williams / Getty
Emily B just became a mother of four, but could she also be preparing to become a grandmother?
That’s the speculation following rumors that her eldest child, daughter Taina Williams, is pregnant with her first child with rapper beau G Herbo. Pictures and videos surfaced recently of the 22-year-old with what appeared to be a growing baby bump. Could also just be the effects of a good meal, too. You never know.
For the rapper’s birthday earlier this month, Taina gifted him a custom Jeep truck. “MY GIFT GOT ME A GIFT THAT CAME WITH A GIFT,” he said on Instagram. “DON’T LET THAT GO OVER YO HEAD! SHE’S THE GIFT”
G Herbo was also gifted for his something flashy from Fabolous, who is like a stepfather to Taina, of course. It was a chain that read, “TheFamily.”
But neither party has confirmed the rumors of a baby on the way. In fact, Taina, who has been the subject of pregnancy rumors in the past, subtly responded to the latest gossip by posting what she claims are current photos. She shared the one below on Thursday, and as you can see, her stomach is clearly flat:
Rapper Kashdoll commented on the photo and said, “Facts we just ran into each other and she looks like her pics.”
Taina would respond by saying, “allegedly I’m posting old pics ?? nice seeing you ??”
If she is indeed pregnant, of course, time will tell.
For the record, G Herbo already has a son, Yosohn, with ex-girlfriend Ari Fletcher. He has been dating Williams since late 2018, and has spoken about the bond he has with her famous parents. He said that Emily helps him communicate with Taina when they’re having issues.
“Her and her mom got a great relationship, so they’re able to talk about stuff,” he said earlier this year. “So something she probably wouldn’t be able to understand because she’s probably emotional or angry when I try to break it down to her, I would break it down to her mom. This is what I meant. Her mom would be able to relay it to her from a whole other perspective.”
And as for Fabolous, they’re both rappers, and G Herbo looks up to him, so he’s become something of a mentor and an example.
“It’s a blessing being able to really see him and have a personal relationship with him,” he told HipHollywood in January. “It’s really just watching from afar you know what I’m saying? Seeing mistakes he may have made or just seeing the way he move versus how I want to move. Knowing that, and he’s a standup dude, so that just inspired me to be the best man I can be of course to my girl.”
He also told the site that he definitely sees himself and Taina going the long haul.
“I’m gonna put a ring on it fa sho,” he said.