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Christopher Owen

@cbowen

Eh (He/him Chicago via Tulsa)

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I don't know the specifics of this case, but there are no legally guaranteed "creator rights" or "royalties" in American film/TV. It is absolutely possible to have a "based on characters created by" credit and make $0. It all depends on what deal the creator in question was able to negotiate.

14.03.2026 19:33 πŸ‘ 5 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
It was going on one, two in the morning, and we were shooting what I felt was an important scene for me, when he makes an attempt to be quote-unquote straight, in a suit, and at the end of it he gets emotional and locks himself in the other room. And I felt like, I’m not getting what I wantβ€”I’m not happy with it. Mike was happy with it. He called me the next day and said, β€œI know you weren’t happy with the scene last night. Believe me, we wouldn’t have gone home if I had felt we weren’t getting it.” And then he sort of became my psychiatrist and said, β€œYou find it difficult to be happy, don’t you? You find it difficult to enjoy things.” And I said, β€œWell, sometimes. Last night was about feeling too tired and not feeling I was reaching what I needed to reach for the scene.” He talked to me then about when he was making, I don’t know whether it was Virginia Woolf or The Graduate. He said, β€œI didn’t enjoy it for a second. I was worried about so many things.” And then he said, β€œYou know, this is never going to happen again quite this way. You should try to allow yourself to enjoy this more. Take a minute a day, and then add a minute the next day, and another minute. Pretty soon, you’ll have hours of happiness.”

It was going on one, two in the morning, and we were shooting what I felt was an important scene for me, when he makes an attempt to be quote-unquote straight, in a suit, and at the end of it he gets emotional and locks himself in the other room. And I felt like, I’m not getting what I wantβ€”I’m not happy with it. Mike was happy with it. He called me the next day and said, β€œI know you weren’t happy with the scene last night. Believe me, we wouldn’t have gone home if I had felt we weren’t getting it.” And then he sort of became my psychiatrist and said, β€œYou find it difficult to be happy, don’t you? You find it difficult to enjoy things.” And I said, β€œWell, sometimes. Last night was about feeling too tired and not feeling I was reaching what I needed to reach for the scene.” He talked to me then about when he was making, I don’t know whether it was Virginia Woolf or The Graduate. He said, β€œI didn’t enjoy it for a second. I was worried about so many things.” And then he said, β€œYou know, this is never going to happen again quite this way. You should try to allow yourself to enjoy this more. Take a minute a day, and then add a minute the next day, and another minute. Pretty soon, you’ll have hours of happiness.”

The Birdcage opened thirty years ago today, so in its honor, I want to share one of my favorite stories about Mike Nichols that didn't make it into my biography. This is from an interview I did with Nathan Lane.

08.03.2026 16:29 πŸ‘ 2766 πŸ” 610 πŸ’¬ 33 πŸ“Œ 40

I think Kobe would be disgusted at the suggestion.

He's not someone worth admiring emulating in general, but if inclined, this would not be the way to do it.

11.03.2026 17:44 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

I'm about to be the worst nitpicker, but This American Life has no editorial relationship with NPR, despite airing on NPR member stations. They are distributed by a separate organization called PRX.

11.03.2026 15:39 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

*Rosanna

11.03.2026 05:31 πŸ‘ 3 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

*Rosanna

11.03.2026 05:29 πŸ‘ 6 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

Mike Johnson losing his majority even before the election would be such a rare bright spot this year.

10.03.2026 19:47 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

Bring on the doofuses, then.
bsky.app/profile/atru...

10.03.2026 17:34 πŸ‘ 5 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

"We took idiosyncratic passages out of context from longer, often challenging works, and asked a supercomputer to render them more palatable in isolation. Which version do you find more palatable in isolation?"

10.03.2026 13:36 πŸ‘ 404 πŸ” 81 πŸ’¬ 15 πŸ“Œ 1

Automatic addition to my reading list.

10.03.2026 05:52 πŸ‘ 2 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

Well, this is what we're dealing with. No one asks for a special prosecutor when the regular ones are doing their jobs.
bsky.app/profile/jons...

10.03.2026 02:50 πŸ‘ 2 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

TIL:
Rachel Robinson, widow of Jackie, is still alive at 103. She was a psychiatric nurse in her working years, and taught at Yale. According to her bio at the Jackie Robinson Foundation (which she founded), she has 3 great-grandchildren and 3 great-great grandchildren.

09.03.2026 07:22 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
Preview
Fuzzy memories and hard facts: An SC accuser's claims against Epstein, Trump examined An alleged victim of Jeffrey Epstein gave FBI agents true accounts of her time growing up in SC. Claims she made about Donald Trump remain unsubstantiated.

Thorough reporting, horrifying details.

www.postandcourier.com/news/epstein...

09.03.2026 05:54 πŸ‘ 2 πŸ” 2 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
Video thumbnail
07.03.2026 22:37 πŸ‘ 13426 πŸ” 5064 πŸ’¬ 88 πŸ“Œ 251

These circumstances are horrifying, and I had that reaction even as the tone suggested I was supposed to feel something more positive.

Later, when things inevitably sour, there is a tonal *shift.* But there was no shift in the circumstances, which were dark and cruek all along.

07.03.2026 09:03 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

I don't understand how people found Rental Family "heartwarming," or "kind."

The central storyline is about a man being paid to tell a fatherless girl that he is her dad, and manipulate her into having a relationship with him. The endgame is to get her into a competitive private school.

07.03.2026 08:55 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0
Screenshot of "recent activity" from the letterboxed app. 
Secret Agent, re watch, 5 stars 
Ball of Fire, 4.5 stars
Drive My Car, re-watch, 5 stars 
Rental Family, 1 star

Screenshot of "recent activity" from the letterboxed app. Secret Agent, re watch, 5 stars Ball of Fire, 4.5 stars Drive My Car, re-watch, 5 stars Rental Family, 1 star

Forgot to do #LetterboxdFriday

I hope to forget the movie on the right as well.

07.03.2026 08:27 πŸ‘ 6 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

Re-watched The Secret Agent, which despite all the acclaim is still underrated. It's an all-timer.

07.03.2026 08:23 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

I don't even dislike it, but I have failed to get far multiple times, but then tried again so much later that I need to start over, and now I have seen the first few episodes 3 times, and I just can't do it again.

Love his movies though!

07.03.2026 06:20 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

Other major nominees:

The Alabama Solution (HBO Max)
Blue Moon (Netflix)
Come See Me in the Good Light (Apple)
If I Had Legs I'd Kick You (HBO Max)
It Was Just an Accident (Hulu)
Mr Nobody Against Putin (Kino Lorber)
The Perfect Neighbor (Netflix)
Song Sung Blue (Peacock)

07.03.2026 04:28 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

8 of the 10 Best Picture nominees are now on a subscription service, if you're trying to catch up.

Bugonia: Peacock
F1: Apple
Frankenstein: Netflix
Hamnet: Peacock
One Battle After Another: HBO Max
The Secret Agent: Hulu
Sinners: HBO Max
Train Dreams: Netflix

07.03.2026 04:15 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

Fun thing to think about very briefly: who currently has better lawyers, the United States or Nintendo

07.03.2026 00:04 πŸ‘ 6781 πŸ” 1282 πŸ’¬ 131 πŸ“Œ 49

Especially when we're talking about the Senate. There's only 100 of them and they get 6 year terms.

07.03.2026 00:09 πŸ‘ 2 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

"omg did you see Rotta the Hutt? He's Jabba's son and he is going to fight the Mandalorian and Gr-"

You bolt awake in the hills of Burbank. It is 1976 AD. You are Marcia Lucas, and you have changed your mind. The future cannot come to pass. Star Wars must match George's original vision

06.03.2026 18:01 πŸ‘ 1720 πŸ” 217 πŸ’¬ 35 πŸ“Œ 6

Who wishes it was the 2000s? What's the non-monkey's paw outcome anyone is wishing for?

06.03.2026 22:06 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

And this, of course, is bad parenting, because raising a future citizen is part of the job.

06.03.2026 21:46 πŸ‘ 6 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

Markwayne is actually a noble title, and is the Oklahoma equivalent to "Marquis," and may be passed on at the same time your father gives you his car dealership

05.03.2026 19:56 πŸ‘ 4791 πŸ” 776 πŸ’¬ 85 πŸ“Œ 32

100% disagree. Weird, unexplainable stuff like this is usually an indication that the food is fire.

06.03.2026 09:15 πŸ‘ 2 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

It's not even true!
Fast food drink nutrition facts don't account for ice. That's how much sugar you would get if you ordered a 44 oz Sonic beverage with "no ice." Who would do that AT SONIC?
And their ice takes up much more space than standard ice.

06.03.2026 09:09 πŸ‘ 4 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

The Facebook/.edu thing is pretty meaningless. That just means you're 37-43 years old. There's a while movie about how instantly popular it was.

06.03.2026 08:52 πŸ‘ 5 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0