PopCulture No.3 by All About Digital

ENTERTAINMENT IN ENGLISH, FIRST TIME IN SCANDINAVIA!

TECHNICAL PARTNER No.3 Dec. 2015 - Jan. 2016 NOW FREE

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BOB LAYTON

SHERLOCK:

MEET NEW SCANDINAVIAN STAR:

The details you want to know!

A NEW STAR TREK SERIES

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DYSTOPIA

IN MEMORIAM: Desperate Housewives

16 GOODIES TO LOOK FOR IN 2016

Find out why Sling a Kitty is everybody's must-have download this season! 25 STORIES THIS MONTH

JESSICA JONES

MOCKINGJAY PART 2

MØ: DANISH POP DIVA

HOT EVENTS IN 2016

ENTERTAIMENT IN ENGLISH, FIRST TIME IN SCANDINAVIA!

Cover page image: PocApp Studios

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Published monthly Issue 03, December 2015 / January 2016

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25 25 STORIES THIS MONTH

JESSICA JONES

PART 2 MOCKINGJAY

MOCKINGJAY PART 2

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MØ: DANISH POP

HOT EVENTS

DIVA

MØ: DANISH POP DIVA

IN 2016

Published by

HOT EVENTS IN 2016

Founder & Editor-in-chief MARIN MILOSAVLJEVIC Art Director GORDANA BAKIC Proof reading TANJA MILOSAVLJEVIC Cover Story MICHEL PETKOVIC Contributing writers LAZAR KOVACEVIC // VELIBOR MITRIC // MICHEL PETKOVIC // MILJAN TANIC // NINA ZDERIC JØRGEN MAGNUS // MILA MARINKOVIC // KRESIMIR VINSCAK

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PopCulture Magazine is digital only magazine and no part of it can’t be reproduced in any form without the written permission by the publisher. All the articles in this publication are intellectual property of their authors and publisher cannot accept any responsibility for the accuracy of the information included.

#EditorsWord GAMES ARE PART OF POPULAR CULTURE. Today, when you don't need to come home first to enjoy them on your PC, maybe more than ever. I remember the early nineties, my dad's return from some business trip and the Amiga 500 which arrived with him. Wow. I can't compare that feeling to anything I could buy today. When you've got an iPad Air and after that you buy the iPad Air 2,that's great, but you know what to expect. The unboxing and powering up of your first computer, the first gadget which will make enjoying video games possible... There is simply no adequate comparison. Walking through the Friends Arena in which the ComicCon Stockholm took place on the first day of November this year, by sheer accident I spotted Kitty and in that moment I was sure the next cover of PopCulture Magezine would be animated. Shortly after the ComicCon I contacted PocApp Studios and was met with unbelievable good will of the Swedish developer for mobile games. And together we present you this month the new Scandinavian star - Kitty! 2016 is nearing and we had to dedicate a few pages of this issue to that event. We'll help you to compose the perfect holiday playlist, and we give you a hint of what next year has in store for you â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 16 goodies to look for in 2016 gives us a perfect look into a bright future. And just so the holidays can be perfect, as the ghost of the past we remember Desperate Housewives, who we still miss. We have so much more in store for you in this winter double-issue, but you have to discover some things for yourselves. The PopCulture team can't wait for your comments and suggestions, which will maybe make the next, February issue, even better. Happy holidays, Marin MilosavljeviÄ&#x2021; Editor in Chief

REBECC FERGUS

Swedish Ac about her c and life.

#ThisMonth

ALSO IN THIS ISSUE

16 GOODIES TO LOOK FOR IN 2016

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CA SON

ctress carrier

BOB LAYTON

Interview with the Iron Man resurrector personaly.

UNCANNY X-MEN Ruthless killers. Relentless villains. X-Men?!

16 A NEW STAR TREK SERIES 23 DOCTOR STRANGE 26 WINTER FAIRY TALE 46 THE (NOT SO) FANTASTIC FOUR 50 QUENTIN TARANTINO: Retrospektiv 52 NELLY: Coming to Oslo

THE MAP OF DYSTOPIA The world is being conquered by dystopian stories!

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SING IT UP, BABY, IT’S CHRISTMAS! What does your holiday playlist look like?

54 GÖTEBORG FILM FESTIVAL 56 THEY ARE FABULOUS: Tobias Sorensen & Jasmine Tookes 72 SUPERGIRL 78 JESSICA JONES: Darker than Daredevil 82 INTO THE BADLANDS

98 DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES: In Memoriam

by: Michel P.

#HOT START

michel_p@popculture.dk

MØ

THE DANISH POP DIVA!

IMAGE: Courtesy of Sony Music

KAREN MARIE ØRSTED (24), A DANISH ELECTROPOP SINGER, WIDELY KNOWN UNDER HER STAGENAME MØ, IS CURRENTLY THE BIGGEST MUSICAL EXPORT-BRAND FROM DENMARK.

Her debut-album “No Mythologies to Follow”, released in march 2014, is still hitting the charts worldwide. The album is full of soul-punk-RnB and pop harmonies. She grew up on the Danish island of Funen, and she wrote her first song when she was only seven. “My parents had a piano in their living room that they got from my great grandmother, and then I wanted to write songs, in English, cos I was a massive Spice Girls fan”, she remembers. She was obsessed with 90s pop until her teenage days, when she discovered Sonic Youth, Black Flag, Nirvana, Smashing Pumpkins, Yeah Yeah Yeahs… Three excellent singles have been released so far from her album: “Pilgrim”, “Waste of Time” and “XXX 88” featuring Diplo.

She rose to international fame 2014 thanks to her collaboration with Iggy Azalea on the single “Beg for it”, which peaked at No. 27 of the US Billboard Hot 100, and the mega-hit “Lean on” she did with Major Lazer and DJ Snake, she reached No. 1 in Australia, No. 2 in the UK and No. 4 in the US and thus secured herself performances at big and important music festivals. Right now she’s working on a new album. Diplo is producing most of the song, along with the newly released single “Kamikaze”, which is some sort of sequel to “Lean on”. The new single charted in Denmark, Belgium and the UK. The song’s premiere was on BBC Radio 1.

SHE WAS OBSESSED WITH 90S POP UNTIL HER TEENAGE DAYS, WHEN SHE DISCOVERED SONIC YOUTH, BLACK FLAG, NIRVANA, SMASHING PUMPKINS, YEAH YEAH YEAHS…

PLAY THIS!

by: Marin M.

#HOT START

IMAGE: Courtesy of BobLayton.com

marin_m@popculture.dk

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FOR ME, IT WAS ALWAYS TONY STARK WHO WAS INTERESTING, AND FOR THEM, TONY WAS JUST AN EXCUSE TO HAVE IRON MAN.

BOB LAYTON H is first solo material is expected by the end of the year, after successful remixes for artists like Ed Sheeran, Elli Goulding, Passenger, The Weeknd and Marvin Gaye. His remix of “I See Fire” by Ed Sheeran has more than 12 million plays on Soundcloud and more than 40 million views on YouTube.

IN LOVE WITH „NORMAL GUY” SUPERHEROES

BOB LAYTON, THE IRON MAN RESURRECTOR PERSONALY, WAS THE GUEST-STAR OF COMIC CON STOCKHOLM 2015. THIS COMIC INDUSTRY VISIONARY (CREATOR, WRITER, ARTIST, DESIGNER AND ENTREPRENEUR!) WAS VERY POPULAR AMONG FANS FROM ALL OVER SCANDINAVIA, BUT HE STILL FOUND TIME FOR A LITTLE CHAT WITH POPCULTURE MAGAZINE.

Q: YOU’RE THE MAN RESPONSIBLE THAT WE HAVE IRON MAN ALIVE AND WELL TODAY, AND IT’S AN URBAN LEGEND HOW YOU DID IT – SO CAN YOU TELL US MORE ABOUT THAT? A: As you know, Iron Man was originally created by Stan Lee, but it was never a popular series – it got cancelled a few times, but I remember having read it as a kid and seeing potential in it. When I was 11, I made my own little Iron Man comic book. One of the first stories I came up with was the “Doom Quest” story, where Iron Man and Dr. Doom go to Camelot, which was a popular thing, but I came up with that when I was 11 years old! But I ended up actually using it later. The way Marvel used to try out new talents, back in the day when comics were sold on newsstands, was that they had to have a 12-issue-contract with the distributors, and if they saw by issue 6 that the comic wasn’t doing well, they would cancel it and pull their A-list-writers off it and use new talent for the last issues. So I got Iron Man because they were going to cancel it, and I was barely 20 at that time. For me, it was always Tony Stark who was interesting, and for them, Tony was just an excuse to have Iron Man. So when I got the book, I asked the people in charge if I could change a few things. They said they don’t care, they would cancel it anyway, so I pretty much killed off the old cast and brought in Rhodey and Justin Hammer and all the new cast and characters and changed the focus

1111

#HOT START to Tony Stark. If I could choose to be a superhero, I’d rather be Tony Stark than Iron Man. Even as a kid it was my fantasy to be the playboy, the coolest guy in the room. So that’s where it happened. The first of those last six issues took

off and the book became oone of the best selling Marvel titles. The rest is history, as you know. It continued to grow, then came the movies and now it’s an international phenomenon.

IMAGE: Courtesy of BobLayton.com

YOU’D BE SURPRISED HOW MANY CREATORS HAVE ABSOLUTELY NO IDEA HOW THE BUSINESS WORKS.

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Q: WHAT OTHER BOOKS DID YOU WRITE AT MARVEL? A: Well I did the “Hercules” series, the first mini-series in Marvel history – “Hercules: The Prince of Power”. That was the first time I wrote and drew everything myself. So that was a big milestone for me career-wise. Then I created X-Factor, which was the reunion of the original X-Men. But then in the late 80s I left Marvel and formed Valiant comics and we became the third largest publisher in America. And Valiant is still around, and they’re doing great and getting ready to make some major motion pictures with characters I helped create so it’s exciting. So many characters I was involved in creating are winding up on the big screen. War Machine, Iron Man, Bloodshot, Archer & Armstrong – it’s surreal in some ways for me. Starting out from humble beginnings, these characters are becoming international trademarks. I was at the UN two weeks ago and

the delegation from China was crazy about Iron Man, you know. They were so thrilled to meet me, because for them Iron Man is the coolest thing that ever came out of the West. Q: WHY DID YOU DECIDE TO LEAVE MARVEL? A: My mentor, Dick Giordano, who was the head of DC comics for 25 years and mentored me since I was a teenager developed me into being more than just a cartoonist. He knew that I had a sense for business, and if you really want to change something in the industry, you have to be on the other side of the desk. I realized at some point, that management is going to be in my future. So when I got offered to be part of the founding team of Valliant it appeared to me as an opportunity to be more than just a wage-slave to Marvel. I did over 120 issues of Iron Man and career-wise that’s a 0 growth situation. Most cartoons do the same

I WENT OUT TO THE SET OF IRON MAN 2 AND WHEN I MET EVERYBODY I SAW THEY WERE ALL COMICBOOK-GEEKS! they always do until they burn out and die and to me if was more important to continue to grow. Valiant seemed a way to change the system and create something new. Also, to learn my craft from the inside out, to learn the business of comics. You’d be surprised how many creators have absolutely no idea how the business works. I hold lectures in the US about the comic industry, profit loss and the costs of units sold. I try to educate our audiences about what the business is actually about – the disconnect between the massive mass-market-appeal that these characters have and the lack of effect it has on the comic-book-market. That’s what I talk about at these conventions, too. Whether you’re a fan or a professional, I think it’s good to be informed. I feel that’s part of my duty, to give back, to educate people to make educated choices on the products they buy. Not to be a robot any buy everything Marvel or DC. If you hate what they’re doing, DON’T GIVE THEM MONEY. That’s the first rule I try to teach. Bite the bullet, quit buying it, and they’ll quit making it. It’s as simple as that. Q: COMICBOOK-MOVIES ARE A HUGE THING TODAY. HOW MUCH OF YOU CAN WE SEE IN THOSE MOVIES? A: Edgar Wright told me personally that my issue of AntMan in 1979 – it was a cover with Ant-Man under a magnifying glass – inspired him to write the Ant-Man movie. He went to Marvel and pitched Ant-Man to them. Q: IT’S INTERESTING HOW TODAY COMICBOOK-MOVIES ARE SOMETHING THAT BIG, AND 20 YEARS AGO PEOPLE WERE LAUGHING AT ATTEMPTS AT SUCH MOVIES. A: There’s a way to explain that. In The 90s, Hollywood was on a kick of producing movies based on TV-shows. Bewitched, Beverly Hillbillies, Dukes of Hazard and so on, because all of the producers back then grew up with those. That was the thing that excited them. So when they got the opportunity to make movies, they looked to the stuff that resonated with them. So this generation now grew up reading Bob Layton’s Iron Man and Frank Miller’s Daredevil

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IMAGE: Courtesy of BobLayton.com

ACTION

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I EARNED MY PLACE AND OFFERS COME TO ME ALL THE TIME. I TURN DOWN MORE OFFERS THAN I ACCEPT

And Jon Byrne’s and Chris Claremont’s X-Men. That was amazing to me. I went out to the set of Iron Man 2 and when I met everybody I saw they were all comic-book-geeks! And that’s why I stayed, because I realized these people already knew who I was. That was a foot in the door for me in order to get things done in Hollywood. So I decided to stay and I’ve been out there for about eight years now. Q: TELL US A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WHAT YOU’RE DOING RIGHT NOW? A: This is a great part of my life. I put in four decades into working in the business. Right now I get to travel to Sweden and talk to all you lovely people here. Wonderful country, everyone was amazingly laid back, and then I get to go to London, and next month to Australia for two weeks. I get to travel around the world and spread the gospel of good comics to as many people as possible. In Hollywood I primarily work with Edward James Olmos and his son Michael – they have their own production company. I’ve written a movie for Ed, I’ve done production art for Michael on his movies. We also collaborated on a project. I have a movie called Shambler, which is a horror comedy, that is in development right now. It will be a very funny movie, if you like horror comedy. I just did a public service comic book for UNICEF – that’s why I was at the UN a couple of weeks ago. I take as much time as I do stuff for Wounded Wear, for MS research – whatever I can do to give back. At this late date in my career, I get to do a little bit of everything. I earned my place and offers come to me all the time. I turn down more offers than I accept. I just did a couple of covers for DC comics – one for Justice League and one for Cyborg and the only reason I did it? In my 40-year-career, I never penciled anything at DC. I wrote stories and I inked stories, but I’ve never actually penciled anything. And I was a cover artist at Marvel for half of my career. But I never got to do it at DC, they kind of pigeon-holed me. Q: WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE CHARACTER THAT YOU WROTE? AND WHAT’S THE CHARACTER YOU’RE SAD YOU DIDN’T GET THE CHANCE TO WRITE?

A: Iron Man, obviously is my favorite. Most artists work their entire career and they don’t have their names synonymous with a character. And that’s the best thing that can happen to you in this business – having your name attached to a character. The way Frank Miller is with Batman or Chris Claremont with the X-Men and I’m associated with Iron Man. Money cannot buy that. Much better artists then I am have worked their entire careers without having that. I’m extremely fortunate in that regard. As for the character I never got to write – the very first comic book I read as a child was Challengers of the Unknown, a DC comic about four adventurers and that’s what got me started and also started my love for characters without superpowers – like Iron Man, guys who rely on their wits and technology. That’s why Batman will resonate with me more than Spider-Man for instance, because there’s less of a fantasy element to it. I always liked guys who were normal guys. So I always wanted to do a version of Challengers of the Unknown and never got a chance to do that. I actually once pitched it together with Barry Windsor Smith as a mini-series to DC and they declined. They said they had already planned something with somebody else. So I think they missed the chance of a lifetime there to have me and Barry work together and we had a great story. But no idea ever dies in this business, it just takes a number and stands in line.

Geeking out about this?

Find out more about Bob Layton: boblayton.com

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#HOT START

by: Kresimir V. kresimir_v@popculture.dk

IMAGE: Courtesy of Viasat; Discovery Networks

A NEW STAR TREK SERIES IN 2017!

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A YEAR BEFORE THE FRANCHISE CELEBRATES ITS 50TH BIRTHDAY, CBS ANNOUNCES ITS RETURN TO THE TV-SCREENS

THE NEW SHOW WILL HAVE NEW CHARACTERS AND A NEW STORY

This month CBS officially announced a new, sixth TVshow in the Star Trek franchise, with a planned premiere date in January 2017. Next year the rebooted film-series will get its second sequel – 13th Star Trek movie overall – and then TV comes back into the spotlight, which is the natural home of Star Trek anyway. Actually, not TV per se, but internet, television sets, monitors, tabs or smartphone-screens, because CBS plans to broadcast the show exclusively through its streaming service CBS All Access. Yes, only the pilot episode of the new show will air on “traditional” television, and then Star Trek will become the first TV-show in history developed exclusively for a network-operated internet platform. The times do change… There are almost no known details about the new show. Alex Kurtzman will be the executive producer and the search for the head writer just started. We kindly ask that he politely says thanks for the eventually submitted CV’s of Brannon Braga and Rick Berman and then declines them. Kurtzman was, together with Roberto Orci, co-writer of the 11th and 12th movies, and also with Orci, he created Fringe and Sleepy Hollow for television.

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by: Velibor M.

#HOT START

velibor_m@popculture.dk

SHERLOCK: THE DETAILS

YOU WANT TO KNOW!

IMAGIMAGE: Courtesy of Viasat

THE TRAILER, PREMIERE DATE AND SPECIAL TITLE OF THE SHOW WE ARE ALL LOOKING FORWARD TO!

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After a few months of waiting, the Sherlock US, and that will probably bring joy to all the “Victorian special” has finally gotten a pre- fans. We’re still waiting for a premiere date for miere date. Scandinavia, but we’ll let you know as soon as we get that info. PBS and Masterpiece have announced this month that the 90-minute special, now offi- PBS has also published a trailer, along with the cially called Sherlock: The Abominable Bride, information that the production of season 4 will premiere on Friday, January 1st, same day of the beloved series will start in spring 2016, as in the US. This is the first time that Sherlock though there is still no premiere date for that has the same premiere date in the UK and season.

PLAY THIS!

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#HOT START

UNCANNY X-MEN BIGGER THREATS NEED MORE THREATENING X-MEN!

IMAGE: Courtesy of Marvel Comics

RUTHLESS KILLERS. RELENTLESS VILLAINS. X-MEN?! THIS MONTH, MARVEL PRESENTED US NEW LOOK INSIDE THE HIGHLY ANTICIPATED UNCANNY X-MEN #1 – THE NEW ONGOING SERIES FROM BLOCKBUSTER CREATORS CULLEN BUNN AND GREG LAND!

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ATTENTION!

UNCANNY X-MEN #1, on sale in January 2016! Written by Cullen Bunn, art & cover by Greg Land, hip-hop variant by Greg Land, variant cover by Ken Lashley.

MAGNETO HAS GATHERED TOGETHER THE DEADLIEST TEAM OF MUTANTS EVER ASSEMBLED Eight months have passed since the end of Secret Wars, and the X-Men find themselves in a world that hates and fears them more than ever. Refusing to accept one more mutant death, Magneto has gathered together the deadliest team of mutants ever assembled for one goal – to proactively eliminate any and all threats to their species. They’re not afraid to get blood on their hands. And if you see them coming, you should run the other way. But with a team full of villains, killers and allaround baddies – can they stop from killing each other long enough to take out their enemies? Find out this January in the bombastic debut of UNCANNY X-MEN #1!

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all eyes on her! ABOUT PHYSICAL ASPECT OF MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE MOVIE When I first arrived, they drove me straight from the airport to the gym. For the next month and half, I trained for six hours, five or six days a week. Everything was physical. ABOUT DOING HER OWN STUNTS I had to jump off a Vienna rooftop with my legs strapped around Tom Cruise on the first day! Later on in the film, there’s a 120-foot fall. It was scary. ABOUT TRANSFORMING FOR MOVIE ROLE It’s not a big deal for me. I’m an actress. Storytelling and transformation is part of that, and I will take it to a point where it’s healthy. ABOUT THE PATH FROM SWEDISH STARLET TO HOLLYWOOD STAR It's surreal. It's surreal. It is uncomfortable and strangely intoxicating... and just odd. I haven't done many. I'm on a learning curve. ABOUT TOM CRUISE I had a recurring dream about him, like a love dream. I was in love with him and I was 11, or 12? He was probably my one crush.

REBECCA FERGUSON 19.10.1983. 22 22

Swedish actress

1 topic, 2 stories about…

by: Miljan T.

miljan_t@popculture.dk

DOCTORSTRANGE Mads Mikkelsen in the movie! Marvel Studios announced a few days ago that production has begun on “Doctor Strange,” starring Benedict Cumberbatch (“Black Mass,” “The Imitation Game”), Chiwetel Ejiofor (“12 Years a Slave,” “The Martian”), Rachel McAdams (“Southpaw,” “Sherlock Holmes”) and Michael Stuhlbarg (“Steve Jobs,” “A Serious Man”) with Danish actor Mads Mikkelsen (“Clash of the Titans,” “Casino Royale”) and Oscar winner Tilda Swinton (“Michael Clayton,” “The Grand Budapest Hotel”). The film opens on November 4th 2016. in the US and a day before, November 3rd in Denmark.

It is directed by Scott Derrickson (“Sinister,” “The Exorcism of Emily Rose”). “Doctor Strange” follows the story of neurosurgeon Doctor Stephen Strange who, after a horrific car accident, discovers the hidden world of magic and alternate dimensions. “Doctor Strange” is the latest film in Phase 3 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Phase 3’s goal—over the course of four years and nine films—is to introduce audiences to new heroes and continue the adventures of fan favorites.

IMAGE: Courtesy of Discovery Networks; Marvel Comics

All-New, All-Different! The Sorcerer Supreme returns for his first ongoing series in nearly 20 years, as part of the All-New, All-Different Marvel event, which comes as an aftermath to the Secret Wars event this year. Helming the new series are writer Jason Aaron and artist Chris Bachalo. The new series is instantly welcoming to all readers regardless of their familiarity with the character. The issue opens with a recap (juxtaposed against a backdrop of classic Steve Ditko art) that succinctly breaks down Strange's origin and role within the Marvel Universe. With that out of the way, Aaron and Bachalo immediately jump into the action as Strange

deals with a particularly nasty supernatural mission. There's a very timeless quality to this comic and its depiction of Strange. Aaron doesn't directly reference any of Strange's recent continuity baggage (the temporary loss of his Sorcerer Supreme status, his Faustian bargain in Jonathan Hickman's New Avengers, his alliance with Doom in Secret Wars), instead focusing on the man and his relationship with the magical realm. This approach certainly has the benefit of not spoiling the events of Secret Wars. But more importantly, it allows the book to start with a clean slate and slowly add layers to Aaron's ongoing conflicts.

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#HOT START by: Mila M.

mila_m@popculture.dk

Through the eye of an expat:

IMAGE: Viktor Hanacek, Picjumbo.com

WINTER FAIRY TALE 26 26

n a land, on an island, in the vicinity of a harbor, there lived a king with his queen. Their castle was old, but in good shape, and on it’s highest tower there always waved a flag as a symbol of love. Like in fairy tales, there is always a villain, and they had problems with a dragon. That particular dragon adored the night. He loved to roam the night skies and stir the waters with his huge wings. He didn’t like the idea to share his territory with little, two-legged creatures, which even cant breathe fire… let alone fly. That’s why he devoured them without mercy with every chance he got. He didn’t like doing that one bit, but in his heart he was a true warrior for the preservation of nature, so he had to.

So the fairy tale could end here, if one of the balls at the palace wasn’t stormed by an evil witch, which was jealous of the dragon. How can people love one dragon so much and pay so little attention to an honest and respectable witch? That’s why she decided to show the people what the old dragons are like. So she spread particles of a rare but potent plant, which grows on meadow-edges and drives dragons mad, all over the dragon’s food. We all know the rest: fire everywhere, the castle in ruins, the inhabitants shocked, the royal couple devastated, the witch still unhappy and the dragon gone. How else could it be? Unless… unless in the next line, a boy names Hans Christian enters the story. And he will. And he’ll be able to tell this story much, much better. If you’ve never been to Denmark, and don’t plan to visit, but you enjoyed this story at least a bit, then you should maybe reconsider. If you still have the child in you, which is ready to look behind the curtain of mediocrity, which we are surrounded with in our everyday lives, then Denmark is the right choice. Why Denmark? And so under the rule of this royal couple people were born, lived, died, laughed and cried, got eaten by the dragon, froze, got wet in rains, loved, went to war… until one day on the porch of the royal castle a baby dragon was found. Worthy and honorable heirs to the royal couple from the beginning of our story were in shock. What to do? And how did this baby dragon come to be there, on the porch of the palace? Since there was no answer to those questions, the baby was brought to the biggest room in the castle – under the watchful eye of the royal guard. The reason was this: no one knew, what will happen in the end with this creature, but they knew one thing – how big dragons can get. And so the baby dragon grew up in the castle and the inhabitants loved it more and more every day. Some of them even secretly brought it tidbits and loved to scratch its back which by that point had gotten seriously big. Never had the world seen such a miracle. A dragon and people under one roof!

Because Copenhagen is its capital. And in Copenhagen was home to Hans Christian Andersen, whose stories about ducklings, nightingales, mermaids, tin soldiers and kings lulled us to sleep so often. In every street of this land, at almost every corner you can see details that carry the magic and truths of these stories. Many shops, buildings, fountains, parks still have the flair of those stories. This is one of the rare countries which has no boundaries for love. Of all the European nations, the Danish get married at the oldest age. A couple that got married in 2009 has been noted as the oldest newlyweds in history: the bride was 94 and the groom over a 100 years old. The modern sexual revolutions don’t echo in Denmark, because the people here have already chosen love. That’s why it’s no wonder that different studies have shown that the Danes are the happiest people in the EU and second happiest in the world.

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by: Danilo O.

IMAGE: Courtesy of PocApp Studios

danilo_o@popculture.dk

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KITTY IS NEW SCANDINAVIAN STAR & HER GAME IS EVERYBODY’S MUST–HAVE DOWNLOAD THIS SEASON!

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IMAGE: Courtesy of PocApp Studios

THE COMPETITION IS TOUGH AND SUCCESS DEPENDS AS MUCH ON SHEER DUMB LUCK AS ON QUALITY.

obile gaming is in a big expansion right now – it’s the part of the gaming industry with the fastest growth rate, and that’s no wonder, either. Someone realized that hundreds of millions of people have devices in their pockets, which can do much more than shoot selfies and post smileys. They have a mobile platform capable of much more demanding things. Every day young people form new developer teams with hopes to be the next iOS and Android champs. The market is far from perfect though. It’s overcrowded. There is a big problem with plagiarism, refurbished products and a lack of originality. The competition is tough and success depends as much on sheer dumb luck as on quality. And amidst that chaos, a small team from Sweden tries to break into the market. How? With the strategic use of cats.

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IMAGE: Courtesy of PocApp Studios

THE CATS WE USE ARE A BIG PART OF OUR BRAND, AND OUR GOAL IS FOR PEOPLE TO RECOGNIZE OUR COMPANY WHEN THEY SEE THEM.

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Q: GAME DEVELOPERS USUALLY START IN DIFFERENT IT FIELDS. WAS THAT THE CASE WITH YOUR TEAM? A: Depends on how you look at it actually! We all went to the same university and studied Game Development, but in different fields e.g. programming, sound engineering and 2D-art. So although we all studied game development, we didn’t study together unless we were in the same team during a game project course. Q: IS THAT HOW YOU MET AND STARTED YOUR STUDIO? A: Yes, more or less. The majority of our team met on our second year at the university during a game project course, and the rest tagged along shortly afterwards when the original group decided to participate in Microsoft Game Camp during summer. Together we wanted to develop a small mobile game that could be used as portfolio material in the future, and we ended up picking cats for our theme. In this manner, we created an endless runner with Kitty, a grey/ white cat whose job is to “quality test” carpets in a “carpet factory” by simply shredding them to pieces. If this “job” is imaginary or real we don’t know, but during the development of Carpet Kitty we realized that it could be more than just a portfolio project; it became a game that we wanted to

THE INTERNET AND ESPECIALLY THE SOCIAL MEDIA HAS PLAYED A MAJOR ROLE IN MY CAREER.

release on the app stores. In order to do this, we called for a meeting with the team and asked the big question: do we want to devote time and resources to do this while finishing our studies? The rest is history. Q: WHY GAME DEVELOPMENT? A: I think I speak for the majority of the group when I say that we all have a huge interest in games. We all grew up playing them. From Super Mario to World of Warcraft, console, mobile and PC, we love playing all sorts of games. How cool wouldn’t it be to actually earn a living creating games that are enjoyed by many? I think that was the general thought process for everyone in our team when we individually applied to the University of Skövde. None of us knew that much of the industry when we started, except that the Swedish game industry was really growing at the time and still does. It made sense to at least explore it and see if it would be a good career choice for most of us. And as much as games are a lot of fun to make, we were also also hit by the reality that it’s a very hard and competitive industry to be in. The competition is fierce since many developers work for free and visibility has become a big issue. How will players enjoy your game if they don’t even know that is exists? But to see someone play your game and genuinely enjoy it is one of

FROM SUPER MARIO TO WORLD OF WARCRAFT, CONSOLE, MOBILE AND PC, WE LOVE PLAYING ALL SORTS OF GAMES. 35 35

the best feelings you can have, so the hard work is really worth it.

IMAGE: Courtesy of PocApp Studios

KITTY HAS A DIFFERENT GOAL AND A MUCH MORE FRIENDLY APPROACH, WHERE NO KITTENS EXPLODE!

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Q: WHY MOBILE GAMES? A: We love mobile games and play them way too much! They provide quick entertainment on a short period of time and the development time is usually much shorter than what console and PC games tend to have. Financially it is a wise choice to spread the risk to a couple of smaller titles than on a single big title. Furthermore, the entry level is very low in the mobile market compared to PC and console, which is also the reason to why we started developing for mobile. The mobile game industry is also a rapidly growing gaming platform and is expected to dominate the market in the future. The sheer amount of smartphones in the world makes it possible to reach out to a huge player-base that you can’t do with consoles or PC. The industry is still blooming and we are excited to be a part of it. Of course this doesn’t exclude the possibility that we might make games for other platforms in the future, but making mobile games is our way into the awesome industry of game developing. Q: MOBILE GAMES ARE THE MOST SATURATED MARKET AT THIS TIME. HOW DO YOU PLAN TO STAND OUT? A: According to Gamasutra more than 500 titles are launched per day on iOS, a huge number really. Likewise about 8 titles are released daily on Steam. All games have an expiration date, so we are happy to see a constant flow of new mobile titles since usually, their lifetime is fairly short compared to PC and/or console titles. But yes, visibility has always been an issue for developers, not only mobile games. Our plan to stand out in an overcrowded marketplace began with Carpet Kitty where we totally fell in love with the cat-theme and also saw the potential in fellow cat-fanatics like ourselves. It inspired us to start building a recognizable brand based on cats by releasing fun, high quality games that our users can fall in love with. The cats we use

are a big part of our brand, and our goal is for people to recognize our company when they see them. But it’s hard to categorize such a big audience, which is the reason to why our games differ from each other a great deal in terms of gameplay and experience, in order to reach out to different audiences and build an even bigger fanbase. Sling a Kitty is the first stone in building that brand recognition. Q: THE CATS ARE FREAKING ADORABLE. WHO'S RESPONSIBLE FOR THAT? A: I know, right?! We are lucky to have Anna Larsson in our team of developers. She’s an amazing artist that has drawn these cute creatures for over 10 years under her username Kamirah on DeviantArt where she has thousands of fans all over the world and millions of views on her art, a celebrity among cat fans! Q: THE SLING IN SLING A KITTY DOES ALLUDE TO ANGRY BIRDS, SO I THOUGHT IT WAS YET ANOTHER CLONE, BUT YOU WENT WITH A MORE PUZZLE-HEAVY FOCUS. WHY NOT MAKE A SIMPLE PLATFORMER? A: In the beginning, the game was supposed to be called Catapult where the player would use a catapult to launch the cat into the air – the bad pun was our main motivator, haha! But as we iterated the gameplay and saw that the title was taken in the app stores, we came to the conclusion that a slingshot made much more sense and was easier to use in order to reunite the cat with its family. It was a wise choice, since pretty much all casual players have played Angry Birds or seen someone play it. Because of that players get the game right away thanks to the similarity, but quickly realize that Sling a Kitty has a different goal and a much more friendly approach, where no kittens explode! Yet players find it a bit brutal since they feel sorry for the cats (not the birds though) when they crash into obstacles. This has led us to contemplate making an exclamation in the beginning of the game, stating that “No cats were hurt in the creation of this game”.

Q: HOW DID YOU COME UP WITH THE CONCEPT FOR CARPET KITTY? IT'S A BIT OF AN UNUSUAL ENDLESS RUNNER. A: Our designer Robin Nordholm came up with the idea from nowhere during a regular meeting where he pitched the idea about a cat who scratches curtains. To this day we still don’t know how he came up with it. But the idea iterated from being curtains to carpets in a carpet factory and we went with an endless runner gameplay because it seemed the most fitting, and at that time runners were very popular e.g. Minion Rush. But we wanted an easier approach and were inspired by titles like Flappy Bird and Crossy Road in the creation of the game. Q: WHEN'S THE RELEASE DATE? A: The release date for Carpet Kitty is still unknown, we are in the last process of releasing the game (for the fifth time) before letting our publisher, Appsolute Games, take over. We hope that it will be this year! Q: DO YOU HAVE ANY CAT-FREE GAMES IN THE WORKS? A: Nope, silly human! But we are currently in the first production phase of a new game, involving cats of course, where the style will be a bit

different than our previous titles. The gameplay is leaning towards micro-management where you will be able to take care of cats and send them out on various silly missions. With this game we will be trying to target a more mature audience since our first titles mainly targets younger players. Q: OK, HOW ABOUT THE PRICE. HOW MUCH DO THEY COST? A: OVER NINE THOUSAND! Just kidding. Our games are and will be free to download from the App Store and Google Play Store. Maybe even Windows Phone Store in the future! Q: WHAT ARE YOUR PLANS? WHERE DO YOU SEE POCAPP IN, LET'S SAY 5 YEARS? A: We are a small studio with big dreams. We’re currently speaking to investors in order to make our dreams come true, but our main goal is to take over the world with our adorable cats. In 5 years we will have a number of successful titles on mobile and our brand will be recognizable all over the world. The studio will expand with professionals from the industry and we will be one of the leading game studios for mobile. At least that’s what we hope to accomplish!

WE ARE CURRENTLY IN THE FIRST PRODUCTION PHASE OF A NEW GAME, INVOLVING CATS OF COURSE 37 37

DOWNLOAD

IMAGE: Courtesy of PocApp Studios

FOR FREE & FALL IN LOVE WITH THE CATS, JUST LIKE WE DID!

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#BIGones by: Nina Z.

nina_z@popculture.dk

The map of

Dystopia: 10 stops you mustn't miss!

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IT IS NO SECRET THAT THE VAMPIRE-HYPE IS A LONG GONE PAST AND THAT – IN ADDITION TO BOOKS WRITTEN BY JOHN GREEN – THE WORLD IS BEING CONQUERED BY DYSTOPIAN STORIES. AND WHENEVER YOU THINK THERE IS NOTHING MORE TO SAY ON THAT TOPIC, A NEW AUTHOR COMES ALONG AND SURPRISES YOU. WHAT IS IT EXACTLY THAT ATTRACTS US SO MUCH TO THIS GENRE? WELL, I DON’T REALLY KNOW. BUT I KNOW ONE THING: I’M STILL NOT SICK OF IT, WHICH IN ITSELF IS SURPRISING, WHEN I THINK OF THE SHEER NUMBER OF BOOKS AND MOVIES FROM THIS GENRE I CONSUMED. THE HUNGER GAMES OPENED THE GATE FOR THIS GENRE: SUZANNE COLLINS WAS UNDOUBTEDLY THE ONE WHO PAVED THE WAY FOR THE MANY WRITERS WHO ROSE TO FAME WITH THEIR FIRST NOVELS, WRITING DYSTOPIAN STORIES. AND AS IT IS TODAY, A POPULAR BOOK BECOMES QUICKLY A MOVIE OR A TVSHOW. POPCULTURE MAGAZINE BRINGS YOU A MAP OF DYSTOPIA, ALONG WITH THE OBLIGATORY STOPS FOR THE NEXT MONTHS AND YEARS!

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THE HUNGER GAMES – MOCKINGJAY PART 2

World Premiere: November 20th 2015

And now the day has come for us all to say goodbye to our global heroine – Katniss Everdeen. For years now we’ve watched her long way from District 12, to the Arena, out of the Arena as a victor, back into the Arena, out of the Arena again, into District 13… She’s the first female protagonist of a book who didn’t summon uncontrolled waves of hatred in me – I loved her from the get go, because – for a change – she wasn’t a whiny female character, and that’s a huge step for humanity. In the last movie we’ll see the culmination of the conflict with President Snow, the end of the long and hard war, but it all comes with a price. Prepare your handkerchiefs, people! This one will be a tearjerker.

DIVERGENT ALLEGIANT PART 1

World Premiere: March 18th 2016

Veronica Roth is one of those authors who became famous with their debut novel. She wrote the trilogy Divergent, which of course spawned movies, and of course, the third book was split into two movies – because that's how things are nowadays done. The first of those two – Allegiant Part 1 – comes out in spring 2016. After violence and hunger for power destroyed the society divided into factions, Tris and Four leave Chicago for the first time and set out to explore the outer world, with hopes of finally finding the long-sought peace. And as you may have thought – out there they have to face even greater challenges and test their courage, love and allegiances.

THE FIFTH WAVE Four waves of deathly attacks have devastated the Earth. After the fourth wave, our heroine Cassie is on the run, trying to protect her younger brother. Then she meets Evan, who could be her last hope – if she can trust him, that is. What is Cassie running from? She’s running from the Others, beings that only look like humans, beings that raid villages and kill everything in their way. World Premiere: January 15th 2016

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Search for a director in progress

THE MAZE RUNNER – THE DEATH CURE

World Premiere: February 17th 2017

LEGEND

THE 100

And again we have a debut novel by a young author before us – this time it’s Legend by Marie Lu. The military-ruled world is divided among the rich and the poor. Her name is June and she’s been born in the richest sector, bred for the highest rank in the army of the Republic. His name is Day and he’s a legend – born in the poorest sector, he became the most wanted criminal. One day he becomes the main suspect for the murder of June’s brother, and thus her main target. And as it usually happens, the real truth comes to light and they become close. The movie adaptation is in pre-production, but we still don’t know when we’ll see it on the big screen. Let’s hope we won’t have to wait long.

Planet Earth has been destroyed in a nuclear war and all survivors were forced to live in a spaceship. After 97 years in space, the ship starts having a lack of oxygen. The authorities decide to send 100 criminals back to Earth to test if it’s still radioactive or habitable. Back on Earth, they meet many strange, deformed animals, but also violent Earthlings who try to kill them. IMHO, the second season was far better than the first one, and I hope season 3 will only uphold the trend.

World Premiere: February 17th 2017

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RED RISING – MORNING STAR

Third book launch in the US: January 2016

The Earth is on the brink of extinction and the ihabitants are looking for new planets with conditions for human life. The Red are the last hope of humanity and one of their members, Darrow, works on excavations on Mars, where they try to terraform the planet so humans can live there. But one day he discovers that Mars has for long been inhabitated and that the inhabitants are a wealthy elite which exploits Darrow and his kind. Darrow infiltrates the enemy to destroy them from within, with help of a myterious rebel organization. The first two books were a huge success with audiences worldwide, and the thrid book will be out in a few months.

THE YOUNG ELITES

Third book launch in the US: mid-2016

This trilogy comes from Marie Lu, the author of the above mentioned Legend. Part one was published last year and the second part came out about a month ago. It follows the story of Adelina Amouteru, a survivor of the blood fever. The blood fever is fatal to adults and leaves the survivors with markings. Adelina’s black hair has turned silver and her left eye is gone. Some survivors are rumored to have more than just markings. Rumor has it that some survivors have mysterious gifts. They are called The Young Elites. After accidentally murdering her father she meets the Young Elites and is to join their ranks. The third, as of now unnamed part of the trilogy, is expected to hit the shelves next year.

SHADOWHUNTERS Cassandra Clare is the author of the book series The Mortal Instruments, which spawned a movie… and it was halted right there. The box office success and reviews were so underwhelming that no one wanted to make another movie. Now some brave people decided to make a TV-show, under the title Shadowhunters. The story is basically the same, just the approach is a bit different: Clary Fray finds out that her ancestors were warriors who protect the world from many demons, so she joins her own kind, which means that she has to move into the underground world of New York City.

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12 MONKEYS

Season 2 USPremiere: April 2016

No, this is not the movie starring Brad Pitt and Bruce Willis, this is a TV-show which only has the same premise as the movie. The story takes place in 2043, after the modified plague has wiped out humanity. A few immune survivors are divided into groups, but the problem is that nobody stays immune forever, since the virus evolves and is thus invincible. A group of (for now) immune scientists builds a time-machine, which becomes the only hope for humanity. They search for the perfect traveler and find Cole, who gets the mission to find the source of the plague. On his journey he finds Dr. Cassandra Railly, who is the key of his mission.

World Premiere: January 15th 2016

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#BIGones by: Miljan T.

IMAGE: Courtesy of MCF

miljan_t@popculture.dk

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Are we waiting for F4 sequel or totally new movie (again) or… nothing?

THE (NOT SO) FANTASTIC FOUR

he Fantastic Four were the very first superhero team created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby for Marvel. The four individuals traditionally associated with the Fantastic Four, who gained superpowers after exposure to cosmic rays during a scientific mission to outer space, are Mister Fantastic (Reed Richards), a scientific genius and the leader of the group, who can stretch his body into incredible lengths and shapes; the Invisible Woman (Susan "Sue" Storm), who eventually married Reed, who can render herself invisible and later project powerful force fields; the Human Torch (Johnny Storm), Sue's younger brother, who can generate flames, surround himself with them and fly; and the monstrous Thing (Ben Grimm), their grumpy but benevolent friend, a former college football star and Reed's college roommate as well as a good pilot, who possesses superhuman strength and endurance due to the nature of his stone-like flesh.

As the first superhero team title produced by Marvel Comics, it formed a cornerstone of the company's 1960s rise from a small division of a publishing company to a pop culture conglomerate. The title would go on to showcase the talents of comics creators such as Roy Thomas, John Buscema, George Pérez, John Byrne, Steve Englehart, Walt Simonson, and Tom DeFalco, and is one of several Marvel titles originating in the Silver Age of Comic Books that was continuously published through 2015.

MOVIES. ON THE POPULAR MOVIE RATING SITE ROTTEN TOMATOES, THE MOVIE HOLDS A RATING OF 10 %. THAT’S THE LOWEST RATING FOR A MARVEL-RELATED MOVIE EVER. EVEN

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IMAGE: Courtesy of MCF

Ever since their original 1961 introduction, the Fantas- Four movie in 1994, just to shelf it (and we’re glad they tic Four have been portrayed as a somewhat dysfunc- did, that one was abysmal). 2005 and 2007 brought tional, yet loving, family. Breaking convention us two critically not so much acclaimed Fantastic Four movies (hey folks, remember Captain America as the with other comic book archetypes of the time, they Human Torch? Wink, wink), but they were financial would squabble and hold grudges both deep and pet- successes nonetheless. ty, and eschewed anonymity or secret identities in favor of celebrity status. The team is also well known And them came the 2015 disaster. We all know what for its recurring encounters with characters such as went down, so I’ll make this short: though there were the villainous monarch Doctor Doom, the planet-de- many controversies from the get-go (a black Human vouring Galactus, the sea-dwelling prince Namor, the Torch? Sue Storm is adopted?! And so on), no one spacefaring Silver Surfer, and the shape-changing expected the movie’s director himself, Josh Trank to alien Skrulls. literally take a dump on the movie on Twitter the day it opened in cinemas, claiming that he had a fantastic Then at some point, Marvel was on the brink of bank- movie a year ago, indicating that the studio meddled ruptcy and was forced to sell the movie rights to many too much and that he’s not satisfied with the final of its characters, like The X-Men, Spider-Man and The product at all. Then came the stories about on- and Fantastic Four, among others. Now in those deals off-set trouble (Trank having trashed the house he there is one clause saying that if the studios holding was staying in during production and such), and then the rights to the characters do not make movies with came the reviews. The overwhelmingly dominant rethose characters in a specific timeframe, the rights re- action was that parts of the movie seemed disjointed, vert back to Marvel. That’s why Fox made a Fantastic like they were glued together from different movies.

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On the popular movie rating site Rotten Tomatoes, the movie holds a rating of 10 %. That’s the lowest rating for a Marvel-related movie ever. Even the abysmal Elektra movie from 2005 has that grade. And though Fox was set to make a sequel for 2017, on November 24th they pulled it from their release calendar (it was supposed to come out a week after Star Wars: Episode VIII, on June 2nd, 2017).

shows (Legion and Hellfire), there is no sign that they will do the same as Sony did with Spider-Man and team-up with Marvel for a theatrical release. The feud goes even so far that Marvel axed the Fantastic Four comic book after so many decades. Yes,

currently there is absolutely no F4 comic book! Believe it or not. And they’re even not keen to develop the X-Men stories or new characters too much, since Fox gets the rights to them immediately. Why Fox is able to put out a decent (but not GREAT, mind you) X-Men movie, but can’t handle the F4 is beyond me. So they either have to suck it up and make a joint movie with Marvel and make EVERYONE happy with letting the Fantastic Four (and X-Men, for that matter) join the rest of the Marvel (cinematic) universe, or judging by everything that has happened so far, we’ll have to endure more underwhelming Fantastic So, what happens next? Either Fox makes a new mov- Four projects. Come on, Fox, if Sony could do it, so ie or the rights revert back to Marvel, eventually… but can you. It’s no shame to ask the people who actually I don’t see that happening. Although Fox teamed up created the comics to help you out. with Marvel to develop two new X-Men related TV-

CURRENTLY THERE IS ABSOLUTELY NO F4 COMIC BOOK!

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QUENTIN TARANTINO-R

DECEMBER 8 2015 – JANU

IMAGE: Courtesy of DFI.dk

MEET TARANTINO: FROM RESERVOIR DOGS TO DJANGO UNCHAINED! ALL MOVIES WILL BE ROLLED IN THE 35MM FORMAT.

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RETROSPEKTIV

UARY 24 2016

#DoNotSkip DANISH PAGES

December 01 Green Christmas @ 18:30 Verdens Kultur Centret, Copenhagen, Denmark WHAT:

Tarantino film can be distinguished in many ways. Violence, wit, humor, incredible dialogue, non-linear plots, profanity, references to pop culture, and homage to genres are all parts of the pastiche that make up a Tarantino movie. Perhaps the factor that stands out the most is Tarantino’s writing which is smart, punning, original, and at times nothing short of genius. While Quentin Tarantino is a strong visual stylist, his directing still falls short of his writing in my opinion, and I would make the argument that he has easily earned himself a spot among the few greatest screenwriters of all time. Quentin Tarantino devotes himself to his films, and through his unique personal touch, he makes movies that will forever be remembered.

ATTENTION! For more information and tickets, please visit: http://www.dfi.dk/

December 01 Children of Bodom @ 20:00 Store Vega, Copenhagen, Denmark WHAT: December 05 Julemarked i Kødbyen @ 10:00 Flæsketorvet, Copenhagen, Denmark WHAT: December 10 Burnt @ different times Biografpremiere, Copenhagen, Denmark WHAT:

December 10 Music for Dignity @ 19:00 Vega, Copenhagen, Denmark WHAT:

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NELLY IS COMING T 07 DECEMBER 2015 CORNELL IRAL HAYNES JR. (BORN 2 NOVEMBER 1974), BETTER KNOWN AS NELLY, IS A GRAMMY AWARD WINNING RAPPER, SONGWRITER AND MULTI-PLATINUM RECORDING ARTIST FROM ST. LOUIS MISSOURI, USA. Originally born in Austin, Texas, Nelly moved to Missouri as a result of his parents’ separation at the age of 7. It was there that he found initial musical success, with the formation of the hip-hop group “St. Lunatics” with his high school friends in 1993.

IMAGE: Courtesy of SongKick.com

After achieving moderate local interest with their song “Gimme What U Got” it became apparent to Nelly and the rest of the group, that he was the star of the group, and they encouraged him to push forward with his solo career.

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He was finally signed by Universal, despite concerns about his geographical background not being commercially viable, as the majority of well-liked rappers hailed from New York or California at the time. However Nelly’s debut release Country Grammar in 2000, was fairly successful, with the title track’s popularity helping pull the album to the top of various charts in the US. The album established Nelly’s personal pop-rap style, matched with his southern drawl that made him distinctive in the genre at the time.

TO OSLO!

#DoNotSkip NORWAY PAGES

December 01 The Bronx @ 19:00 Parkteatret Scene, Oslo, Norway Two years later, Nelly released his second full-length album, “Nellyville”, which took the rapper to superstardom. Tracks such as the catchy “Hot In Here” and R&B collaboration jam “Dilemna” with Destiny Child’s Kelly Rowland, established Nelly at the top of the charts around the globe, with the album certified as six times platinum and ranked as the fourth best selling rap album of all time. Suddenly, Nelly and his trademark plaster were everywhere. His third LP, a “dual” album called Sweat, Suit, was a half Rap, half R&B album, Both albums were released simultaneously in 2004, with the latter featuring the hit single “Over and Over” a surprise joint track with country singer Tim McGraw. The album was yet another commercial triumph for the rapper, cementing his place as one of the true icons of the 2000’s. Alongside his musical career, Nelly became known for his business acumen, during a time when rappers could seemingly release anything! Nelly’s ventures included, collaboration with Nike for a limited edition sneaker, his own brand of energy drink “Pimp Juice” and a women’s clothing range called “Apple Bottoms.” He also made a name for himself in the acting industry, starring in comedy sports movie “The Longest Yard” with comedians Adam Sandler and Chris Rock.

ATTENTION!

Nelly is performing in Sentrum Scene, Oslo on December 07. For more information about ticket, go to http://www.songkick.com/.

WHAT: December 11 Peace concert @ evening Oslo Spektrum, Oslo, Norway WHAT:

December 22 Drekkedagsnatta @ all day Kongsberg, Norway WHAT:

December 25 The Butler @ 21:30 TV 2, Norway WHAT:

January 05 Tiësto @ 20:00 Sentrum Scene, Oslo, Norway WHAT:

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GÖTEBORG FILM F

29 JANUARY – 8 FEBRU AS THE LEADING FILM FESTIVAL IN THE NORDIC COUNTRIES, GÖTEBORG FILM FESTIVAL BRINGS FILMS FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD TO GÖTEBORG. THE MAIN GOAL IS TO BE THE SPRINGBOARD THAT SENDS NEW NORDIC FILM OUT INTO THE WORLD.

T IMAGE: Courtesy of Giff.se

he festival began in 1979 and has since drawn in thousands of moviegoers to Göteborg each year. In 2015 festival sold over 130,000 tickets to over 30,000 visitors who we offered 500 films from 89 countries.

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inars attracted over 8,000 guests 2015. The festival’s industry section, with Nordic Film Market on the vanguard, also grew last year and is an important meeting place for industry visitors from all over the world.

Festival programming group works year round to But the festival is not just choose quality films from about film: it also offers across the globe. As a visaround 40 seminars as well itor to the film festival in as music, art and many oth- Göteborg, you’ll get to see er activities surrounding films that never reach the the core of films. The sem- large cinemas.

FESTIVAL

UARY 2016

#DoNotSkip SWEDEN PAGES

December 03 The Bronx @ 18:30 Strand, Stockholm, Sweden WHAT:

December 04 Fall of Emotions @ 21:00 Stockholm Copperfields, Stockholm, Sweden WHAT:

December 10 Nobel Prize Day @ 21:00 Stockholm Concert Hall, Stockholm, SwedenMalmรถ, Sweden WHAT: December 13 Lucia celebration at Skansen @ 16:00 Solliden Stage, Stockholm, Sweden WHAT:

ATTENTION! For more information about Gรถteborg Film Festival, please visit: http://www.giff.se/

December 15 Aurora Festival @ all day Bjรถrkliden, Swedish Lapland, Sweden WHAT:

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IMAGES TAKEN FROM VIDEO FOR CALVIN KLEIN'S ETERNITY

#RATEthis

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TOBIAS SORENSEN JASMINE TOOKES THEY ARE THE NEW FASHION POWER COUPLE. AFTER YEARS OF SUCCESSFUL COLABORATIONS WITH FAMOUS BRANDS, THIS REAL-LIFE COUPLE ACTUALLY GETS PAID TO CUDDLE IN PHOTOS FOR CALVIN KLEIN'S ETERNITY NOW FRAGRANCE CAMPAIGN. TAKE A DEEP BREATH AND THEN TAKE A LOOK.

THEY ARE FABULOUS!

is a Danish model, born in 1988. The prominent scar on his left cheek, the result of a bite he got from a dog when he was a boy, gives him a unique “bad boy” look.

She

is a Californian model, born in 1991. Her exotic look drove her straight to the top – she became a Victoria's Secret Angel this year.

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#RATEthis by: Miljan T.

miljan_t@popculture.dk

GOODIES TO LOOK FOR IN 2016

SO, 2015 IS ALMOST OVER AND WE’RE ALL MAKING PLANS AND RESOLUTIONS FOR 2016. NOW WE CAN ALL AGREE THAT THIS YEAR WAS GREAT IN THE ENTERTAINMENT BUSINESS, BUT WE SURELY WANT MORE. SO WE SAT DOWN AND PICKED 16 THINGS OUT NO LOVER OF POP-CULTURE SHOULD MISS IN 2016! MOVIES, MUSIC, CONCERT TOURS, TV-SHOWS… ANYTHING GOES – AND IN NO PARTICULAR ORDER. 58 58

01 THE RETURN OF THE X-FILES Well, duh. Of course this is the first thing to mention, since the new episodes start airing in early January. The first episode was aired in Cannes and at the NYC Comic Con and everyone is excited… but we prefer to be reserved, so that we can’t be as dismayed as we were 2008 with that second movie. No matter what happens, we’re happy to see Mulder and Scully at least one more time on our TV-screens.

02 MELODIFESTIVALEN 2016 Well, duh. Of course this is the first thing to mention, since the new episodes start airing in early January. The first episode was aired in Cannes and at the NYC Comic Con and everyone is excited… but we prefer to be reserved, so that we can’t be as dismayed as we were 2008 with that second movie. No matter what happens, we’re happy to see Mulder and Scully at least one more time on our TV-screens.

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03 EUROVISION SONG CONTEST 2016 After Melodifestivalen, we won’t move any further, because the ESC 2016 takes place in Sweden, of course, after Måns Zelmerlöw won the contest last year, only three years after Loreen. So we’re back in Sweden again, this time in the Ericsson Globe in Stockholm. So far 40 countries have confirmed their participation, last year’s guest country Australia was (thank god!) invited to stay, Sven Stojanovic (known for his superb work at Melodifestivalen and some editions of the ESC) will direct, Måns might host… so we can expect a great show. Mark these dates in your calendars: May 10th, May 12th and May 14th. If you want to see it live, you better hurry and buy your tickets – they’re on sale right now and boy are they selling fast!

04 CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR This is something comic book fans have been waiting for since 2007. And now, finally, we’re getting it, and though for various reasons it can’t be like the comic book, we’re mighty excited. And if you take a look at the list of cast members, you’ll realize this is actually Avengers 3. Including Ant-Man. And Spider-Man! Now THAT is super exciting, since every geek knows

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that Marvel had sold their rights to many important characters like the X-Men and Spider-Man. Now they got a deal with Sony and Spidey can appear in Civil War. The premiere date is May 6th and man, is this going to be an exciting summer at the movies!

05 X-MEN: APOCALYPSE After Melodifestivalen, we won’t move any further, because the ESC 2016 takes place in Sweden, of course, after Måns Zelmerlöw won the contest last year, only three years after Loreen. So we’re back in Sweden again, this time in the Ericsson Globe in Stockholm. So far 40 countries have confirmed their participation, last year’s guest country Australia was (thank god!) invited to stay, Sven Stojanovic (known for his superb work at Melodifestivalen and some editions of the ESC) will direct, Måns might host… so we can expect a great show. Mark these dates in your

calendars: May 10th, May 12th and May 14th. If you want to see it live, you better hurry and buy your tickets – they’re on sale right now and boy are they selling fast!

06 ENDLESS FORMS MOST BEAUTIFUL WORLD TOUR BY NIGHTWISH

Nightwish is a band we don’t need to introduce, and although many fans aren’t as crazy about them as before Tarja left the group, they still make good music. This tour supports the Endless Forms Most Beautiful album and is the first full tour to feature the new singer (second since Tarja left), Floor Jansen. And yes, they play old songs too, and yes, you’ll get

to hear Ghost love score. In Finland, you can see them on June 6th, 8th and 9th, in Sweden on November 15th, in Denmark on November 16th.

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07 DEADPOOL MOVIE After Melodifestivalen, we won’t move any further, because the ESC 2016 takes place in Sweden, of course, after Måns Zelmerlöw won the contest last year, only three years after Loreen. So we’re back in Sweden again, this time in the Ericsson Globe in Stockholm. So far 40 countries have confirmed their participation, last year’s guest country Australia was (thank god!) invited to stay, Sven Stojanovic (known for his superb work at Melodifestivalen and some editions of the ESC) will direct, Måns might host… so we can expect a great show. Mark these dates in your calendars: May 10th, May 12th and May 14th. If you want to see it live, you better hurry and buy your tickets – they’re on sale right now and boy are they selling fast!

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08 ANTI WORLD TOUR BY RIHANNA RiRi has finally revealed that her new album, Anti will drop on December 4th and next year we’ll get a full blown world tour with two stops in Scandinavia. On the album she worked with a list of producers including Kanye West, Paul McCartney, Travis Scott, David Guetta and many more. The dates you need to know are July 4th for Stockholm and July 7th for Copenhagen. Now hurry and buy those tickets!

09 BATMAN V SUPERMAN: DAWN OF JUSTICE

Now I’m no fan of DC (shocker!), but this is something everyone should get excited about. The Marvel Cinematic Universe has been around since 2008. DC is just starting theirs and they’re working hard for it. They’re calling their version of this “DC Extended Universe”. The first film released in the DCEU was Man of Steel (2013), a reboot of the Superman film series. The next film to be released will be Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. The highly anticipated feature-length film will feature DC’s Trinity, Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman appearing together for the first time ever. The film stars Ben Affleck (our new Batman), Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Jesse Eisenberg, Diane Lane, Laurence Fishburne, Jeremy Irons, Holly Hunter, and Gal Gadot. Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice will be the first live-action film to feature both Batman and Superman, as well as the first theatrical film to feature live-action portrayals of Wonder Woman, Aquaman, and Cyborg. I can’t believe I’m writing this, but yes, I’m very excited. The premiere date is March 25th.

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10 SUICIDE SQUAD Just to get easier through DC, we bring you the third DCEU movie right away – Suicide Squad. Also known as Task Force X, Suicide Squad is a team of imprisoned super-villains who perform high-risk missions for the U.S. Government in exchange for commuted sentences. The team is run by Dr. Amanda Waller, and their operation is based out of Belle Reve penitentiary. The film will star Will Smith as Deadshot; Tom Hardy as Rick Flag; Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn; Jared Leto as the Joker; Jai Courtney as Boomerang; and Cara Delevingne as Enchantress. Do we need more to be excited? Set a reminder for August 5th!

MARVEL’S LUKE CAGE

You loved the Daredevil show on Netflix? You’re still watching or re-watching Jessica Jones? You love that black dude with unbreakable skin? Well give me a Hallelujah, because we’re getting a solo show f o r h i m , too. Not that it’s a surprise. But we’re still excited. When a sabotaged experiment gives him super strength and unbreakable skin, Luke Cage be-

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comes a fugitive attempting to rebuild his life in Harlem, and must soon confront his past and fight a battle for the heart of his city. Since this is part of the MCU, it has shared continuity with the other shows and movies and naturally the same actor – Mike Colter (who looks eerily like Luke Cage from the comics). Luke Cage is the third in a series of shows that will lead up to a Defenders crossover miniseries. Now though I like the shiny flashy costumes of the X-Men in the comics or the Avengers in the movies, it is cool to see a grittier, darker side of the Marvel Universe in these shows. The release date is still TBA.

12 UNBREAKABLE WORLD TOUR BY JANET JACKSON Yass, Janet is back with a new album and tour! Her absence was too long (but luckily it didn’t hurt the ticket sales), and now finally she’s back on track with a show that leaves nobody cold, especially when she drops “Scream”, the famous duet with her brother Michael – whose voice is actually played during the song. It would be wrong for someone else to sing it anyway, right? So if you want to see the youngest Jackson live, mark these dates: April 25th for Helsinki, April 27th for Stockholm, April 28th for Oslo and April 30th for Copenhagen.

13 GAMBIT As if all the DC and Marvel movies during the year weren’t enough, we’re getting our first solo movie for X-Man Gambit on October 7th and he will be played by Channing Tatum. So far we don’t know much about the plot and it is still unknown if he’ll have a cameo in X-Men: Apocalypse, but Gambit is SO POPULAR (and one of our favorite X-Men) that we’re excited anyway!

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14 FANTASTIC BEASTS AND WHERE TO FIND THEM You miss the world of Harry Potter? Well, hold tight, because on November 18th, we’re getting “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them” (geeks know the title!). A spin-off of the Harry Potter film series and directed by David Yates, the film stars Eddie Redmayne, Katherine Waterston, Alison Sudol, Dan Fogler, Samantha Morton, Ezra Miller, Colin Farrell, Faith Wood-Blagrove, Jenn Murray, Jon Voight and Ron Perlman. The story revolves around Newt Scamander's arrival at the Magical Congress of the United States of America, for a meeting with an important official. Central to the story and this meeting is a magically expanded briefcase which houses a number of dangerous creatures and their habitats. When the creatures escape from the briefcase, it sends the American wizarding authorities after Newt, and it threatens even further the state of magical and non-magical relations, which is already in a dangerous place, due to the threatening presence of the fanatical extremist group that call themselves, in short, “The Second Salemers”. The story tells of what effect this devastating mistake has on the state of wizard/No-Maj (the American term for a non-magical person) relations in New York City's community of wizards and witches in 1926, the effort to right the mistake, and the horrors of the resultant increase in violence, fear, and tension felt between magical and non-magical peoples.

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15 THE BOOK OF SOULS WORLD TOUR BY IRON MAIDEN Held in support of their sixteenth studio album, The Book of Souls, the tour will see the band play shows in 35 countries across six continents. The group, their crew and equipment will be transported on a customized Boeing 747-400, nicknamed “Ed Force One”, which will be piloted by vocalist Bruce Dickinson. Iron Maiden are always a spectacle live, and if you don’t want to miss them, here are the dates for Scandinavia: June 15th, Norway, June 17th, Sweden, June 21st, Denmark and June 29th, Finland.

16 WONDERFUL CRAZY NIGHT, ALBUM BY ELTON JOHN Wonderful Crazy Night is the 32nd studio album by British singer-songwriter Elton John. It is John's first album since 2006's The Captain & the Kid to feature the Elton John Band. It will be released on February 5th, with an accompanying tour which will have only three dates in Scandinavia – all of them in Norway. June 30th in Ålesund and July 1st and 2nd in Trondheim. So hurry and get your tickets!

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Sing it u baby, it’s OVER THE YEARS WE LEARN MORE OR LESS WHAT IT IS THAT WE LIKE TO EAT FOR HOLIDAYS – THE KITCHEN ALWAYS SMELLS EXQUISITELY IN THE SAME WAY, WITH SMALL UPDATES TO THE MENU FROM TIME TO TIME. WITH DRINKS IT’S THE SAME – IF YOU LIKE YOUR CHAMPAGNE, YOU SURELY WON’T

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up, Christmas! EXCHANGE IT FOR BEER, AS WELL AS BEER LOVERS WON’T JUST TAKE RED WINE. BUT WITH MUSIC, THINGS ARE A BIT DIFFERENT, SO OUR QUESTION IS DIRECT AND SIMPLE: WHAT DOES YOUR HOLIDAY PLAYLIST LOOK LIKE?

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by: Marin M.

marin_m@popculture.dk

IMAGE: i Tunes

KYLIE CHRISTMAS

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It’s holiday season, add a bit glitter to it! There is nothing like Kylie, who’s popular in the US, but the Europeans a-do-re her! If her 2014 album Kiss Me Once wasn’t reason enough to be happy this year, don’t panic: Kylie’s first full holiday album, called Kylie

Christmas, was published in November and is a mix of traditional holiday songs, sung by one of the biggest pop stars in music history, as well as new songs. The duet with Iggy Pop must not be skipped. You’ve been warned.

TODAY IS CHRISTMAS LeAnn Rimes

You like Country? You’ll love the new holiday album by LeAnn Rimes, who’s been around since 2004 and is very popular in the US. In addition to her take on Christmas classics, we have two new songs – Today is Christmas,

the title-song and The Spirit of Christmas. The Album is full of duets with other singers, from other genres, just so that Christmas won’t be dull.

THE HOLIDAY COLLECTION Denmark + Winter

The mysterious band from the Danish Indie-scene brings something new out from time to time, without big marketing campaigns, just to remind us that the best music is the one we listen to without talking about it too much. We wrote about them

in our first issue and now they have an holiday album. The thirteen songs on this album are just pure joy and the author of this text just love them. Denmark+Winter, earphones, coffee-to-go, a cozy sweater and you’re ready for your holiday trip anywhere.

CHRISTMAS WITH NASHVILLE Nashville Cast

Again Country, this time the TV-angle. If you love Nashville and you’re sincere to yourself, you’ll admit that you watch the show 20 % for the story and 80 % for the music. Last year, the cast has record-

ed this holiday album and the result is so good that I remember the whole holiday season of last year through the verses of these songs. A warm recommendation for this year, too.

CHRISTMAS

Michael Buble Old, but great. The album simply called Christmas came out in 2011 and can now be considered a classic. Michael leads you with his voice very simply into a festive mood and you just think while listening “it’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas”, even if you’re the worst Grinch. The collection of songs is big and varies in genres,

and if you’re not sure how to warm up any evening this winter, Michael Buble is the solution. And to make it an even bigger holiday, Buble will release a new song on November 30th, called The more you give (the more you’ll have), which will add something fresh to this timeless collection, for sure.

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#RATEthis

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MAYBE SHE’S BORN WITH IT THE BROTHERS ARROW AND THE FLASH HAVE GOTTEN A YOUNGER SISTER – SUPERGIRL. CBS CAN CLAIM WITH EVERY RIGHT THAT THEY LAUNCHED A HIT-SHOW THIS SUMMER, BECAUSE ONLY RATINGS ARE THE ONLY THING WHICH SOARS HIGHER THAN THE GIRL HERSELF.

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#RATEthis

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e all know his story. He is Superman, man of steel, faster than a bullet, the last baby of the planet Krypton, yadda, yadda… or not? As this show teaches us, tracing old comic-storylines, Kara Zor-El has been sent to our planet right after her younger, but today far more known cousin. She had the role of the glorified nanny written out for her, but she was stuck in the Phantom zone and arrived on Earth a “few” years too late. Her cousin is now out of his diapers, he’s a grown man known as Clark Kent and works as a journalist, while in his spare time he wears his underwear over his leggings and saves the world. Kara’s role of the caring companion is therefore being pushed aside, but don’t worry, she’ll grow into the babe from the Supergirl-poster. Compared to the last TV-version of the story of the Kryptonian on Earth, Smallville, Supergirl is a Japanese fast train. Poor Tom Welling needed ten seasons (that’s a whole DECADE, dude!) to fly for real, while Kara’s development only in the first episode looks like this: clumsy assistant – I want to be famous – fully-equipped superheroine. At times a bit too fast, but don’t worry, it gets slower and more complicated in the second episode. Fun – That’s the first thing that comes to mind with this show. If you want a more detailed description, we could say it’s simple, fast-paced, naïve in a nice way and enough “comic-like” so that any DC-fan can love her. Of course, I’m not talking about the dark part of the DCuniverse, where Batman and The Joker play their sick, psycho-destructive games. If it’s easier, think of it this way: as far as The Flash subdued the seriousness of The Arrow, Supergirl pulled The Flash with her. And that’s OK – superheroes on TV are supposed to be fun, except if they’re made for Netflix. Then they should be depressed, on the brink of existence and dark. That’s the natural order of things – no one wants blood, tears and sweat on national television. Only happiness. Sun and birds. And a rainbow, because that’s A-OK now.

FUN – THAT’S THE FIRST THING THAT COMES TO MIND WITH THIS SHOW. IF YOU WANT A MORE DETAILED

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#RATEthis WE SEE ONLY TRACES OF SUPERMAN, LIKE ALMONDS IN CHEAP CHOCOLATE, BUT WELL, WE DIDN’T EVEN HOPE THAT HENRY CAVIL WOULD LAND ON THE SMALL SCREEN.

SUPERHERO START!

ARROW

Premiere: 10.10.2012. Viewers in the US : 4,1 million Network: The CW Status: 4th season is on air

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CONSTANTINE

Premiere: 24.10.2014. Viewers in the US: 4,2 million Network: CBS Status: Cancelled

THE FLASH

Premiere: 07.10.2014. Viewers in the US: 4,8 million Network: The CW Status: 2nd season is on air

elissa Benoist is great in the leading role, and the rest of the cast isn’t bad to watch either. It’s especially great to see Calista Flockhart, who plays Kara’s boss, self-titled queen of printmedia, Cat. We see only traces of Superman, like almonds in cheap chocolate, but well, we didn’t even hope that Henry Cavil would land on the small screen. But the blurred appearance of the red-and-blue suit without a face seems forced, unnecessary and I hope that will be gone once the show’s ratings stabilize.

In The US, the premiere of Supergirl had over 13 million viewers. That’s a “wow” even for a national network like CBS. Heroes from the same house, who are on cable – Arrow and The Flash on CW, gather only half of that number, in their best days, and they’re considered successful. Is this a sign that it’s finally time for TV-heroes in skirts? It remains to be seen if the girl in the visually stunning, but extremely unpractical outfit will keep the enthusiasm of her audience alive till the end of season 1.

and MORE...

GOTHAM

Premiere: 21.09.2014. Viewers in the US: 8 million Network: FOX Status: 2nd season is on air

AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D. Premiere: 24.09.2013. Viewers in the US: 12,1 million Network: ABC Status: 3rd season is on air

SUPERGIRL

Premiere: 26.10.2015. Viewers in the US: 13,1 million Network: CBS Status: First season started

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#RATEthis by: Danilo O.

danilo_o@popculture.dk

IMAGE: Courtesy of Netflix

SHE HAS A FIXATION IN FORM OF A DARK SKINNED GENTLEMAN WHOM SHE SHAMELESSLY STALKS IN NIGHTS WHEN SHE HAS NOTHING TO DO OR CAN’T SLEEP.

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ATTENTION! Watch Jessica Jones Season 1 on Netflix Nordics!

DARKER THAN DAREDEVIL M arvel’s TV-Universe is expanding, and I don’t mean ABC’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. or Agent Carter, but Netflix, the new beacon of hope for television programs. It’s not exactly TV, but we won’t be nitpicking. The spiritual heir to the great Daredevil (before his second season, of course), is here.

For starters, Jessica Jones has a “comic book” opening theme. I didn’t read her comics, so I don’t know if they were a direct inspiration, but it’s impressive anyway. In an era where the opening theme usually consists of some ominous music and a floating title, Netflix opted for animated panels of the NYC streets. And the streets are of course dumps, holes… full of fornication, perversion

and immorality. And in the middle of all that – Jessica, as the cynical opportunist. Because Jessica is a P. I. who spends her nights between dumpsters, making photos of adultery. A noble vocation, for sure, but at least it pays on a regular basis. Jessica is single, asocial (to put it mildly), she drinks a lot, loves wild sex and she’s very good at her job. Low scruples and said characteristics help her with that. And she has a fixation in form of a dark skinned gentleman whom she shamelessly stalks in nights when she has nothing to do or can’t sleep. And she can’t sleep because she has unknown inhabitants in her head. Baggage left by events as of yet unrevealed to us, except that they left a deep mark – flashbacks, trauma and at times total panic and hysteria.

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In addition to all that she has superhuman strength – she can overcome a man twice her size, pull a door handle out of its socket like it’s nothing, jump 10m high, pull up a car with one hand and so on. Add to all that her alcoholism – if she could fly, she’d resemble Will Smith’s Hancock. Jessica Jones (the show, not the character) is very dark. It competes with the gloomy tones of its predecessor, Daredevil, but surpasses it in some ways, too. It shows the other side of the superhero world. While the people watch Captain America and Thor on TV, behind the scenes are heaps of misfits, tormented über-humans, who struggle to fit in into this world. They carry a much heavier burden and they’re of course ready to use their gifts for their own purposes.

IMAGE: Courtesy of Netflix

As far as the Pilot goes – Jessica is a cynical hero who uses her powers for banal things – to scare a few thugs so she can get her payment. There are no big stunts or speeches, but a lot of loneliness and human self-loathing (and a big dose of self-pity). Jessica is very dark. Her fear and flashbacks show she’s been through some huge trauma which transcends classical bad memories. This is something deep and more hurtful. The show touches topics of sexuality (I mentioned wild sex), but also sexual violence and rape. Therefore I think a good portion of the show will be dedicated to her inner struggle, which may sound like an excuse by the authors not to give us a big Hollywood spectacle, but this are not the Avengers and at least since Daredevil we know this is no children’s program.

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Still, Jess showed us that underneath all those layers of cynicism and Jack Daniel’s there is a true savior – someone who really wants to help weaker people. On the other hand we have Kilgrave who is so far a very, very unpleasant individual. If I had to judge right by the Pilot, I would have to say that JJ is a lonely and estranged female Daredevil with superpowers in a gloomy ghetto melodrama about substance abuse and PTSD. Where we are wrong with our judgment and where we went to far – we’ll have to wait and see…

JESSICA IS VERY DARK. HER FEAR AND FLASHBACKS SHOW SHEâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S BEEN THROUGH SOME HUGE TRAUMA

and MORE...

SEASON 2 ON THE WAY? Talking to The Hollywood Reporter recently, showrunner Melissa Rosenberg was asked about the possibility of a second season for Jessica Jones. "I hope so. There certainly is story-telling wise. The question becomes is there actual time? There are logistics involved, because Defenders has to shoot by a certain time, contractually. Actually, I'm not sure; I'm not at all involved in those conversations, much to my dismay. The first question is whether or not we will even get a second season. The second question is, if so, when? Will it be before The Defenders or after? I'd certainly love it to be before but there are things that play into that â&#x20AC;&#x201D; time, availability." Asked how protective she feels about the character and whether she hopes to be heavily involved with The Defenders regardless of when that hits, Rosenberg added: "I'm a complete control freak when it comes to this character. I will do everything in my power to protect the character in whatever forms. They'll have to throw me kicking and screaming out of that building. But they own the property. They've really been inclusive thus far so I'm not really worried about it."

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#RATEthis by: Danilo O.

IMAGE: Courtesy of AMC

danilo_o@popculture.dk

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AFTER IT CONQUERED THE TV-SCREENS, THE PROGRAM OF AMC STAGNATED IN THE PAST YEARS. EVERY GOOD EPISODE OF BETTER CALL SAUL OR WALKING DEAD WOULD BRING SEVERAL AVERAGE EPISODES OF TURN, HALT AND CATCH FIRE AND OF COURSE, WALKING DEAD.

Everyone started saying how AMC has already dealt its best cards and that the policies of the executive board, which are getting worse and worse, are driving quality authors away from the network. But luckily, AMC is showing signs of recovery – they took it upon themselves to adapt the controversial Preacher and decided to experiment a bit. This experiment was made known at San Diego Comic Con this summer. The trailer wasn’t all too clear and showed a show which at first glance combines things that cannot be combined: kung fu, fencing, oldtimers, southern western, the mystical, slavery etc. But luckily, after we’ve seen the pilot, we know that we have a coherent story about a soldier who wants to escape this cruel occupation and takes with him his girlfriend, who is pregnant, by the way. He can do that only with the help of a boy who knows the way out of the Badlands. In the meantime, they find

themselves amidst of conflicts between feudal masters or barons, who are a mixture of southern slave-masters and Turkish renegade janissary leaders. To make things short: no good people.

One of the few who have managed to maintain the illusion of order and civilization in a world where war has taken most of the population. That illusion is held up by his fist of steel. Quinn is not a good man.

Does this experiment deserve you to sit in front of your TV and watch it? Here are a few reasons.

But he’s a great character. Marton Csokas is born to play semi-sociopath rulers. So it was in Kingdom of Heaven, where he played the templar Guy de Lusignan (who showed great disinterest for human life), and so was it in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, where he played Lord Celeborn (we all know elves don’t have a soul).

#1 QUINN (MARTON CSOKAS) Quinn is the perfect example of southern smoothness. His voice drawls like syrup, he rides the horse like his bottom has molten together with the saddle and handles the sword like a real gentleman. He’s very charming. He gathered an army of warriors (clippers) around him, which he had saved as kids from slavery and offered them military service. The only thing he wants in return is blind following. One of them is the protagonist Sunny (Daniel Wu).

He’s also as cruel as the worst lords of the southern plantations. His arms are drenched elbow-deep in blood. Quinn is a baron. The strongest baron, actually.

Sunny might be the protagonist here, but I think a show is as good as its villain. Quinn is promising.

#2 DESIGN The show is mostly inspired by the classic Chinese tale

Journey to the West, which is the Chinese counterpart of the Arthurian tale of a search for the holy grail, in the Chinese case the quest for enlightenment in the western countries (India). It’s no wonder that the show has oriental motives – from philosophy to aesthetics and

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clothing. The show is a specific mixture of the American South from the times of the Civil War and the Chinese middle ages.

IMAGE: Courtesy of AMC

When we say it’s a mixture of the orient, the American South, steam-punk and a post-apocalyptic tale, we immediately understand that it has to have its own visual identity. AMC’s set designers and costume designers didn’t overdo it and held onto known motives, which they combined in new ways. That’s why we have a very convincing and realistic – almost down to earth – mixture of western, Chinese/Japanese lore with a tiny bit of the mystical and steam-punk.

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INTO THE BADLANDS IS A MIXTURE OF CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON, SHOGUN, BRUCE LEE, WESTERN, THE AMERICAN CIVIL WAR, POSTAPOCALYPTIC FICTION, STEAMPUNK, THE CHINESE TALE JOURNEY TO THE WEST AND GOD KNOWS WHAT ELSE.

We have slaves in fields of poppy, which is used to make opium. Barons with their entourages, riding horses, driving oldtimers or motorcycles and wielding swords. Towns and strongholds which strongly resemble the borderland settlements of the American wild West. Outside of towns and plantations is lawlessness – woods full of nomads and bands. The mixture is natural and not intrusive. The language is no High English, but that what you expect from a violent, feudal society. Everything is down to earth and tight, which is commendable, since this could have looked too artsy or too shabby. This way, it’s new enough and familiar enough to intrigue us.

#3 FIGHT! Enough of fashion and hipster-details! Let’s take a look at kung fu. I know there is a more exact and expert name for all those martial arts, but for someone who grew up with the trash action-movies of the 80s and 90s, it will always be kung fu. Therefore: KUNG FU! Daniel Wu (Sunny) is a true-bred heir to Jackie Chan or Jet Li or any of the rest of that brotherhood. The man is an action-star and has starred in Chinese movies without speaking a word of Chinese. Therefore we can imagine what qualities he possesses. The fights are quick and fluid, the camera is not shaky (a trend the directors are

finally giving up), but gives us wide and sometimes very interesting angles. Comparing it to Daredevil comes to mind, but Into the Badlands is much cleaner and more elegant than the blind superhero. Into the Badlands is not part of the school of realism like Daredevil, but more among the disciples of John Woo and the Chinese New Wave. But there is no flying over Waterfalls of fencing in the tree-tops, but the inspiration is clear. The fights are first and foremost nicely performed, quick and shot in a very clear way. Someone would say they’re only beautiful to the eye, but one should not think they’re impotent. Daniel Wu learned from Steven Seagal how to twist someone’s wrist and Seagal would envy him for the sheer number of dead bodies he leaves behind. But still, expect a dose of theatricality, film moves and frames to which only hyper-realists among us will mind. The show has a diversity of weapons, mostly cold (firearms are forbidden in this post-apocalyptic dystopian story) and martial arts, which is a true delicacy for lovers of old and new kung fu. One can see that Daniel Wu knows his stuff, as well as the choreographer, because the fights we’ve seen so far have been everything but boring. As well as the rest of the show, while we’re at it. Into the Badlands is a bold experiment, which doesn’t stop at just being new, but will try to give us a convincing story and characters. The fact it takes place in one of the more exciting and original settings I’ve seen on TV in the past years is

just a big plus. Objections? A few. The boy, M. K., could try and less emulate the protagonists of teenage dramas. And whine less. The whole teenage/innocent love/friendship part of the show seems a bit forced and unconvincing, but it’s just the beginning. The season has only six episodes, though. Which is my greatest objection actually, because I’m not sure what kind of story can be told in six 45-minute episodes. On the other hand, if they manage to do it, we’ll have an excellent, but too short show on our hands, and that doesn’t suit us. So all things considered, Into the Badlands – southern kung fu western. What are you waiting for?

THE FIGHTS ARE QUICK AND FLUID, THE CAMERA IS NOT SHAKY (A TREND THE DIRECTORS ARE FINALLY GIVING UP), BUT GIVES US WIDE AND SOMETIMES VERY INTERESTING ANGLES.

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IMAGE: Courtesy of FOX ICB

#BackAndForth

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IN MEMORIAM

DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES 2004 - 2012

WE MET THEM ON OCTOBER 3RD 2004 AND SINCE THEN WE’RE IN LOVE WITH THEM. THEY ACCOMPANIED US EVERYWHERE – WE TOOK THEM WITH US ON VACATIONS, WE STARED AT OUR PHONE-SCREENS IN VARIOUS WAITING ROOMS, WE LOVED GROUP-WATCHING ON BIG SCREENS AT OUR FRIENDS’ PLACES… MOST OF THE TIME WE WERE SO IMPATIENT THAT WE WATCHED THE NEW EPISODE ON OUR PC OR LAPTOP. THEY WERE OUR FRIENDS WHEN WE WERE LONELY, THEY TAUGHT US THAT IT’S NORMAL TO MAKE MISTAKES AND THAT NOBODY IS PERFECT, THEY GAVE US GREAT FASHION TIPS AND FROM TIME TO TIME THEY SUBTLY REMINDED US OF THE WONDERFUL STYLE OF THE SIXTIES. THEY LOVED, THEY CHEATED, THEY LAUGHED AND CRIED, THEY MADE MISTAKES AND THEY MADE THE RIGHT MOVES – BREE, GABY, SUSAN AND LYNETTE WERE EVERYTHING, THE LEAST OF WHICH DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES. Yes, over the course of the years, the Housewives lost their edge a bit. They started being redundant, spinning around the same old, recycled plots, which took our breaths away along with jokes that made us cry with laughter. But if you give it a thought, you’ll realize that it’s like that in all long lasting relationships – you get used to each other, there are no more surprises and in that process everything becomes so viciously predictable. But that doesn’t mean that we don’t love friends who we’ve known for years. So, let’s remind everyone why we fell in love with Desperate Housewives.

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by: Marin M.

marin_m@popculture.dk

GABRIELLE SOLIS

IMAGE: Courtesy of FOX ICB

played By Eva Longoria T hough when we first meet her she seems to be a narcissistic, shallow woman, whose only preoccupations are beauty, money and wealth, but only a shallow viewer wouldn’t after ten episodes or so see that Gaby hides behind the perfect mask she’s made for herself. A loyal friend and caring mother, Gabriela Solis is a person who first acts and then thinks, which is the reason she often regrets things and the need to prove something to herself and the people around her she seldom manages to push into the background. But that doesn’t stop her to regret later – be it the affair with the hot young gardener, the fact that she neglected her daughters because of a hot-stone-massage or trying to convince her husband to keep a job

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that leaves him empty, but makes their lives easier. Over the course of the show, Gaby shows she’s more than just a charismatic and attractive ex-model. Her miscarriage, care for the blind Carlos, providing for the family by selling her designer outfits – which represents everything she seemingly cares for – how she herself finishes the story with her ex-lover John, helping the Bolen family, the painful knowledge that her biological daughter Grace will never know how much she means to her and the final confrontation with her stepfather who molested her in her childhood… those are only a few examples that show the human side of this – as many think – most beautiful of the Desperate Housewives.

THE PRODUCERS FIRST CAST THE ROLE OF GABRIELA SOLIS – EVA LONGORIA WAS THE FIRST OF THE CAST TO KNOW THAT SHE GOT THE PART It's a cop funeral. What do you expect... clowns? It's a Mexican hangover cure. It's the only thing I inherited from my family that's actually worth anything. Gabrielle [to Ashley, about kissing]: And some people kiss their friends, it's like a high-five on the lips! John: What about me? Can't I be your plan B? Gabrielle: Damn it, John. What is our new rule? John: Stop pretending we have a future. Gabrielle: Thank you Gabrielle: As I see it good friends avoid each other after being humiliated, but great friends pretend nothing happened in the first place.

SUSAN MAYER

played by Teri Hatcher Susan Mayer, later married Delfino, is a real “damsel in distress”. Very often the most sensitive of the Housewives, she’s a romantic soul, a bit clumsy, very loving and forgiving (often against her own good, but also against the good of those she seeks to help). Her life in the eight seasons of the show is mostly a love story, sometimes sad, but mostly happy, with an ending which we too late see as tragic. Near the end of the last season, Mike Delfino, the love of her life, dies from a fatal shot in front of their house, leaving all fans painfully aware that life is not only a perfect muffin of a Housewife in Suburbia, but an eternal fight for survival, in which only those who are even in

the hardest times ready for a new start can move on. I don't know how to tell people what kind of man Mike was... what kind of father, husband and friend he was. I just never thought I would have to sum up his life before he was done living it. Susan: You fantasize about other men when you're with Carlos? Gabrielle: Honey, Carlos has been so many different men, I'm actually surprised when I open my eyes and it's Carlos. Susan: Don't worry. Dinner's all taken care of. We're having blanquette de veau and a grand marnier souffle. Ian: Well, that's very ambitious of you, and, uh, when will Bree be done making it?

TERI HATCHER WAS JUST THE SIXTH CHOICE FOR THE PART OF SUSAN. BEFORE HER, THE PRODUCERS CONSIDERED COURTENEY COX (WHO COULDN’T TAKE THE PART BECAUSE OF HER PREGNANCY), HEATHER LOCKLEAR (CONFLICTING SCHEDULES), MICHELLE RODRIGUEZ, CALISTA FLOCKHART AND MARYLOUISE PARKER. Susan: Five-thirty. But I am rewarming it all by myself. Susan: Hi. I need an operation on my spleen and I just found out I don't have medical insurance. Is there anyone I can sue?

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BREE VAN DE KAMP

IMAGE: Courtesy of FOX ICB

played by Marcia Cross

A perfectionist and obsessed with the need to always be on top of the situation, Bree looks like she’s leading the life straight out of a detergent commercial – but not everything is as shiny white as it looks at first sight. When we meet her, this seemingly satisfied young woman has everything one could want – a successful husband, well-mannered children and an ability to lead a household like no other woman. Everything is turned upside down when she learns that her husband is cheating on her and she soon after that becomes a widow. Confronted with her new role of being head of the family, Bree finds herself a new, but bad man, stumbles into an alcohol problem and deals clumsily with her son’s homosexuality. Later on, she checks in into a psychiatric clinic voluntarily and shows her strength – recovered, she again

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gains control over her life and in the years after that she becomes a successful businesswoman and author of popular cook-books. Sadly, trouble loves to visit this woman, so her new marriage crashes, her business goes under thanks to unexpected circumstances and Bree finds alcohol again. In the eight and last season she hits rock bottom and drowns her moral principles in alcohol. After she helps cover up the murder of Gaby’s father and even tries to take her own life, Bree slowly starts picking up the pieces of her life. Maybe it was Bree’s story which we watched with the most anticipation, since the other characters had their way more or less clearly carved out for them. It was truly emotional to see Bree’s way of searching for happiness and fulfillment.

MARCIA CROSS AUDITIONED AT THE END OF 2003 FOR THE ROLE OF MARY ALICE, BUT MARC CHERRY SAW BREE IN HER THE MINUTE SHE WALKED IN. No, I can't kill you today. I have Pilates. It was lovely having sex with you. Have a wonderful day. Bree: We've rented you a condo in a lovely retirement community. It's our Christmas gift to you. Gloria: So you're cutting me off from my new grandchildren? Bree: That's our gift to them! Bree: You know what? Maybe Andrew leaving will be good for us. You are all I have left and I am going to be the best mother that I can be. Danielle: There's definitely room for improvement. Bree: (after Andrew tells her he hates her) The opposite of love isn't hate. It's indifference. And if you hate me, that means you still care, and we're still connected and I still have a chance to set you right.

LYNETTE SCAVO

played by Felicity Huffman

Known as the “smartass” among the Housewives, Lynette has taken on the role of full-time mom and spouse directly out of her office-high-heels. She’d been a highly ambitious businesswoman, a dangerous player, a woman who used to disarm her business-partners with a mere look and would leave her opponents in the dust. Into her new life in Suburbia she brings strict organization, a need to be on top of the game and to solve stress situations here and there. Even if that means creating them herself first. Lynette rarely gives in, and even that only to people closest to her.

During the show’s eight seasons, Lynette goes through all possible (and impossible) tragedies – the fight with a tumor, news that her husband had a daughter he hadn’t known about, surviving a tornado, problems with her late pregnancy, divorcing after many years of marriage… But in the end, she always managed to put a smile on her face and we applaud her for that.

LYNETTE IS THE ONLY OF THE HOUSEWIVES, WHOSE MARRIAGE LASTED FOR ALL EIGHT SEASONS OF THE SHOW (13 YEARS INSTORY). IN THE LAST SEASON, TOM AND LYNETTE TEMPORARILY SEPARATE. Lynette: The last guy who saw me naked told me not to wait too long around pap smears. Renee: Oh my God, look at your hair! Lynette: Do you like it? Renee: Is it permanent? Lynette: No. Renee: Then I love it! Tom: I bet you didn't see that one coming? Lynette: No.. That was a real frisbee to the head, that one! Edie: (referring to Betty's friendliness) I don't trust friendly women. Lynette: That's okay, they don't trust you either.

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MARY ALICE YOUNG

IMAGE: Courtesy of FOX ICB

played by Brenda Strong

My name is Mary Alice Young. When you read this morning's paper, you may come across an article about the unusual day I had last week. Normally there's nothing news worthy about my life, but that all changed last Thursday. Of course, everything seemed normal at first; I preformed my chores, I completed my projects and I ran my errands. In truth I spent the day as I spent any other day: quietly polishing the routine of my life until it gleamed with perfection. That's why it was so astonishing when I decided to go to my hallway closet, and retrieve a revolver, that had never been used.” - This is how Mary Alice starts the show, telling us in the first few seconds of the pilot episode everything we need to

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know. Although dead from the get go, Mary Alice is part of the show as much as the rest of the Housewives. The voice from beyond that leads us through all episodes and who knows everything about everyone. She has no reason to lie, because her time is already over and with a cruel hand of justice and truth, she shows us where to look. Nobody is safe and no ones secrets will stay hidden. Mary Alice shows up in person several times during the show – the maybe strongest moment is when she appears before Bree when she tries to kill herself in a turnpike-motel.

THE ONLY TWO EPISODES WHERE MARY ALICE WASN’T THE NARRATOR WERE “MY HUSBAND, THE PIG” (3.16, WHERE REX VAN DE KAMP IS THE NARRATOR) AND “LOOK INTO THEIR EYES AND YOU SEE WHAT THEY KNOW” (5.19, WHERE THE NARRATOR WAS THE FRESHLY DECEASED EDIE BRITT).

THE IMPORTANCE OF DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES

he media send us a very clear message about the sexes today – yes, men and women are equal, but one side is still more equal than the other. Men are still shown as dominant in the average TV-program, while they have a female figure at their side, who is above all a mother, house-mouse or a sexual object. Desperate Housewives introduces a whole new concept. Just thing, have you ever said: “Lynette, Tom’s wife”? Nope. It’s always:“He’s Tom/Carlos/Mike/Orson, Lynette’s/ Gaby’/Susan’s/Bree’s husband”. This show not only changed the picture of the woman in the family, but as the most dominant stereotype it produced the Housewife, a woman governing the family. On first sight, Desperate Housewives gives us an expected and clear picture of peaceful American Suburbia

– well cared for yards, white picket fences, wide smiles and happy families. Women taking care of children while men earn the money for the easy life. But once you look behind the staging, you see that the things aren’t that simple. These housewives are everything but common, and even less desperate. Though they’re married, they have independent lives, decide independently and have many secrets, some of which can cost you your life. Of course, the story is a radical version of reality, sometimes even banal, but the message is clear and it played a part in the modern understanding of society – women are not equal to men, and never will be. They’re predators. They play while men oblige and dance, very often unconsciously. They’re dangerous and they crave power that was taken from them for

so long. You don’t want to mess with the modern housewives. Desperate Housewives showed that it’s not always easy to be a mother and that mothers aren’t always happy about their role, as well as that it’s not a sin to feel and say that. The four main ladies of Wisteria Lane have supported each other even in the most stressful parenting situations. The taboo on some other topics has been lifted as well – the stay-at-home dad who takes cares of the kids while the wife is chasing her career, acceptance of homosexuality of a family member or friend, attractive women over 40… Through the eight seasons of the show, there was almost no important life- or social topic the ladies of Wisteria Lane haven’t been involved with.

WOMEN TAKING CARE OF CHILDREN WHILE MEN EARN THE MONEY FOR THE EASY LIFE. BUT ONCE YOU LOOK BEHIND THE STAGING, YOU SEE THAT THE THINGS AREN’T THAT SIMPLE.

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IMAGE: Courtesy of FOX ICB

THE INFLUENCE OF DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES

ith a simple question – “How much do we really want to know about our neighbours?” – this show started an obsession with suburban life. Not only in America, but also in Europe by the end of season 1, the prices for houses in suburban parts of towns rose. That this is not a coincidence showed many studies concerning the habits of TV-viewers. With a healthy dose of film noir and with the usual and unusual topics – parenting, adultery and revenge – the show became a hit with viewers of different sexes, races, orientations, habits and age. We don’t need to reflect on the fact how the “market price” of the main cast rose. A part of their charm and main idea comes from the movie The Stepford Wives from 1975, which had its remake – a coincidence? – the same year the show started, 2004. But the list of shows inspired by Desperate Housewives is even bigger – the whole “Real Housewives” franchise, Weeds, Cougar Town, Accidentally on Purpose, The Good Wife, Army Wives, and even the teenage hit Pretty Little Liars. The show was broadcast in the largest part of the developed world, with some “local” versions. There are versions shot in Argentina, Colombia, Spain – all called Amas de Casa Desperandes, a Brazilian one called Donas de Casa Desperandes, as well as a Turkish one - Umutsuz Ev Kadinlan. The Serbian show “Žene s Dedinja” was not produced under license, although at the beginning there was such a (probably intentionally placed) rumor. Desperate Housewives spread their influence over the years into spheres unexpected – two video games, one game for mobile platforms, two authorized and four unauthorized books, a music CD, Eau de Toilette “Forbidden Fruit”, a limited series collection of dolls… The list is long and probably open for more items.

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WHERE ARE THE “HOUSEWIVES” TODAY?

by: Lazar K.

lazar_k@popculture.dk

EVA LONGORIA GABRIELLE SOLIS As expected – the sexiest Housewife profited the most. She guest starred in The Simpsons, as well as in several episodes of the comedy show Brooklyn Nine-Nine. The biggest attention was drawn by her joint project with Marc Cherry – Devious Maids. Many say it’s a new version of the Housewives, with Hispanic maids in leading roles. Here she doesn’t appear on-screen herself, but is one of the executive producers, but her popularity doesn’t wane and she landed a role in the new NBC dramedy with the uninspired title “Telenovela”. The premiere date for the US is set for December 7th.

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MARCIA CROSS

BREE VAN DE KAMP

Marcia Cross decided to take a leave of absence from TV after Desperate Housewives ended and dedicated herself to family life after eight hard years on set. Recently it was announced she would return to TV and ABC in one of the biggest current hits – Quantico. She will be playing the mother of Caleb Haas, a sharp-minded senator whose arrival will disturb the already complicated relationships in the show even further. Her episode is scheduled to air in early 2016.

THOUGH THE SHOW ENDED IN 2012, THE ACTRESSES LIVE THROUGH OTHER PROJECTS, WHICH ARE CURRENTLY TV-HITS.

TERI HATCHER

Some of the actresses have roles similar to those they had in Desperate Housewives, and some are the sheer opposite. Mark Cherry revived the old fame of some and brought out new stars. But the ladies have to work hard now, since the television landscape is vastly different than in 2004.

FELICITY HUFFMAN

BRENDA STRONG

SUSAN MEYER

LYNETTE SCAVO

MARY ALICE YOUNG

Her best known work after Desperate Housewives was the ABC Family show Jane by Design. The show was cancelled after season 1, after which she voiced characters in various cartoons.

After a series of supporting roles on the big screen, Felicity landed a part in the ABC show “American Crime”, which was expected to be a hit, but the viewers reacted to it with a “meh”. Huffman still got an Emmy nomination for it. Though the ratings for season 1 were underwhelming, the show was renewed and season 2 is due in January.

Although we only heard her voice in the show (mostly), Brenda managed to get more work than the more popular Housewives. She guest starred in Scandal, Mysteries of Laura, Bones and even landed a leading part in the Dallas-remake, which was cancelled after three seasons. 2016 we will watch her as Queen Nia in all 13 episodes of season 3 of The 100.

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TECHNICAL PARTNER